Since ancient biblical sites attract the most attention from visitors to the Holy Land, some Israeli artists and curators are now trying to bring the tourists' attention to the present by linking it to the ancient. They call it arteology.
Near the the Western Wall, a new literally underground exhibit is trying to link past and present: It is the first contemporary art exhibit that takes place in an active archaeological site.
According to the note published by CBN News, artist Nicole Kornberg-Jacobovici’s work relates to the Middle to Late Bronze Age, looking back some 3,000 years: “I had this idea of putting my pieces in like a cave, something that would connect it to ancient archeology and to the past because the works that I make are inspired all from ancient history,” said Kornberg-Jacobovici.
The head of the Archaeological division of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), Dr. Yuval Baruch, told CBN News that “one of the question(s) that I asked myself daily is how to build the bridge between the people and the ruins […] You know, most of the visitors […] come for 30 minutes, one hour to see the famous monument of Jerusalem.”
Seeing Kornberg-Jacobovici’s art helped Baruch conceive of new ways to connect people to archaeology. Since Kornberg-Jacobovici works with clay [ceramics], showing her work in an active excavation site was a perfect fit: “These are the foundation stones of the archaeologist,” Baruch told CBN News. “When we excavate, the things we find most are ceramic, are the sherds.”
