JERUSALEM.- The Israel Museum, Jerusalem is presenting Ron Arad’s monumental installation 720°—an immersive experience that presents 360-degree screenings of films and video art—in the heart of the Museum’s Isamu Noguchi-designed Billy Rose Art Garden. Composed of 5,600 silicon rods suspended from a height of 26 feet (8 meters) to form a perfect circle, 720° allows visitors to experience projections both inside the installation’s interior and also from vantage points across the Museum’s 20-acre campus. 720° will be presented through September 5, and features a nightly scheduled program of video projections by leading multi-media artists, together with surprise, one-time-only performances by Israeli performers and performance artists.
A prolific artist and designer who has experimented with varied materials and textures throughout his career, Arad provides an alternative experience of images in motion with this interactive installation. Each evening, video works and films by Mat Collishaw, Ori Gersht, Christian Marclay, and David Shrigley, among many others, are being projected on 720° in an hour-long loop. In addition, short, surprise performances with leading Israeli artists in music, dance, poetry, and theater are being staged within and projected on the massive installation. Performances are not be announced in advance, creating unexpected and memorable experiences for each evening’s guests.
“We are always experimenting with new ways for our visitors to interact with great works of art in the Museum’s unique landscape and setting,” said James S. Snyder, Anne and Jerome Fisher Director of the Israel Museum. “Ron Arad is one of the leading figures in art and design to emerge from Israel’s current generation, and we are delighted to provide him with our very special venue for this monumentally engaging work. We look forward to enjoying our audience’s spontaneous interactions with and responses to it.”
“I am thrilled to be able to partner with the Israel Museum to bring this unique installation by Ron Arad to Israel as part of the Jerusalem Season of Culture,” said Itay Mautner, the Jerusalem Season of Culture's Artistic Director. “When you see 720° in Jerusalem, it’s completely different from what audiences saw in London at the Roundhouse, both in its concept and its context. By bringing the installation outside, the work becomes a part of Jerusalem’s landscape, changing both the skyline of the city and the feel of the installation. It has a uniquely Jerusalem flavor.”
"Jerusalem has become a world-class cultural destination, and we hope that art and design lovers, and tourists of all kinds, will enjoy Ron Arad’s 720° as a catalyst to appreciate our beautiful city with fresh eyes and in a new light,” stated Jerusalem Mayor, Nir Barkat. “We are delighted to partner with the Schusterman Foundation, the Jerusalem Season of Culture, and the Israel Museum in this creative enterprise."
The installation is a collaborative project of the Jerusalem Season of Culture and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and was originally developed and presented with the title Curtain Call, as a part of the Bloomberg Summer at the Roundhouse Series, London in 2011. Its production in Jerusalem is made possible by the Schusterman Foundation–Israel and the Municipality of Jerusalem.
