
Long time friend and collaborator of Buber’s Basque Page, David Cox, was watching the recent film on Bob Dylan’s life – A Complete Unknown. The New York Folklore Center was part of the story as the Center became a focal point for American folk music. In the context of Bob Dylan’s life, he spent a lot of time there, listening to music and reading.
David noticed that the sign for the Center featured a lauburu. This is curious, as the owner of the Folklore Center, Izzy Young, as best as David and I can tell, had no Basque connections. Maybe this is somehow purely coincidence? Or maybe Izzy saw a lauburu somewhere and liked it so much he made it a part of his store? The lauburu isn’t exclusively Basque, so maybe he got it from somewhere else?
If anyone has any insight as to why a lauburu was associated with the Folklore Center, we are so curious to find out.
Update! This post piqued Gerard Ezcurra’s interest and, as he writes, “I reached out to the Folklore Centrum in Stockholm (which Ziggy also founded), who also use the Lauburu. It doesn’t solve the mystery, but here is their reply.”
Gerard: Thank you for your Facebook page. I am curious about your logo (which of course is the Folklore Center’s logo). It is the Lauburu from Basque (northern Spain, southern France) culture. Someone has asked about the connection of Izzy Young and the Basques. Perhaps you know its origin?
Folklore Centrum: Hi Gerard,
Thanks for your nice message, and your kind communication. This symbol has long been shrouded in mystery as to why it was used by Izzy at his Folklore Center and Folklore Centrum, though many have speculated various reasons over the years. We do know that the original sign was given to Izzy by female artist friend of his in Greenwich Village back in the early 1960s.
I do plan to dig deeper into research someday as to who exactly this artist was but I do not know off hand.
Very interesting to read what this symbol is used to represent in Basque Country, and this very well may be a clue to both the artist and her intention in gifting it to Izzy.
It is surely an ancient and esoteric symbol nonetheless, and often a source of wonderment and inspiration to those who view it.
Izzy was great friend to me in the later years of his life. So I keep this Facebook page going in his memory and honor. So nice to connect with you here. Thanks for reaching out!
/Noah Gest
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