“If the walls could…Illustrate street poetry” at the Alfred Gallery, the exhibition deals with the connection between illustration and text and presents a selection of illustrative interpretations of 11 street poems that were splashed on the streets of Tel Aviv, and one poem “Sweetheart of Darkness” by Nahi Weiss splashed in Jerusalem. Street poetry moves on a wide spectrum – from simple poetry in two lines to layered and complex poetry, sometimes it even receives an illustrated response on the wall itself from other graffiti artists. Street poetry works at the immediate level: read, understand, internalize and move on. The length of the songs is the length of time it takes to splash them and run away.
An illustration by definition is a narrative art that visually communicates an idea, a word, a joke, a saying, a riddle, an essay, an essay, a story and rarely – poetry. A poetic text is the most difficult to illustrate, because poetry – in its elusive way, brings the reader together with its shadows, between the two covers of a small book, which we read in our intimate room. Street poetry appears outside, bare and kicking, read while walking and invites the readers to rush it. Street poetry has a wide visual context: the entrances of the buildings, the bins, the cars, the murals around it… in fact, it is poetry that has the form and presence of visual art.
Elisheva Kessel – digital illustration, Eli Shreim – street poetry, 2022 Photo: Itai Frost
A group of meirim cut off the songs from the street, focused their gaze on the words and illuminated the place where the song met them. Twenty-three illustrators, ten poems, and all the space spread between them. The graffiti poets are not ‘normal’ poets – they create on the seam line between what is allowed and what is forbidden. Some of them create a personal typographic language in order to express the message: Dina Segev punctuates her poems with plant decorations; Things I didn’t say highlights words in red; Oren Ailam punctuates his poems, and works in several shades; Complete writing[R]She adapts the design to the surface she is working on. Among the selected poets, only one is not a distinct street poet: Yuval Ido Tal, whose poem was splashed in a certain alley by a fan who fell in love with his book ‘The Poems of Ogawa Yukimitsu’.
In the exhibition, eleven large posters printed on Shimsonite are displayed, on which photographs of the street songs appear. Next to each song are the illustrations that refer to it. Most of the photographs were taken by attorney Itai Frost who works as a criminal prosecutor during the day, and at night and on weekends documenting graffiti around Tel Aviv.
Mittal Ofer – paper cut-outs and lighting, Hela Shelag – Shirat Rehov, 2022 Photo: Nissim Maoz
on Mayrimim
‘Mayarim’ is an online school for illustration, founded during the corona virus by Liora Grossman and Efrat Levin Yaffe. In Mirim you can learn the profession of illustration at a high and in-depth level, build or strengthen foundations [רבים מהתלמידים הם בוגרי אקדמיות לעיצוב ואמנות], to learn the connection between word and image and receive guidance in creating a first book. Online learning at Zoom enables diverse and wide participation for people from the periphery and overseas, for the deaf [הזום מאפשר צפיה בשיעור ובמתרגמים לשפת-הסימנים בעת ובעונה אחת] and for people with disabilities that do not allow a simple exit from the house. The online study brings together people from different cultures and backgrounds, who usually don’t meet and yet have become part of a vibrant community, which sees Mayerim as its artistic and professional home.
Liora Grossman is an Andersen Award winning illustrator, researcher of Israeli illustration and curator of illustration, founder of the illustration workshops for the Arab society in Hamma Hakaya.
Efrat Levin is a producer and director of a show in the fields of music, theater and television, working with the best artists in Israel. [ריטה, אחינועם ניני, דנה ברגר, אבטיפוס]
Raz Aviram Shemarat – digital illustration, Nachi Weiss – street poetry, 2022 Photo: Itai Frost
Participants: Eilat Firsht, Elisheva Kessel, Al-Ad Cohen Koenigsberg, Efrat Bronstein, Daganit Rodovsky, Danit Manjem, Daria Dobrovin, Tanya Kantor, Lia Kaprov, Mia Gonen, Mittal Ofer, Nega Kara, Noa Moshiev, Niati Freund,Nurit Laor, Anat Axelrod, Shirley Wiseman, Shalhabtia Ziss, Ravid Shirazi, Raz Shmarat Aviram, Rachel-Adia Shafer, Tomer Zeit, Tamar Lev-Eliyahu
Poets and poets: Anna.R.Ky [עדי רון]Hela Shelag, Nachi Weiss, writing Tam[R]God [תמרה לילך מזומן]things I didn’t say, Dina Segev, Yuval Ido Tal, Eli Shreim, #big_white [איתי דרוקמן]EARN AILAM
Photographers: Itai Frost, Nissim Maoz [להלה שלג]Oren Elam [לOREN AILAM]
curator: Leora Grossman
Producer: Efrat Levin is beautiful
Graphic designer: Raz Shemarat Aviram
opening: Thursday, November 17, 2022, at 7:30 p.m
Bush Gallery: Thursday 24/11/22 at 20:00
locking: Saturday November 26, 2022. The gallery will be open 10:00-12:00
for further details: https://courses.meayrimim.com/if-the-walls-could/
Gallery address: 5 Shelusch Alley, Tel Aviv
Opening hours: Wed-Thurs 21:00-17:00, Friday 14:00-10:00, Saturday 11:00-15:00