How does Eliahou Eric Bokobza's naive style reflect on his ...

A Naïve Reflection on History:
<strong>How</strong> <strong>does</strong> <strong>Eliahou</strong> <strong>Eric</strong> <strong>Bokobza's</strong> Naive
Style Reflect on His Biographical History
and Political Views?
דר'‏ מירב ירושלמי
קורס בחירה לתואר שני:‏ אמנות עכשווית-‏ אז מה עכשיו?‏
מגישה:‏ יונינה האוזר ‏–כפיר
ת.ז:‏ 244114110
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A Naïve Reflection on History: <strong>How</strong> <strong>does</strong> <strong>Eliahou</strong> <strong>Eric</strong> <strong>Bokobza's</strong> Naive
Style Reflect on His Biographical History and Political Views?
"The Naïve painting is very simple in its <strong>style</strong>, sometimes looks as
child- like painting, with very bright and cheerful colors. Because it was made
outside the traditional art historical continuum, it has a raw power and
universal appeal. Like music, it speaks directly to the soul." 1 The Naïve artist
creates a visual image of the world bringing together his memories and
feelings into a wishful remembering of the past. Most Naïve artists are self
taught, motivated by imagination "striving to embody the 'felt power' in things
rather that their accurate portrayal." 2 This appeal is brought on by the joyinspiring
palette of colors used and the simple nostalgic feel- as if it used to be
simple and fun. In order to understand and grasp this <strong>style</strong> it must be
separated from the Primitive art. Primitive art is more culturally defined and
located in isolated areas.
The term Naïve Painting sits well with the artist <strong>Eliahou</strong> <strong>Eric</strong> Bokobza,
although he did learn art, he did so at an older age then most. After owning a
pharmacy and not quite feeling inside his own skin, Bokobza decided to go to
Kalisher and study art. There he developed his own sense of <strong>style</strong>, in which
he associated himself "as a metaphorical descendent of the Mizrahi painters."
He cultivates the conflicts which are an inseparable part of his personality.
The conflicts between the east and the west, short and tall, man and woman,
dominating and dominated resides in <strong>Bokobza's</strong> mind and finds harmony. 3
When researching Bokobza the terms <strong>naive</strong>, childlike, and colorful
appear. These words attempt to summarize <strong>Bokobza's</strong> <strong>style</strong> and frame of
mind. In his works he relies upon his traditional background of being Mizrahi.
1 http://engel-art.co.il/artists.php?act=show&id=1072
2 Tuan, Yi- Fu, Realism and Fantasy in Art, History and Geography, 1990
לורי,‏ אביבה,‏ אליהו בוקובזה סגר את בית המרקחת שלו בתל אביב ועכשיו הוא מצייר,‏ עיתון הארץ 0242
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This is exhibited by the color scheme and symbolism used threw out his
works. In this manner he emphasizes his feelings of the outsider, the different.
His is quoted saying that he chose to become characterized in his authentic
and outright Mizrahi <strong>style</strong> of painting. "The kind that is easy to label as
misunderstood and primitive."
In an attempt to understand <strong>Bokobza's</strong> work it is important to
understand the concept. The Naïve type of work "has its source in a desire for
personal expression… lacking in artistic suavity it may be, but it is a source of
delight simply because its subject matter is plain… it is a <strong>reflect</strong>ion, direct and
unhampered, of life as it is seen and felt [by the artist]". Bokobza works in
such a way that he "seems to be painting in the spirit of a child." 4 The Folk
art, or Mizrahi art in his case, uses the ethnic characteristics found in his
background- while growing up as a Sfardi in Israel. His paintings are full of
luck symbols, and textile patterns.
While focusing on his exhibition The Boy Who Drew Cats, 2008
Bokobza relies on one of his favorite fairy tale from his childhood that his
mother used to tell him. This is the type of inspiration Bokobza often turns to
in his works. "He resurrects from the depths of memory an intimate and
exciting moment." By doing so, Bokobza creates an interesting dialog
between the child and the adult. Comparing the fairy tale to <strong>Bokobza's</strong> own
childhood exhibits many similarities. In the Japanese fairy tale, written by
Lafcadio Hearn, "the youngest son in a family of farmers is sent to the temple
to become a priest. <strong>How</strong>ever, instead, he has an uncontrollable urge to draw
cats. Later on the boy finds a way to a temple that has been abandoned after
being taken over by an evil goblin in the shape of a rat. The boy begins to fill
the space with drawings of cats. In the morning he discovers the dead body of
the goblin rat on the floor of the temple, while all around the mouths of the
many cats he drew were smeared red with blood." By using this fairy tale
Bokobza introduces his own childhood, of being an outsider and not fitting in
4 Harper J. Russell, A People's Art, University of Toronto Press
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at school. His goblin might have perhaps been his feelings of becoming
"normal". His victory being his red over-cote his mother had him ware over his
uniform at the time, thus becoming a dominating color in many of his painting.
