Light Infiltration (Hoshen), sculpture, 1969

1916, Berlin-1977, Haifa

Itzhak Danziger’s Hoshen is an abstract and geometric brass interpretation of the ritual breastplate worn by the High Priest in the Israelite Temple. The Biblical Hoshen is golden and set with precious stones, whereas Danziger’s version is markedly modern and monochromatic, elegantly floating above its two-legged base. In its rigid, streamlined structure and gleaming substance it radiates power and authority; its pointed shapes draw it upward and out, like an arrow leaping beyond the limitations of the here and now.