The Aesthetics of Jewish Primitivism II

Abstract

Ein Ghetto im Osten: Wilna (A ghetto in the East – Vilna) is a 1931 photobook by the Bauhaus-trained photographer Moyshe Vorobeichic (better known for his book Paris, under the name Moï Ver). His Vilna book is a striking example of Jewish primitivism, which offers an alternative to the dominant form of Jewish visual art in the period, dismissed as sentimental “Chagallism” by Henryk Berlewi. Deploying a form of what James Clifford has called “ethnographic surrealism,” Vorobeichic portrayed subjects usually depicted sentimentally with the techniques (including montage and distorted perspective) of avant-garde photography. Vorobeichic’s skepticism toward notions of primitive authenticity diverged strikingly from the mainstream of Jewish art in the period. Vorobeichic’s photobook critiques the trope of the primitive Jew and the idea of authenticity while valorizing the humanity of his subjects.