Dan Zakhem
Dan Zakhem was an Israeli performance artist and sculptor.
Biography
Dan Zakhem was born in Tel Aviv in 1958. From 1983 to 1985, after returning from studying art in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, he worked as an art director and graphic designer. In 1988 he established, together with Tamar Raban and Anat Schen, an organization called "Shelter 209", a non-profit organization for the advancement of performance art in Israel.Alongside ceremonial and shamanistic performances, such as "Falling Asleep on a Forest's Nipple", he created performances with post-modern artificial and spectacular characteristics, such as "The Babel Party".
In many of his works, he created deliberate blurring between art and life. In 1986, he was diagnosed with HIV. This experience influenced a series of works in which the ballet of death became a central motif.
Death
In 1994, he died of a brain tumor caused by AIDS.Education
- 1974–76 Talma-Yalin High School, Givatayim, Israel
- 1978–79 Classical Ballet, Bat Dor, Tel Aviv, Israel
- 1979–82 B.F.A. Major Studio Arts, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- 1983 Gray Adams Steps Schools, New York City
- 1983 Fashion, television, theatre make-up, Audrey Morris & Co, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Teaching
- 1990 Art Teachers College, Ramat Hasharon, multimedia
Prizes
- 1987 Second prize, for the performance "Impressions from Above: a Phenomenon", Israel Festival, Jerusalem
- 1991 Young Artist Prize, The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport
Selected exhibitions
General references
- http://www.danzakhem.com/