Jules Janco : July 17, 2023 - November 19, 2023

Vintage photo booth photo strip portrait of man in suit and tie

jules

janco

art + architecture

IN-HOUSE EXHIBITION

JULY 17 - NOVEMBER 19 2023

Featured: Photobooth portraits of Jules Janco, Paris, 1921, ID: 1475_[22]_1

early life & zurich

Jules Janco (also known as Iuliu Iancu) was born in 1896 in Bucharest, Romania to an upper-middle class family comprising his father, Herman Zvi Iancu, a textile merchant who worked in the "Fratei Iancu" building with his uncle, his mother, Rachel (née Juster or Iuster), from Moldavia, and ultimately three siblings: Marcel Janco (1895), George Iancu (1899), and Lucia Iancu (1900). The family resided in a house commissioned by Hermann Iancu’s father in Bucharest’s Jewish Quarter.

In his early years, Janco attended a German school; he spent middle school at the Gheorghe Şincai school, and high school at Lyceul Lazar. The family travelled frequently, mostly to Austria-Hungary, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands. In 1912, Marcel and Jules, alongside their friend and later artistic collaborator Tristan Tzara (alias Sammy Rosenstock), joined the editorial board for the short-lived Symbolist magazine Simbolul to which many of Romania's prominent poets contributed.

Jules and Marcel arrived in Zurich in 1914, shortly after the declarations of what would become known as the First World War. The eldest brothers had just finished high school, and their parents had wanted them to continue their education; Zurich, where the family had vacationed in the past, was the chosen location. For their first few months in their adoptive home, Marcel was working towards entrance exams for architecture while Jules was doing the same for engineering—but an unexpected eye infection almost cost Jules his opportunity. Jules was forced to make daily trips to the doctor, and was ordered to spend two to three hours each day with his eyes closed. Rather than let his brother miss the round of exams, however, Marcel read aloud to Jules from his own architectural books. Soon both brothers had successfully passed their entrance exams for architecture school.

Because of Switzerland’s political neutrality, the capital attracted many of the great thinkers and artists of the era. The Janco brothers spent the end of their teenage years through their early 20s dividing their time between school and cabarets in the company of many of Europe’s notable thinkers. In a recording of his life story, Jules mentions a group of men who lunched at the same place as him and Marcel for several months; “We had our thoughts and troubles, they had theirs.” They never spoke. It wasn’t until the newspapers were plastered with Lenin’s face that Jules realized he had been dining alongside the leader of the Russian Revolution.

It was a flourishing time in Zurich, and the brothers lived lavishly until the war prompted trade cut-offs, and with it, the loss of their financial security. The brothers turned to performing at musical halls for their livelihood, Marcel singing and Jules on piano, while continuing their studies by day.

Jules (center) and Marcel (right) with poet Ion Vinea, looking through large cone, c. 1930s ID: 1475_[21]_2

Jules (right) and Marcel (left) seated with unknown classmates surrounded by books and paintings, ID: 1475_[21]_3

Wedding photo of Mizzi Packer and Jules Janco, ID: 1475_[24]_1

the dada movement

“Cubism was a school of painting, futurism a political movement: DADA is a state of mind.”

— André Breton, Three Dada Manifestoes

Dadaism is known for its absurdity and for pushing the boundaries of what can be considered art; it often took the form of performances, nonsense poetry, photomontages, collages, paintings and installations.

In its nascent years, Marcel and Jules moved in social circles with many proponents of Dadaism, including their friend from Bucharest Tristan Tzara, who had also relocated to Zurich, Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings (both poets and performing artists), Hans Arp (painter and sculptor), Sophie Tauber (painter), Richard Huelsenbeck (poet), Hans Richter (painter and writer), Rudolf von Laban (choreographer and designer), and Mary Wigman (dancer). The friends would meet regularly at the Meirei Tavern in a room they dubbed the Cabaret Voltaire, where they would take turns sharing and performing their latest artistic or literary works, and for which Marcel and Jules would produce costumes and masks. The brothers became increasingly involved in the movement over the course of their education–arranging festivals and exhibitions, performing in the weekly concerts–while at once juggling their studies. Tzara would occasionally take over administrative duties when the brothers were too busy, and he helped spread the Dada movement by putting ads in newspapers which were distributed globally. In Jules’ own words:

“This was also the time when, one evening, we went through the old part of town and entered the Meirei, a plain tavern, where we met, together with Marcel, Hugo Ball and his girlfriend, Emmy Hennings. We started to meet at least 3, 4 evenings a week together at the Meirei and everyone was ready to show what he thought was new and worthwhile showing. Tzara read his poems, Huelsenbeck his poetry, Ball his feelings for a free life far from the misery of the life and, interestingly enough, all was discussed there, except for politics. Marcel and myself together conceived and made masks, costumes and decorations for these nightly performances and we wondered how many people came to see us and to enjoy together by being present to a new kind of past-time of literary and artistic value.”

