Oranges in the garden: School art project honors Tel Aviv’s citrus fruit

Thursday, May 28, 2009 | by stacey palevsky

For the first time at Israel in the Gardens, larger-than-life sculptures of Tel Aviv’s famous fruit will be scattered around Yerba Buena Gardens.

The “oranges” will be displayed thanks to the collective effort and creativity of congregational and day schools around the Bay Area, and the Israel Education Initiative, a partnership between the Bureau of Jewish Education and the S.F. Israel Center.

Students will be decorating exercise balls in honor of Tel Aviv’s centennial.

About 30 oranges will be scattered throughout Yerba Buena Gardens.

“We wanted to bring schools, kids and families to Israel in the Gardens and do it in a way that involves participation, not just to come and be a passive observer,” said Ilan Vitemberg, director of the Israel Education Initiative.

Every year, the Israel Education Initiative invites schools to participate in an art project. Last year students made posters for Israel’s 60th birthday.

Students at Contra Costa Jewish Day School, with their art teacher Racheli Ben Shushan, are creating an orange modeled after Dizengoff Fountain, a Tel Aviv landmarks.

The fountain, also known as the Fire and Water Sculpture, was created by artist Yaacov Agam, known for his three-dimensional, geographic art pieces. On the hour, every hour, music is played and the fountain rotates. At night, a flame emerges from the fountain’s water.

To create the fountain-inspired orange, “We’ll be using materials to represent fire, water and light — the elements of the fountain and also of Tel Aviv,” said Mira Pilosof, director of Hebrew and Judaic studies at the school.

CCJCC is one of up to a dozen area schools, synagogues and other groups that will be participating in the youthful endeavor.

The project aims to teach students about Tel Aviv, in a creative way. After Israel in the Gardens, the oranges will serve as an enduring presence of Tel Aviv at each school.