Jan Yoors: New York
A new FIFTY ONE PUBLICATION with photographs of 1960s New York by Belgian artist, Jan Yoors.
“My father Jan Yoors passed away forty-five years ago, a month after I had turned nine. For me he is forever frozen in that moment, a larger than life person who lived an epic life. I have spent the past twenty years archiving and cataloging his art and the accumulated ephemera, which has helped to build a fuller picture of the life he lived. I have heard him described as a slight, baby faced, a great raconteur and a man who “never met a stranger but only friends he has not yet met”. In filmed interviews he comes across as calm, soft-spoken yet unflappable, confident in his chosen path. A man comfortable in his own skin, enjoying exploring the world and embracing all its diversity.
Upon this occasion, of the centennial of Jan’s birth, we have the opportunity of this book to dig deeper into our archives, revisiting these contact sheets and presenting images for their first time. Jan’s photography is a window into this time, post-war and just before the upheavals of the late 1960s. We get to see the world through Jan’s eyes, intimate moments with the people of New York City whom he loved.” (Kore Yoors, 2023)
About the Author
Born in Antwerp in 1922, to a pair of liberal, pacifist parents (his father was also the famed stained-glass artist, Eugeen Yoors) Jan Yoors’ work in painting, sculpture, photography, film, writing, and tapestry reflect the ethos of a life that was colorful, bold, and full of humanity. By the time Yoors was 12 years old, he had run off to travel with a Gypsy tribe in Belgium and by the time World War II broke out, the artist worked with the Allies to help persecuted Gypsies—an endeavor that landed him in jail twice. In 1950, Yoors moved to New York City with his wife Marianne and her friend Annebert. Having developed an interest in tapestries while enrolled at the School of African and Oriental Studies at London University, Yoors constructed a 15-foot vertical loom in his studio, where the three (Jan, Yoors, and Marianne) collaborated on woven works. By the 1960s, Yoors began to deepen his interest in photography and film. In 1963, he directed the feature-length documentary “Only One New York,” which documented New York City’s rich, ethnic diversity.
His work has been exhibited and collected by major galleries and institutions internationally, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Montclair Art Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Craft, and The American Museum of Natural History. In 2012, the FeliXart Museum in Brussels organized the first retrospective of Yoors’ work since his death. He has written several books on the lives of Gypsies in Europe, a journal of survival and resistance in World War II, and New York City’s diversity. (via Artspace.com)
