YAMA

'YAMA'  stands for :Yaakov Agam Museum of Art.

I visited there two days ago,on Thursday, and  experienced a unique sort of viewing art.  It was trying to see "beyond the visible", to see "the hidden" and the 'constant change' in any of the exhibits which were 'art' movable and transformable. This was made possible by looking at the exhibit from each side, coming closer to it, or going a bit away from it. That was quite fascinating, and I was deeply impressed !!

Yaakov Agam,  90 year old, internationally  known as the father of kinetic art movement, painter and sculptor, was born and raised in  a  very religious family,the Gebstein family, located in the israeli town of Rishon Lezion.

 Agam's portrait , white beard and hat, welcomes the  visitors
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His works are displayed in famous museums  such as Gugenheim in New -York,  Pompidou Center in Paris, and many other museums and art venues. His environmental works adorn public spaces in major metropolitan areas of the world.  In Israel, he's mostly known to the local public, through his iconic fountain in Dizengoff Square of Tel Aviv, "fire and water"(see my two posts on that : feb.4, 2011 and march 12, 2016), and the facade of Dan Hotel near the beach of Tel Aviv.

mini hotel Dan facade  (on the wall) and some of his tower works

The little museum in Rishon Lezion, dedicated to Agam's work, was opened in 2017- so it's actually a new place.

 name of museum in hebrew, english, arabic (tiny letters)

blue sign indicating the entrance to the museum

Both inside and outside the building there are  kinetic columns of great beauty and color ( tin +acrilic ) in memory of his late wife Clila, and named after her "the pillars of Clila" (20 pillars outside, near the entrance, and 9 pillars inside the building).

Me, and the pillars outside

women on the bench chatting and contemplating the pillars

The various exhibits (paintings, objects, sound works, interractive digital works), are displayed on the  two levels of the building: the ground level and the upper one (reached either on foot, or by a cute, little lift). The museum also has activity rooms/halls for both children and adults. 

curved ground floor and upper floor

visitors listening to museum's guide explanation

contemplating exhibits

visitor trying to capture an exhibit called 'waves'

corner  for sitting  and watching screen running constant kinetic motions

pillars inside the gallery

During the whole vist at the museum, I kept telling myself: 'the man is a genious'. Here are some of the exhibits on the wall:

Sale at the Interchange

Ikea's big winter sale was mainly a pretext for a trip to the Poleg interchange zone  located south-east of the central city of Netanya.

The coastal route leading to the interchange, passes by some notable places: Levinsky college of education, Cinema City Glilot, high-tech zone with Microsoft's imposing building, 'Gaash' mineral springs Spa, Wingate  physical education institute and other.

The weather was wonderful!  Warm and sunny. I could hardly stay indoors on such a beautiful day.  On approaching Ikea, I  felt caressed by a very gentle breeze coming from the sea. (The latter is  not too close;  good thing, as it's winter  and easy to catch a nasty cold from the encounter with the Mediterranean).

Before entering the store, I like to take the time and contemplate the palm trees and the flags. I do so from under an adorable, slightly distant tree overlooking the Ikea complex.

tree overlooking Ikea complex

'Poleg' is a major central interchange leading north, and Ikea store is adjacent to it.  Every year the  area gets some new comercial companies added , becoming crowded, and somehow unesthetical. According to  economic articles, Ikea, with its beautiful blue/yellow colored complex is considered  key factor in the development of the  vast industrial-commerce area by the Poleg interchange. It certainly attracts a lot of customers.

There are some well-known firms (Ace, Office Depot, Auto Depot..) and less known firms and shops here, as well as bank,supermarket, and institutions.
I was rather surprised to see also the one and only popular "dollar store" Max, in a huge building ( huge, certainly compared to its branches in the city).

column with part of the business' names on it

Max  "dollar store"

Acostel, Optical center, H&O, Fox, WeShoes, Superfarm, Supermarket

Red  'Sale'  posters were greetting customers  not only at Ikea but also at some fashion stores. 

red Sale posters at Ikea

Sale posters at a fashion store

At Ikea, I intended to buy a certain new light fixture to replace an old one, but I was told the last one got sold out shortly before my arrival at the store. Pity. I might try my luck at another Ikea store (this one is the closest to my hometown). 
I didn't come home empty-handed though;  bought some trivial, things like a door entrance mat, some glass / metal candle holders, AA alkaline batteries, and a few other small items.

Inside the store - a festival of consumerism.; no other phrase would describe that better. And, of course, no one dares leave the place without sampling some swedish meat balls, soup in a bread bowl, salmon delicacies, and other swedish specialties at the store's cafe-restaurant section.  

When I leave Ikea, I take another look at the palm trees and flags, but this time from across the Exit direction.