Buky Schwartz (pronounced BOO-kie) ( he, בוקי שוורץ; June 16, 1932 – September 1, 2009, Tel Aviv) was an
Israeli
Israeli may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel
* Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel
* Modern Hebrew, a language
* ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008
* Guni Israeli ...
sculptor and
video artist
Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. ...
.
Biography
Moshe (Buky) Schwartz was born in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. From 1956 to 1958, he studied sculpture with
Yitzhak Danziger
Yitzhak Danziger ( he, יצחק דנציגר; 26 June 1916 – 11 July 1977) was an Israeli sculptor. He was one of the pioneer sculptors of the Canaanite Movement, and later joined the "Ofakim Hadashim" (New Horizons) group.
Early life ...
(1916–1977) at the
Avni Institute of Art and Design
Avni Institute of Art and Design is an Israeli art school located in Tel Aviv. History
The Studia school (later Avni Institute) was established in 1936 by a group of Jewish artists. Among the founders was Aharon Avni, who became the school's fir ...
in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
. In 1959, he moved to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to study at
Saint Martin's School of Art
Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of t ...
. In 1966–1967, he taught at Saint Martin's.
Art career
After returning to Israel in 1963, he became known for his painted steel sculptures that were predominately geometric in form. In 1971, he moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and began making "video structures" in which he filled a room with shapes that came together as a unified whole when projected on a video screen. He also placed mirrors inside sculptures that reflected the sculpture as a whole or certain parts of it. Schwartz also created conceptual art based on an exploration of his own body. He showed his video installations at The Cultural Space on
Canal Street in Manhattan.
Schwartz lived and worked in Tel Aviv and New York City until his death in 2009.
Awards and recognition
* 1961 Sainsbury Awards, Sainsbury's, United Kingdom
* 1962 German Critics' Prize, Association of German Critics, Berlin, Germany
* 1965
Dizengoff Prize
The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually by the Tel Aviv-Yafo
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb ...
for Sculpture
* 1971 Nuremberg Urban Symposium Purchase Award, Nuremberg Urban Symposium, Nuremberg, Germany
* 1980 Fellowship, Community Arts Partnership, New York, USA
* 1983 Video Art Award, New York State Council on the Arts, New York, USA
* 1983 Residency Program, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, USA
* 1987 Guggenheim Award, Guggenheim, New York, USA
* 1988 Sculpture Grant, National Endowment for the Arts, USA
* 1989 Annual International Prize for Video Sculpture, L'immagine Elettronica, Italy
* 1990 Grant for Publication, Guggenheim, New York, USA
* 1991 Painting and sculpture prize, Ministry of Culture and Education
* 1992 Video Sculpture Prize, Pollok Prize
* 1995
Elhanani Prize, Tel Aviv, for Integration of Art and Architecture
* Yehoshua Rabinowitz Fund for Arts, for his painted steel sculpture at Rothschild Blvd, Tel Aviv
Outdoor sculptures
* 1963–64 Altars and Water Channels,
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...
,
Rehovot
Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of .
Etymology
Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...
, Israel
* 1967 Pillar of heroism,
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
* 1969 ''Gates'', Yad Vashem, Jerusalem
* 1969 ''White from 0 Degrees to 180 Degrees'',
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...
, Jerusalem
* 1986 ''Memorial to Jonathan Netanyahu'',
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania
* 1986 Dead Sea Sculpture,
Ein Bokek
Ein Bokek ( he, עֵין בּוֹקֵק) is a hotel and resort district on the Israeli shore of the Dead Sea, near Neve Zohar. It is under the jurisdiction of the Tamar Regional Council.
History
Archaeological findings at Ein Bokek include the ...
,
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
* 1988–92 Painted steel sculpture,
Rothschild Blvd
Rothschild Boulevard (, ''Sderot Rotshild'') is one of the principal streets in the center of Tel Aviv, Israel, beginning in Neve Tzedek at its southwestern edge and running north to Habima Theatre. It is one of the most expensive streets in the ...
