Jewish Primitivism

269 Pages·2021·2.028 MB·English

by  Samuel J Spinner

JEWISH PRIMITIVISM
Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture
David Biale and Sarah Abrevaya Stein, Editors
JEWISH PRIMITIVISM
Samuel J. Spinner
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 2021 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
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Printed in the United States of America on acid- free, archival- quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Spinner, Samuel J., author.
Title: Jewish primitivism / Samuel J. Spinner.
Other titles: Stanford studies in Jewish history and culture.
Description: Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2021. |
Series: Stanford studies in Jewish history and culture | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2021011013 (print) | LCCN 2021011014 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781503628274 (cloth) | ISBN 9781503628281 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Jewish arts—Europe—20th century. | Jewish
aesthetics—Europe—20th century. | Jewish literature—20th century—
Th emes, motives. | Jewish art—20th century—Th emes, motives. |
Primitivism in literature—History—20th century. | Primitivism in
art—Europe—History—20th century.
Classifi cation: LCC NX684.E85 S65 2021 (print) | LCC NX684.E85 (ebook) |
DDC 700/.4145—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021011013
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021011014
Typeset by Newgen North America in 10/14 Minion Pro
Cover background: zoomstudio | iStock
To my parents, my teachers
Miriam Spinner
Nahum Spinner l”z
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CONTENTS
Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. The Beginnings of Jewish Primitivism: Folklorism and Peretz 21
2. The Plausibility of Jewish Primitivism: Fictions and Travels
in An- sky, Döblin, and Roth 41
3. The Possibility of Jewish Primitivism: Kafka’s Self
and Kafka’s Other 81
4. The Politics of Jewish Primitivism: Else Lasker- Schüler
and Uri Zvi Grinberg 94
5. The Aesthetics of Jewish Primitivism I: Der Nister’s
Literary Abstraction 121
6. The Aesthetics of Jewish Primitivism II: Moyshe Vorobeichic’s
Avant- Garde Photography 144
Conclusion 170
Notes 179
Bibliography 215
Index 239
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1. Else Lasker- Schüler, Der Bund der wilden Juden (Th e society of
savage Jews) 99
Figure 2. Else Lasker- Schüler, die jüdisch=(cid:64)schen (Häuptlinge:) (die wilden
Juden) (Th e Jewish chieft ains; the savage Jews) 100
Figure 3. Else Lasker- Schüler, Th e indianer niggers of the prince of Tiba 103
Figure 4. Heading for poem, drawn by Uri Zvi Grinberg 108
Figure 5. Ayzik Zaretski, grammatical diagram 127
Figure 6. El Lissitzky, diagram of planimetric space 134
Figure 7. Henryk Berlewi, Khonen and Leah 145
Figure 8. Alter Kacyzne, portrait of Moyshe Pinczuk 148
Figure 9. Hermann Struck, lithograph of old man 151
Figure 10. Moyshe Vorobeichic, H.anuyot bireh.ov hayehudim (Shops in the
Jewish street) 155
Figure 11. Moyshe Vorobeichic, Judengasse mit Balkon der grossen Synagoge
(Th e Jewish street with the balcony of the Great Synagogue) 156
Figure 12. Moyshe Vorobeichic, handcart and automobiles from Paris 158
x ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 13. Moyshe Vorobeichic, Im Bethamidrasch (Lehrhaus) (In the
study hall) 162
Figure 14. Moyshe Vorobeichic, (left side) Architektur und Mensch
(Architecture and man); (right side) Mensch und Umgebung
(Man and surroundings) 164
Figure 15. Moyshe Vorobeichic, Vor dem Laden (In front of the store) 166
Figure 16. Moyshe Vorobeichic, Dein Volk Israel ist Reich (Your people Israel
is wealthy) 167