Get Lost to Find Yourself in Tel Aviv

There's nothing quite as magnificent as getting lost in a big, lively city; wandering aimlessly around the streets; discovering it as you go. "When I travel and in my life in general, I’m always looking for those little surreal and magical moments that make every long journey worthwhile because they are so uniquely awesome." Oh how I wish these were my words. But unfortunately (for me; awesome for everyone else), this is a quote from Shimrit Elisar's DIY Tel Aviv guide that gives you the straightforward answer to "Where do the cool kids go?"

No more staying in the dark; no more missing out on cool festivals and events; no more being unaware of Tel Aviv's most adorable café's and trendiest clubs. After reading the guide from cover to cover, I got more inside info about the city than years of walking-around-until-my-feet-would-threaten-to-fall-off have ever taught me!

My excitement is justified, believe me. For instance, did you know that TAR, the Tel Aviv Rollers group hosts a Tuesday night Tel Aviv roller ride? Or that Pua café in Old Jaffa is also a vintage shop? Or that the Rak Shniya second-hand store is open daily till midnight? Or that Rogatka bar serves vegan, cruelty-free brunches every Saturday morning? There's even a list of cool, up-and-coming Tel Aviv based bands!

And if you're a tourist looking to discover the "city of life", the guide is just shameless enough to be perfect. It tells you everything you need to know for a wonderful vacation - from insight to the morning-after pill to an explanation to what is Sabiah.

So come, by bus, train or plain, and travel, discover and live! Directions are not your thing? Fear not! The guide comes with a map that spots all the locations for you. (Now you can toss your old GPS, or recycle, in the spirit of Tel Aviv.) There is also a blog, which actually initiated the guide, where you can find daily posts about what's hot right now in the city: http://www.diytelavivguide.com/blog. Do you prefer the aroma of freshly-printed volumes? Then there is good news for you! DIY Tel Aviv guide would be released in it's first-ever printed version this month!

Must-clicks:

Get the guide from the blog: http://www.diytelavivguide.com/blog.

DIY Tel Aviv on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/diytelaviv

DIY Tel Aviv on Twitter: @diytelaviv

Have you ever been to Tel Aviv? What is your favorite place in the city?

Step #1: IMAGE - Part 2

Click here to read the rest: Part 1, Part 3, Part 4

Keep in mind: 

• Remember that your personal image is not definite and as you grow and evolve, it would too.
• Don't forget to enjoy the process, because the "end product" is impossible to reach - there is always room for improvement. 

What other steps would you take to create your personal image?

Want to join me on my quest for personal image? Comment to join or tweet #JGIMAGE to be added to the list!  

Step #1: IMAGE - Part 1

Click here to read the rest: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

What is it?

Our image is the persona we project into the world. It holds within it every aspect of our being: starting from the way we answer the phone and ending at whether or not we lead the life we desire to have. 

To clarify, I will quote the undisputed information source of our generation [Wikipedia, that is]: "A person's self-image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change, that depicts not only details that are potentially available to objective investigation by others (height, weight, hair color, gender, I.Q. score, etc.), but also items that have been learned by that person about himself or herself, either from personal experiences or by internalizing the judgments of others."


In short, self image is the combination of the way we see ourselves, and the way we present ourselves to others. It is the answer to the question: "What do you want to be?".

Why should we give a D'?

I believe out image is more than just a logo we plan upon ourselves. It reflects our values and beliefs, and manifests our goals. By being loyal to our image - our personalities - we could shape our lives to be profound proclamations. 

• In order to define the way you want to present yourself to others, and to create that presentation, you need to figure out who you are as a person. Thus, working on our personal image helps us get to know ourselves better.
• Nowadays, when our lives are displayed online for everyone to see, people determine their first impressions based on the content we put out there. Having a defined image would help us showcase ourselves in the most accurate and most positive way. 

What do you think? Do you think a personal image is important? Have you defined yours? 

I'm a Sucker For Quotes

Holon Design Week, 8-11/4, 2012

Getting into design school is hard; graduating from said school is hard; finding a job is hard; succeeding is hard - this is what everyone says. However, the people who've been there and done that have a more positive outlook. Here are my top favorite quotes from the exhibition "Designers +10" currently shown at the Holon Design Museum.

Source: http://www.myshland.com/

Source: http://dmh.org.il/heb/

Source: http://itamarburstein.com

Source: http://www.aditalela.com

Source: http://www.samlil.co.il

Which one is your favorite?
Do you have any quotes that inspire you? Post them here! 

Tel Aviv University Spring Semester Lectures

The famed lawn is trimmed and pretty, and the stock of coffee cups is refreshed - Tel Aviv University is ready to open the Spring semester. These news may come as a downer to the already-overworked students. However, for those of us who have already graduated, or those who are anxiously trying to get in, it's quite a joyful notice. Why, you ask? TAU's School of Architecture is planning to host numerous lectures and events this semester:

Sunday 22.04

Dani Karavan, artist
Fastlicht Auditorium, Mexico Building, 7:00 PM

Sunday 29.04

Prof. Arch Stephen Kieran, Kieran-Timberlake Architects, Philadelphia
Fastlicht Auditorium, Mexico Building, 7:00 PM

Wednesday 02.05

Architectural Education 2: Discussion on Education Methods in the Design Studio
With ASOA studio instructors: Prof. Arch Amnon Baror,
Dr. Arch. Talia Margalit, Dr. Arch. Efrat Lieberthal, Dr. Arch. Noam Austerlitz, Arch. Ayala Ronel, Arch. Tula Amir
Hall 206A, Mexico Building, 4:00 PM

Sunday 06.05

Prof. Arch. Dan Eytan, Eytan Architects
A film by Matan Guggenheim on the occasion of Dan Eytan’s 80th birthday and a lecture
Fastlicht Auditorium, Mexico Building, 7:00 PM

Sunday 13.05

The David Azrieli Lecture:
Prof. Arch. Wolf D. Prix, Coop Himmelb(l)au, Vienna
Bar Shira Auditorium, 7:30 PM

Sunday 20.05

Arch. Brendan Macfarlane, Jakob-Macfarlane Architects, Paris
Fastlicht Auditorium, Mexico Building, 7:00 PM

Wednesday 30.05

Architectural Education 3: Sustainable and Green Architecture
Hall 206A, Mexico Building, 4:00 PM

Sunday 10.06

Prof. Arch. Terry Knight, MIT, Cambridge, MA
Fastlicht Auditorium, Mexico Building, 7:00 P

ADMISSION IS FREE / and we,  as the brochure puts it," ARE CORDIALLY INVITED".

