COLLAGE ARTIST TRADING CARD SPOTLIGHT
Andi Arnovitz in Collage Artist Trading Cards Pack 6
Inspired by the artistic legacy of the Islamic world, Andi Arnovitz’s collages reference rugs, textiles, embroideries and ceramics of the Middle East. Combining watercolour and collage, she aims to deconstruct historic Islamic imagery and create new statements that reflected the current events of the world today. Her work focuses on the points of tension where politics, religion and gender meet. Of special interest are themes of modesty, repression/silencing of female voices, reproductive politics and religious coercion.
Arnovitz is one of the 15 artists featured in Collage Artist Trading Cards Pack #6. Collage Artist Trading Card packs are a tool for discovering contemporary, fine art collage. Each card is a full colour, 5.5” x 3.5” postcard with rounded corners. An example of an artist’s work is on the front of the card and the artist’s public contact information is on the back. We interviewed Arnovitz about her work.
How do you describe yourself?
I am a multi-disciplinary artist living and working in Jerusalem. My work deals with the place where gender, politics and religion meet. I explore these themes with artist books, etchings and installations.
We included Sleeping in Pack 6 of Collage Artist Trading Cards, where did the idea for this collage come from?
Sleeping is about the status of women in the world today. Especially in areas of conflict. I remember reading an interview with a leading philosopher in which he was asked about whether or not the “Arab Spring” was a good thing. He answered that he didn’t know, but if you wanted to know you should just watch the women. He suggested that if women’s lives were better after the “Arab Spring” in these places of upheaval the outcome would be positive. If the opposite were true we would have to re-evaluate these upheavals. This piece is about how the world is sleeping while these changes are taking place. We ignore every outward sign that suggests something is amiss.
This piece is part of a larger series titles “Threatened Beauty”. They are created with watercolour and collage. I use old copies of HALI, the magazine of Islamic arts, and I deconstruct the images to reconfigure a relevant story of contemporary events. These works are meant to create awareness–to lay open the questions of consequence and disaster.
What projects are you working on lately?
Currently, I am working on several projects. I am completing an artist book of etchings for the Jerusalem Print Workshop. I am working on two installations about some difficult Israeli politics. I am about to launch a new web site of my art journals in which there are lots of examples of collaging. I like to have a few things ongoing at once as I have a hard time sitting still!
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More of Arnovitz’s collage can be seen on her website, www.andiarnovitz.com.
Sleeping
22.2” diameter
watercolour and collage
2015