shosh kormosh // order and cleanliness // 1994-1995 // silverprint — shosh kormosh // *order and cleanliness* // 1994-1995 // silverprint

found myself mesmerized by the work of photographer shosh kormosh while in israel last week // "...she who spoke and researched unceasingly, seeking to absorb and know everything, [creating] a static space of stillness and silence."

the israel art museum's curator noam gal says: "[shosh kormosh] is a very significant photographer in israeli art history. though her career was brief since her artistic path only started at 40 and she died at 53, her influence has been enormous on artists in her time as well as after. [what was so unique about her work?] she would take images she found in home design magazines that she cut out and pasted, along with actual objects such as dried flowers, photographed and repeatedly enlarged them, and then arranged as photo collages. kormosh's biography plays a critical role in her works. after her birth to holocaust survivors in a displaced persons camp in germany following wwii, her family immigrated to israel. various onerous restrictions and rules regarding cleanliness and order marked kormosh's childhood. her life story was expressed largely through her works, which carry something dark, gloomy, and defiant in reaction to her up-bringing."

some thoughts: the black and white contrast of shosh kormosh's work is reminiscent of man ray's surrealist photographs. with common imagery collaged and placed in a stark black background, you begin to see these objects in a new light. the interesting repetition and placement of these items seems to highlight the harsh rules of the artist's upbringing. ultimately each piece feels like a snapshot or critique of a specific moment in the artist's life.

* images via gordon gallery *