Lail Stockfish / Roundup
The newly renovated Pierce College Art Gallery re-opened March 8, with “Children of Abraham,” an exhibit that takes on an issue that’s been on global radar since the creation of Israel in 1948.
The 14 out of 25 pieces of Sharon Siskin’s “Children of Abraham” displayed in the small white-walled gallery on Art Hill, highlights the similarities rather than the differences of the two cultures responsible for decades of war.
When it comes to prejudice, Siskin is intolerant. “Children of Abraham” is a testament to her beliefs.
“The situation in Israel and Palestine really, really, breaks my heart,” said Siskin.
The exhibit uses sewing and binding with various materials to merge Arabic and Hebrew Children’s learning books together into one.
She got her inspiration for the gallery after she noticed the similarities between Arabic and Hebrew children’s books.
“The illustrations were familiar, and resembled one another so much,” said Siskin.
“[They show] everyone thinking the same, wanting their kids to learn to read and write and have core values.”
The piece entitled “Dream” features four colorful pages of rockets, stars and space meticulously bound together with three zippers, thread and tape that Siskin feels really represents this multi-cultural similarity.
“In the 1960’s there was this real focus on getting a man on the moon and the Arab and Jews were seeing the same thing, dreaming the same thing”
Pierce is the exhibit’s first stop after its premiere opening in Seattle, Washington.
Instructor of Arts Monika Del Bosque, contacted Siskin with the hope of bringing the exhibit to Pierce.
“If I can bring in art that helps foster a dialogue,that would be great,” said Bosque.
Siskin shares this sentiment. She prefers to share her art in educational settings conducive to discussions and was further persuaded by the cultural diversity amongst Pierce faculty and students.
She hasn’t been disappointed.
On March 11, Siskin spoke in the overflowing Great Lecture Hall. “I told the audience to call out at any point if they had something to say, and they did. I really liked that.”
During the reception that followed, Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, vice-president of academic affairs at Pierce, who is Palestinian and can read Arabic, was able to give Siskin a little more insight on her artwork.
“He gave me detailed translations of the books and some of them he’d preface by saying ‘I feel uncomfortable with this one’…one in the small print said something like, ‘and therefore men should always act like men and woman should always act like woman and never act like men.'”
“I’m a visual artist, so the images meant more to me than the text,” says Siskin.
Regardless, the piece’s statement is clear, Arabs and Jews, both of whom consider themselves to be descendants of Abraham, are “two people that have a lot in common.”
Siskin hopes to show the exhibit in various Jewish and Muslim venues that can ultimately spark a dialogue between and within the two cultures.