Museums, Tel Aviv-Yafo

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Yitzhak Rabin was one of Israel's most famous and admirable leaders. His contribution to Israel's security was enormous, from the Palmach organization (before the establishment of the State of Israel), through the 1948 War of Independence, to the 1967 Six Day War (when Rabin served as Chief of Staff of the IDF).

However, in his later capacity as Prime Minister, Rabin is remembered as a man of peace, as the Israeli leader who signed the historical agreement with Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, for which hw was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. Rabin's tragic assassination during a peace rally, where he spoke clearly and loudly for peace, is still an open wound for the Israeli people.

The Rabin Center in Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv, commemorates this great man and has a very interesting, state-of-the-art, historical museum. Lots of video screens and audio excerpts, along with photos, documents and memorabilia, tell two stories in parallel: Rabin's personal biography and the story of Israel in the 20th century. The display is arranged in two circles: The inner one is the life story of Yitzhak Rabin. Out of every part of this circle, an outer circle can be entered, which tells the story of Israel during that particular period. If you want to learn about the history of modern Israel in a concise and very illustrative manner, this is, in my opinion, the best museum in Israel to do so.

At the entrance you receive an audio guide, which activates an audio presentation whenever you stand in front of an exhibit. Text, music and historical recordings are all part of this audio-guided tour. In the part showing Tel-Aviv in the 1930s a miniature cafe, typical of the period, was created. In the part telling the story of the mass immigration to Israel in the 1950s you can see a typical immigrant transition-camp ("ma'abara") and an agricultural village for new immigrants ("moshav"). In the room dedicated to the Madrid Convention of 1991 you can sit at round table and listen to the speeches of all participating parties.
The last hall in the museum is a memorial hall dedicated to Yitzhak Rabin, recreating the mourning atmosphere on the spot where Rabin was assassinated (on today's Rabin Square).

When you exit from the exhibition to the large balcony you can admire a sweeping view of the Ramat-Gan skyline, across on the far side of the Ayalon motorway.

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The painter who is most identified with the early days of Tel-Aviv is Nachum Gutman.

His vivid paintings portray the old Mediterranean-style whitewashed houses and lanes of Jaffa, waves breaking onto the walls of Jaffa, the promenade dotted with men sitting in a cafe, smoking their hookahs; the sand dunes, the first houses and streets of Tel-Aviv, two ships in the harbor facing us with small round windows that look like eyes, making the ships look like giant grotesque fish; and, most notably, the colorful human characters of the period: Ottoman officers with big moustaches, a Turkish pasha on his horse, veiled Arab women at the orchard well, Jewish housewives standing at the windows and talking to one another, a young couple in love with the sea and the sand at the background...
All of these are painted with love mixed with humor, sometimes cartoon-like.

Gutman was born in 1898, spent his early childhood in Odessa (Ukraine), and immigrated to Israel with his Zionist parents at the age of 7. His family lived in Neve-Tzedek and then in the first neighborhood of modern Tel-aviv, Ahuzat-Bayit. He studies painting in the newly-founded Betzalel School of Art in Jerusalem. Along with his painting career he also wrote books for both children and adults.

The museum is located in the quaint historical neighborhood Neve-Tzedek, in a historical house built in 1887, one of the first 48 houses of Neve-Tzedek. In the 1910s the house became known as "The Writers' House", as it became the literary center and meeting place for young Hebrew writers.

I visited the museum for a special event, which included the re-enactment of some characters from Gutman's books and paintings, and readings from his works: a sheer delight!

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TAMA is one of 3 world class visual art museums in Israel (the Israel Museum and the Herzliya Museum of Art the others). It may not spring to mind in the same way that MOMA, the Tate, Louvre does, but TAMA has a few surprises up its sleeve when you wander through its hallowed marbled interior.

A big, concrete bunker with many additions added to it over the years (founded in 1931), natural light and space abounds, hugely complementary to most works of art (although smaller rooms are available for more intimate exhibitions). The work is a real mix - and this is where the surprises are to be had - especially on the 1st floor: private collections have been donated to the Gallery. The history of modern art is to be found here - every conceivable artist (and a few inconceivable ones) to be found - 19th century Impressionists, 20th century Fauvists, Cubists, Expressionists etc are represented.

But they have enough space to present not only the permanent collection but also a number of interesting contemporary exhibitions. Generally, there is a focus on Israeli and Jewish work, but not exclusively. It's great to see such an important museum supporting living artists - in April 2007, I saw an exhibition of Rothko along with work by Israeli photographer Barry Frydlender, a 20 year retrospective of Israeli Nurit David, Ra'anan Levy, an Israeli living in France and, in the seperate Helena Rubenstein Pavillion, an amazing exhibition by Adi Nes. Contemporary Israeli art is internationally highly respected - Sigalit Landau, Adi Nes, Uri Gersht, Yehudit Sassportes are just a few names who have had major exhibitions at TAMA before moving on to the international arena with considerable acclaim.

A huge extension is currently under construction (2011) which will facilitate a number of permanent and visiting exhibitions to be displayed.

In addition, the Museum hosts an arthouse cinema (approx 150 seats) and the 520 seat Racanti Hall and the 200 seat Kauffman-Gitter Auditorium, both of which present world class classical and jazz music.

Entrance Fee (Museum): NIS 42

Opening hours: Mon & Wed, 10am-4pm: Tues & Thurs, 10am-10pm: Fri, 10am-2pm: Sat 10am-4pm (closed Sun)

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is the main museum in Tel-Aviv and one of the largest in Israel. There are not only Israeli art exhibitions here but also some international arts that presenting local and foreign artists.

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The Tel-Aviv Museum of Art has a very interesting collection of 19th and 20th century European paintings. Impressionists are well represented, with Renoir, Monet and others, all the way to Van-Gogh, Cezanne, Picasso, Mondrian and more. Jewish art and Jewish themes are represented by Chagall and others.

Besides the permanent collection, there are always interesting temporary exhibitions of contemporary Israeli art. There are guided tours and galkery talks, and in the museum's auditoriums concerts are held and quality movies are shown.

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The Museum does not allow you to take photos indoors, but I took a few of the entrance area, as you can see it is a great expanse of concrete set in the middle of the city. It does have some works by the best Israeli artists, like Agam, so if you enjoy museums it is okay.

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I like this museum it has something for everyone and you can really enjoy it! Because the museum is divided to small exhibition halls with nice garden between them it is great for families with little children as well. Main attractions are the glass hall, the coins hall and the changing exhibitions. On top of everything the museum is located on an archeological site - Tel-Kasila and you can see the excavation there. From this site you can also get a look of Tel Aviv skyline.

If you are an art lover and you have seen the Tel Aviv museum of art, and would like to see some more contemporary art, you have to check Raw Art. They have both a great gallery space and a beatiful showrrom where you can buy Israeli art.
I highly recomend this honest art gallery and the staff there is great as well.