In this book, sharon rotbard blows apart this palimpsest in a clear, fluent and white city, black city is a story of two intertwining narratives, that of colonised and coloniser. New books in jewish studies new books network page 28. The forced geography of tel aviv the electronic intifada. Sharon rotbard is the author of white city, black city 4. Sharon rotbard is an architect, activist, writer and publisher based in south tel aviv. He offers a nuanced and compelling deconstruction of the myth of the white city and the erasure of what he deems the black city. Tom sperlinger the electronic intifada 11 may 2015. It is also a story of a decadeslong campaign of architectural and cultural historical revision that cast tel aviv as a modernist white city emerging fully formed from the dunes while ignoring its real foundationthe obliteration of jaffa. It is an unsparing and taut critique of the israeli use of space and a blunt and bracing history of jaffa and tel aviv.
Sharon rotbards book white city black city cleverly examines the planning and architectural histories of tel aviv and jaffa during the twentieth century. Especially in a place which so to speak lacks apparent history like tel aviv in opposed to jerusalem for example. Jan 22, 2015 white city black city is a superbly researched and exemplary architectural study. Rotbards first book, white city, black city, touches on the subject of ruins.
Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa, sharon rotbard writes about the history and mythology surrounding the building of tel aviv. White city, black city is a story of two intertwining narratives, that of colonised and coloniser. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa is much more than just an architectural history of tel aviv and jaffa. Today, the hebrew city of tel aviv gleams white against the desert sky, its bauhausinspired architecture betraying few traces of what came before it. Architecture is a craft that places a high premium on learning through making and it is this tenet we have consistently tried to inculcate into our pedagogical approach. Rotbard, also an architect and a university lecturer in israel and india, continued sparring with the establishment by publishing white city black city in 2005.
In the white city inspired trend, builders often forget to invest in architectural detail and suffice with a paint job. One may compare this book to the scratch of a nail upon a white wall. White city, black city remembers tel avivjaffas forgotten history. One of the coowners of babel, sharon rotbard, is a studio adviser in bezalel and has authored two books. The author, an israeli architect and writer born in tel aviv, explores its development, and its sister city jaffa through the lens of someone who has lived. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa the mit press rotbard, sharon on. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more.
These histories are deeply entangled in the broader political and cultural climates that brought about the creation and crystallization of tel aviv and jaffa, at first one against the other, and then one at the expense of the other. In 2005, those cracks found their way into a full length book on tel aviv and its architecture. Mar 11, 2020 architecture is a craft that places a high premium on learning through making and it is this tenet we have consistently tried to inculcate into our pedagogical approach. Sharon rotbard is a senior lecturer at the bezalel academy in jerusalem, and chair of architecture at care school of architecture at tiruchirappalli in tamil nadu, india. White city, black city, published in english for the first time this month. He is a senior lecturer at the bezalel academy in jerusalem, and chair of architecture at care school of architecture at tiruchirappalli in tamil nadu, india. Sharon rotbards newly translated book is an unsentimental takedown of. Sharon rotbard s newly translated book is an unsentimental takedown of the white city narrative that shatters tel avivs founding myth. It is also a story of a decadeslong campaign of architectural and cultural historical revision that cast tel aviv as a modernist white city emerging fully formed from the dunes while ignoring its.
Sharon rotbards book white city, black city, looks at the white paint of tel avivs buildings not as an esthetic artefact but as a covering and a concealing layer. It is also a story of a decadeslong campaign of architectural and cultural historical revision that cast tel aviv as a modernist white city emerging fully formed from the dunes while ignoring its real foundation. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa by rotbard, sharon 2015 paperback. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa the mit press. The forced geography of tel aviv white city, black. White city, black city is a story of two intertwining. May 11, 2015 tom sperlinger the electronic intifada 11 may 2015. Sharon rotbard s book white city, black city, looks at the white paint of tel avivs buildings not as an esthetic artefact but as a covering and a concealing layer. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa pluto, 2015. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The forced geography of tel aviv white city, black city.
White city black city architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa. Today, the hebrew city of tel aviv glitters white, its bauhausinfluenced modernist architecture betraying few traces of the city which once stood where it now stands. White city black city is a superbly researched and exemplary architectural study. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa the mit pres, 2015 written by sharon rotbard is instrumental to understand this history, and how there is no difference between neighborhood politics, city politics, national politics, and global politics. At least thats what sharon rotbard says, the architect, senior lecturer in the bezalel academy and the author of the book, white city, black city. Sharon rotbard white city black city architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa translated from hebrew. As a tel avivborn architect, rotbard looks back at the founding and construction of his hometown and ends up chipping away at some of the myths tel aviv has become known for. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa by sharon rotbard pluto press, 256pp on 11 january 20, around 250 activists erected tents on privately owned palestinian land in the occupied west bank, on which the israeli government intended to build a 4,000house settlement. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa, sharon rotbard, journal of levantine studies, vol. Feb 07, 2011 one of the coowners of babel, sharon rotbard, is a studio adviser in bezalel and has authored two books. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa by sharon rotbard isbn. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa by rotbard, sharon 2015 paperback on.
Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa by sharon rotbard pluto press, 256pp. The studio for spontaneous architecture saba by prof. He offers a nuanced and compelling deconstruction of the myth of the. In 1984 a small exhibition from the tel aviv museum.
Feb 11, 2015 in 2005, those cracks found their way into a full length book on tel aviv and its architecture. On 11 january 20, around 250 activists erected tents on privately owned palestinian land in the occupied west bank, on which the israeli government intended to build a 4,000house settlement. Rotbard studied fine arts between 1982 and 1984 at hamidasha art college with. However, rotbard occasionally spoils his case with an unnecessarily nostalgic reading of the areas pre. May 30, 2015 sharon rotbard is a senior lecturer at the bezalel academy in jerusalem, and chair of architecture at care school of architecture at tiruchirappalli in tamil nadu, india. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa mit press, 2015, sharon rotbard, senior lecturer in the architecture department at bezalel academy in jerusalem, examines the dual histories of tel aviv and jaffa. In white city, black city, the israeli architect and author sharon rotbard offers two intertwining narratives, that of colonized and colonizer. White city, black city is, all at once, an angry uncovering of a vanished history, a book mourning the loss of an architectural heritage, a careful study in urban design and a beautifully written narrative history. Architecture and war in tel aviv and jaffa by sharon rotbard pluto press, 256pp on 11 january 20, around 250 activists erected tents on privately owned palestinian land in the occupied west bank, on which the israeli government intended to build a 4,000house. Two years ago, rebecca and i were in rotbards studio, where we, along with yiska katz, produced egg crate architecture. Tel aviv from bauhaus to doghouse books and arts the. In it, rotbard examines the relationship between tel aviv and the arab city it was built outside, jaffa the black city of the books title. But this common knowledge turns out to be fiction, that even the founders of the white city refuted. It is in all senses a political book, but one that expands beyond the typical.
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