Jenny Nathans Exhibit at 1369

Reflects a Time of Peace in Israel

By Susie Davidson

CORRESPONDENT

Jenny Nathans’ exhibit “At Ease: Images from Israel During a Time of Peace 1999-2000”, at the Central Square 1369 Coffeehouse through July, reflects another era, not so long ago. Her 17 color photos of Israel and Egypt include popular Israeli sites later to be scenes of bombings (such as the Jerusalem bus station the “Shouk” and a marketplace), and the diverse people of the region as well.

“My photographs are a bit different from usual photos from Israel,” Nathans concurred. “I focus mainly on immigrants and those we might not peg as Jewish.”

Nathans, 24, is a New Jersey native raised in Bexley, Ohio, where she took art classes and painted. At Brandeis, she attended a friends’ Photography Club meeting, became the group’s secretary and learned darkroom techniques from the members for her Yashica manual SLR’s black and whites.

Following a 1999 degree in Psychology and Sociology, Nathans spent 10 months in Israel on a Project Otzma fellowship. She lived mostly in Asheklon and Acco, performing community service work.

“In Ashkelon,” she said, “I lived in Merkaz Klita Beit Canada, an immigration center for Ethiopians, Yeminites, Cubans, and Russians. I led a project where seven families there used disposable color cameras to document their daily lives. Many of the photos were family photo style, with all the children lined up in their best clothing, standing straight backed and armed, looking dignifed.” This exhibit has become a permanent feature at the center.

In Acco, she worked at an Ethiopian women's art store at the Hatzrot Yasaf Ethiopian caravan park. “It also displayed tradtional clay and needlework that women taught their daughters – the art was dying as their children assimilated into Israeli culture. Regrettably, the last I heard, all the residents moved out, and the caravan is now either a seaside hotel or an apartment complex.

“I also worked at the Ghetto Fighters House,” she recalled. “This was both a kibbutz and a museum dedicated to the Jewish ghettos during the Holocaust and the Freedom Fighters era. I also co-led an English discussion group between Jewish and Arab high school students. Unfortunately, though, her idea of their taking photos of each others’ communities was met with reluctance. “They feared venturing into Arab or Jewish neigborhoods where they did not feel safe or welcome.”

In Nathans’ 1369 exhibit, two photos feature Ethiopian children from the center; and another, a group of young Ethopian men. “I love this photo especially,” she said, “because of their confident stance and the contrast of their dark skin against their white shirts, as well as the splash of red from the lollypop in one man's mouth.”

In another, an Israeli Jew sells dried fruit and nuts at the Shouk, where a bomb exploded a few months ago. Represented amid the busy scene of the bus station is every type of Israeli Jew: Orthodox, practicing, secular, soldier.

Other photos depict a trio of Cuban Jewish immigrants, a Yemenite mother with her two daughters (one holding a strange, blond doll) and bags of spices from the Old City of Acco.

“Living in Israel was the best decision I could have made,” Nathan said. “By the time I left, I felt like I had attended Judaism Boot Camp. I walked away with strong ties to my religion and community: I might not believe everything I read or hear, but I can appreciate the beauty of the traditions and the loving international Jewish community.”

Following a month in Ireland, she returned to this area. Presently, she is a social worker for Elliot House in Newton, a Riverside Community Care vocational rehabilitation clubhouse for the mentally ill.

“I also work at the Boston Photo Co-op on the weekend. I took a couple of color photography classes at the Boston Photo Collaborative with Stephen SetteDucatti, best know for his Big Dig photos at night. I’m now using an SLR Rebel Cannon 2000, and plan to eventualy attend graduate school in social work.”

Nathans lived in Central Square the summer before her senior year of college, worked at Carberry's Café and Bakery and attended weekly drawing sessions at the Zeitgeist Gallery.

“The situation in Israel is based on reflex,” she said. “I believe that Sharon is more reactive then reflective. I think the problems are rooted so much deeper than simply where you place a dividing line. It comes from how the land within it and its residents are treated. Both sides need to sit down and really discuss the conditions within Palestine and how Israelis and Palestinians can work together to improve economic, environmental, health, and educational conditions.

“You cannot argue with hate. It has no logic. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the subject, and I am continually in awe of the diverse backgrounds and points of view from people in Cambridge, on this subject and infinite more.”

Nathans’ next project is photographing cars at night, following a rainfall.

“The images are otherworldly,” she said. “And its fun to see the reactions from passersby when I'm out late at night with my camera. One family stood on their porch watching me for a good five minutes, thinking I was going to steal their car. I swear I heard sirens in the distance. There are occupational hazards to any art.”