The Beauty of Japheth in the Tents of Shem

Table of Contents (PDF)

This book is a tribute to the work of Professor Mordechai (Motti) Omer on the occasion of his retirement from the Department of Art History at Tel Aviv University. Mordechai Omer is one of the leading researchers in this country in the field of contemporary, Israeli, and modern art history, and has mentored several generations of students and researchers, continuers of his path, who are active in universities, research centers and museums throughout the country. The contributions of authors and artists to this book express their respect and regard for him and his work.

Arranged in sections, the essays in the book chronicle the rich diversity of disciplines with which Mordechai Omer’s research and curatorial work has come into contact, and reflect his influence on and commitment to these disciplines.

The first section, “Appreciations”, includes an essay that traces his research work and an interview in which he outlines his museal world view. The second section contains a large number of studies in art history, from antiquity to the present, and the third features critical essays on Israeli art. The fourth section consists of essays that engage with art and philosophy through concrete discussions of contemporary art, aesthetics, religion and literature; the fifth presents a miscellany of essays on architecture and museology in local and international contexts, and the sixth assembles texts that chart meeting points between cinema, theater, narrative literature, and poetry. The final section of essays presents tributes that were collected especially for this book, among them some written from a political perspective, two close readings of art works and a prose meditation.

The book also contains a section of reproductions of portraits of Mordechai Omer created in homage to his work by major Israeli and other artists.