6 Days

6 Days

• Artist: Uzi Buzgalo
• Title: 6 Days
• Media: Acrylic on wood
• Dimensions: 34 in. x 35 in.
• Date: 2005

• Biographical Information: Uzi was born in Afula, Israel. He was actually the first deaf child in his hometown. In order to communicate with others, he would draw. He attended the Jerusalem School for the Deaf since he was a child until his teenage years. He began studying art at the young age of just eleven years old! He studied at the Museum of Israel in Jerusalem. He studied things like lithography and sculptures. He was even a dancer in a dance group which contained both Deaf and hearing people. It was called Kol Demama. They traveled the world for years together. He used his creative abilities to contribute to this dance group which eventually led to the development of his art style. It can be described as a composition of color waves and dots; he feels this expresses the language of Deaf people. His artworks are represented in collections all over the world due to his popularity. (Biography)
• Artist's Statement: "The beauty of signed languages shaped my art style, which is a composition of colors and hands with stories of similar experiences, a way of artistically depicting the language and culture of deaf people."
• Background Information: "During the Six-Day War in 1967, Uzi and his fellow students from the Jerusalem School for the Deaf were brought to the safety of a bomb shelter. In the dark crawl space they sat in small groups around a candle. In this painting he captures the flicker of signing hands moving in and out of the light brightly playing with shadows and thoughts."
• Connection to Theme: I feel this piece connects to Life Through the Eyes because of the background story; I was fascinated with it! I love how the artist used sign language to turn a dark and terrifying situation into a beautiful one. I can only imagine how mesmerizing it must have been to see the small flicker of the candle and the movements and shadows from all the people signing. It must've been a pretty memorable event if Uzi Buzgalo decided to create something out of it. I feel this makes a strong, final post because it explains the beauty of sign language. It explains that even in that scary time hiding in the crawl space, Uzi and his students made it beautiful through Deaf culture by signing together. The group of Deaf people were together and made a situation better through their shared culture. To me, it sends the message that sign language is powerful and beautiful. That is clearly why I wanted to include this piece in my exhibit. I hope this helps give you a different perspective on sign language!

Artist's statement and background information (ctrl +click here) 
Painting information (select artists, painting, Buzgalo, Uzi, view more art) 
Painting information 2 (ctrl + click here)