The Cabaret Voltaire only lasted about six months, but its influence on the range of artists, musicians and thinkers was profound. The movement branched out to urban centres such as Berlin, Hanover, New York, Paris and even Tokyo by the early 1920s, and dispersed into new artistic movements by the mid-1920s. It is no accident that Dadaism was born in Switzerland during the First World War; it began as an anarchist reaction namely to the war, which was being touted as a noble cause around Europe— an idea the Dadaists found completely absurd. Through the creation of absurdist art, they aimed to bring attention to the absurdity of current political events and the general dehumanization of the Industrial Age. They also worked with the new paradigm-shifting ideas of psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, who valued intuition and the unconscious. Without the avant-garde energy of movements such as Dadaism and the concurrent Cubism, there would not have been many of the important Western art movements of the 20th century, like Abstract Expressionism, Post-Painterly Abstraction, Pop Art, or Performance Art, among others.

Photograph of high diver at The Strand, ID: 1475_[39]_3

Beach-goers at The Strandul Kiseleff Bucuresti, ID: 1475_[39]_6

Jules greeting the King of Romania, 1929, ID: 1475_[39]_2

Beach-goers at The Strand, ID: 1475_[39]_4

Bird's-eye view of The Strand complex, ID: 1475_[39]_5

Collage of newspaper clippings featuring Mizzi and Miss Romania at The Strand, ID: 1475_[39]_7

The Strand ground tour with the King of Romania, 1929, ID: 1475_[39]_1

romanian architecture & the Birou de Studii Moderne

Like many cities in Europe at the turn of the 20th century, Bucharest boasted a mix of buildings in different architectural styles spanning a range of different time periods. After the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia and the creation of the modern Romanian State, the city dove into the Belle Époque era (1877-1916) under King Carol I for many of its administrative and residential architecture. Many of the buildings at this time were built by architects trained in Western Europe and echo the styles popular in Western cities.

The Janco brothers left their home city just before the start of the First World War and returned to a very changed Bucharest in the early 1920s. The physical territory of Romania doubled in that time, and with it came the resources and workforce to build a thriving society. “In the interwar period Romanian industry grew at an annual rate of 5.4 percent, one of the highest growth rates in the world at the time” (Sandqvist, 102). For two budding architects fresh out of school, the moment was ripe for entering the field. Before even securing their professional certifications in Romania, Marcel and Jules opened a joint architectural office called Birou de Studii Moderne, where they had one name on the plaque by the entrance: “Marcel Iuliu Iancu.” This combined name has led to some confusion in the century since, as it is not clear which brother spearheaded which joint projects; some likely mistake “Iuliu” for Marcel’s middle name.

Historian Tom Sandqvist claims that Marcel provided creative ideas, and Jules was the mastermind of planning and execution, negotiating and supervising contractors and carpenters. Over the course of their shared career in Bucharest, they are responsible for introducing the Stil Nou (New Style) to Romania and erecting more than forty buildings. Initially, they designed mostly homes and residential complexes, but as their careers progressed, this expanded to larger and more complex projects. Marcel and Jules are credited with designing many of the first modern buildings in Bucharest, the Prahova Valley, and the Black Sea coast. The brothers' Bauhaus-inspired collaborations emphasized interior design and urban development and are motivated by functionalist conceptions popularized by Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. Unlike many of their contemporaries, symmetry was not a favoured principle of their designs. The brothers did, however, make strong use of curved lines and of repeating windows in the modern Bauhaus style.

