More about Resting at Noon

Contributor

Nahum Gutman is known for trying to break away from Western styles of art, but some themes are universal.  

The knife in the freshly cut watermelon brings a hint of violence.  The voluptuous nature of the woman mirrored by the pair of yellow hills that strongly resemble boobs supposedly bring an air of sexuality to the painting, leading many to believe that the scene depicted is a couple post-coitus.  In fact, the work even inspired a poem by Lisa Katz featuring captivating lines such as “Other hills look like breasts/and other body parts."  War and sex makes up the exciting stuff that's been driving the entertainment business since before Israel was a state, so of course an artist as accomplished as Gutman must have at least one painting with that as the focus, right?  Having been to the Middle East, I don’t buy it.

That heat over there is REAL. I don’t even know why they’re outside in the blistering sun where all there is to do is eat watermelon to prevent your insides from burning up.  People can barely move when the sun is that bright, let alone thrust.  That flush on her cheek is a sunburn.  They were probably on their way back to their kibbutz when the guy got heat stroke.