"Q & A Series: questions to an artist"

Plugged Art Collective member Raina Benoit's
"Q & A" series: questions to an artist with Hilla Ben Ari
Image: Hilla Ben Ari, "The Left Shoulder", Gallery 39 for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv 2008

You have lived in Tel Aviv for your whole art career. What does Tel Aviv have that is unique for artists compared to other large cities?

Hilla Ben Ari-Tel Aviv's art scene is very small and quite provincial when you compare it to art scenes in big cities like NYC, London, and Berlin. Despite its size it is very energetic and active.
The positive issue about its size is the accessibility and the personal attitude that’s created in such a small place. The negative issue is that sometimes the feeling that everybody knows everybody can be quite irritating and suffocating, and it reminds you that Israel is just a little spot on the globe.
Anyway, I think that the Israeli art scene brings together local issues and global issues in very interesting way, and that is why you can see more and more Israeli artists in the art world scene.

Would you describe what kind of work is being created by your artistic peers? Is political work about Israelis and Palestinian relations a hot topic or one to be avoided amongst artists and the Tel Aviv art scene?

It's very varied, so it's hard to raise specific points, but I think that touching personal aspects within the mixture of local and global issues, is quite representative.
When I'm talking about local issues it is also refers to the political situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Some of the central artists in Israel deal with this conflict as their main issue. I think that you can find the influence of this conflict in many other works of Israeli artists, even though it's not distinct and declared.

You come from a background of studying literature and then later sculpture. How has your interest in the written word influenced your work? Do you think the process of building with words is somehow similar to building with materials (ideas)?

I come from a background of studying sculpture (BFA) and later on I did the MA studies in the comparative literature department. Anyway, literature and theoretical texts have a strong influence on my works. At the time of my literature studies I felt a big jealousy to writers, for their ability to tell a narrative which is very specific and personal and at the same time it has philosophical and metaphoric meaning. In the field of plastic art there is still ambivalence attitude to narrative. I think the media of Video Art and its closeness to cinema change this attitude a little bit.

In your work there is a recurrent figure or nameless female that appears to be more symbolism of the general rather than a characterization of an individual. Can you talk a little about this female figure and how you began to use her?

This figure appears in my works after a certain time I used to create abstract objects that talked about the body without using the representation of the body itself. These female figures represent the general and the individual at the same time. Actually, this figure is an individual that hides her individuality and I'm waiting untill she can tell her story.

Do you find men's reactions or interest in your work to be different from females? What about certain types of people?

It's really hard to tell, even though my general feeling is that women identify more with my works. Anyway, I always like to be surprised.


Has the recession affected Tel Aviv's economy in a noticeable way?




Yes it does. I think it's a lot to do also with the mental factor.
Unfortunately it doesn't stop the increase of the Tel Aviv's rent market

Does Israel provide many national or local grants for visual artists to help maintain the Arts? In your opinion how are artists viewed by the Israeli culture?


Israel provides some grants for visual artists but in general there is not much support in Arts, especially when you compare it to Europe. The museums and other art venues working with a very small budget and it directly influence the budget that provides to artists for making new projects. This situation occurs because the lack of awareness regarding the importance of culture.

What are your favorite sources of inspiration?



Sometimes my inspiration flows from texts or from old pictures and strange images that I usually find in the library. Movies give me sometimes a great inspiration and of course life itself.


You were invited to participate in the 2009 Asian Art Biennial in Taiwan for which you are in process of preparing an installation. Can you explain your process about preparing your work?

On the 2009 Asian Biennial I'm going to exhibit "Diana"- an installation I originally exhibited in 2004, in the Herzilya Museum of Contemporary Art (Israel). In the last 2 months, I prepared the installation for the show in Taiwan, including recreating and repairing some of the installation's details. The process is also including an intensive correspondence with the project coordinator from Taiwan regarding the new site they are going to build for the installation, the shipment of work, timetable etc. "Diana" is a very complex installation which is composed of many units, so I'm trying to follow "my head" from 2004 and at the same time to be open-minded toward the new site-specific version at the Biennial.

You work in many materials ranging from bronze, vinyl, paper, cloth, to video. How do you choose your materials to work with? Do you have a favorite?


My works deal with the tension between strength and weakness, and this conceptual frame has a strong connection with my material choice. Anyway, I don’t have one way to choose the materials. Sometimes I'm starting with an idea or an image and then I search for a material that fits the conceptual and the technical issues, and sometimes a certain material gives me an inspiration and this can be the starting point of the installation. The materials are very important element within my process because they always carry a meaning. I like the challenge of working with new materials, or find a new ways to work with known materials. It is always about pushing my limits or learning how to work differently within my limitation.

Do you think of video as a material? Does it offer something that other materials don't?



My motivation to create my videos was to express a very delicate movement which is almost invisible. My images in general are dealing with movement and its limitation, so the video gave me the option to increase this tension. For me, using video is one of the ways to expand my artistic language.

To find out more about Hilla Ben Ari and view more of her past work visit www.HillabenAri.com