Elyasaf Kowner
Encyclopedia
Elyasaf Kowner (born 1970) is an interdisciplinary artist
who explores issues of abuse
, loss
, control and love
for people. He has made over 30 poetic short films that were screened in festivals and museums internationally. Kowner was described as a "multidisciplinary who can convert anything to art
, design
, documentary
or other creative gold."
, Israel
. He is the third child of Carmela and Leon Kowner, a Holocaust survivor who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp
. He attended the Maale Hacarmel primary school, and spent 3rd grade in Oxford
, England
.
Kowner first received media attention while spending two years in New York (1993–1995), where he sprayed a series of graffiti works. Among them were the acclaimed graffiti
ads of sprayed high heel shoes, to which he added sentences such as 'Desire Has No Limits' and 'Pure Timeless Seduction', pretending he was a fashion designer who came from Paris by signing his graffiti works 'Elyasaf Kowner, Paris'.
In the end of 1995 he spent a few months in Japan
interacting with street passers using pantomime
, and later continued to study in Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
in Jerusalem. It was during a photography course in 1997, while in a student exchange program at the Royal Academy of Art (Kabk), The Netherlands, that he made the book Moments in Growth. The book contains one hundred double spreads that juxtapose black-and-white photos with text. Kowner later claimed "it has been a result of a mystical connection" and described a journey that lasted one day.
In 1999, his installation titled After my Death (1999) explored an imaginary death and contained video monologues of friends exploring memories related to life loving situations. The project won the Sandberg award.
From the year 2000 to 2003 Kowner wandered around the streets of Tel Aviv, talking to strangers and shooting videos. In 2002 he published Car Portraits, a book that followed a video documenting strangers in their passing cars. Despite the fact that inevitably, the camera creates a barrier, what happened there was a mystical, energetic connection between Kowner and the people he met as they are hidden behind the crossbars of their cars.
In 2003 after winning the ‘First Portrait’ prize Kowner received a grant from the Israel National Lottery, which was followed by an exhibition in the Tel Aviv museum. There he constructed an installation containing a living room like space with a TV screening Violent Emotion.
In Violent Emotion, one shot we witness a mixture of passion and violence between two people, one strong and one weak in a romantic relationship. The Macho male is revealed quite gruesomely in this work. Violent Emotion was later screened during Michal Heiman
's installation What are You Thinking? (2004) and deceived viewers who while being tested were sure the scene is fiction
. None of the documented reactions were ever passed on to the artist as promised.
In 2004 Kowner participated in the World Wide Video Festival, Amsterdam, releasing Aftershock, a short film documenting a scene right after a suicide bomb attack in Tel aviv
that occurred in Mike's Place
in April 2003. They were three men who came out without a scratch. They were still in shock during the those hours while the memories keep flashing back.
In the subsequent years his films and videos
appeared in numerous festivals such as Video Zone festival, Israel, Wro Festival, Poland, New Media
Art Festival, Korea, and in art publications such as Bizz Circuits play Intifada Offspring and the Italian
ffwd mag
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who explores issues of abuse
Abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
, loss
Grief
Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
, control and love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
for people. He has made over 30 poetic short films that were screened in festivals and museums internationally. Kowner was described as a "multidisciplinary who can convert anything to art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
, documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
or other creative gold."
Biography
Elyasaf Kowner was born in HaifaHaifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He is the third child of Carmela and Leon Kowner, a Holocaust survivor who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. He attended the Maale Hacarmel primary school, and spent 3rd grade in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Kowner first received media attention while spending two years in New York (1993–1995), where he sprayed a series of graffiti works. Among them were the acclaimed graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
ads of sprayed high heel shoes, to which he added sentences such as 'Desire Has No Limits' and 'Pure Timeless Seduction', pretending he was a fashion designer who came from Paris by signing his graffiti works 'Elyasaf Kowner, Paris'.
