Sunday, December 26, 2010

Shadows of a beating heart

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"The Beating Heart Caring for Jerusalem" by Yaacov Agam
creates shadows for Shadow Shot Sunday.


I guess back in 1984 when Agam made his kinetic sculpture for Hadassah, the hospital and the country must have had enough water to keep the fountain flowing and the heart beating.
No more . . . We are drying up.
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Here is a video of the now-old artist explaining his beating heart sculptures.
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The Torah says no to the making of graven images.
Agam believes that part of the reason for that prohibition is that Judaism embraces the value of life, and life is not static. Life is in a state of continual change and therefore the art of Jerusalem should be different from those of all other civilizations.
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Agam was born in 1928 in Rishon Lezion, then a small, semi-rural settlement. His father, Rabbi Yehoshua Gipstein--who devoted his life to Jewish religious learning, meditation, and fasting--refused to register his son in a school because no place in a religious school was available.
So the boy grew up without any formal education and almost without the company of other children.
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Fortunately for himself and the world, at age 18 he went up to Jerusalem and then to Zurich to study art.
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14 comments:

  1. A very unusual, interesting sculpture! I just wish we had more sculpture around our town!

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  2. A beautiful sculpture, Dina. And I like the explanation, especially the part that says that the Torah forbids graven images. It is what Moslems believe too.

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  3. So beautiful, but so sad about the water.
    Fascinating story of the artist's life and the way he felt about art. Thanks, Dina.
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  4. I have not watched the video yet but I will (I was a potter and a "sculptor" in a former life and another country).

    I suppose the fountain was full of water a few decades ago and the sculpture was partly hidden. There is a water problem in so many countries now. We should all be more careful with the water we use.

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  5. this is beautiful, even without the water. thank you for the information over the artist!

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  6. What gorgeous photos of the sculpture. I love the shadows and lines, so beautiful and stunning.

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  7. A beating heart absolutely does need moving water... otherwise the metaphor falls over. It could be sea water, if necessary, and definitely recycled over and over.

    Happy, healthy and peaceful 2011 to you!

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  8. What a great piece of art. Thank you for introducing it to us. Please have a good new week.

    daily athens

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  9. That's a wonderful sculpture! It's unfortunate that it no longer exists as a water fountain. Here in Australia we were experiencing drought for many years not so long ago and all of our public sculpture water fountains were no longer used either. Now we are experiencing flooding. From one extreme to the other. I hope your weather conditions improve and you soon receive some much needed rain. Wish I could send you mine!

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  10. His life sounds like a story Chiam Potok would write

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  11. We may not agree on everything, but the statue was great and it is a pity that there is not enough water to supply it.

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  12. Let's call this 'work', because sculpture is really another thing. I just can't see how one can sculpt his way into this!
    I like the guy, he is creative and his works are really a pleasure to see. No water involved this time?

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  13. I love these photos. Thanks for sharing them.

    Have a nice day, Boonie

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