of ARTISTIC PHOTOGRAPHER ZINKER

German Photographic Artist Zinker perusing the International Departments noticeboard

 

Photographic artist Zinker hails from Stralsund, a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany and recently visited Givat Haviva during a stay in Israel.

Atalya Laufer, a successful Israeli artist who studied in Britain and for the past year has been living in Berlin, originates from Kibbutz Hazorea, a Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz founded by German pioneers in the 1930s.  Apart from continuing with her artwork in Germany Atalya also guides groups around the former Jewish Quarter of Berlin.

The German photographer and the Israeli artist met at an arts festival in Stralsund. 

“I liked Atalya’s artwork very much – something very special - and asked her if I could take photographs of her creations,” explained Zinker to International Department staff member Lydia Aisenberg.

At the invitation of Zinker (who only uses one name) Atalya undertook an art venture in a church in his city – situated at the southern coast of the Strelasund, a sound of the Baltic Sea separating the island of Rugen from the mainland.

Atalya created life-size sculptures, appearing somewhat like cutouts and depicting the Saints featured in the Protestant church’s stain glass windows. She then connected each one to characters she remembers from her childhood and teen years in the Jezreel Valley community where she grew up with descriptions written on the back of each work.

 

         

Atalya Laufer standing among some of her creations at the Stralsund exhibition

 

Zinker created a second exhibition – his artistic photographs of Atalya’s sculptures and these were also exhibited in the same church – a two in one artistic special offer!

During a recent visit to Israel Zinker was invited by Atalya’s parents Shmuel and Marlene Laufer to be their guest in Hazorea and they arranged for him to visit Givat Haviva.

Of particular interest to Zinker was the Arts Center photographic project of ‘Through Others’ Eyes’ where teenage Israeli Jewish and Muslim youth get to know each other through learning photography and eventually photographing each other – and each other’s families.

Art Center director Etti Amram, who first thought of the concept of the photography project now in its ninth year, explained to Zinker about the program and exhibition held at the end of each year.  Flipping through a catalogue of photographs taken by the youth (and Jewish and Muslim women who have participated in two such projects for women) Zinker said he was very impressed not just with the photographs but with the idea of using photography to bring youth and adults to see each other as they are, just people.

“In my opinion this is a very important project.  The photographs themselves really are not so relevant, what is totally relevant is the knowledge that they did this work together,” said Zinker who was equally impressed by the ‘Postcards for Peace’ concept and received a poster of the 800 postcards designed by people from the art world both Israeli and from abroad, some of which exhibited in the Art Center.

When asked which of the photographs in the catalogue most caught his eye and imagination, Zinker pointed to two teenage girls facing each other from close quarters, each with a finger held to their lips.

“Ah, this one is marvelous,” he said.  “I see here ‘use your eyes, ears and not so much your mouth,’” he said with a smile.

A meeting with Holocaust survivor Yehoshua (Robert) Buchler, the chief archivist of The Mordechai Anielevich Memorial and Holocaust Studies and Reseach Center at Givat Haviva proved very emotional for Zinker.  He was also fascinated by the Second World War photographs appearing in a poster on the office wall of Moreshet educational director Yonat Rotbein.  One of the women holding a gun in one of the photographs was Yonat’s mother, Holocaust heroine and founder member of Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh, Rushka Korczak.

Zinker explained that he was already an adult when he founded out about the Holocaust following the discovery of a manuscript listing the names of Jewish people transported from Stralsund by the Nazis.

“I started to research the names and eventually found two survivors living in different countries,” said Zinker who has for a number of years been meeting with youth from Stralsund to tell them about what happened to the Jews who once lived in their city.

Zinker has visited the Middle East about a dozen times, his first being in 1989 when he stayed in Tel Aviv and also volunteered at Kibbutz Tel Katzir.

“Every visit to the region I have spent time also in the Palestinian areas.  I feel that the way the Middle East is presented in the media is not correct and need to come and see, find out for myself.

“Over the years I have made good friends both in Israel and the Palestinian areas and am really heartened to hear and see the programs here in Givat Haviva that are aiming for dialogue between the peoples of the region,” he said.

 

October 2008