Jaffa 

Curator: Looking at Jean David's painting, "Jaffa," one can't help but get swept away by its charming simplicity. The shapes that make up this cityscape and harbor are geometric yet still convey such character. Editor: It does strike me with its deliberate, almost architectural quality. You can almost feel the individual blocks of acrylic-paint layered onto the canvas, creating this stylized landscape. I find it very appealing on a tactile level. Curator: Jaffa is, of course, a historic port city, carrying so much weight for both Jewish and Arab cultures. These shapes remind me of stylized symbols used to convey similar harbor cities throughout the medieval period. Notice how the simplified depictions of boats speak to trade, and how this place signifies connection and movement between cultures. Editor: I appreciate that contrast - the ancient port presented through the lens of almost pop-art aesthetics. I am thinking of the artist's decisions regarding material. Why acrylic? Was it for cost? The fast drying time? The bold pigmentation? Each consideration affects how we experience the work. Curator: Post-Impressionist elements can definitely be found in Jean David's brushstrokes as well. But it seems to me that he's drawing from both traditions and reinterpreting that symbolism for the modern viewer. The effect, at least for me, is almost dreamlike and whimsical; that's the impact that is held in the cultural memory of this place. Editor: And the repetitive use of simple squares and triangles hints at both modernist and postmodern approaches. The very act of simplifying the complexities of Jaffa into geometric forms – I am wondering what he is aiming to capture about the place. Does that kind of simplification allow for something new, or flatten out some essential component? Curator: It's a reminder of how much a visual signifier, such as a boat or the suggestion of a cityscape, holds meaning for a population and a culture. Editor: Indeed. This acrylic cityscape made me rethink the relationship between medium, subject, and the artist's role in reshaping history through accessible materials. Curator: And I'm seeing a conversation between cultures reflected and reimagined here. Thank you for adding an emphasis on the painting's texture.