In the end of 1995 he spent a few months in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
interacting with street passers using pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
, and later continued to study in Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design is Israel's national school of art, founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri , who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle ....
in Jerusalem. It was during a photography course in 1997, while in a student exchange program at the Royal Academy of Art (Kabk), The Netherlands, that he made the book Moments in Growth. The book contains one hundred double spreads that juxtapose black-and-white photos with text. Kowner later claimed "it has been a result of a mystical connection" and described a journey that lasted one day.
In 1999, his installation titled After my Death (1999) explored an imaginary death and contained video monologues of friends exploring memories related to life loving situations. The project won the Sandberg award.
From the year 2000 to 2003 Kowner wandered around the streets of Tel Aviv, talking to strangers and shooting videos. In 2002 he published Car Portraits, a book that followed a video documenting strangers in their passing cars. Despite the fact that inevitably, the camera creates a barrier, what happened there was a mystical, energetic connection between Kowner and the people he met as they are hidden behind the crossbars of their cars.
In 2003 after winning the ‘First Portrait’ prize Kowner received a grant from the Israel National Lottery, which was followed by an exhibition in the Tel Aviv museum. There he constructed an installation containing a living room like space with a TV screening Violent Emotion.
In Violent Emotion, one shot we witness a mixture of passion and violence between two people, one strong and one weak in a romantic relationship. The Macho male is revealed quite gruesomely in this work. Violent Emotion was later screened during Michal Heiman
Michal Heiman
Michal Heiman is an Israeli artist, photographer, and art curator, a lecturer at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem as well as the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Arts....
's installation What are You Thinking? (2004) and deceived viewers who while being tested were sure the scene is fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
. None of the documented reactions were ever passed on to the artist as promised.
In 2004 Kowner participated in the World Wide Video Festival, Amsterdam, releasing Aftershock, a short film documenting a scene right after a suicide bomb attack in Tel aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
that occurred in Mike's Place
Mike's Place
The Mike's Place suicide bombing was a Palestinian terrorist attack on a bar in Tel Aviv, Israel on April 30, 2003, killing three civilians and wounding 50.-History of Mike's Place:...
in April 2003. They were three men who came out without a scratch. They were still in shock during the those hours while the memories keep flashing back.
In the subsequent years his films and videos
Video clip
Video clips are short clips of video, usually part of a longer recording. The term is also more loosely used to mean any short video less than the length of a traditional television program.- On the Internet :...
appeared in numerous festivals such as Video Zone festival, Israel, Wro Festival, Poland, New Media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
Art Festival, Korea, and in art publications such as Bizz Circuits play Intifada Offspring and the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
ffwd mag
Books
- Moments in Growth, (1997, published in a limited edition) is a photorgraphic book bringing the experience of a journey that lasted one day. Kowner made the book during 1997, while in a student exchange program at the Royal Academy of Art (Kabk), The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, The Netherlands. - Car Portraits, (2002, published by Janco Dada MuseumJanco Dada MuseumThe Janco Dada Museum is located in Ein Hod, Israel. It is a museum that exhibits the work of Marcel Janco as well as art from the Dada movement and contemporary art too. The museum was established in 1983, by a group of Marcel Janco's friends, with the purpose of conserving the works and ideas of...
) is an exploration of the gaze documenting strangers passing in their passing cars. The images are from the video Car portraits, and were all taken from the same location on the promenade in Tel Aviv, portraying the variety of those passing there. - 15 (2005, ISBN 965-70-67-60-X) is a CD catalog which followed the exhibition 15. It contains an essay by Ilana Tenenbaum and samples of the videos and still photographs that appeared in the show. The CD was released in a limited edition by Haifa museum of contemporary artHaifa MuseumThe Haifa Museum of Art , established in 1951, is located in a historic building built in the 1930's in Wadi Nisnas, Downtown Haifa...
. - Facing the wishes (2007, ISBN 978965717142-4) is a book containing the portraits and wishes of the children of Brenner primary school, Tel Aviv. Elyasaf Kowner met each of the children in person, talked to them and took their photographs. A portrait of each child appears in the book in an attempt to transcend the magical moment of making a wish.
