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Art English Blogs التدوينات العربية سيرة لوحات

Stories by Helen

13 نوفمبر، 2016

By Helen Zughaib

Our life is a series of endless stories, which overlap and intersect one way or another, this intersection is what brings us closer to others. We share a human experience with someone when we find that this experience permeates deep down inside us and directs our memories to something we’ve come across before .Documenting our experiences perhaps helps another person to move forward in life and therein we sense the power of stories, which have been a lifeboat for me.

I sincerely believe that behind everything we do there is a story that somehow directs us along the way no matter what is this thing we are doing: painting, a sculpture, an article, the way we choose what to wear in the morning, or the color we choose. I can see stories in numbers and financial reports. The important thing is learning how to tell your story.

I often find myself analyzing paintings and when I’m wandering in the Virtual world, or during my visits to galleries, I dig deep into my thoughts trying to figure out what was the artist trying to tell this girl before it freezes in the panel ? What secret did this painting tell the artist when it was luring him to be drawn? Where would this person in the painting go if he\she found themselves alive in this world? Imagine how would the scene be if the painting became a short video clip? Is it a result of happiness or sadness? Or is the artist through this painting trying to figure out his feelings? What was he thinking when these details were added? It is a language in itself. Many questions apply to all paintings because I care about the hidden messages more.

Saying Goodbye By Helen Zughaib

And when the artist gives me what I’m looking for on a golden platter , inevitably it will be a unique experience. Helen Zughaib with her calm and charming voice enveloping nostalgia, helped me to build bridges to her paintings, by not letting me think and analyze. She was telling the stories behind her paintings at the workshop “Art in Diplomacy and finding your own story” she took us through a journey to view her work. I would say that it felt like a trip on a flying carpet, which took us across time, moving between past and present, going to America, Beirut, Palestine and Damascus, sometimes we stood by the river and we bid farewell to those who are leaving and other times we stood humbly before a mosque with Almanarah (minaret) rising from behind.

What really helped build those bridges is the Arabian touch that we sense from her artwork, you can tell that her identity as an Arab-American can appear through a unique style , I felt that what the storyteller was referring to was there in her stories and I’ve always been fond of this since I was a kid. It’s like the stories our grandparents used to tell us on Friday when we gathered for a dinner.

The details merge in her paintings as if it was a piece coming out of wonderland. Simple and deep. The cherry on the top of the cake is her passion for her work, her family stories that she got to document in her artwork.

Nostalgia appears in the higher stages when Helen talked about returning to Lebanon. She was talking and when our eyes crossed many times, I sensed the spectrum of grief. She tried to encapsulate this feeling with a smile and some jokes from time to time.

I have to refer to the artwork which was modeled on tiles from Damascus. They were beautiful tiles with the details that Damascus is famous for and some of them were broken. It is her way to say that war destroyed everything. I felt tears flowing from my eyes for this simple and profound work had made me feel emotional in a way I cannot describe.

I should not forget to thank the Saudi Art Council for organizing a group of art events such as these. It is wonderful that they tried to connect local art and world experiences.

Crossing Thelitani By Helen Zughaib

الحياة عبارة عن سلسلة من القصص اللانهائية، التي تتداخل وتتقاطع بشكل أو بآخر وهذا التقاطع هو ما يقربنا من البعض حينما نجد فيما يرويه فكرة خطرت لنا وحاصرتنا يوما ما، حينما يلمس شعورا تغلغل في أعماقنا ذات تجربة، ومن هنا نشترك في تجربة إنسانية مع شخص دون آخر، إذا ما حاولنا يوماً ما توثيقها، ربما تلامس شخصاً آخر وتعينه على المضيّ قدما في حياته، وهنا تكمن قوّة القصص، التي طالما كانت قارب نجاة بالنسبة لي، وخلف كل عمل نقدمه لوحة أو تمثال مشهد تمثيلي أو مقال نكتبها، خلف كل عمل نقوم به من إختيار مانرتديه بالصباح حتى طريقة رؤىتنا للعالم، حتى التقارير المالية، والأرقام، كلها مبتدئها قصة طالما نعرف مانريد قوله وكيف، ستصل حتما بالطريقة التي نرغبها.

