Jacques Katmor

Born into a wealthy, Jewish, family in Cairo, his father was a realtor and tile factory owner, he was, nonetheless, educated in a Jesuit school, and, upon turning 18, travelled to Paris and Switzerland, in order to study art at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, eventually, in 1960, immigrating to Israel, where, after serving in the Artillery Corps, taking part in the Six-Day War, during the 1960s and 1970s, he gathered, around himself, a group of artists and intellectuals, calling itself “The Third Eye,” a commune, dedicated to lysergic acid diethylamide and cannabis, the ideas of Timothy Leary, and, bands such as Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, and, Grateful Dead, which, included, amongst others, filmmakers and artists such as Yael Aviv (he), Hillit Katmor (he), Amnon Salomon, Daphna Arod (he), Ika Yisraeli (he), and, David Greenberg (he). He considered himself to be strongly influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche and the Marquis de Sade, as well as, by surrealism's artists such as André Masson and Hans Bellmer, Dada, the Situationist International's artists such as Guy Debord, the Beat Generation, Bernard Malamud, the band Faust, and, lettrism, and, eventually, changed his last name, on Avoth Yeshurun's suggestion, into a phonetic rendering of quatre mortes, French for “four deaths.” His apartment, located at Dizengoff Street 40 in Tel Aviv, where, eventually, his only film was shot, was a cornerstone of city life, during that time. He married translator, model, and, editor Hillit Katmor (he), daughter of poet Avoth Yeshurun, while, working on his highly avant-garde 1969 film A Woman's Case, in which, she starred, a time, during which, he met, and, casted into his film, model and it girl Ann Tochmeyer, most famous, during that period, for, appearing on the covers of magazines such as HaOlam HaZeh, which, he married, after divorcing his wife, after he finished the shooting. The film was a commercial failure, and, hindered his ability to pursue his career as a filmmaker. Other works included creating television programs showcasing the works of artists such as Moshe Gershuni, Yosl Bergner (1971), Yaacov Agam (1973), and, Michail Grobman (1974). Some years later, around 1974, he left Israel for Cambodia, Canada, and, Thailand, with Tochmeyer leaving for San Francisco, and, finally, later, around 1975, for Amsterdam, together with Tochmeyer, returning in 1991. Reportedly, while abroad, they both became addicted to cocaine and heroin, while, squatting in abject poverty, forcing him to work in pornography, and, Tochmeyer, to work as a stripper, while, essentially, living in a sort of open relationship, together with artist Buki Greenberg (he). Officially, the cause of his death was listed as alcoholism-related.

Retrospective held in Katmor's honor at the Nahum Gutman Museum of Art in 2012

The Horse Hospital held a retrospective in his honor between 12 October and 9 November 2013.