This cote gave him the feeling of being unique, different, an outsider looking
in. "In the Japanese tale, as in <strong>Bokobza's</strong> personal history, cats symbolize the
link to the inner self, to the authentic, instinctive essence deep within the
artist's soul."
It is in this exhibition that Bokobza uses the Naïve to work threw his
fears and emotions on dealing with the missile attack on Israel at the time. He
makes the connection between the two nations across time, Japan and Israel.
The color red appears in the Japanese flag as the red sun, and the name
given to the warning of the missiles in Israel, red dawn. 5
Taking a look at his trio of self portraits, Self portrait as a lucky cat (see
index image #1); Bokobza portrays himself in a humoristic and comic manner.
The three cats are drawn similar to cartoon drawings "Chay" ‏,)חי)‏ the Blue
Eye- to warn off evil, and the Hand ‏.(חמסה)‏ By doing this Bokobza "challenges
the perception of cats as bearers of bad luck". 6
“…the general good fortune and fertility granted to those who owned a cat,
and above all the notion that the cat can be an incarnation of a spiritual
being... In addition, there are powerful associations with the cat and the
afterlife in a non- Christian sense. It is thought that the spiritual power of the
cat was so great that they were able to resurrect the dead under certain
circumstances... Cats are thought to have healing power… there are notions
5 Interview with <strong>Eliahou</strong> <strong>Eric</strong> Bokobza, 17.9.2010
6 Markovitch Dalia PHD, Alon Ktzia PHD, The boy who drew cats, Nelly Aman Gallery, Tel-
Aviv, June 2008
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that cats can control the weather and are the protectors of the sailors on the
sea…” 7
They also have a smile on their face- adding the similarity to the Cheshire cat
from Alice in Wonderland. This cat being somewhat devilish, mysterious and
quite mad.
"Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: ' we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're
mad.'…
'And how do you know that you're mad?'
'To begin with,' said the Cat, 'a dog's not mad. You grant that?'
'I suppose so,' said Alice.
'Well, then,' the Cat went on, 'you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and
wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail
when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad.' " 8
This statement made by the Cheshire Cat resembles <strong>Bokobza's</strong> feeling of
controversy. Bokobza states in one of his interviews that he has never felt
fully Israeli. In high school he made himself into the ultimate outsider, and was
even quite accepted as the different one. 9 In addition the cats have the same
characteristic that is most identified in his works- the big warm eyes, "that
seem to look at the viewer without really looking at him." 10 They are wearing a
goggle resembling one of a pharmacist.
7 Donald W. Engles, Classical Cats: the rise and fall of the sacred cat, p.128
8 Carrol, Lewis, Alice in Wonderland, first published 1865, republished by Forgotten Books
2008, p.48
9 Gibson Eetta-Prince, In Place, Across Time, The Jerusalem Report, 2007
רותם רוזנטל ‏,מרב היימן ואריק בוקובזה מציגים:‏ תפוזים ופוסט-ציונות,‏ 0242, עכבר העיר אונליין
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The other cats in this exhibition bring <strong>Bokobza's</strong> take on political views.
He relies on the assumption that the viewer must be somewhat familiar with
the literary or cultural source to which it refers. 11 His painting, American Cat
(see index image #2), shows a dark cat holding a bomb between his teeth.
This is an exact replica of the insignia of the original military unit. Bokobza
makes the connection between the cartoon- look and childlike painting to the
fact that the soldiers are in fact children themselves. The innocent cat holding
a bomb serves as a mirror to the cruelty of war and killing. This cat stands in
contrast to the rest in the exhibition with his devilish and manic expression.
His mouth is not in a smile rather in a monster sharp teeth attach mode. His
eyes, true to form, are big, wide and glaring at the spectator, however they
are neither innocent nor <strong>naive</strong>. What makes this painting conform to
<strong>Bokobza's</strong> Naive <strong>style</strong> is the basic color scheme and cartoon drawing of it,
resembling Oriental comics and cartoons.