Two of the Janco brothers’ most famous shared ventures are the Strandul Kiseleff in 1929 and the Bucegi Sanatorium from 1935. The Strandul Kiseleff (often referred to as the Strand) was a large sports and recreation complex in Bucharest, boasting the largest beach in the city and the biggest man-made pool in Europe at the time. It was built in a mere 25 days, and the King of Romania visited the site for its inauguration. The Bucegi Sanatorium in the Râsnoavei valley near Predeal was one of the first sanatoriums in Romania. A 1935 publication in the Janco fonds refers to the building as a “revolutionary design” that captures sun from dawn to dusk by exploiting rectangular fenestration.

Magazine clipping of Sanatorium A Prédéal, Roumanie, ID: 1475_[11]_4

Jean Juster Villa, Str. Silvestru, Bucharest, Romania, 1931, ID: 1475_[14]_1

Str. Pictor Ștefan Luchian 3 (elsewhere listed as Calea Moșilor 144), Bucharest, Romania, 1933, ID: 1475_[14]_2

Hassner House, Bucharest, Romania, 1939, ID: 1475_[14]_3

Interior, Hassner House, 1938, ID: 1475_[14]_4

Interior, Hassner House, Inscribed: "Marcel et Juliu Iancu Interior Hassner 1938, Bucarest", ID: 1475_[14]_5

Jules Janco in canada

Jules and his family fled Romania on the eve of the Bucharest pogrom in January 1941, finding safe haven in British Mandate Palestine. In the following twelve years, during which the state of Israel acquired its independence, Janco continued designing private residences and public structures alongside his brother. While Marcel would live in Israel for the rest of his life, Jules emigrated to Canada in the early 1950s with his wife, Mizzi Packer, and their son, Dan. A 1961 letter in the Janco fonds from architecture firm Greenspoon, Friedlander and Dunne attests that Jules had been working with them since 1953, and had “...helped build large apartment and office buildings, multiple stores, alterations, etc. And is actually engaged in the design and execution of a large 300 bed Hospital and Home for the Aged.”

Jules became a Canadian citizen in 1958 and resided in Montreal until his death in 1985. Mizzi remained in Montreal until her death in 1998. At the Shaare Zion Beth-El Congregation, where they were members, there is a Mizzi and Jules Janco Youth Fund.

Architectural drawing, date unknown, ID: 1475_[41]_1

Architectural drawing, date unknown, ID: 1475_[41]_2

Architectural drawing, date unknown, ID: 1475_[15]_1

the many spellings of Janco

Throughout the Janco fonds, one may come across at least eight different spellings of his name. It is not uncommon for individuals in our archives to have two or three name variations, especially when it comes to anglicized versions of names originating in other languages. Sometimes this was done to avoid persecution for Jews coming from hostile environments; in other situations, alternate names were adopted after misspellings were documented by English-speaking authority figures during immigration, like at Pier 21 in Halifax or Ellis Island in New York.

In Jules’ case, it is not always clear why a certain spelling appears instead of another. For instance, he is listed as Julles Hermann Jancu on his birth announcement, but by the time of his birth registration, he is referred to as Jules Herman Jancu. On his French business card he is Jules Janco, while his Romanian business card is Juliu Iancu.* His Romanian business envelopes for his offices with his brother Marcel, however, list him as Iuliu Iancu. On all of the documents relating to his marriage to Mizzi Packer (who herself is listed also as Mitzi and Malca elsewhere), he is listed as Jules Jancu, while his personal letterhead reads Jules Janco. When his name is featured in documents created by others, such as a letter from the Israel Army Medical Service or in the notes for an architecture competition, we find even more varied spelling; in those documents he is listed as Mr. Janko and Jules Yanco, respectively.

*This may be the only documented choice: apparently when Marcel and Jules arrived in Zurich in 1914, they went by the name Janco because it was more easily pronounceable in French.

TAKE A PEEK AT OUR REFERENCES:

dada: art and anti-art

Dada East: the Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire

Tata Dada : The real life and celestial adventures of Tristan Tzara

Modern movements in architecture

Modern Architecture: The architecture of democracy

Content Writers: Ellen Belshaw, Education Outreach Coordinator & Kate Moore, Processing Archivist

the physical companion for this exhibition Runs from july 17 — November 19, 2023.

The Janco fonds was acquired by the JPL Archives in 2022 thanks to the gracious donation of the Janco family, and we thank them and the greater community for their valuable consultative contributions in the preparation and maintenance of this exhibition.

To learn more about the Janco collection at the JPL-A, we invite you to visit our archival catalog.