{"id":31153,"date":"2018-12-14T03:56:59","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T11:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=31153"},"modified":"2018-12-12T12:05:24","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T20:05:24","slug":"inukshuk-in-jerusalem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2018\/12\/14\/inukshuk-in-jerusalem\/","title":{"rendered":"Inukshuk in Jerusalem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jerusalem sculptor Israel Hadany\u2019s modern interpretation of the First Nations beacon. (photo from Jerusalem Foundation)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Inuit, I\u00f1upiat, Kalaallit and Yupik peoples of the Arctic region of Canada, Greenland and Alaska built inukshuks with granite boulders to warn against danger, mark a hunting or fishing site, or stand as a direction marker. Like the traditional inuksuit erected in the treeless tundra, Jerusalem sculptor Israel Hadany\u2019s modern interpretation of the First Nations beacon serves as a marker symbolizing friendship, family and hospitality, humankind\u2019s responsibility toward one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Oct. 17, Hadany\u2019s four-metre-high limestone inukshuk sculpture was installed at the entrance to Canada House in downtown Jerusalem\u2019s Musrara neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hadany was the winner of a design competition celebrating 50 years of the reunification of Jerusalem, since the 1967 Six Day War. Toronto lawyer Lewis Mitz, president of the Jerusalem Foundation of Canada, initiated the challenge as part of a $4 million renovation of the Canada House community centre on Shivtei Yisrael Street, a location that is becoming increasingly popular with film and art students. Four other Israeli artists were invited to participate: David Gershoni, Ruslan Sergeev, Yisrael Rabinowitz and Ellia Shapiro. The competition jury that selected the winning design included representatives from the Jerusalem Municipality, the Israel Museum, the Jerusalem Foundation and local residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Toronto lawyer Lewis Mitz, president of the Jerusalem Foundation of Canada, who initiated the art competition.\u00a0(photo from Jerusalem Foundation)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe inukshuk is a communication structure. Providing vital information for people to survive in the frozen Arctic; it isn\u2019t merely a statue, rather an enchanted entity that guides man and seals his fate,\u201d explained Hadany in a press release. \u201cThe sculpture tries to create a fascinating synthesis between the primordial and the innovative, between the formulated esthetics and magic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inukshuk<\/em>, he explained in his remarks at the unveiling of the sculpture, means \u201chelper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sculptor and environmental artist insisted his inukshuk be positioned alongside the street rather than in the courtyard of Beit Canada to increase its visibility. Initially reluctant to appropriate another culture\u2019s symbol, Hadany came to understand that, rather than being decorative in the Western context of art, an inukshuk is \u201can information-giving object in the space. Emphasizing a religious space, directing people to where there is good fishing. It\u2019s actually a language. It\u2019s sculpture that creates a language in space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judges wrote in their decision that Hadany\u2019s proposal was a \u201cclassic sculpture that is suited to and connects with its environment. The artist presents an interpretation that respects the original without copying it. It is obvious that a great deal has been invested in planning and in the use of proportion, materials, light and shade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sculpture was dedicated during the Jerusalem Foundation\u2019s international conference in October in the Canada House garden. The playground around the inukshuk, which is still being landscaped, was a gift of the Joffe family of Calgary, Alta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gil Zohar<\/strong> is a journalist based in Jerusalem.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jerusalem sculptor Israel Hadany\u2019s modern interpretation of the First Nations beacon. (photo from Jerusalem Foundation) The Inuit, I\u00f1upiat, Kalaallit and Yupik peoples of the Arctic region of Canada, Greenland and Alaska built inukshuks with granite boulders to warn against danger, mark a hunting or fishing site, or stand as a direction marker. Like the traditional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4329],"tags":[2466,8580,8581,2511],"class_list":["post-31153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israel","tag-art","tag-inukshuk","tag-israel-hadany","tag-jerusalem-foundation"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}