In 1986, Kijno declared: “I spent my youth stealing light from the pockets of poets. It was perhaps for me, the son of an immigrant, the only way to survive in a world whose horror of violence I already felt in my deepest self. I was literally suffocating from this society of prohibition…”1.
From the 1950s, Kijno worked on major literary texts such as Homo hellenicus by Nikos Kazantzakis or The Islands by Jean Grenier, which gave birth to unique specimens of crumpled papers or paintings.
I. We will limit ourselves here in this brief presentation to poets in the strict sense, thus leaving aside writers in general. The forms are multiple:
– painted manuscripts like Aragon’s Brocéliande;
– isolated works such as those dedicated to Juliette Darle;
– a set of works devoted to a well-known poet like Neruda’s Theatre;
– isolated prints;
– original artistic interventions in the limited edition of poetry collections;
– Kijno’s works reproduced on the covers of poetry books, in regular editions of collections or in poetry magazines…
Ladislas KIJNO and Raoul-Jean MOULIN
Exhibition “The Painter and the Poet” June 6, 1995
Maison du livre, de l’image et du son – Villeurbanne
Photos: André Rochedy
II. What are the characteristics of this companionship with poets?
1. First of all, it should be noted that it is permanent. It begins in 1942 with the portrait of Paul Claudel 2 and continues until the painter’s last breath. While the early years were marked by interruptions due to illness, from the early 1960s, the association with poets became uninterrupted.
2. Kijno puts unknown poets (like Françoise Poiret) and famous poets (like Aragon or Neruda) on the same level. Only the means and the material importance of the painted work change.
3. Kijno responds to requests from both recognized publishers (like Maeght) and lesser-known publishers (like Au Fil de l’Encre).
4. Kijno can spend several years on a poet’s work. This is the case with Aragon (1944-1980) or Ponge (1943-1980). To name just these two poets.
III. To continue…
Many poetry books enhanced by Kijno can be consulted upon request at the Artoiscomm branch in Nœux-les-Mines, which houses the Kijno donation… 3
In the editorial of issue 1 of the magazine “Confluences poétiques” dated March 2006, directed by Luis Mizon, whom Kijno cites among the poets and writers he is in contact with (in Kijno the great works, catalog of the Cannes / La Malmaison exhibition, 2011, p 95), Mizon notes: “The French language is the place of our convergence. Poetry is the place of our recognition”. Convergence and recognition are words that Kijno, the light thief, would not have rejected…
Lucien WASSELIN.
Lucien Wasselin is a poet, essayist, and columnist. He has published about thirty works (including 9 as artist’s books) and several hundred reading notes or articles devoted to literature (especially poetry), new music or songs, and visual arts in various publications (print and electronic)…
Notes.
1. Ladislas Kijno’s words transcribed by Malou Kijno in Raoul-Jean Moulin, Kijno, Le Cercle d’Art publisher, Paris, 1994, p 225.
2. Raoul-Jean Moulin, op. cit., p 19.
3. address: 138 bis, rue Léon Blum. 62290 Nœux-les-Mines. Tel: 03 21 54 78 23.
Photography Laurence Sudre – René Veignant
