Shahar Marnin-Distelfeld: “Why Draw Flowers? Botanical Art and Women’s Contribution to Israeli Culture" (4/19/17)

Sacramento State University had the pleasure of getting to listen to Israeli scholar and art historian Shahar Marnin-Distelfeld on April 19th, 2017. She had received her degree at Zefat Academic College and her PhD from the University of Haifa. She is now teaching art history and Jewish studies at San Francisco State University in California. 

Marnin-Distelfeld's lecture was about Jewish artists and the the art of Israeli wildflowers. I could tell that Distelfeld was so very passionate about wildflowers and that they were something that were very important to her and the Israeli culture. The emblem of the Jewish religion is in-fact a wildflower, which is very symbolic of the region she had grown up in when she was younger. I didn't realize the importance of nature when it came to Israeli people, and the wildflowers are something that many are taught to preserve and cherish. 

Israeli was very well known for its wildflowers and they were featured on postcards as well as travel catalogs and brochures. Marnin-Distelfeld also explained that this was used in order to spread propaganda and campaign the strength and ties of Jewish people are the world. 

Some of the artists which she had talked about had included Ruth Coppel, Esther Huber and Bracha Avigad. These women artists had used botany illustrations in order to show feminist contributions to culture. This had also showed a connection to tending over flower gardens, which so many Jewish women had done and this type of artwork was a sort of niche for woman to take part in. 

Shahar Marnin-Distelfeld's lecture was fascinating to me and brought about a lot of great insight into the Jewish/Israeli culture that I did not know about before. I really enjoyed getting to listen to her enthusiasm as it was so evident she was really proud of her Jewish heritage. 

2017 Senior Show at the Robert Else Gallery

I had decided to check out the Senior 2017 art show at the Else Gallery as some of the works in their had really captured my attention. After having walked through it a couple times, I am sincerely impressed with the show and all the work that the seniors have produced.

Lauren Dalton, Inner Nature, Acrylic and ink on canvas 24x36.

(Above) I really admired Lauren Dalton's piece as it reminded me of the mother nature segment from Disney's Fantasia 2000 which featured music from Igor Stravinsky's "The Firebird." Dalton has done a great job in portraying the sereneness of nature and the beauty of it within our own beings. I love the vibrant color palette being used and feel that she did a tremendous job! Dalton adds a great touch to the work by allowing some of the acrylic to drip down the canvas, it reminded me of Hung Liu's painting Shoemaker (1999), and how she allows the paint to drip down the canvas in order to convey an scene that exists as though it is a memory. I feel that Lauren Dalton seems to apply a similar concept here.

 

Five works: by Jamilah Muhammad

(Above) This series of five works is one that I am definitely more curious about these figures the are depicting in this mixed media collage work. The pieces the Muhammad composed really makes the viewer question as to who they are. Perhaps they are someone near and dear to the artist? Or seemingly random people. This series definitely reminded me of Warhol's work and the Pop Art movement. I am unsure whether or not the artist was inspired by this movement, but nonetheless its elements are noticed.

          Madeline Hinrischen, Untitled (4 works), Mix media on paper.

(Above) I really liked this series of work by Madeline Hinrischen as it seemed to have been really inspired by Asian culture, especially that of Japanese. The mix media content and choice of vibrant and luminous bright colors really gave the sense of Japanese pop-culture that is so well known today. The first piece in the series depicts sushi with Mount Fuji in the background. This work had really reminded me of the Hiroshige print from his series 36 Views of Mount Fuji. I found it interesting that the artist would take a subject as famous as Mount Fuji and create a pop culture version of it in order to update it to our time. 

Kallista Toconis, Untitled (2 works), Oil on Cardboard.

Brittany Bandley, Deity Priestess, Mixed media sculpture (headdress).

This was one of the first pieces to have really caught my eye in the show. I loved how primitive the piece looks and the sense of power that it exudes. The horns in Bandley's work reminds me somewhat of Krampus, but in a very native feel to it. Having not been familiar with her work, it seems that she has a keen interest for costume design, and  I could definitely see this work in a production of sorts.