Time's catching up...

I think I'm running out of steam for the day. I woke up early as I said, left the house with Erez and had breakfast, then made my way to a mobile phone shop and bought a sim for my Razr so that I have a local number here in Tel Aviv. After that I went and read Cannery Row at Cafe Hillel. Michal, Erez's sister lives kitty corner from the cafe so she met me on her way to the gym. We sat and talked for a bit and then she walked me to a street that she said was a good short cut to to Shaul Hamelech st. (King Saul st.) and the Art Museum of Tel Aviv. I spent several hours walking around the permanent and temporary exhibits. The museum houses a wonderful collection of post impressionism work including a couple very well known pieces by George Braque, a couple lovely Kandinsky's, Picasso, Klimt, Mondrion, Chagal and others from that time. There was a large exhibit of called DREAMLAND: REUVEN RUBIN AND THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE LAND OF ISRAEL IN HIS PAINTINGS OF THE 1920S AND 1930S ...



Another temporary exhibit was a collection of pieces entitled Femme Fatale that featured prints by Beardsly, several pieces by Munsch and others. Every piece was somehow tied to the concept of the dangerous woman. The exhibit ranged in age from 16th century paintings to a film poster from the 50's.

This is the museum's write up on the exhibit...

The term “femme fatale” – literally, disastrous (or fatal) woman – connotes a woman who uses her power of attraction to lure men into dangerous, even fateful, situations. The theme involves familiar aspects: seduction, passion, mystery, violence and dark secrets. The Old and New Testaments provide several prominent examples: Delilah, Judith, Salomé. Greek mythology too describes destructive women such as Pandora, Medea, Medusa, and the Sirens. All of these served as inspiration for many artworks of great importance. Represented in the exhibition are artists from the 15th through the early 20th century, among them Lucas Cranach, Rembrandt, Francisco Goya, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Aubrey Beardsley, Maurycy Gottlieb, and Edvard Munch. These artists depicted a wide range of types, from the fragile, pale, seemingly helpless woman through the dauntless heroine to the woman vampire, bat, spider, and so on. The spectrum of situations they depicted ranged between the tragic, the heroic, and the melodramatic. The exhibition includes, among others, oil paintings, sculptures, graphic works, and Judaica.



I think I'm going to go sack out for a bit... I had something else I wanted to write, but I'm honestly beat...