Book Description
This illustrated version of the popular Passover song 'Had gadya' was the wonderfully playful offspring of the avant-garde artist El Lissitzky (1890-1941). It dates to a little-known period early in his career when he immersed himself in the Jewish cultural renaissance that flourished in Russia from roughly 1912 to the early 1920s. Signed with his Hebrew given name, this volume-with its wraparound cover, colorful lithographic montages, and stylized use of Yiddish and Aramaic words-celebrates Lissitzky's interest in Jewish folk traditions while looking forward to the dynamic graphic and typographic designs for which he is best remembered. This near-scale facsimile-including the rarely seen cover-allows readers to experience Lissitzky's Had gadya as originally envisioned. It is accompanied here by Nancy Perloff's discussion of the work's cultural and artistic contexts, Arnold J. Band's English translation of Lissitzky's Yiddish version of the song, sections on Lissitzky's iconography and vocabulary, and lyrics set to music.
Had Gadya FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Had Gadya/ The Only Kid: Facsimile of El Lissitsky's Edition of 1919, edited by Arnold J. Band, contains just what the title promises: the folksong "Had Gadya," which is traditionally sung at Ashkenazic seders, and the illustrated book that the Russian avant-garde artist El Lissitsky (1890-1941) made of it in 1919. Although the song is usually a hit with children, the book-packaged elegantly, accompanied by annotated thumbnail illustrations and a scholarly yet clear introduction about the Jewish cultural renaissance in Russia between 1912 and the early 1920s and its impact on Lissitsky-will probably be of most interest to admirers of Lissitsky's more mature work, who will be startled by the contrast in theme and style. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature - Kathleen Karr
El Lissitzky (1890-1941) was a member of the avant-garde turned abstractionist painter. Before all that, he was raised in the Russian Pale of Settlement and studied art with Marc Chagall. During the heady days of modest freedom for the Jewish communities following the Russian Revolution, Lissitzky joined a burgeoning movement to reclaim Jewish folklore. The result was his Had Gadya, an illustrated retelling of the Passover song in Yiddish. The Getty's facsimile of the 1919 edition includes the original wraparound cover as well as the complete set of lithographs. It also includes Perloff's enlightening introduction to Lissitzky and the period, a translation of the lyrics, a vocabulary chart, and the lyrics set to music. Part of the Getty's "ReSources" program which makes available primary materials in its archives, this slim but beautifully produced volume is an eye-opener on many levels. It is an introduction to Lissitsky's art, but the freedom of his flying creatures also casts new light on the Yiddish folklore that produced Chagall. The ancient story recounted (of the cat who eats the kid, who's gobbled by the dog, etc.) is surely the ultimate forebear of modern classics like Simms Taback's There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. This is for art students and storytellers and anyone interested in Yiddish literature. 2004 (orig. 1919), Getty Research Institute, Ages 12 up.
Art & Photography
Book Info
