Tel Aviv, Israel. Wandering through a maze-like building, losing track of where I am and superimposing this situation on Israel’s complex history.
A museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. This is a public museum. There are old time of European artworks, but also modern and contemporary artworks.
“When it comes to Israel, only flights heading to Israel have special gates at the airport, there are security checks, many questions are asked at immigration, and there are always security checks in places where people gather, such as shopping malls. It gives a disturbing impression. As expected, this museum also had a security gate at the entrance, and there was a baggage check. “Of course”, I thought as I entered to this museum.
The first thing that surprises me is that I do not really understand the structure of the building. It is complicated and I do not know where it is. There is something like a pamphlet, but there is no description of the floor map. There are information displays here and there, and many staff members were sitting in the exhibition room. I think that the staffing is supposed to guide the inside of the exhibition room. Personally, one of the conditions for a good museum is “the inside of the building is complicated and enjoyable”, and this museum meet this condition.
I think that the structure of the hall is well-designed, as if the exhibition rooms were scattered and the exhibition rooms were connected by a diagonal corridor. The design is an American named Scott Cohen. I think it is worth a visit just to see this building. There are artworks by Picasso, Milo, Dali, etc., and there are also local artworks. In addition, in the largest space, there are a huge painting presented by Lichtenstein.
There is a cafe in the basement. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s exhibition was held in the room next to the cafe, which is in a large space down to a long escalator. Almost all of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s famous artworks exhibited “Seascapes,” “Theaters,” “Dioramas,” “Portraits,” and “Architecture.” I did not expect to see this exhibition in Israel, where most of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s major artworks gather.
There was also a special exhibition on Jerusalem’s past and present. I felt it was persuasive because it was being held in Israel, a special place called Jerusalem, which is home to a mix of religious holy sites.
Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I visited on a Thursday night, the day before Friday, which is a holiday in Israel, but I surprised that there were so many visitors and that so many people in Israel had an understanding of contemporary art. By the way, it did not seem like there were many tourists coming.
Visited in 2019.
Basic Information
■ Name: Tel Aviv Museum of Art
■ Address: The Golda Meir Cultural and Art Center, Sderot Sha’ul HaMelech 27, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
■ Homepage: https://www.tamuseum.org.il/en/
