Recently we reached out to New York-based artist Yael Ben-Zion to learn more about her life as an artist and her thoughts about her work. She was born in Minneapolis, MN, raised in Israel and is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yale Law School and the International Center of Photography. Ben-Zion's work has been exhibited in the United States and in Europe, including solo exhibitions at the 92nd Street Y Art Gallery and La Galeria at Boricua College, both in NYC. You may have seen her work as part of the MTA-Artists Unite Subway Elevator Poster Project. She has won numerous grants and awards and been featured in a variety of prestigous publications.

What’s your background? 

Originally from Israel, I arrived in the US in 2000 to pursue postgraduate legal studies. I discovered photography and art along the way.

Why do you do what you do? Why art?

Because it’s my way to express myself, to connect with people, and to try and make some sense of the world we live in. I believe that art has the power—to paraphrase the words of artist Dread Scott—to propel life forward. It can open our hearts, and minds, to different ideas about ourselves, and others.

What is your main medium? 

I mostly work with photography, which I love, for its ability to connect and empower people, young and old, and to use nuanced and layered visual language to start a conversation. Using medium and large format film cameras, I usually work on long-term projects that involve extensive research and continuing collaboration with my subjects, on or off camera.

What themes do you pursue? 

My work addresses themes of home, belonging, resilience, and the tenuous nature of living amidst social and political unrest.

What does your work aim to do?

It aims to introduce viewers to notions and points of view they may be unfamiliar with, or opposed to, in order to start an honest dialogue about where we are as a society, and where we may go from here.

How does your work comment on current social or political issues?

My work examines the realities of communities I have encountered or been part of. My point of departure is the personal, the subjective, the subtle, and this is the perspective from which I tackle charged social and political issues such as aging, immigration, intermarriage, and homelessness.

Who inspires you?

Artists and thinkers who create work that deals with social and political matters, makes you feel, and encourages you to rethink your assumptions. Some favorites are Adrian Piper, Sanja Iveković, Kerry James Marshall and Pedro Almodóvar. I am also inspired by the resiliency and generosity of many of the people I’ve met, worked, and collaborated with over the years. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Be yourself. In every aspect of life, nothing beats authenticity.

Has literature and the written word impacted your art making?

When I work on a project or a single image, lines and scenes from books often float at the back of my head. One such line “the soul chooses which story to tell herself” from my favorite Israeli author, David Grossman, always reminds me of two literary elements I aspire to incorporate in my art—the poetics of language and storytelling. Moreover, in recent years, I’ve been working with social justice-based arts-in-education organizations and with Lehman College, facilitating creative writing and visual art collaborative residencies and workshops. It has been a great experience to have students use both art forms to express themselves.

Are libraries a part of your world?

Libraries are a very important part of my world. Being a parent, I’ve spent many hours in the children's sections of the Fort Washington and Inwood libraries, which have always been very inviting and welcoming. To this day, my children’s main source of books is the library. As an artist, I’ve been using library resources for my research and for work meetings. I’ve also attended many talks and exhibitions that took place in various NYPL locations. I believe that libraries are an invaluable resource and are essential for our community.

What have you been working on recently?

In the past three years, I’ve been collaborating with three artists who have experienced homelessness on creating a series of still live images of their belongings, in order to question a society that allows homelessness to exist and perpetuate. Recently, the project has evolved to include video work as well as my collaborators’ own work—visual, performance, and poetry. In addition, I’ve been teaching and developing programs with various art and educational organizations, which has been very enriching for my art practice.

Have the recent events had an impact on your art practice? 

Recent events have reaffirmed for me the urgency of art and its potential to connect and heal. My teaching artistry practice, though forced to move online, became a space of refuge and community. And collaboration on physical projects, though more challenging, seems to take a more profound direction, with the hope that they will ripe at some point in the future.

To see more of her work, please visit Yael's website. 

Thank you to YA Librarian Joe Pascullo for help putting this blog post together.