غالبا ما أجد نفسي أحلل اللوحات التي أصادفها في تجوالي الافتراضي، أو خلال رحلاتي للمعارض الفنّية، ماذا كانت تقول هذه الفتاة قبل أن تتجمد في لوحة؟، بماذا أسرّت لرسامها حينما كانت ترواده لرسمها؟، وإلى أين ستذهب لو قدر لها أن تخرج لهذا العالم؟ ماذا لو أصبحت هذه اللوحة بشكل مفاجئ مقطع فيديو قصير؟ كيف رسمها الفنان؟ عن أي ألم كان يعبر؟ وهل يمكن أن نرهن لحظة سعيدة في لوحة؟ بماذا كان يفكر حينما أضاف هذه التفاصيل؟، هي لغة بحد ذاتها وحديث من نوع آخر، تساؤلات كثيرة تنطبق على كل اللوحات التي أصادفها، بكل التفاصيل التي يحويها الإيطار. لأنني أهتم بالماوراء أكثر من كل شيء ظاهر. Continue Reading

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٢٠١٦ Art التدوينات العربية تحدي القراءة رفوف المكتبة - Books سبتمبر لوحات يومياتي - Diary

سبتمبر5-15: دين الفطرة

12 سبتمبر، 2016

٩\٩\٢٠١٦م. الساعة ٥:٤٥ فجراً.. :

تعلّمَتْ مُنذُ صِغَرها، بأصعب الطُرق، أنَ الإنسانَ مسيّر بما تختارُه روحه وليس عقلُه، قد يعرف العقل ماهو الصواب، لكن يستحيل تماماً أن تُعارض مشاعر داخليه لا تفهمها أحيانا.
لم تعُد تعرف كيف تلتقطُ الأشياءَ من حولها، فكل ما يصل إلى عقلها يمرُ بطبقات تعمل مثلَ المصفاة، ليصل أخيرا ناقصاً غير مقبول لا يمكن لذلك الجزء الذي يتربع أعلى قمة في جسدها أن يفك شفراته مجرد آراء متناقضة.

في مرحلةٍ عمريةٍ متقدمة كانت تشعر بأنها لوحة بيضاء مجردة من الألوان، يستميت الجميع ليشكلها وِفْقَ أهواءٍ خاصة وأمزجة مَعّطُوبة، حتى حينما تشكلت ملامحها -أخيراً-، تيقْنت بأنها يجب أن تعيد ترتيب الأفكار بداخلها، لتعيش بسَلامٍ ظاهري مع الُمحيط، لكن صوت قادم من منطقة لمْ تَكُنْ تَعرِف اسمها يردد دائما، وماذا عن السلام الداخلي؟ أعتقد بأنه مجرد ترف للمرحلة التي عاشتها آن ذاك، ففي العالم المجنون الذي تقطنه ما هي إلا أداة ووسيلة ليحقق غيرها مبتغاه، قد تكون العِبَارة صَادِمة، لكنها الحقيقة، العالم مسرحٌ كبير، ولتنجح المسرحية كل شخص إما مُسْتَغَل أو مُسْتَغِل. طالما تسائلت في أوقات مواجهة ذاتها عن كواليس هذا المسرح وكُتّابِه.

في دوامة الأفكار التي تموج بها شيئا فشيئا، أصبح العالم الذي تتمناه مُجرد أفكَار. أضحى الحد الفاصل بين الموت والحياة يُغريها، تحاول جاهدة أن تدخل هذه المرحلة الانتقالية تسأل ذاتها ربما الموت ليس النهاية التي تَحَدَثَ عنها الجميع، لا تستغرب إن كانت واحدة من الكذبات التي إخترعها أعداء الإنسان ليمنعُوه من الخلاص، وإكتشاف العالم الحقيقي، هُناك على الضفة الأخرى من الواقع الهَش. …. يتبع في يوم ما … رُبما

١٠\٩\٢٠١٦م. الساعة الثانية بعد الظهر:

أسلوب Pascal Campion السهل الممتنع، في إلتقاط تفاصيل الأيام يبهرني، ووجود القطط في لوحاته زادها قربا منّي.