In a contrary and yet corresponding manner, <strong>Bokobza's</strong> exhibition
Jaffa, presented in 2010 exhibited a series of drawings on cut out paper dolls.
Bokobza glued American carton cut out dolls from the 1940s and gave them
various outfits and scene settings. He situates the girls in the first decades of
the 20 th century, the beginning of the settlement of Israel, in the different
streets in Jaffa, naming them the original street name. It is here that Bokobza
defines a new past, creating fiction alongside a grain of truth and political
criticism. 12
The main figure, Alhambra (see image index #3) looks like an all
American girl next door. She is dressed in her underwear, standing in a very
innocent childlike manner. The scene around her is set in a Tzabari, Israeli
orange field, with a building holding the name Alhambra. Bokobza uses a very
11 DeSousa, Michael A., and Martin J. Medhurst. 1982. "Political Cartoons and American
Culture:Significant Symbols of Campaign 1980." Studies in Visual Communication 8: 84-97.
12 Dalia Markovirch and Ktzia Alon: Bezalel Version B, Artisrs house, Jerusalem, 2000
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asic color scheme of bright colors and sunny clear sky. The backdrop is
based on Nahum Gutman's paintings.
It is interesting to note that the meaning of the word Alhamra, in direct
translation from Arabic, is the red one. In child folklore this is interpreted as
“little red riding hood”. It is in this childhood fairytale that a young girl is set
out alone and is met with a wolf that plots to eat her. Both the girl in the
fairytale and the girl in the painting appear naïve and innocent. When in fact
there is a lot more to them and they merely seem innocent.
Other girls in the series are situated alone located on different streets
exhibiting the various looks and religions that could have been seen at that
time (see image index #4).
In another exhibition Zion's fiction, painting installation in 3 parts, 2004
Bokobza expresses a very complex and violent situation through what looks
to be a child's game. He combines fantasy, games and banishment of settlers
into one Naïve painting on a hologram paper. He manages to create
something in between the tangible and the mad. 13 The painting, Conveyor 1
shows a computer-looking figure with big eyes sitting on a tank carrying
buildings; the painting, Conveyor 2 shows a similar looking figure carrying
citrus trees (see image index numbers: 5,6). Bokobza keeps the color red
very dominant in both of the paintings. His paintings exhibit the feeling that the
politics are similar to children's computer games, his images only appearing to
be innocent.
Through researching <strong>Bokobza's</strong> paintings and works his Naïve <strong>style</strong>
takes on different meanings and understandings, as each layer of his work is
unraveled. His personal history and childhood experiences take a more
predominant place in the various paintings. He uses a tribute to other artists in
order to give his work an underlining basis and then changes the story line
and the history of the subject matter to fit his childhood memories. This
מלצר,‏ גלעד,‏ אמת נאיבית,‏ צבע,‏ ידיעות אחרונות,‏ 0221
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emphasis's the problem with using the Naïve <strong>style</strong> as an historical reference.
The refection in the Naive <strong>style</strong> is one of a child's point of view, or more
precisely of a grown up's memory and belief as to how it should have been.
Thus, creating a work that seems on the first glance as being superficial and
plain which may lead in a misunderstanding of the underlining agenda. This is
the situation in <strong>Bokobza's</strong> The Boy Who Drew Cats. His paintings of cats
drew most of the attention to the cat and not to the hidden fear and the
dealing with the attack on Israel that Bokobza was experiencing at the time.
<strong>How</strong>ever, once understanding what the artist was trying to do, or at
least understand where the artwork is coming from, the Naïve <strong>style</strong> gives an
interesting insight into a unique and different remembrance of a childhood's
history. In spite it's inaccuracies the Naïve <strong>style</strong> demonstrates how not only
<strong>does</strong> popular culture and folklore <strong>reflect</strong> on our political culture, but the
attention to the popular and folklore may in fact impact on our impressions to
the political culture. 14
14 Conners L. Joan, "Popular Culture in Political Cartoons: Analyzing Cartoonist
Approaches", Political Science & Politics 40 (2007): 261-265.
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Image index:
#1:
Self portrait as a lucky cat, 2008
Ink & Acrylic on Cardboard, 25x20 cm
#2
American Cat, 2008
Vintage WW2 Flight patch
Ink & Acrylic on Cardboard. 25x20 cm.
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#3:
Alhambra, 2009
Acrylic paint, Japanese ink, collage of paper doll and dresses on cardboard,
100x70 cm.
