The Piven Workshop

Hanoch Piven is a leading contemporary Israeli artist whose whimsical portraits tell stories with surprising depth and complexity. His work depicting prominent people, from Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs to Barack Obama and Saddam Hussein, is created using a wide array of seemingly random objects—but every object tells a story and carries meaning. It’s amazing how much you can learn about a person from the objects Piven selects for each of his portraits.

Using the art and methodology of popular Israeli artist Hanoch Piven, we can encourage everyone to explore Israel’s culture, values, and history, their own surroundings and identities, and their personal connections to Israel.

ISRAEL UP CLOSE

While the Piven Workshop fits naturally in any arts education programs, we believe that Israel should “live” everywhere, and the five thematic portraits of Ben-Gurion that Piven created can have resonance in many areas, including around camp, in hallways, playgrounds, and cafeterias.

THE STORIES THAT PORTRAITS TELL

In this workshop, participants are introduced to Piven’s work and will assess the objects used to create portraits of prominent Israelis. Then they’ll have an opportunity to create their own self-portraits using Piven’s methodology. Piven created this video in his studio in Jaffa, Israel, describing his methodology and sharing stories:

THE PEOPLE WE KNOW

In this workshop, participants create portraits, using Piven’s methodology, of people who are important in their lives and communities as a way of getting better acquainted with them.
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