The Phantoms Project: On Dark Tourism and Memory Culture
For over a decade I am traveling around the world, searching for relics of Totalitarian Systems. In 33 such journeys, I have visited bunkers, prisons, concentration camps, as well as memory sites, and took over 20,000 frames. All these places are part of a wider phenomenon that received the name “Dark Tourism”. All around the world places of atrocities exist.
In this talk I will deal with the way memory culture is being reflected: What can we learn from the past and what are the differences between various societies and their reaction to their past?
Hitler Now: Contemporary Israeli Art/Nazi Symbols
Is the appearance of Hitler in contemporary Israeli art nothing more than a provocation? Are we looking at another stage of “Fascinating Fascism”, namely are people were enchanted by fascism? Is it a worldwide phenomenon, or an Israeli one? Why do artists choose to get inside the head of the Führer? Why do they copy his art? What can they learn from holding the paintbrush exactly as he did? Why is there a personification-obsession with Hitler in Israeli culture? Is the appearance of ‘Hitler Now’ an analogy to the left- wing political movement ‘Peace Now’? These very troubling questions are at the center of my talk, and the answers I will give are hints or fragments still developing.
Prof. Dana Arieli
History professor & photographer
Israel
English, Hebrew
Professor Arieli received her Ph.D. from the Hebrew University. Her research deals with the interrelations between art and politics in totalitarian regimes. In the last decade, she has expanded her research interests and also engaged in visual culture in Israel, exploring the reflection of extreme events (such as terror and political assassination) on the activities of the local creative community. Between 2004—2012 she was the head of the History and Theory Department in Bezalel.
Between 2012-2018 she served as the Dean of Design Faculty, at HIT.Between 2004—2012 she was the head of the History and Theory Department in Bezalel.