My calendar is already marked!Hope to see you there.

I am a Berliner

Actually, I am not a Berliner, and my hereditary relation to Germany is painfully slim. However, it didn't hinder me from enjoying an exhibition with that name that is exhibited right now in the HELENA RUBINSTEIN PAVILION FOR CONTEMPORARY ART in Tel Aviv. "The exhibition seeks to counter the international tendency to see contemporary Berlin as clichéd revival of the Weimar-era city, as well as the assumption that the art produced in Berlin is inevitably shaped by an underlying political motivation. At present, the city of Berlin is being shaped by a whole new series of historical and material realities. Like the individual practices examined in the context of this exhibition, it remains a work in progress, while celebrating a plurality of creative voices." [1]

Favorite Color Palette

Michelle Jezierski, set, 2011, oil on canvas
Courtesy of the artist and Contemporary Fine Art, Berlin
Photo source: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Color chips created at Chip It!

The colors of the painting create a serene atmosphere. The grey and neutral shades create a calm, slightly cool base and the two dominant pigments - which complete each other across the color wheel - contribute to the overall harmony of the palette.
If asked [please, do ask!], I would name this palette "A Snowy Winter Dawn".


Favorite Technique

Gregor Hildebrandt, Hanging Garden (Cure), 2011, Cassette tapes, adhesive tapes and dispersion paint on canvas
Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Wentrup, Berlin
Photo source: Tel Aviv Museum of Art

This piece was created using cassette tapes, adhesive tape and paint. When you take a closer look, you see that the entire composition is constructed of long, painted white strips. 


Favorite Reminder of Another Favorite

Christian Hoischen, Butterfly, 2011, Enamel and fiberglass on plystyrene
Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Barbara Thumm, Berlin
Photo source: Tel Aviv Museum of Art

The Artist, 2011, Michel Hazanavicius

Perhaps this is what "The Artist" would look like after one too many bottles of fine German beer? 

And, last but definitely not least:

Best Picture [Literally]

Clemens Kraus, Untitled, 2007, Chromosomes, oil on canvas
Photo source: Dominik Mersch Gallery

When I first saw this piece, I stopped and said [probably louder than I should have] "Wow!". It was just that - wow : a big white canvas hanging on a wall with nothing on it but a few heads. Who are they? What do they look like? Where are they going and what are they thinking? We, the audience, have no clue - and that's the beauty of the painting. With no faces to reveal emotions, no bodies to define genders and no background to tell a story, this painting is subjected entirely to our personal interpretations. 


What did I see? I saw people who's lives are completely occult from the eye of the beholder. "We're not as plain as we seem", they say, "there's much more to us underneath the surface".


And there sure is something there. For the very least, numerous layers of paint. For the painting was created with crude, thick brush strokes of thick oil paint.


In short, if you are looking for a ridiculously pricey gift for me [how could you not be], this is it, in all it's glory. 

Have you been to the exhibition? Have you seen the pieces in other galleries? I would love to hear your thoughts! 

My Take On: Buildings

An exciting building …

An exciting building would be a structure that has a presence – a building that intrigues the person, invites him to peek in, and that has an immediate influence on the visitor. I think a visit to a successful building should leave a memory. The visitor should be able to recall how he felt when he first entered it, how he wanted to react and to behave. The building should have some effect on the everyday conduct of the visitor.

Do you agree? Disagree? How do you define an exciting building? 

What is the new black?

What do you mean what is the new black? Black is black. 

What do you think about a black and white aesthetic? 

Krzysztof Wodiczko at Tel Aviv University

On January 15 the artist Krzysztof Wodiczko gave a lecture at Tel Aviv University about his work. And I, being the architecture geek that I am, obviously attended [and took notes shamelessly, I admit with a sly smile]  

So, first, a quick intro:

Krzysztof Wodiczko (born 1943 is Warsaw, Poland) is a video mapping artist with a long history of creation behind him. His works are large-scale and site-specific and deal with social issues such as memory, trauma, immigration, alienation, and human rights. His projections usually feature real people and share their stories. He now teaches at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. 

One project that I especially liked was a public projection on the façade of the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland (2006).

The project reveals the illegal immigrants in Switzerland. As they share their sometimes horrible experiences, their identities remain secret and all we can see is a few pairs of legs. This position – sitting on top of buildings with their legs hanging down, Wodiczko says, is stereotypically common for the immigrants. I think this design is strong and moving. It gives people to opportunity to open up and tell the truth as it is, without risking exposing their identity and involving themselves in any consequences.

I also find the choice of the location of the work quite genius. The screening on top of the Kunstmuseum –Switzerland's most prominent art museum, a palace of culture even - presents the sometimes inhumane experiences with an interesting sense of irony.  

Are you familiar with Wodiczko's work? What do you think about this project?

Sources:

http://www.interrogative.org

http://www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/

Windy Tel Aviv

A sketch of Dizingof Square in Tel Aviv, on a windy winter day.