Radu Klaper was my best friend. The twenty eight year age-difference was never present during our fifteen years of very close friendship. This series of works, which I have started after Radu's death in October 2006, is a homage to Radu - the poet, the writer, the lover of culture and of knowledge, and the person whose contribution and support was so significant to my artistic carrier. The series follows different stations in Radu's life combining texts from his poems.
Due to my travel to Germany this year and a new series I began there, the series is not yet complete.
Radu Klaper was born in 1937 in Bucharest in a Jewish-Romanian family and grew up in a multi-linguistic environment. He studied librarianship and philology and
after completing his studies published poetry, and worked as an art critic in different magazines. In 1976, Radu immigrated to Israel and became a theater and dance critic in foreign magazines in Israel and France. He also continued to publish his poetry in different Romanian anthologies. In 1991, he started to work in the Israeli library of dance and in 1993, he became the library's director. His first Hebrew poem-book "The Hart Paces" came out in 1998, and in 2003, he published two more books "Forbidden Songs" and a prose book, "Jews Against their Will", that dealt with the relationship between famous figures and their Jewish identity, including the French singer, Barbara, the actress, Simone Siniore, and the psychiatrist Bruno Bettelheim. Radu's poetry often dealt with homo-erotic desire and unfulfilled love, accompanied by wisdom and sharp insight. His writings introduced into Hebrew literature a touch of European poetry.
During his time at the dance library, Radu became known as a great supporter of artists and dancers, young and old. His vast knowledge and unique character turn Radu and the library to a pilgrimage site. In October 2006, at the age of 69, Radu Klaper passed away.