Videography
- Murder Here by Artist, 6:30 min (2008)
- 6:40 (Pecha KuchaPecha KuchaPecha Kucha is a presentation methodology in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each, usually seen in a multiple-speaker event called a Pecha Kucha Night ....
), 6:40 min (2008) - Ya Syndrome, 5:10 min (2008)
- Jodey, 1:00 min (2007)
- The Laundromat, 1:40 min (2006)
- Polania, 2:10 min (2006)
- Red Light/Red Heat, 5:30 min (2006)
- Learning Pain from Trees, 3:00 min (2005)
- I will yet come to your threshold, 2:50 min (2005)
- In my Home, 11:30 min (2005)
- The Handed Thread, 5:00 min (2005)
- Making Poems in Writing, 4:00 min (2005)
- Houdini Triptych, 0:18 sec (loop) (2005)
- Green Grass, 3:30 min (2004)
- Dynamism of a Phone Booth, 0:40 sec (loop) (2004)
- Le Rendez-vous, 7:00 min (2004)
- Snow Way, 4:00 min (2004)
- Violent Emotion, 2:30 min (2003)
- Around the Fire, 11:00 min (2003)
- Fufyk, 4:00 min (2003)
- Triumvirate, 2:00 min (2003)
- AftershockAftershockAn aftershock is a smaller earthquake that occurs after a previous large earthquake, in the same area of the main shock. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock...
, 13:00 min (2003) - The Road to Knowhere, 2:30 min (2003)
- Dual Movie (with Boaz Arad), 15:00 min (2002)
- Call Me, 03:00 min (2002)
- Sunset, 8:30 min (2002)
- Car Portraits, 05:00 min (2002)
- Perfect Form, 01:00 min (2002)
- Diamond on the Beach, 7:30 min (2001)
- AmneAmnéAmné is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
, 08:30 min (2001) - Dad Explains about Weapons and Numbers, 5:00 min (2001)
- Every Time I am (reading) Somebody, 4:00 (2001)
- In the Center, 15:00 min (2001)
- The Painting, 7:00 min (2001)
- On the Shoulders, 4:00 min (2000)
- Up and Down, 4:00 min (2000)
- Sea Baby, 03:40 (2000)
- After My Death, 12:00 min (1999)
- Measuring the Distance on a First Winter's Day, 46:00 min (1997)
Music album
- Ressek Zar (2010, released by Hi Fidelity) The collaboration between Elyasaf Kowner and Uri FrostUri FrostUri Frost , is an Israeli rock guitarist, producer and director. Frost's dark and often intellectual art and music are informed by a sense of rootlessness and exile. As an introverted artist he has often refused to conduct media interviews...
yielded the music project Ressek Zar (from Hebrew lit. ForeignForeignForeign may refer to:*Foreign corporation, a corporation that can do business outside its jurisdiction*Foreign key, a constraint in a relational database*Foreign language, a language not spoken by the people of a certain place...
PuréePuréePurée and mash are general terms for cooked food, usually vegetables or legumes, that have been ground, pressed, blended, and/or sieved to the consistency of a soft creamy paste or thick liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., mashed potatoes or apple sauce...
). It is a journey into an ever changing identity exploration made up of nine songs that range from folkFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
to rockRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, expanding into psychedelicPsychedelic musicPsychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
and countryCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
combined with multiple classical motifs. The album was hailed as "the embodiement of pure art. Kowner and Frost are in constant search and they give the listener that feeling of going into a museumMuseumA museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of modern artModern artModern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
".
External links
- Official Site
- Art on the Elliptical article in the J.J.j., also known as Jweekly, is a Jewish website and weekly magazine in Northern California. It is owned and operated by "j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California"...
- Interview in Video Channel
- World Wide Video Festival, Amsterdam
- Info in Artfacts.Net