This art guide centers on the work Center of the World, which belongs to the mature conceptual body of work of Joav BarEl, artist and cultural figure from the city of Tel Aviv. Barel conceived the piece about seven years before he died of heart failure at the young age of 44. He "conceived" rather than "created" the piece, because it was born as an idea, and that is how it came to us - as an ink drawing on a notebook page. BarEl called the notebook in which the idea was recorded an "Idea Book," and it served as a portable work environment (a kind of analog laptop) with which he conceived ideas and created in a free, dynamic pattern of action as he moved - in accordance with his statement from 1973 "I can do whatever I want."

BarEl recorded in his notebook (at least) four different variations for an artistic-physical embodiment of the concept of "the center of the world," an ancient and familiar concept in human culture from different fields of thought, and especially from the field of religion. The variations that BarEl conceived for the Center of the World are the products of the reflections of a young, creative, liberal, secular person, and therefore they can be seen as a reflection of BarEl's personal credo as well as the cultural-social climate within which he operated. The research that revolved around this work was conducted by adopting a wide angle of view of BarEl's work, in an attempt to encompass the broad span of his work, which went far beyond the accepted narrow definition of creating artworks. And indeed, BarEl was not an artist in the narrow sense of the word. As a curious and energetic man of culture, he was an active and central partner in building new cultural enterprises in his city of Tel Aviv and throughout the country. He belonged to the group of creators of the "new wave" in the secular Israeli culture of the 1960’s and 1970’s, along with David Avidan, Gabriel Moked, Jacques Mori Katmor, Yair Hurvitz, Yona Wallach, Aviva Uri, Ami Shavit, Josef Mundy and others - experimental and innovative artists and writers who belonged to his close circle of friends.

From the art guide: “When BarEl was only 44 years old, he died of heart failure. By then it was already clear to his acquaintances and the public that followed his activity that due to the scope and depth of his work, and to his original thinking, he had made a significant contribution to the budding field of art and culture in Israel. In the eyes of many, he was a symbol, a symbol of an era and of a generation. He left behind not only a tangible physical legacy in the form of works of art, but also an intangible cultural legacy that can be summed up in the word "spirit." Looking back, we can say that not only was Barel active in the heyday of secular and liberal youth culture in Tel Aviv - he was among those responsible for its formulation and creation.”

In addition to the written research at the heart of the guide, it presents photographs and documents from the artist's archive and other sources, some of which are published for the first time. Television films on contemporary art that were co-initiated and co-edited by BarEl and colleagues and with his participation - including the film "From Venus to Marilyn Monroe" from 1971, in which one variation of the Center of the World appears - were made available to the public as part of the production of the guide, and can now be viewed free of charge on the website of the Israel Film Archive - Jerusalem Cinematheque.

The art guide Joav BarEl: The Center of the World (1970) is the fifth in a series of independent studies published by Marcel, initiated and edited by Adi Englman. The studies in the series all focus on a single artwork or a single body of work from the history of Israeli art, which in retrospect were found to be central both in the entirety of the artist's work and in general artistic and public contexts.