When I was about to graduate from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, I started thinking about my final project. I decided to create a book from scratch – designing it, forming the concept, choosing the format, the fonts and the images as well as the type of paper. I even made the book cover myself using several techniques and stitched and bound it by hand. In a digital age, I wanted to go back to the fundamentals and create a book whose pages cannot be swiped with a finger.
In order to choose a subject, I looked at my family and surroundings. I wanted to choose a personal subject that would also be relevant and timely. This led me to the idea of writing about current Israeli society from a historical and personal perspective, using the writings of my great-grandmother, the late Hanna Bavly, who was nicknamed “Israel’s Miss Manners.”
The production of the book required extensive and serious cultural and historical research. In my research I went to the National Library of Israel. Searching for books on manners and etiquette, I found an American book from the 1980s (The New Etiquette by Marjabelle Young Stewart, St. Martin’s Press) and took it out. Upon opening the book, on the inside cover, was a surprise. An outstretched hand from the past. In the first page of the book was an inscription that noted the book had once been a part of my great-grandmother Hanna Bavly’s personal collection (she had hundreds of books on the subject), and was donated to the National Library by her son after her death.
But as I said, Hanna Bavly’s meticulous manners were just a starting point for a timely and relevant statement. The book I designed focuses on manners—or more precisely—the lack of manners in Israeli society. It draws a line between the iconic figure of Hanna Bavly (whose name became synonymous with manners and etiquette) and contemporary Israel.
The book’s third chapter, titled “The Dream and Its Downfall” contrasts Hanna’s manners and etiquette advice from her “Questions and Answers” column that she wrote from the early 1960s until the late 1980s with cringeworthy, embarrassing, humorous, vulgar, and iconic moments in Israeli culture and public life. The chapter focuses on four aspects in which vulgarity prevails: interpersonal relationships, politics, table manners and road rage.
The other three chapters include an introduction to the history of manners in both Israeli and universal context, a chapter on the life and work of Hanna Bavly and a closing chapter featuring relevant academic articles that broaden the perspective and view.
I tailored the design to match the content of the chapters: the first two chapters, focusing on the history of manners, etiquette, and Hanna Bavly herself, as well as the fourth (academic) chapter, are designed with restraint and sophistication. The third chapter however, which contrasts Hanna’s polite advice with Israeli reality, is designed in a wild style reminiscent of trashy tabloids.
I designed the book in a way that recalled Hanna’s columns – just like Hanna, I too decided that a serious message can best be conveyed with a healthy dose of humor. I kept the original titles and Q&As of Hanna Bavly’s columns and incorporated them in my book ironically. This choice contributes to the critical, ironic and amusing language of the book.
The book Hanna Bavly is Rolling in Her Grave is my final project for the Department of Visual Communication at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. I am grateful and appreciative to my final project mentor, Idan Vaaknin, for his close and enriching guidance. He was the perfect role model teaching me a lot and providing me with a significant experience. I am hoping to publish my book soon so stay tuned.
You can find more of Noa Bavly’s art at: instagram.com/noartnb/
