Tel Aviv's 100th Anniversary in Posters and Billboards Using the Techniques of Contemporary Israeli Artists Sima Sayag Camp Ramah in Wisconsin Summer 2009

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Posters and billboards are useful tools for advertisers, promoters, demonstrators or other groups seeking to get a message out. In the past, posters would advertise upcoming performances of Shakespeare's plays and let citizens know about new government policies. One of history's most famous posters is that of Uncle Sam recruiting young patriots to serve in the US army during World War I. In the Ultra-Orthodox world, a popular sort of poster is the "pashkevill" which contains a message, or most often, a rant, against a particular person or idea. The text is dramatic and bold in black-and-white, generally without a picture. Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) posters, which began to be produced on Israel's first anniversary in 1949, have become a well-loved tradition. Prior to each Yom Haatzmaut, graphic designers send their ideas to a special committee that chooses the poster design for that particular year. These posters are intended to express, in a colorful and graphic way, symbols, ideas and subjects that appear in the Declaration of Independence, including: peace, democracy, equality, Aliyah, settling the land, the development of the Negev, and the connection between the Jewish people and their country. Most of these posters display variations of the state symbols – Menorah, olive branches, Israeli flag, Star of David, blue-and-white – as well as symbols from the world of Jewish art. Yom Haatzmaut posters are an aesthetic and creative expression of the symbols, ideas, ideals and aspirations of the State of Israel and Israeli society.

Participants in the workshop will be shown ten examples of Yom Haatzmaut posters that were designed and displayed in the 1960s. In examining them, the character of the young state – its culture, style, values and symbols – is revealed. The idea is one of a kind of time-travel to a period 40 years ago – a more innocent world and perhaps a more Zionistic one. Accompanying each poster will be a photograph from the archives of the Government Press Office (GPO) in order to enhance the subject and the values the poster represents. Yom Haatzmaut posters from the past decade will also be displayed.

3Posters (and pictures) from the 60s:

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8Posters from the past decade:

Shiraz Volman

Amit Yaacovitzky

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Haimi Kivkovitz

10Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv (officially known as Tel Aviv-Yafo), located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is the chief city of the central "Dan Bloc" and has the second largest population in Israel. Tel Aviv is the first Jewish city, founded by the Zionist movement next to Yafo (Jaffa), therefore earning the title "the first Hebrew city." Today, the metropolis that it has become is the economic, cultural, media and commercial center of the country. It features Israel's financial and media headquarters, embassies, international representatives, the national theater, the Israel Philharmonic and other major centers of culture. The "White City" in Tel Aviv was recognized in 2003 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Old Yafo, the forerunner of the City of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is considered one of the world's most ancient port cities. It is mentioned many times in the Hebrew Bible (Tanach) and in other early sources, and for many generations served as the entrance to the Land of Israel from the sea.

Tel Aviv was officially founded in 1909 as the "Ahuzat Bayit" neighborhood, named for the group that founded it. The purpose was to build a Hebrew city alongside the Arab Yafo, which would include new Jewish neighborhoods. One year later, in 1910, the new city was named Tel Aviv and, within approximately four decades, grew to become several times bigger than Yafo. In 1949, after the founding of the State of Israel, the two municipalities merged and became the City of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Logo of the City of Tel Aviv: Additional logo:

Logo of Tel Aviv Centennial:

11This year, as in past years, participants (campers and staff) will be given a sneak-peak into the museum world, in which every object displayed is the result of the work of many people: beginning with the artists and through museum staff in different departments. Participants will go through the same process as an artist before and during the creation of his/her work, and as a museum staff member (using examples of labels, ads and invitations). The purpose of the three-week project is to create and display an exhibition, which will be on show during the final week, and include guided tours, activities and perhaps, if time allows, workshops.

The works of art will be framed and packed up at the end of the summer, along with an instruction manual, so as to prepare them to be displayed later on in a "traveling exhibition." The mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo sends his greetings to the participants of the project, congratulates and wishes luck to all, and asks to receive some of the works of art at the end of the project.

12Select techniques of artists working in Israel today:

Irit Hemmo Works on paper and sculptures .

Lives and works in Tel-Aviv Her workshop is used as a second home in which she lives from time to time. She is a lecturer at the Bezalel Academy and appears in many exhibitions throughout the world.

