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del.icio.us Digg It!  new A new take on working from home By Doron Halutz Tags: photography A comfy blue sofa sits on the edge of the narrow space that houses Dani's Gallery. A low coffee table in front of the sofa is flanked by a stereo that plays jazz. A potted plant and groaning bookshelf stand on the other side of the room. The walls are painted in pale, yellow stucco dotted by a few white stains. Photographs hang in the corridor that surrounds the gallery, leading to the bathroom, as well as in the main space. Dedicated in late November, Dani's Gallery is Be'er Sheva's first gallery devoted solely to photography. The homey decor is not coincidental - the gallery is housed in the living room of the home that Dani Machlis rents in the heart of Be'er Sheva's Old City. The gallery's opening exhibition featured some 50 photographs by Machlis, who is 35. The pictures have no thematic or stylistic common denominator except that they are all shot outside. Advertisement In one, a soldier from Machlis' reserve unit peers down over the living room doorway. The soldier, who Machlis has been documenting for the last 13 years, appeared alongside works by Adi Nes and Ziv Koren in a group exhibition at Ben-Gurion University titled, "You are the Bomb!" Photographs of the Negev hang on the western wall of Machlis' gallery, and the eastern wall features pictures Machlis shot two years ago in Malawi and Mozambique, some of which appeared in National Geographic. Others were taken in Acre, Jerusalem, New York, the Czech Republic and at a friend's wedding. A domino effect Though the humble temple he established for himself somewhat resembles a cult of personality, Machlis insists this was not his intention. "The dream is to develop the Old City of Be'er Sheva and turn it into a cultural center that people visit for its own sake. It was easier to collect my own pictures for the opening exhibition, but temporary exhibitions by other photographers - particularly photographers from the South - will appear here in the future." He said Neve Tzedek's transformation from a neglected South Tel Aviv slum to a chic, Bohemian neighborhood is a model to be imitated. "You wouldn't have wanted to live in Neve Tzedek 20 years ago, even if they paid you," he says. "Now, the opening of a new gallery in Neve Tzedek isn't even a news item. "I believe that just as people stop in Zichron Yaakov on their way north to wander through galleries and eat in a restaurant, the same thing can happen in the Old City of Be'er Sheva on the way to Eilat. I dream that someone who comes into my gallery will realize you don't have to invest funds in an additional apartment, and instead will establish a similar venue for things like ceramics and pottery in his own home. That will start the domino effect. "There was an artists' colony in this area in the 1970s and 1980s," he continues. "But it evaporated - perhaps because of the malls that cropped up around here. There has been a bit of a comeback in recent years, and young people who understand that you could create a cultural scene here have arrived. "The Artists' House cooperative of 20 to 30 artists is located two minutes walking distance from here and, though they don't live in the building, they show their own paintings, sculptures, and photographs there. "The Negev Museum of Art is located 300 meters away, and its director Nogah Rabed lives at the end of the street. She also helped me pick the photographs for the opening exhibition. A few artists have established studios in the neighborhood and some of them also give lessons." Not new, but rare Machlis was born in New York and moved to Jerusalem when he was 13. He moved to Be'er Sheva 11 years ago to study behavioral sciences at Ben-Gurion University. He began to dabble in photography when he received a Canon camera for his bar mitzvah. While studying at Ben-Gurion University, he registered for a correspondence course in photography from the New York Institute of Photography. In recent years, he has earned his living as the university's house photographer and has shown his work in a number of group exhibitions. In addition to the living room/gallery, Machlis' 600-square-meter home contains an expansive yard and three bedrooms that remain closed when the gallery is open to visitors. The concept of a home-based gallery is not new, but Machlis says it is rare in Be'er Sheva - particularly in the field of photography. Housing a gallery, open to visitors, within a private home obviously presents a number of constraints. From now on, Machlis must remember not to forget half-drunk cups of coffee or dirty socks in the living room. In addition, the gallery will only be open on weekends to visitors who make prior arrangements. Machlis says that, in general, "it's always a good idea to pick up the phone first. This is my home and things pop up. I certainly don't want people to come in here and yell, 'Surprise!'" Dani's Gallery, 2 Hagar Street, Be'er Sheva; Web site: www.danimachlis.com; Telephone: 054-4592265 Bookmark to del.icio.us Religious discrimination Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch rejects Israel's Jewish identity in a pre-Christmas speech. Patriot protection The IDF successfully tested an improved defense missile in anticipation of attacks.

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