ISRAEL TREASURES IN L.A.

The largest exhibition of ancient art and artifacts from Israel--with 150 relics representing a span of 12,000 years--opens today at the County Museum of Art.

A Dead Sea Scroll, sculpted ivory animals and copper crowns and scepters are among the antiquities in “Treasures of the Holy Land: Ancient Art From the Israel Museum.”

The display encompasses all the major archeological periods, from the 10th millennium B.C. to the Byzantine period in the 7th Century. The objects, mostly from 20th-Century excavations of biblical sites, are from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

The exhibition debuted in New York last fall at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In September, New York Times Art Critic Michael Brenson said the “extremely informative” exhibition was “first and foremost an archeological survey” whose strength is not aesthetic.

However, Nancy Thomas, one of two County Museum curators who organized “Treasures of the Holy Land” locally, disagrees.

“The Israel Museum’s primary criterion was to chose things with aesthetic value for the public,” Thomas said recently. “Some works, though historically important, are not particularly colorful. But I think people expecting only that sort of thing will be surprised.

“For instance, they’ll see lovely mosaics (some from a 6th-Century synagogue floor). Even the early pieces, though not especially colorful, are dramatic in their formal shape and design. These include such things as a staff of authority and ornate mace heads. Other striking objects include sculptural ivory plaques from royal palaces. Two of these depict crouching lions and one is of a striding sphinx.”

The exhibition will also illuminate the melting pot of cultures and the land that fostered the Judeo-Christian civilization.

“The objects represent various religious aspects,” Thomas said, “there’s much to be found that relates to the Bible and the Jewish religion,” as well as relics relating to nine other cultures including those of the Christian, Muslim, Egyptian, Roman and Greek peoples.

“We’re supplementing the original presentation made at the Met with additional text material for each object that will provide information and insight into how the pieces were used and why they were made,” Thomas added.

A portable taped exhibition guide, large photographs of the regions in which the artifacts were found, and a six-part Sunday lecture series will also render the subject matter more accessible to visitors.

The exhibition, to July 5, was organized jointly by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Israel Museum. The Los Angeles presentation is sponsored by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation and the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles.

CALLING ALL VIDEO ARTISTS: The Long Beach Museum of Art Video Annex is now accepting proposals for its video production grant program. The Open Channels: Artist Access Award Program gives video artists free access to video production and post production facilities at the annex. Funds for outside services are also available through the award, granted on the basis of project innovation and artists’ need. To apply, submit a one-page typewritten project treatment, a resume, a sample of recent video work on either 1/2-inch VHS or Beta or 3/4-inch tape, and an application. The latter are available through the Long Beach Museum Video Annex, (213) 439-0751. Deadline for submissions is May 1.

A TRIP TO TAIWAN: Thirty Los Angeles artists, both emerging and established, have lent their works for a multimedia exhibition currently on view at the Taipai Fine Arts Museum.

Marie de Alcuaz of the Municipal Art Gallery curated the exhibition, organized by Fred Croton, general manager of the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department.

“About eight weeks ago Marie was approached by a local representative of the Taiwan government,” Croton said the other day. “They asked if we would organize a contemporary show of American art. We said no--we’d organize a show of Los Angeles contemporary art.”

Participating artists, 10 of whom have traveled to Taiwan for opening festivities, include Carlos Almarez, Richard Diebenkorn, Diane Gamboa, David Hockney, Nancy Pierson, Yando Rios, Ed Ruscha, Ilene Segalove, Masami Teraoka and Peter Zorosky.

Croton said he hopes to present the exhibit, running to June 10, at the Municipal Art Gallery in July.

DA VINCI AWARD: Italian scholar Augusto Marioni has been named the first recipient of the Armand Hammer Award for Excellence in Leonardo Studies. Marioni, professor of Italian literature and philology at the Universita Cattolica, was awarded the biennial prize by the Armand Hammer Center for Leonardo Studies at UCLA’s College of Fine Arts. He will receive the award at 6 p.m. at UCLA’s Dickson Auditorium on Wednesday and deliver a lecture entitled “The Place of the Codex Hammer in the Development of Leonardo’s Thought.”

NEWS FROM THE STATE: Two new artworks, created with funds from the California Arts Council, have been added to the state’s Art in Public Buildings Collection. A granite and steel sculpture by Los Angeles-based artist Woods Davy has been installed at the Arleta Department of Motor Vehicles building, and an oil painting by Dan Rice, who lives in Massachusetts, now graces the Oceanside DMV.

These artists were awarded commissions from the Arts Council after competing in its Art in Public competitions. The council is now accepting applications for public art commissions for two new state office buildings. Application forms are available from the California Arts Council, 1901 Broadway, Suite A, Sacramento 95818. Application deadline is May 1. Information: (916) 445-1530.

SHOW AND TELL: An upcoming symposium held in conjunction with the County Museum of Art’s Italian Renaissance maiolica exhibition will feature leading authorities on the subject. The symposium, April 24 and 25, will trace the evolution of the colorful, 16th-Century tin-glaze ceramic ware and focus on the role maiolica played in Renaissance life.

The symposium, presented by the County Museum’s Decorative Arts Council, will begin at 7 p.m. on April 24 at the J. Paul Getty Museum and continue the following day at the County Museum. Participants will view maiolica collections at both institutions. General admission is $65. Information: (213) 857-6041.