The Blood-Spattered Pages of a War Journal
Israeli Artist Keren Sphilsher Expresses Her Outrage on Paper
Not long after October 7, I received a portfolio of images of paintings by Keren Sphilsher, a prominent Israeli artist. The impact, the passion behind the work was immediate. Here was new work by an artist best known for paintings that incorporate references to art history, consumer and pop culture, comics, folklore, current affairs and social injustice. This series, entitled “War Zone,” is splattered with blood, guns, bombs and death.
I contacted her right away, wanting to know more about her firsthand experiences. After all, my news is filtered through the New York Times, CNN, and social media posts. Since the October 7 invasion of Israel by Hamas, I’ve been conflicted, feeling compassion both for Israelis, including my own family members, and for Palestinian civilians, especially for children. Many of my friends are Jewish and many are not, some born in Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran. Some are Palestinian-Americans. Passions run high and people rush to take sides. In the following questions and answers — edited from back-and-forth emails over the six weeks in October and November 2023 — I try to exhibit a ‘balanced’ point of view. But in Sphilsher’s circumstances, she cannot.
