1438 CECIL COURT, LONDON W.C.2. (THE REFUGEES), R.B. KITAJ, 1983 – 1984
FEMALE NARRATOR:
The artist, RB Kitaj, included himself in this lively scene. That's him in the foreground, reclining on the sofa and holding a book.
The setting is Cecil Court, a pedestrian alleyway in London famous for its rare and second–hand bookshops – many of them run by refugees. Curator Elena Crippa.
ELENA CRIPPA:
This is a corner of London where all these different individuals from different backgrounds come together to find a cultural context for reading, discussions, and, possibly, a way of being part of a community which is transnational.
FEMALE NARRATOR:
When he made this work, Kitaj was exploring his own Jewish heritage–– both his father and his grandmother had escaped the Holocaust. Here, he delves into the experience of the refugee: Against the strong unifying perspective of the street, the different figures remain isolated, each focused on their own particular movement or activity.
One of the first people to see the work, a 75 year-old refugee, said the people in it looked "meshugge" – meaning "crazy" in Yiddish. In response, Kitaj explained the figures were inspired by performers of Yiddish theater, who travelled across Europe prior to World War II.
ELENA CRIPPA:
He began collecting images of this theatre. The positioning of the bodies and the awkward poses that they are taking on very much relates to this idea of a culture which was other not just in the language, but in the way they would express themselves theatrically, through the use of their bodies. So this is very much part of an attempt to reconnect with the tradition and a culture that at this moment in time Kitaj feels he wants to reconnect to.
