Works by Ethiopian-Israeli artists on display in Powell Library highlight the psychological changes the community has undergone in its transition to Israel.

“Looking at these sculptures provided a unique opportunity to observe...adaptations among members of the Ethiopian community.”

UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, November 10, 2016 - In a talk last Wednesday evening, Michael Weinstock, Senior Lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, asserted that clay sculptures made by Ethiopian immigrants to Israel - currently on display in the East Rotunda of Powell Library - reveal more than the artists’ mastery of sculptural techniques.

The lecture followed last Tuesday’s opening reception for the exhibition of sculptures at the center of Weinstock’s talk. In his presentation, the Senior Lecturer explained to the audience that the clay works reflect the psychological adaptations the artists have made since they emigrated.

The drastic shifts in the social environments of the immigrant artists are at the root of the psychological adaptations manifested in the works, the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev senior lecturer explained.

The framework for Weinstock’s research and conclusions was the contrasts between two classifications of social environments: “community” and “society.”

“These two poles represent the two ends of social environments,” Weinstock elaborated.

“Communities” are described as being rural with simple technology and relatively self-contained. People in these environments tend to be poorer, engage in subsistence activities and most of the individuals’ social relations are lifelong relations with interdependent kin.

“Society” is the opposite classification. “Societies” are defined by urban environments, with complex technology and regular contact with diverse people. The economy is based on commercial activities using money with the goal of accumulation of goods. Social relations are mostly fleeting, with independent strangers.

“The goal behind these research efforts was to identify the psychological adaptations associated with shifts in social environments,” Weinstock said. “Looking at these sculptures provided a unique opportunity to observe those adaptations among members of the Ethiopian community.”

The six women whose works are featured in the exhibition are all from social environments that would be described as “communities.” The artists come from rural parts of Ethiopia where they produced clay pots for their own use or for trade with neighboring communities. There was little technological penetration and most relations were among kin groups.

But while the artists spent significant portions of their lives in a “community” environment, this changed when they moved to Israel. Weinstock believes the artists’ sculptures produced at the Be’er Sheva, Israel workshop reflect the adaptations in the psychological conditions resulting from the transition to a “society” environment.

He highlighted certain differences between the works created by the featured artists in recent years and their earlier works, as well as differences with the works made by other Ethiopian artists from the 1960s to 1980s. He cited the expressiveness of the figures’ faces as one example and the fact that the works were no longer replicas, but were each unique pieces.

“These changes were caused by different conceptions of selves and the different representations show this,” Weinstock explained. “There is more self-consciousness in the art, which is a form of self-expression that comes from the new environment.”

However, Weinstock also noted that the estimated 125,000 members of the Ethiopian community in Israel today make up three generations. These generations have experienced different social environments and as a result, have psychological distinctions. He based these conclusions on his ongoing research into three generation of Ethiopians’ responses to certain family dilemmas.

The exhibition on display from November 1-11 was organized by Weinstock; his research collaborator, UCLA Professor of Psychology Patricia Greenfield; the director of UCLA’s Center for African Studies and Professor of African and African American Art Steven Nelson; and local Israeli art gallery owner, Michael Hittleman.

Weinstock has worked with Greenfield to perform research into three communities in Israel that have experienced shifts in their social environments and the psychological adaptations that came as a result. These include the Ethiopian immigrant, Bedouin, and northern Israeli Arab communities.

The exhibition of works by the Ethiopian-Israeli artists was co-sponsored by Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the Center for African Studies with additional funding from UCLA’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.