Tamar Hirschl
New York, NY
USA
Tamar Hirschl was born in Zagreb, Croatia and relocated to Israel in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Garnering solo exhibitions in Israel, Europe, and the United States, she established a successful artistic career in Israel before moving to New York City in 1999.
Since opening her New York studio, Tamar’s works have grown larger in format, more daring in materials and techniques, and more expressive in response to her new surroundings.
Tamar began painting wall-sized murals on vinyl in 2001, mixing techniques used in historical mural painting with the powerful format of billboard advertising. Using collage and digital printing in addition to painting, Tamar combined personal memories of disaster with global confrontations.
Collage has always been a major element of Tamar’s work, and often represents archaeology of intimate feelings. In 2004, Tamar began exploring the use of collage in greater depth with her Civilization series, consisting of three-dimensional works which contain human and environmental elements in aquariums of cast acrylic resin, depicting the clash between the natural world and the man-made.
As a response to the intrusive impact that man’s progress has had on the environment and habitats of animals, Tamar began working with deer imagery during a residency at Cooper Union in 2005. Deer appear frequently in Tamar’s work and are representative of the fragility of animal life in the face of human intervention.
Tamar’s recent work continues to address environmental issues and call attention to the relationship between humans and the natural environment. Works such as Tamar’s interactive installation piece Exchange Point deal with the importance of preserving ecological balance during a time of rapid developmental progress in the civilized world.
Recently, Tamar has been making use of collage techniques by combining found and recycled materials into a new series of sculptures. As Tamar collected detritus, she began to focus on the accumulation of artifacts from our disposable culture, and our indifference to where our trash comes from and what it becomes. By asking the viewer to interact with our garbage in a different way, Tamar initiates a conversation about the relationship of a disposable economy to both the environment and to the practice and business of selling art. Her work continues to raise consciousness about our own needs and the needs of others.
Feminist Artist Statement
In my view, women, like all humans, have a right to freedom, and feminism’s role is to ensure women’s freedom and equality of opportunity in all spheres of life, whether that means art, family, or any of the other myriad experiences the world offers.
Previous generations of women were abused and marginalized, and this injustice continues in many parts of the world today. As human beings, women deserve to have dignity, opinions, and the right to make their own decisions. As living creatures we have the right to freedom and equality.
I have looked to art as a filtering mechanism ever since my childhood and my emigration to Israel from Croatia in the aftermath of the Holocaust. It is a filter on the lens of life that allows me to visualize, from a distance, the pain, destruction and suffering of my childhood. I use the act of art making as a means to build both imaginary and real bridges between my memories of the past and my hopes for the future. Art is the primary way I express myself and try to make sense of the world. I am very alert to injustice and try to use my art to influence positive change.
In my art, I focus on raising awareness of women’s rights and speaking out for those who cannot speak out for or protect themselves, including animals and nature. I hope that my work will help end the cycle of abuse that has gone on for so long, and support the autonomy of all living creatures.
Untitled (Deer 348)
Untitled (Deer 348)
Sea Cry
Civilization I
This sculpture is part of a series of three dimensional works, Civilization, which contain human and environmental elements in aquariums of cast acrylic resin, depicting the clash between the natural world and the man-made. I hope to use these works as studies for larger, life-sized installations.
Civilization V
This sculpture is part of a series of three dimensional works, Civilization, which contain human and environmental elements in aquariums of cast acrylic resin, depicting the clash between the natural world and the man-made. I hope to use these works as studies for larger, life-sized installations.
Deer Watch
I began painting wall-sized murals on vinyl in 2001. The murals show my shock and sorrow at a world inflicted by war, ethnic struggles, terrorism and global unrest. Although these are inspired by my experience surviving and observing the calamities brought on by a modern world of conflict—such as the Holocaust, September 11th, and the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster—they are also a means by which I hope to call attention to the relationships of contemporary strife - between progress and destruction, between future and past.
I mix techniques used in historical mural painting with the large scale and powerful format of billboard advertising. Using collage and digital printing in addition to painting, I am attempting to combine personal memories of disaster with images of more recent global confrontations. I hope my assemblage of images, words, and “passages” from many different areas suggests that there can be a unity amongst divergent elements, the final product giving this concept an importance on both an individual and a universal level.
Trauma
I began painting wall-sized murals on vinyl in 2001. The murals show my shock and sorrow at a world inflicted by war, ethnic struggles, terrorism and global unrest. Although these are inspired by my experience surviving and observing the calamities brought on by a modern world of conflict—such as the Holocaust, September 11th, and the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster—they are also a means by which I hope to call attention to the relationships of contemporary strife - between progress and destruction, between future and past.
I mix techniques used in historical mural painting with the large scale and powerful format of billboard advertising. Using collage and digital printing in addition to painting, I am attempting to combine personal memories of disaster with images of more recent global confrontations. I hope my assemblage of images, words, and “passages” from many different areas suggests that there can be a unity amongst divergent elements, the final product giving this concept an importance on both an individual and a universal level.
Exchange Point
Eco Project is an interactive public art project which was originally installed at NurtureArt gallery as part of the Demo Eco M.O. exhibition, curated by Linda Weintraub. During its installation at the gallery, some viewers contributed or removed items from the installation, as per the Exchange Point directions, while others chose to respond to Exchange Point through performance and drawing. The directions posted were as follows:
Exchange Point directions:
Visitors and gallery staff are invited to remove and keep any of the inventoried items on display in this work for re-use, and to fill empty containers with discarded items from the gallery or their own collections. Each exchange is recorded and may be posted online.
Before removing item:
1. Find the item’s label number or the number of its specific container in the log book
2. Record the borrower’s name, date, item, quantity taken, and if possible, a note of what the item will be used for in the log book
Before contributing an item:
1. Find the number of the specific container where the item will be stored in the log book. If your item does not fit into a container, ask the gallery
staff to shelve the item for you and create a new label number for the item
2. Record the contributor’s name, date, item, email and quantity donated in the log book
Websites
Contact
601 W 26th St, Suite 1450
New York, NY 10001
USA
CV
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