The world of Israeli illustration has been gaining momentum in recent years, and for the first time an entire museum will dedicate its space to it. This will take place during a unique move at the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, where eight new exhibitions and projects prepared by more than 30 artists from different generations will be presented. The project, called "Tell Me More: Moves in Contemporary Illustration," was curated by Yuval Sa'ar, and according to him, "this is the first time something like this has happened in Israel."
In an interview with Israel Hayom, Saar says: "We don't see almost any illustration exhibitions in the world either, and certainly not that a museum devotes its entire area to it. Another peculiarity is that this time we asked illustrators to prepare works on a specific subject, and not those of historical interest or retrospective."
From Ofra Amit's work, as part of the exhibition "Tell Me More - Following the Graphic Novel",
In one exhibition, "Tell Me More: Following the Graphic Novel," artists who wrote an illustrated graphic novel over the past decade were asked to return to the book they had published. "I asked them to tell them more – what happened before and after, what happened to one of the characters, what happened to them since they released it. The only limit was that they weren't allowed to do a book, because they had already done that. Everyone chose a different strategy. The works were submitted in formats such as ceramic illustrations, murals, animation and more."
Illustration is still perceived as a genre for children.
"It's the first art form that children are exposed to, and it's okay for it to be identified with them. We treat illustration as an artistic medium in every respect. In the past, photography, for example, was not perceived as art. This will also happen to the field of illustration, and the truth is that it is already happening. It is true that there are illustrations created for instruction manuals, animation for children, etc., but illustration also exists as an artistic medium in which the illustrator creates his art. There are other facets to this field, and we invite children and adults to enjoy the exhibitions."
"Tell Me More: Moves in Contemporary Illustration" will be on display starting July 22 at the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art.
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