The History of Art

How can the history of art―not “respectable” art, but forgotten, wild art―be told in a novel? This is the story of a bunch of passionate freaks who sought refuge for their passions and fears at the edge of the world. In a move that seemed natural in Israel of the 1950s, a group of artists including immigrants and natives resettled an abandoned Arab village on the slopes of Mount Carmel. In time, they built galleries and a museum, created arts and crafts, and beautified the village. More than half a century later, after a huge forest fire devastated the village, Shlomi and Yedidia were forced to abandon their home and became refugees, at least for a while. The disaster made them look in a mirror that both focused and distorted the story of that village.

The History of Art speaks in many voices: The voice of Shlomi, an artist who settled in the village against his will; the artist Dina-Dada who tells the story of the early settlers and her numerous lovers; Zakaria, an old Arab, who was in his youth Dina-Dada’s devoted lover and soulmate; the wild boars and the forest spirits; and the voices of paintings and sculptures that come to life and speak in human tongues. They offer a variety of angles and stories of secrets and passions, going back and forth between the old, naïve days and now, between art and living bodies, the personal and the political, and between impossible love stories and a routine―almost obvious―love.