Technique:

Copying: using copy paper, not removing the copy paper before finishing, in a technique similar to film development, in which you do not know what the actual picture looks like until the very end

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David Tartakover Graphic designer, artist, curator and collector "I design my place. My relationship with the place where I live is inseparable from my work." David lives and works in Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish neighborhood built outside of Yafo. David collects nostalgic objects from the early days of the State of Israel. He has exhibited around the world and won many awards, including the Israel Prize. He produced a series of posters on the subject of "the people of Tel Aviv." Technique: Painted collage, acrylic paint on paper

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Yaron Goldfarb Paper-cuts Yaron uses paper-cuts in portraying characters and passages from Biblical sources, as well as still-life. Generally working from the center outwards, he uses a mix of geometric precision and rounded freestyle. Technique: Careful and exact paper-cutting

15Sima Sayag Illustrator and graphic designer In her illustrations, Sima uses minimalist lines and fills them with splashes of color in a variety of textures. She works principally with the computer but also goes back to her "old ways" and creates pieces using the more hands-on cutting and pasting, coloring and painting.

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In preparing for the project, which will take place during 2nd Session, a poster will be distributed among the cabins and on public announcement boards throughout camp (Beit Ha'am, Chadar, Kopin Center, etc.) and ads will be published in the Ivriton. The poster will contain four elements:

100 (in honor of Tel Aviv's centennial)

Portrait of Reuven Rubin (Israeli artist who lived and worked in Tel Aviv's early years)

The WWII-era "I Want You" beckoning hand

Informational

text

17Activity plan: First meeting: • Explanation of the process • Get to know the artists: cards with personal details and examples of works

of the artists in a variety of techniques • Brainstorming: Tel Aviv • Look at posters from the 60s and posters from the last decade, with special

attention to the poster's technique, comparing and contrasting, the displayed and hidden message and Jewish symbols

• Experiment with techniques • Get to know the terminology • See various images connected to Tel Aviv, including those created for

special magazines in Hebrew and English in honor of the centennial • Begin planning posters on the subject "Tel Aviv Centennial"

Second meeting and onward: • Learn additional terminology if needed • Begin working • Prepare radio advertisement • Prepare labels • Prepare ads for the Ivriton to advertise the exhibition prior to its opening • Prepare ads for the Ivriton to advertise the exhibition during its run • Prepare the exhibition space • Prepare Peulot Tzrif • Plan the exhibition opening

18Brainstorming: Tel Aviv

Famous Yafo bakery Abulafia אבולעפיה architecture אדריכלות

university אוניברסיטה bicycles אופניים Ayalon highway איילון .Allenby St אלנבי art אמנות

choices אפשרויות Bauhaus באוהאוס a mess balagan בלאגן

Opera House בניין האופרה Azrieli Towers בנייני עזריאלי

hotels בתי מלון cafes בתי קפה

jazz אז'ג gardens גינות

surfing גלישת גלים Dolfinarium דולפינריום .Dizengoff St דיזינגוף

fishing דֵייג drive-in דרייב אין HaBima Theatre הבימה

major cultural center Heichal HaTarbut היכל התרבות major performance space Nokia Hall היכל נוקיה Camari Theatre הקאמרי IDF central base, located in T.A. Hakirya הקריה Yafo clock tower השעון

memories זכרונות sunrise זריחה beach חוף ים freedom חופש parking חנייה

cats חתולים walking טיול רגלי

beach promenade Tayelet טיילת like Pinkberry yogurt יוגו sea ים

famous artist Yaakov Agam יעקב אגם Yafo יפו

Yarkon River ירקון soccer כדורגל basketball כדורסל volleyball כדורעף

Rabin Square כיכר רבין dogs כלבים

old Yemenite neighborhood Kerem Hateimanim כרם התימנים Batsheva Dance להקת בת שבע

Troupe liberalism ליברליות

Shalom Tower מגדל שלום

19 dance מחול

ping-pong paddles מטקות famous singer Miri Aloni מירי אלוני waiters מלצרים parties מסיבות designers מעצבים

street musicians נגני רחוב Neve Tzedek נווה צדק

famous artist Nahum Gutman נחום גוטמן pedestrian mall arts fair Nahalat Binyamin נחלת בנימין

Tel Aviv Port נמל Segway סאגווי

stand-up comedy סטנד אפ Cinemateque סינמטק celebs סלבס

foreign workers עובדים זרים Yarkon Park רק הירקוןפא

kiosk pitzutzia פיצוציה festivals פסטיבלים

traffic jams פקקים Performance venue Tzavta צוותא

famous artist Menashe קדישמןKadishman

bonfire kumzitz קומזיץ mopeds קטנועים single life רווקות Reading Power רידינג

Plant noise שרע

שדרות רוטשילד

Rothschild Blvd.

open-air markets shuks שווקים shopping שופינג

Bezalel shuk שוק בצלאל Carmel shuk שוק הכרמל

Yafo flea marker שוק הפשפשים Sheinkin שינקין

sing-a-long שירה בציבור sunset שקיעה backgammon שש בש Yigal Tumarkin יגאלתומרקין

תחנה מרכזית ישנה

Old Bus Station

theatres תיאטראות exhibitions תערוכות culture תרבות