Kotlyar Eugeny. «Boris Schatz and the Early "Bezalel": The Utopia of Art and the Art of Management», Цайтшрифт [Tsaytshrift] 9/4 (2014): 161-176. (original) (raw)

Abstract

School of Arts and Crafts `Bezalel`, founded by Boris Schatz in Jerusalem, and become known in history as the `Early Bezalel` (1906-1932) was an unprecedented example of embodiment of the Jewish utopia: establishing a community of artists in Palestine and making it a brilliant commercial project in the field of Judaic art. Its revolutionary spirit was in the mix of ideas including communal labor, uniting all the Jews around the `artistic tabernacle of Zionism` and laying the foundation of national art in their historical homeland. The utopian nature of the project was in its cultural divorce from the realities of the time, conservativeness of the artistic means, and artistic kitsch, which all ran counter to the era of modernism. `Bezalel` became a symbol of dreams and the difficult formation of the young Jewish state. Kotlyar, E. Boris Schatz and the Early `Bezalel`: The Utopia of Art and the Art of Management // Цайтшрифт. Журнал по изучению еврейской истории, демографии и экономики, литературы, языка и этнографии. – Минск–Вильнюс: Европейский гуманитарный университет, Центр еврейских исследований, 2014. – Т.9 (4). – С. 161-176. Kotlyar, E. Boris Schatz and the Early `Bezalel`: The Utopia of Art and the Art of Management, Tsaytshrift. – Minsk–Vilnus: European Humanities University, The Center for Jewish Studies, 2014. – Vol.9 (4). – P. 161-176.

Figures (6)

Fig.l The cover of magazine of Bezalel. Verein zur Verbreitung von Kunstgewerbe und Hausindustrie i in Paldstina und Nachbarldndern. general movement of the Chalutzim settlers who saw their goal in establishing themselves in Palestine and laying the foundations for the construction of kib- butzim. The romanticism of Schatz’s dreams and the new Biblical utopia not- withstanding, he accomplished the magnificent management project of setting up the first Jewish educational-productive cooperative with a running system of con- nections for the advertisement and sale of the articles produced and a large-scale promotional industry. The realized project included an independently published periodical (fig.1), advertisement booklets and pamphlets in different languages. international exhibit sales, charity funds and “Bezalel” branch offices open in a variety of locations in different countries. Students and masters of the School cre- ated model pieces in all genres of mounted and applied arts, and then introduced them into circuits of mass production.

Fig.l The cover of magazine of Bezalel. Verein zur Verbreitung von Kunstgewerbe und Hausindustrie i in Paldstina und Nachbarldndern. general movement of the Chalutzim settlers who saw their goal in establishing themselves in Palestine and laying the foundations for the construction of kib- butzim. The romanticism of Schatz’s dreams and the new Biblical utopia not- withstanding, he accomplished the magnificent management project of setting up the first Jewish educational-productive cooperative with a running system of con- nections for the advertisement and sale of the articles produced and a large-scale promotional industry. The realized project included an independently published periodical (fig.1), advertisement booklets and pamphlets in different languages. international exhibit sales, charity funds and “Bezalel” branch offices open in a variety of locations in different countries. Students and masters of the School cre- ated model pieces in all genres of mounted and applied arts, and then introduced them into circuits of mass production.

rooted in idyllic Biblical times, with European Jewish culture. Schatz saw the local population of Palestine and the whole of the Near East as the heirs of the Biblical Israelites, a view which comprised an important element of his artistic program. He attempted to direct traditional Palestinian crafts into the service of the Jewish national idea, creating a Jewish-Palestinian style, which “would reflect Biblical beauty and Eastern fantasy.” This led to a hypertrophied orien- talism, which began to determine the philosophy and the esthetics of “Bezalel” (Zalmona, 1981, p.27-29) (fig.2). Attempting to gain a foothold on the Eastern market, Schatz wanted to unfurl production, so as eventually to compete against the famous crafts production centers of Damascus and Cairo. Schatz offered at- tractive conditions for “Bezalel” masters, provoking a state of veritable agitation among the locals, who had an extremely hard time finding work at the School, with a success rate of about one out of ten (IHau, 1910, c.18-41).

rooted in idyllic Biblical times, with European Jewish culture. Schatz saw the local population of Palestine and the whole of the Near East as the heirs of the Biblical Israelites, a view which comprised an important element of his artistic program. He attempted to direct traditional Palestinian crafts into the service of the Jewish national idea, creating a Jewish-Palestinian style, which “would reflect Biblical beauty and Eastern fantasy.” This led to a hypertrophied orien- talism, which began to determine the philosophy and the esthetics of “Bezalel” (Zalmona, 1981, p.27-29) (fig.2). Attempting to gain a foothold on the Eastern market, Schatz wanted to unfurl production, so as eventually to compete against the famous crafts production centers of Damascus and Cairo. Schatz offered at- tractive conditions for “Bezalel” masters, provoking a state of veritable agitation among the locals, who had an extremely hard time finding work at the School, with a success rate of about one out of ten (IHau, 1910, c.18-41).

Fig.4 Exhibit pavilion of the “Bezalel” School in Jerusalem. 1912 r. (Shiloh-Cohen, N. Bezalel of Schatz 1906-1929. Jerusalem, 1983)

Fig.4 Exhibit pavilion of the “Bezalel” School in Jerusalem. 1912 r. (Shiloh-Cohen, N. Bezalel of Schatz 1906-1929. Jerusalem, 1983)

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