They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of Jewish Life in Poland Before the Holocaust

September 10, 2007 - January 13, 2008
At the Judah L. Magnes Museum
2911 Russell Street, Berkeley

They Called Me Mayer July is the result of a 40-year collaboration between Yiddish anthropologist, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, and her father, Mayer Kirshenblatt. Mayer grew up in Apt, Poland, and immigrated to Toronto in 1934. Through conversations and interviews with his daughter, Mayer recreated in remarkable detail a Jewish life in a small Polish city before the Holocaust. In 1990, at the age of 74, Mayer taught himself to paint and has since been illustrating the stories of his hometown. This exhibition includes more than 60 paintings that bring to life the characters, streets and domestic scenes of Apt, offering the children and grandchildren of Mayer's generation a chance to step into a vibrant world they can hardly imagine. For more information, visit the Magnes website at www.magnes.org/exhibits/index.html.

They Called Me Mayer July is being co-presented at the Magnes with the Museum of Craft and Folk Art, San Francisco and the Holocaust Center of Northern California