Ezra Orion was born in 1934 on Kibbutz Beit Alfa and grew up on Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan.
In 1950, he studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and between 1964-1966 he studied in London at the Central St. Martin’s School of Art and Design and at the Royal College of Art.
In 1967, he joined the founders of the Ben-Gurion College, was the director of the local Field School and was a founder of the School for Environmental Education there. In 1981, he founded and edited the journal “Environments”.Orion taught at Bezalel and at the College of Visual Arts in Be’er Sheva.
At the beginning of his artistic career, Orion created sculptures that were suitable in their dimensions for display in galleries, but at the beginning of the 80s, he got very involved in dealing with the forces, which shape the Earth – what he called “tectonic sculpture”.
He created an environmental sculpture based on the lines of stones leading to geological rifts and mountain peaks. Many of these lines end in a small stone platform, which creates together with the line that leads to it, a “Launch Pad for Consciousness” in the words of Orion.
In the late 80s, Ezra Orion developed what he called ‘intergalactic sculpture’, referring to the energies of the solar system as sculptural material. Within this framework, he sent an obelisk of a laser beam, a billion kilometers in length, into space, perpendicular to the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy. Besides being a sculptor, Orion also published several books of poetry.
Although he seldom displayed his works, Orion was highly regarded among the artistic community. Some monumental works of his are exhibited throughout the country.
Ezra Orion died in 2015 and was buried in Ben-Gurion College.
At the eastern end of the park, Ezra Orion erected two spacious rows of massive stones, which create a pathway leading to the edge of the cliff.
On approaching the edge, the rows of stones spread apart like two fans opening up wide, both left and right, parallel to the cliff.
The huge stones along the pathway give the visitor a growing sense that he has entered a place that is out of this world, even religious in a sense, while entering into a secular temple, but worshipping the powerful forces of nature.
Orion himself saw this piece as part of his long time affair with tectonic sculpture, playing a part in shaping the Earth itself.
“The sculpture occupies the crater rim as a launch pad for consciousness,” said Orion.
Indeed, the sculpture makes the visitor feel the immense power of nature, which sends his consciousness into the universe.
