Students in Yeshivat 91影视鈥檚 12th grade mixed media elective and 12th grade honors art recently created abstract works reflecting the students鈥 thoughts and feelings about anti-Semitism over the past year. To introduce them to the complexities of abstract art, they had the opportunity to hear from Argentinian-Israeli artist Laura Murlender, who, at age 19, as a result of her Zionist affiliations, was abducted and tortured by Argentinian forces for 11 days, while the country was under military rule in the 1970s. (During this time, 30 thousand people disappeared.) After Murlender鈥檚 release, she moved to Israel, where she utilized art as part of her healing process and attended Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Murlender spoke about her life as well as went into depth about her work, giving the students a new perspective about abstract art.
鈥淭he talented speaker challenged us to look beyond our current understanding of art,鈥 said 12th grade honors art student Naomi Mosbacher. 鈥淪he taught us how to portray emotion and feelings, using our knowledge of the principles of design.鈥
91影视 Visual Arts Program Director Ahuva Winslow noted that although the students鈥 work could have focused entirely on the bloody, grim nature of recent anti-Semitic events, all the students included hopeful elements within their works鈥攕omething that was entirely their choice and not influenced by her instruction. 鈥淭here is something positive in every piece which was their natural reaction to what they were expressing, which is so beautiful,鈥 said Winslow. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a naive thing. They understand in such a sophisticated way that with all the terrible things going on there is some overarching reason or force, and they express it so naturally.鈥