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| New Exhibit by Photojournalist David Rubinger (1.22-2.29.08) |
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| Tickets/Registration: 212.415.5749 |
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| Media Contact: Lauren Phillips, 212.415.5402, email |
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THE 92nd STREET Y SCHOOL OF THE ARTS PRESENTS
DAVID RUBINGER: ISRAEL THROUGH MY LENS |
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| New Exhibit by Israel;s Preeminent Photojournalist Commemorates 60 Years of Israeli History and Politics |
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OPENING RECEPTION: Tue, February 5, 6-7:30
Free and Open to the Public
EXHIBIT DATES: Tuesday, January 22-Friday, Feb 29
For Gallery Schedule, please call 212-415-5749. |
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NEW YORK, NY, January, 2, 2008—Photographer David Rubinger has spent 60 years capturing Israel's history through the lens of his camera. He was there when the first wave of immigrants began to settle in the newly established Jewish homeland, when Israeli paratroopers reclaimed the Western Wall at the end of the Six-Day War, and when Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel in 1977. In honor of Israel's 60th Anniversary, the 92nd Street Y presents "Israel Through My Lens," an exhibit featuring 50 of Rubinger's photographs. This is the first exhibit in connection with Rubinger's new autobiography, Israel Through My Lens: Sixty Years as a Photojournalist (Abbeville, January 28, 2008), to which former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres contributed the foreword.
Born in Vienna in 1924, Rubinger emigrated to British Palestine in 1939 and developed a passion for photography while serving in the British army's Jewish Brigade. He reported initially for the Israeli media and later as a correspondent for Time-Life magazine. Jim Kelly, Managing Editor of Time, Inc., says of Rubinger, "No one has done a better job of showing the history of Israel in all its glory and pain." Over the course of his career, Rubinger personally witnessed the pivotal events in his country's history, from the Suez Crisis to the Intifadas. He photographed all of Israel's leaders, from David Ben-Gurion to Ehud Olmert, many of whom have allowed him a remarkable degree of access to their lives. Ariel Sharon said, "I trust Rubinger even though I know he doesn't vote for me." But Rubinger has not confined his reporting to war and politics; by photographing the successive waves of Jewish immigrants from Europe, the Arab world, Russia, and Ethiopia, he has also created a valuable record of Israel's transformation from a country of six hundred thousand to one of seven million. Rubinger's photographs have been featured in galleries around the world, including recent shows at the Portland Art Center, the National Gallery in Bangkok, and the Sony Ericsson Proud Gallery in London. A winner of the Israel Prize for services to the media and a fixture on the masthead of Time, he is also the only photographer whose work is on permanent display at the Knesset, the hall housing Israel's legislature.
Robert Gilson, director of the 92nd Street Y School of the Arts and curator of the Y's gallery exhibits, says, "Rubinger has been an eyewitness to the establishment of the Jewish state and its development over the last 60 years. His story is the story of Israel, and we are thrilled to be able to share this extraordinary collection of photographs with the public as part of the 92nd Street Y's Israel at 60 celebration."
He will be present at a reception for the exhibition in his honor and book signing on Tuesday, February 5, 6-7:30pm, in the Weill Art Gallery; this event is free and open to the public.
On Friday, February 8 at 8:00pm, Rubinger will be joined by his co-author and curator, Ruth Corman, when he returns to the Y to share some of the stories behind his photographs in an informal Friday evening salon. Tickets for this program, which includes a lecture, discussion and refreshments, are $26. |
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| About the 92nd Street Y School of the Arts |
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Robert Gilson, Director
The 92nd Street Y's arts-education division, the 92nd Street Y School of the Arts, comprises the Harkness Dance Center (estab. 1935), the School of Music (estab. 1917) and the Art Center (estab. 1930). Together they offer instruction to adults, teenagers and children of all ages and interests, as well as master classes and, in the case of dance, performance opportunities and professional performances. The School of the Arts's Educational Outreach initiative provides in-school dance, music and art education to 7,000 economically disadvantaged New York City elementary-school children. The Y's Scholarship Program enables all New Yorkers to enjoy the School of the Arts's programs regardless of income level. For more information, please visit www.92Y.org/arts. |
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| About the 92nd Street Y |
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Sol Adler, Executive Director
Founded in 1874 by a group of visionary Jewish leaders, the 92nd Street Y has grown into a wide-ranging cultural, educational and community center serving people of all ages, races, faiths and backgrounds. The 92nd Street Y's mission is to enrich the lives of the over 300,000 people who visit in person each year as well as those who visit virtually, through the Y's satellite, television, radio and Internet broadcasts. The organization offers comprehensive performing arts, film and spoken word events; courses in the humanities, the arts, personal development and Jewish culture; activities and workshops for children, teenagers and parents; and health and fitness programs for people of every age. Committed to making its programs available to everyone, the 92nd Street Y awards nearly $1 million in scholarships annually and reaches out to 7,000 public school children through subsidized arts education programs. For more information, please visit www.92Y.org.
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© 2008 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association
All Rights Reserved. |
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