Arts & Entertainment

Action Artist

Photo by Bo b Las ky

Michael Israel aids in opening of renovated DIA.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

M

ichael Israel steps onto a stage supplied with a
huge blank canvas and cans filled with paint,
improvises choreography to upbeat music
while working on the canvas and leaves after completing
a dramatic rendering of the moment.
The canvas, sometimes approached with two brushes
and other times with paint directly on the artist's hands,
also enters into the choreography — often turning as
colors are applied.
Israel, about to bring his innovative performance artist-
ry to the innovative renovation of the Detroit Institute of
Arts, will join a group of entertainers at a black-tie event
to celebrate the grand reopening of the museum, which
has been closed since May 28.
Other entertainers include the Alex Donner Band, DJ
Cassidy, tattoo artist Chris Nunez, Barcelona's hair-raising
street-theater company Osadia and the Cedar Lake Dance
Company.
The Arts Alive gala, which also includes facility tours,
will host community enthusiasts Saturday evening, Nov.
10, when they can add to the funding while having fun.
The museum resumes its regular activities at 10 a.m.
Friday, Nov. 23. Visitors will find new and expanded gal-
leries, arranged so viewers can make connections across
cultures and eras. A walk-through reveals more educa-
tional tools, including touch-screen computers.
At the helm of the celebration of infrastructure
improvements and 57,000 square feet of additional space
— costing $158 million — are event co-chairs Marianne
Schwartz, Mary Kay Crain, Jennifer Fischer and Carlita
Kilpatrick.
Michael Israel, 47, says he contributes "kind of a rock
concert with paint, and at times, the canvases will be
upside down and sideways." His unique act has been seen
at presidential and Olympic events. "I start out clean, but
when I'm done, everything within 20 feet of me will be
covered with paint.
"One of the exciting things about the music and the
painting is that it's not static like a painting seen on a
wall. Whatever the audience sees is influenced by the
music, the motion of painting and a little bit of the mar-
tial arts that have been part of my background."
Israel, whose only other appearance in Detroit has
been for one of the automakers, also has done portraits
of many celebrities, including Jewish icons as diverse as
Albert Einstein and Paul Stanley of KISS.
Although Israel never has visited the country that has
its name in common with his surname, the entertainer
holds a cultural Jewish identity and has been on stage for
Jewish charities. An upcoming show will be for the Jewish
Community Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.
"In my studio, I've done a piece for an Israeli friend;' he
says. "It's made of carved glass and metal and shows the
Western Wall and the view into Jerusalem. It also shows the
Dome of the Rock in 22-karat gold."

Wielding his paintbrushes like swords, performance artist Michael Israel moves in rhythm to music while
splashing his canvases with color.

Israel, based in Florida, has been doing artwork since
childhood. In high school, enrolled in a program for
gifted students, he was drawn to both fine arts and mar-
tial arts.
Starting out with drawing, Israel moved on to more
ambitious projects after finding paints in the family
garage. His first colorful design was a dragon capturing
the movement of his other interest.
With a father in the business end of entertainment —
providing carousels and kiddy trains at malls — Israel
got the idea for his act while displaying and demonstrat-

ing his work at art festivals.
"My work sold pretty well, and I started bringing blank
canvases and taking requests;' he recalls. "At times, I
would have as many as four separate canvases and all my
colors spread out.
"It's a long day out there so I would crank up the music
to keep myself going, and an amazing thing happened. I
would wind up losing myself in the music and paintings.
The paintings would be accomplished, and I wouldn't
remember doing them.

Action Artist on page 57

September 6 • 2007

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