Michal Helfman
..................................................................................................................................................................

Michal Helfman, born 1973
The Owl, 2003
Painted polystyrene sculpture,
quartz lights, sound
Installation in Sommer Contemporary
Art, Tel Aviv
Collection of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Purchased with the help of the
America-Israel Cultural Fund
..................................................................................................................................................................
Michal Helfman juxtaposes an owl, the mysterious nocturnal bird that is an ancient Greek symbol of wisdom, with the glamorous nightclub world. Helfman’s owl, which she has fashioned in the style of the twentieth-century Israeli “Canaanite” movement, resembles a prehistoric fertility figure. However, as it is made from a synthetic imitation of sandstone, it also seems to be part of an elaborate stage decor. The owl’s eyes and the background against which it stands have the glitter and flashing lights of a nightclub, but the bird’s ominous, unfathomable gaze hints at a knowledge of ancient mysteries. In the background Roy “Chicky” Arad reads his poem “The Owl,” a work that underscores the tension between the magnificent traditions of the ancient world and the false glitter of today’s consumer society.