The last series of works created by Avraham “Bera” Bazak during the final two years of his life deals with the
circus. In a series of drawings in pencil or charcoal on paper, in gouache on paper, and finally on large canvases
painted with oils he unfolds the magical and fascinating world, detached from the day to day experience, that
exists only within the circus tent.
The works focus on the people of the circus – the acrobats, the clowns, and the large audience that crowds
the grandstand. In the preparatory drawings the composition is constructed, in the gouache paintings the
characters are analyzed, and in the large oils it is the comprehensive coloration, in red, blue and green that
rules. The background is uniform in color, giving the impression of the fabric of a circus tent and encompassing
the scene that is being depicted.
Two acrobats hover between heaven and earth. Their dress is resplendent, their arms are flawlessly extended
to the sides. This is the central event in the majority of the works, yet the scene ends tragically: the acrobat fails
to reach the trapeze and crashes amid the audience. This contrast between the precise execution of the upper
portion of the work and the cruel death of the lower part repeats itself in most of the works. Bazak takes care
to distinguish between the living, splendidly clothed acrobat and the dead one, prostrate and broken, naked
and lifeless.
As to the background of the works – the uniform color that serves as the foundation – here dark and light
colored brush strokes are added. Their purpose is to accentuate the event and the drama and to draw the eye
toward the movement and the principal scene. At times they enshroud the flying character as with the wings
of an angel, at times they indicate the place where his life has ended. There the lines become thick and blunt,
and the light colored spots are replaced with blood stains and hints of sparks of fire.
A division between the audience and the performers occurs in most of the works. At times the composition uses
this to describe the falling of balls into the rows of the crowd. Here too a gaily dressed acrobat is positioned
walking on a tightrope, and a string of balls accompanied by brushstrokes falls on the heads of the spectators.
One of the prominent characteristics of Bazak’s works throughout the years has been his fondness for crowd
scenes, lavish with detail. This is his way of creating a colorful and opulent world and to provide each character
with its own attributes and personality. In the circus series this quality is expressed in the portrayal of the
audience. The rows of tightly packed spectators, clearly delineated in the stands, are positioned separate
from the acrobats and clowns, and in them exists a world onto itself: men and women, young people and
old, creatures which are possibly human, possibly animal. Faces in pink, yellow or green; protruding eyes and
dagger-like noses. Bazak does not scrimp on details: his characters are grotesque and expressive. In their
faces astonishment, boredom, shock or fear are indicated. Their dress is resplendent and impeccable, and
sometimes they appear to be ghosts encircling the body of the acrobat. At times, engrossed in conversation
between themselves, they exhibit no interest at all in the performance occurring before their eyes. Sometimes
at the climax of the scene the indifference of these detached characters is replaced by an impassioned, agitated
reaction.
The circus ring, that same wondrous world to which the audience comes in order to experience moments of
magic and entertainment, is the place that Bazak chose to examine the boundaries of life, the suddenness by
which a person may reach his end, and the immutable fear of death. The gala dress of the acrobats and the
spotlights of glory are no security against the bitter end. The compositions, which contain life and cruel death
at opposite ends of the canvas, emphasize the ease by which a life can be relinquished. How symbolic it is that
these works were created but a short time before the sudden death of the artist. Did he mean to imply that he
himself was the acrobat?
Raya Zommer
Director, Janco-Dada Museum
Ein Hod, Autumn 1999