, Tel Aviv
* 1990 ''Metropolis'', 1990,
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
* 1996 Obelisk, Kibutz Galuiot St., Tel Aviv
* 1997–98 Capital, outdoor sculpture,
Isracard
Isracard ( he, ישראכרט) is an Israeli company that is made up of four different companies: Isracard LTD, Europay LTD, Aminit LTD and American Express Israel, which offers financial services – including credit card issuing, loans, cre ...
Building, Tel Aviv
* 1997–98 Pinball machine, Isracard Building, Tel Aviv
* 1998 ''Zig-Zag'', landscape sculpture, steel, Park West,
Ra'anana
Ra'anana ( he, רַעֲנָנָּה, lit. "Fresh") is a city in the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel. It was founded in 1922 as an American-Jewish settlement, 1 km south of the village of Tabsur, where an important ...
* 2001 "Leonardo" Ramat Poleg,
Netanya
Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...
, Israel
* 2002 ''Between earth and sky'', Kiriat Uno, Israel
* 2002 ''The Giving Tree'', Lavon Park,
Holon
Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...
, Israel
* 2007 ''Mosquito'',
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aroun ...
* 2011 ''Aviron'', Giv'atayim Theatre Sculpture Garden,
Givatayim
Givatayim ( he, גִּבְעָתַיִים, lit. "two hills") is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population o ...
, Israel
Archive
Buky Schwartz's family donated his archival collection to the
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...
, Jerusalem in 2019. The Buky Schwartz Archive is housed at the museum's
Information Center for Israeli Art
The Information Center for Israeli Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the Israeli art in Israel. Over 12,000 artists files are housed in the Center in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
History
As a research ...
. It contains some 2,000 archival items documenting the work process of the artist. Throughout his career Schwartz collected materials pertaining to his works including: handwritten installation manuals, correspondence, photographs, sketches, prints, negatives, invitations to exhibitions and other documentation. The content of the artist's analog video collection, approximately 50 tapes, consists of documentation of video installations, works in progress, and press releases including interviews with the artist. The video documentation of Schwartz’s installations illustrates the mechanics of the work, and the impact the work had on viewers.
The Information Center is in the process of digitizing and cataloging the collection to make the images more accessible.
[The Information Center for Israeli Ar]
website
/ref>
Gallery
File:Buky Schwartz Tel aviv campos.JPG, ’Metropolis’, 1990 sculpture by Buky Schwartz, Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
File:Buky Schwartz Rotschield.JPG, Sculpture by Buky Schwartz in Rothschild Boulevard, Tel Aviv
File:Levitation.JPG, ’Levitation’, 1976 sculpture by Buky Schwartz
File:Buky Schwartz Mosquito.JPG, 'Mosquito', 2007 sculpture by Buky Schwartz, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aroun ...
File:PikiWiki Israel 32304 The Internet Messenger by Buky Schwartz.JPG, 'The Internet Messenger' by Buky Schwartz, Holon
Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...
, Israel
See also
*Visual arts in Israel
Visual arts in Israel refers to plastic art created first in the region of Palestine, from the later part of the 19th century until 1948 and subsequently in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories by Israeli artists. Visual art in Israel ...
References
Further reading
* Bex, F., W. van Mulders, and H. van Pelt, ''Beyond Surface: Peter Berg, Benni Efrat, Tim Head, Buky Schwartz'', Antwerp. Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, 1980.
* Hanhardt, John G., ''Buky Schwartz Videotapes 1978-80'', Jerusalem, Israel Museum, 1980.
* Museum of Israeli Art, ''Buky Schwartz 1990'', Ramat-Gan, Israel, Museum of Israeli Art, 1990.
* Tel-Aviv Museum, Helena Rubinstein Pavilion, ''Buky Schwartz Sculptures'', Tel-Aviv, Tel-Aviv Museum, 1969.
* Videoart.net, 'Buky Schwartz Videoconstructions', with commentary by John G.Hanhardt, 2007.
External links
Buky Schwartz artist's website
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Buky
1932 births
2009 deaths
Israeli Jews
Jewish sculptors
Israeli sculptors
Modern sculptors
Israeli expatriates in the United States
People from Jerusalem
Academics of Saint Martin's School of Art
Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art
20th-century sculptors