Noam Braslavsky

Life

In the early 1980s Braslavsky studied at the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem, subsequently studying at the Beit Zvi Film Academy in Ramat Gan and completing his Master of Fine Arts at the Multimedia Department of the Düsseldorf Art Academy with Nam June Paik/Nan Hoover.

Works

In the 1980s and 90s he made a name for himself with his manipulative, interactive room installations, which he displayed in dark or black rooms (he speaks of “black cubes" in contrast to the usual white cubes). An especially well-known work, "Shelter" (concrete, steel, glass, Plexiglas and sea-shells) from 1992, came to a legendary end when it was set on fire in an act of sabotage years later at his major solo exhibition "Magic as Existential Need" in Tel Aviv; only the steel frame and the concrete pedestals survived.

Braslavsky’s works are traps that take their cues from sacred architecture, nature and society. He analyzes manipulative mechanisms that influence and control the human psyche, translating them in simplified form into rooms. Some examples are artificial wombs, purring machines, compulsive hats, labyrinths and enormous cocoons.

One of his very early works (from 1984), exhibited late and only rarely, but frequently copied, explores the abolishment of space and the dissolution of its boundaries, and can also be seen as a sort of virtual (miniature) stage for his subsequent creative work. "Blue" is a second head, a perceptual fuelling station that supplies nothing but pure blue light, suspending the perception of space for a time while promoting pure vision.

Braslavsky’s oeuvre since the 1980s includes far more than fifty major installations along with video works and actions.

On 21 October 2010, Braslavsky unveiled a life-sized sculpture of former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, who has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006, in a hospital bed with an IV drip at the Kishon Gallery in Tel Aviv. The exhibition caused some controversy, with Knesset member Yoel Hasson describing the work as “sickening voyeurism”, and Ronit Tirosh even declame in the Knesset: “This is not art!” Menachem Wecker from the Houston Chronicle anticipated the panoply of the strong reactions to this art work as follows: “But it will be interesting to see how viewers respond to the work. Will it be perceived as a piñata or a voodoo doll, or will it create a safe (aesthetic) space where viewers can transcend clichéd, extremist political discourse and use art as a medium to consider the man himself as he lies on what is almost certainly his death bed?”

Selected exhibitions

The Artist is a Curator is an Artist

In 2003 Braslavsky founded GdK (Galerie der Künste) in Berlin, shortly thereafter establishing the eponymous art association together with his wife Emma Braslavsky. Ever since, alongside his artistic activities he has also worked as a curator and artistic director. An overview of his work as a curator can be found on the website of the GdK ([1]) or on the artist's website ([2]).