The painter JonOne in visit in Israel

JonOne ”Marianne” at the Bourbon Palace

JonOne. a painter and graffiti artist,  is the guest of honor at the Gallery 32 Tel- Aviv, where a magnificent exhibition of his works is being presented.

I  am very happy to have guided him, his family and friends for a few days.

Andrew John Perello, was born in 1963 in the Harlem neighborhood of New York to parents from the Dominican Republic. As a Harlem street child his introduction to street art began at an early age. He became acquainted with tags and graffiti drawn on subway cars and on the walls of the city, ” The subway is a museum that runs through the town ” he said. At 17, he entered the world of graffiti with his childhood friend “White Man,” he is marking his name Jon with the number 156 on walls and trains in his neighborhood. He moved to Paris in 1987, this city  was a revelation to him, he said Paris was the nucleus of street art, he is still today inspired and fascinated by this beautiful city.

Renowned painter, he has recently executed for the ”Palais Bourbon” a painting of the famous  ‘Marianne’ in his own style. This painting will soon be printed on French Republic postage stamps.

JonOne A Beautiful Madness -about the artist  YouTube

The artist with one of his paintings

Mount of Olives and view of the old city with Shanae, Christophe, Gemal, Jon and Mai

Jon in front of the Dome of the Rock Jerusalem

Sarona – Tel-aviv’s German colony –

Tel-aviv – Sarona

”The Templers” were Protestant religious people who came to the Holy Land in the nineteen century with their mentor Christoph Hoffman calling for the return to the origins of Christianity and the establishment of urban and agricultural settlements in Palestine.

Their involvement with the Nazism government during Hitler’s time made them the ennemy of the British in power in Palestine and after World War II, the entire Templar community with their seven settlements in Palestine was deported to Australia, never to return.

They arrived in Palestine more than a decade before the first Zionist Jewish immigrants came and in many ways, they served as models.

Despite their small number in the country, the Templars nonetheless contribute to
modern techniques of agricultural development in Palestine and they quickly gained a reputation for their skill and precision in the execution of various works.

They planted vineyards and orchards using modern technology unknown in Palestine, they created the first oil mills for grain that operated with steam engine. They have tapped into the soil to find this water so rare and necessary for the survival of everyone. They opened the first European-style hotels and pharmacies, and embarked on the production of important commodities like soap and cement – or beer and wine. They were the first in the market of “Jaffa Oranges”.

Their beautiful houses,  of continental elegance, with their red tile roofs were surrounded by flourishing gardens. These neighborhoods have become today, after their renovations, trendy and luxurious places either in Jerusalem, Haifa, Bethlehem of Galilee, Jaffa and Tel Aviv Sarona.

The Sarona district includes 37  Templar houses that were renovated (out of 85 at the time of the Templars) 5 of them have even been raised and displaced to expand the Kaplan street and to allow better circulation. The project, which lasted for years, finally ended and we can see now numerous high luxury buildings that are being built on the site of the houses that were destroyed together with shops and “haute cuisine” restaurants even installed in underground vaulted cellar of the agricultural cooperative used by the German Templars.

This unique neighborhood, thanks to the renovation, allow us to keep an eye on the past and I was told  that the young german generation belonging to this community come sometime to visit the Holy Land and their ancestors patrimony. They are delighted to know that their heritage has been preserved and they are proud of it and so are we !….

 

Tel-Aviv – Sarona

Tel-Aviv – Sarona