# Dan Zakhem

Dan Zakhem (Hebrew: דן זקהיים‎; 13 May 1958 – 22 February 1994) 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" (1985), he created performances with post-modern artificial and spectacular characteristics, such as "The Babel Party" (1984).
In many of his works, he created deliberate blurring between art and life. In 1986, he was diagnosed with the HIV virus. Under this influence has created a series of works in which ballet of death as 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 performances

| 1980 "Maskself" Studio A, Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1980 "Lilliput" Lilliput Antique Store, Tel Aviv, Israel 1981 "Neither Here nor There. First going away performance." Vehicule Art Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1982 "Dan Zakhem" Tangente Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1982 "Hurluberlu Hymn" Musak, Noise Sound Festival. Vehicule Art Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1982 "Conspiracy" 5th International Apartment Festival. Westbeth Center, New York 1982 "Street Talk" Ground Zero Week, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1982 "Sketches for Biographical Borders" Centre Calixa Lavallee, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1983 "Development of Sketches for Biographical Borders" In collaboration with Esty Zakheim, Acre Fringe Theater Festival, Israel 1983 "Negative Mold Extension" Ahad Ha'am 90 Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel 1984 "The Babel Party: a fictitious political party" Tel Aviv, Israel 1984 "Babel with White in the Center" Tel Aviv, Israel 1984 "Explosion at Midnight" Acre Fringe Theater Festival, Israel 1985 "To Be Dragged into Politics in the Field" Nitzana Terminal Israel-Egypt Border (in collaboration with Anat Schen and Yadid Rubin) 1985 "Shuby Duby Zoo-Musiperfomance" (in collaboration with Anat Schen) Kibbutz Shefayim Cultural Center, Israel 1985 "Napping on a Forest’s Nipple" Nature Project #5, Ness Harim Forest, Israel 1985 "Made in Israel" (transliterated) Jaffa Port, Israel | 1985 "Flings-A Post-Modernist Soiree" Tzavta Club Theater, Tel Aviv, Israel 1987 "Impressions from Above-A Phenomenon" 2nd Prize Festival Israel, Jerusalem, Israel 1988 "Babel-come Back in Real Time" Zman Amiti Night Club, Tel Aviv, Israel 1988 "Ninji the Gingy" Shelter 209, Tel Aviv, Israel 1989 "Fat Freckles in the Sky". Shelter 209, Tel Aviv, Israel 1990 "Dennis the Menace-Nomade", Jerusalem Festival, Shelter 209, Ramat Aviv, Simultaneous performances with Tamar Raban and Anat Schen. 1990 "Sham-Po" (there-Here) Nature Project Ness Harim Forest, Israel 1991 "The Majesty of Absence", Rosh Dada.Installation/Performance. Shelter 209 Artists at Ein Hod Museum, Israel. 1991 "A la Dada- Hommage to the Dada Movement", Performances and poetry, French Institute Tel Aviv 1993 "Place and Mainstream" Performance, Hara Museum, Tokyo, Japan 1993 "Made in Israel" Performance, Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv 1993 "Life-Life". On going Performance with Tamar Raban, Borochov Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel |

## Selected exhibitions

| 1980 "Divided by 8-Plancher" Bourget Gallery Montreal 1981 Installation. Bourget Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1982–83 "Meating" First International Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition (Travelling exhibition). Manoa Art Gallery at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. 1985 "To Be Dragged into Politics" Installation.With Anat Schen. New Israeli Art at Dizengoff Center. Tel Aviv, Israel 1987 "Under the Tree" Environmental Installation. Meir Park, Tel Aviv 1989 "Mask-Sculpture" Hakikar Gallery, Old Jaffa, Israel 1989 "Objects from Performances" (Shelter 209 Group) Kalisher No. 5 Gallery, Tel Aviv 1990 "Myth- Here" Nature Project No. 7, Ness Harim Forest, Jerusalem, Israel | 1991 "5 Masks" Installation, Youth Wing, Israel Museum, Jerusalem 1992 "Programe for an Archeological Find", Field Installation, Ein Hod, Israel 1993 "Site for Archeological Finds #2", Installation. Bat Yam Museum, Israel 1993 "Since May 13th, 1958". " Who is afraid of Kitsch?" Installation. Bat Yam Museum, Israel 1993 "Archeological Finds #2", Bat Yam Museum, Israel 1993 "Bear with me and Lot's of Lost", Self Portraits Photo project, Ha'ir News Paper, Tel Aviv 1993 "Untitled", Sculpture. Artist House Tel Aviv |