Yohanan ben Yaakov
Yohanan Ben-Yaakov was born in 1913 in Berlin, Germany. At the age of 11, he joined "Vanderspogel", a Jewish-socialist youth movement. Influenced by the natural landscapes he observed during trips with the movement, Yochanan Ben-Yaakov began to paint his first pictures. Another influence was the art collection and paintings in his home. The combination between the influences of nature and sculpture stimulated the imagination of the young man who was looking for involvement and innovation throughout his life and in art.
Father mother and child in purple frame watercolor, dimensions 57.5x79.5, year 1956
Yohanan's ideal was to be a farmer and with a group of young people he founded a Jewish agricultural commune in Germany. But in 1933 they decided to go to Eretz Israel where the group founded Kibbutz Zora.
Yohanan ben-Yaakov arrived in Israel with the great wave of immigrants from Germany in 1933, and since then he has lived in Kibbutz Zorea. In the same year of the establishment of the kibbutz, 1936, his work task was to dig defense trenches in Kibbutz Mishmar-Haemek, and for many years he worked in guarding the fields of Kibbutz Zorea - which explains his romantic attachment to nature and the landscape, to strong contrasts of light and shadow, shapes and colors. In his work, Yohanan learned to appreciate his Arab neighbors, for better or for worse.
In 1945 Ben Yaakov began his studies at Bezalel. His teachers were Mordechai Ardon and Theodore Aschheim. He exhibited in many group and individual exhibitions, and was always praised and successful:
In 1950 he won the Sam Dubiner Award.
In 1951 he won the Dizengoff Prize.
In 1969 he won the sculpture award given by the municipality of Munich, Germany, in cooperation with the Jewish community in Munich. Yohanan's work can be found in the collections of public institutions and private individuals throughout Israel, Europe and the USA.
Yohanan ben-Yaakov continued to create works of art with complete dedication until the end of his days.
In 2003, he died in Kibbutz Zorea, a few months before his 90th birthday.
Palmachnik watercolor drawing, dimensions 20 X 20 Cm
Ben-Yaakov was a draftsman, illustrator, painter and sculptor: he created dolls, decor and architectural decorations. All this through a complete integration of his private life with the ties that bind him to his work in the kibbutz - which required exposure and public social commitment. On the other hand, the artist in him is required to deliberate, to isolate himself in order to concentrate all his resources in his work.
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Larry Watercolor colors, dimensions 15x21, year 1952
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Kochva Watercolor colors, dimensions 21x15, year 1952
His first paintings were created in 1933 upon his arrival in Palestine, (there are no references to previous works for this year). Among these you can find watercolors of landscapes and the kibbutz.
Sunset Watercolor colors, dimensions 84x64, year 1936
Among all his techniques, the artist's tendency to create in relief and sculpture stands out, in which he found his most authentic expression; Here, too, preference was given to a very special material: wood. The mystical basis in the environmental experience is especially noticeable, which he converts into a plastic experience:
"I tried to work with other materials, with iron, steel, stone, marble, plaster and even plastic materials. I dealt with these materials but remained faithful to wood only. I love wood. I am a man of the earth, I love the earth and the plants, and the tree grows from it, I Feel him with my fingers, feel his breath, he is the one who challenges me, and with him I struggle."
Gumbo-Daudo, Wooden figure
Wood, dimensions 30x21x7
70's
tongue groove
Natural wood, dimensions 50x20x20
70's
But even in his great love for the tree, changes and upheavals occur in the way he relates to it and to it.
A tree symbolized the figure of man in the culture of Israel and of all the nations of the world, as it is written in the book of Psalms:
"...and man is the tree of the field planted in the water..."
Yohanan struggled with the tree throughout his life and overcame it: as if he wanted to give it a new life, and grow from it the wonderful artistic fruit.
Ben-Yaakov's works stand out for their large and plastic dimensions, and especially for their power of expression - three-dimensional works, reliefs and sculptures, made of wood, and on the other hand, it is surprising to see the sensitivity with which the artist is able to move from a sculpture of a monumental and large concept to the dimensions of miniature details, to which he devoted many hours of Love.
Among the materials used by the artist for the assemblages, you can find almost anything possible that can be imagined. Ben-Yacob lives up to Picasso's motto, who said that he never has to look for anything - he finds. Indeed, everything exists - Ben-Yakov only finds. He finds parts of a pitchfork or rake, an oar, a horseshoe, a blue plastic string, plexiglass rings, transparent glass panels and beads - and also parts of that wonderful piano that so luckily came to his workshop and served as his inspiration. So many creations. There are also other musical instruments that were dismantled, the parts of which were used to assemble new systems - violins, flutes and bassoon parts.
Mandolin Painted wood, dimensions 67x40x8, 80s
The Academy of Music in Tel Aviv held a special exhibition for Yohanan ben Ya'akov - non-functional, fantastic and poetic musical instruments, which by their very nature are metaphors for the various elements of life, for their tiny details and their enormous power. Most of these works are a kind of reliefs that hang on the wall. Some of them are mostly made from small wood scraps in various shapes - waste scraps from the furniture factory of Kibbutz Zora to which other components are added.
Other wooden sculptures by Ben Yaakov are found in a series of different contents, but always deal with the problems of man and his destiny, the flaws of the society in which he lives, or personal destinies, which affect each person, his strengths and weaknesses. But above all, an offer of hope that regardless of all this, salvation exists.
Ben-Yaakov, blessed with a gentle sense of humor and critical sensitivity, does not allow sterile aesthetic rules to dominate his works. All this despite the fact that his works appear at first glance to be wrapped in their beauty, following the first impression, the viewer becomes more and more aware of the contextual depth of these works, and the extent of human involvement in their poetic abstract content.
The artist goes through his works, demonstrating wonderful professional virtuosity, processing materials and giving them amazing tactile characteristics - from hardness and darkness to softness and brightness. From dark and gloomy colors to happy and refreshing colors. From sharp and aggressive angles to rounded and relaxed flows. Yohanan Ben-Yaakov is the master of contrasts and surprises, the master of eternal magical youth, changing the world to establish through his imagination and that of his viewers a better and more pleasant world to live in.
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Yohanan with a cigarette box on his head