#4:
Afifah 3320 st 50x70cm
Fariha Iskandar Awad st. 50x70 cm Yasmin Salama st. 50x70cm
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#5:
Conveyor 1, 2004
Acrylic paint on Hologram paper, 40x80 cm
#6:
Conveyor 2, 2004
Acrylic paint on Hologram paper, 40x80 cm
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References:
Anderson, Kent, and David Baker, The Spirit of Folk Art, School Arts,
1993
Aviv, Naomi, Zions Fiction, Painting Instalation in 3 Parts, <strong>Eliahou</strong> <strong>Eric</strong>
Bokobza: Herzl and the Refugees, Nelly Aman Gallery, 2003
Carrol, Lewis, Alice in Wonderland, first published 1865, republished by
Forgotten Books 2008, p.48
Conners L. Joan, "Popular Culture in Political Cartoons: Analyzing
Cartoonist Approaches", Political Science & Politics 40 (2007): 261-
265.
Danto, Arthur Coleman, Primitivism' in 20 th Century Art, The Nation,
1984
DeSousa, Michael A., and Martin J. Medhurst. 1982. "Political Cartoons
and American Culture:Significant Symbols of Campaign 1980." Studies
in Visual Communication 8: 84-97.
Donald W. Engels , Classical cats: the rise and fall of the sacred cat,
http://books.google.com/books?id=VkqtGl7VN44C&pg=PA109&dq=ro
man+gods+and+cats&cd=1#v=onepage&q=roman%20gods%20and%
20cats&f=false
Eichenbaum, Pola, Naïve Art, 18 Israeli Artists, Tel Aviv Museum,
Dizengoff House, 1970
Gibson Eetta-Prince, In Place, Across Time, The Jerusalem Report,
2007
Harper J. Russell, A People's Art, University of Toronto Press
Larkin, David, Innocent Art, Ballantine books NY, 1974
Linton, Ralph, Primitive Art, The Kenyon Review, Vol. 3, Num. 1 1941,
p. 34-51, Kenyon College
Markovitch Dalia PHD, Ktzia Alon PHD, The boy who drew cats, Nelly
Aman Gallery, Tel- Aviv, June 2008
Markovirch Dalia and Ktzia Alon: Bezalel Version B, Artisrs house,
Jerusalem, 2000
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Oshima, Seiji, From the Collection: Naivety in Art, Setagaya Art
Museum, 1996
Reiss, Ifat, The Naïve World, GINA Gallery of International Naïve Art
Ltd. 2006
Seifert Lauren Sue, Real World Knowledge Facilitates Interpretation of
Paintings by Naïve Art Observers, The Journal of Psychology,1993
Sheffi, Smadar, Bezalel's Second Chance, the Jerusalem Report, 2007
Stevens, Christine, The Death of Authentic Primitive Art and Other
Tales of Progress, Folklore, 2000
Tamir, Tali, Jaffa, On the Dialogue between <strong>Eliahou</strong> <strong>Eric</strong> Bokobza and
Nahum Gutman, Nahum Gutman Museum of Art, 2010
Yi-Fu Tuam, Realism and Fantasy in Art, History, and Geography,
AAG, Vol. 80 No. 3 (Sep 1990) p. 435-446, Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
בוקובזה אליהו אריק-‏ ‏"פלורה",‏ 0222
מלצר,‏ גלעד,‏ אמת נאיבית,‏ ידיעות אחרונות,‏ צבע,‏ 0221
לורי,‏ אביבה,‏ אליהו בוקובזה סגר את בית המרקחת שלו בתל אביב ועכשיו הוא
מצייר,עיתון הארץ 0242
רותם רוזנטל ‏,מרב היימן ואריק בוקובזה מציגים:‏ תפוזים ופוסט-ציונות,‏ 0242, עכבר
העיר אונליין
שרפשטיין,‏ בן עמי,‏ ספונטניות באמנות,‏ הוצאת ספרים עם עובד,‏ 0222
http://books.google.com/books?id=D1wZuTutJbwC&printsec=frontcove
r&dq=roman+gods+and+cats&source=gbs_similarbooks_s&cad=1#v=o
nepage&q=roman%20gods%20and%20cats&f=false
http://books.google.com/books?id=r0yWikfDI8IC&pg=PA61&dq=femini
n+cats&lr=&as_brr=3&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
http://engel-art.co.il/artists.php?act=show&id=1072
http://larsdatter.com/cats.htm
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