arts&life
exhibits
Amerika,
Franz Kafka’s unfinished first
novel (published posthumously
in 1927), is set in a dream world
that is not quite America — not
surprising, since the author never
visited the country.
Inspired by Kafka’s work, Tel
Aviv-born artist Tal Shlomo
Rosenzweig — known as Tal R
— has created his own fantasy
of Detroit from his studio in
Copenhagen.
The result is “: this is not
Detroit,” a solo exhibition of
seven large-scale paintings
rendered in a rich and moody
palate of blues that depict the
artist’s vision of specific Detroit
neighborhoods, including Black
— where am I? From that dizzi-
ness, I developed the idea of “:
this is not Detroit.”
Using primitive shapes and
symbols — waves, ships and city
buildings — drawn with short,
energetic brushstrokes, Tal R cre-
ates a detached vision of Detroit,
inviting viewers to consider the
city as not just a place but an idea.
In addition to the paintings,
Tal R has written a one-of-a-kind
52-page Detroit newspaper that
is distributed to the public at
the exhibition. That, as well as
the paintings, were completed in
Detroit, at MOCAD — the paint-
ings have come full circle.
Here, Tal R has a conversation
with the JN.
Detroit,
REimagined
Copenhagen-based artist Tal R brings
his visions of Detroit to MOCAD.
LYNNE KONSTANTIN ARTS & LIFE EDITOR
NAAMAN ROSEN
ABOVE: Delray. RIGHT: Tal R. BELOW: A papier-
mache wall displays the original newspaper
pages; copies are distributed to visitors.
34
July 5 • 2018
jn
Bottom, Poletown and Palmer
Park. The exhibit can be seen at
the Museum of Contemporary
Art (MOCAD) Detroit through
July 29.
Tal R studied art at the Royal
Danish Academy. A former
professor at the prestigious
Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, he
is one of the most renowned
artists in Scandinavia. During
a visit there, MOCAD Executive
Director Elysia Borowy-Reeder
met with him and and invited
him to Michigan.
“On my first day in Detroit, I
had lunch at an Arabic café,” Tal
R says. “I felt dizzy and thought
JEWISH NEWS: How long did
you live in Israel? Does that
inform your art in any way?
TAL R: I was born in Israel dur-
ing the Six-Day War in 1967. My
parents moved to Copenhagen
a few months after I was born
but every summer was spent in
Israel. I think the fact that my
parents called me Tal, which is
not a name in Denmark, made
people in Denmark always say,
“So Tal, what is your real name?”
Also, the fact that I was not
Israeli and not real Danish made
me somehow a person living
between countries. I am sure this
shaped my way as a human and,
therefore, undoubtedly my art.