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Art سيرة

Daehyun Kim .. فلسفة التأمل

15 أغسطس، 2016

Interface

“I draw to meditate on myself and others”

الإطلاع على لوحة جديدة لـ موناسي غالبا ما يرتبط بالكتابة، شيء ما في الأبيض والأسود الذي يستخدمه يستفز قدرات التعبير داخلي، تعرفت على موناسي، في أكثر المراحل ظلمة في حياتي فالأسود والشُخوص المُضطربة لامستني وأيقظت شيء داخلي، رُبما بعد كل هذه السنوات التي قضيتها في الكتابة تنبهت من خلال لوجاته إلى أن الفن من أعظم مصادر الإلهام بالنسبة لي.
حينما كنت أزور موقعه للتعرف أكثر على فنّه، كنت أشعر بأن هناك عنصر مهم بالإضافة إلى الأبيض والأسود، وهو العنصر الذي بقيت أفتش عنه في لوحاته وأتساءل عن شيء حاضر أشعر به ولا أراه، حتى جاءت اللحظة التي تنبهت بها أن لوحاته تقع تحت تأثير بقعة الضوء يشبه إلى حد ما التصوير الفوتوغرافي، وكأنه بلوحاته يلتقِطُ صورة لعالمه الذي لا يراه سواه.
بساطة موناسي وتفرده بأسلوب يجعل من النُقطة السَوداء على لوحاته حكاية تشرح الكثير لمتذوقي فنّه، خلال بحثي تَـبّين لي بأن الأصالة فيما يقدم تكمُن من صراحته الذاتية، فهو لا يدعي أن فنّه يتبع نظرية، ولا يُحاول فلسفة الأشياء، يقول بمنتهى البساطة :” فقط أرسُم وِفق مَشاعري اليَومية”، لذلك لوحاتَه عميقة، تناقش أفكار وظواهر اجتماعية، أو تشرح الإضطرابات النفسية التي يعيشها الإنسان المعاصر بصدق مجرد، لا يمكنني تجاهل تأثيره عليّ.
أتذكر أحد الإقتباسات التي أحتفظ بها لموناسي، إذ يقول فيه: “أرسم من أجل التأمل في ذاتي وفي الآخرين”، وهو حقا الإحساس الذي وصلني منذ أول لوحة عرفتني على فنّه، كانت بعنوان (Interface) جعلتني أفكر كثيرا وأتأمل في ذاتي في علاقة الأشياء بداخلي، وأيقظت أسئلة جديدة، كيف أن الإنسان قابل للتشكل والتغيير وبأنْ ملامحه رهينة اللحظة والمكان.
دراسته للفن الشرق آسيوي القديم ألقت بظلالها على أسلوبه وهويته الفنيّة، درس الفنان في سيؤول- كوريا الشمالية، ويعيش بها حاليا، حيث يعمل في مشروع حياته “موناسي” اسمه الحقيقي (Daehyun Kim) لا أعرف حقيقة كيف ينطق اسمه بشكل صحيح، لكن يكفي أننا نتحدث لغة فنية واحدة.

I see you in the sea of you

FACES THAT I HAVE TO FACE BEFORE I SLEEP

Creature of Loneliness

AN ABSTRACT ROMANTICIST

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Art التدوينات العربية سيرة

Pawel Kuczynski حينما يلامس الفَنّ واقعنا

28 يوليو، 2016

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الفنان البولندي باول كوزنسكي، من مواليد السبعينات – ١٩٧٦م في مدينة شتشيتسين البولندية- تخرج من أكاديمية الفنون الجميلة في بوزنان، وبدأ بنشر رسوماته منذ عام ٢٠٠٤.

ما يميز رسوماته هو حسها النقدي البارز، الذي يتخذ السخرية غطاء للقضايا التي يتناولها، فكل لوحاته حيّة وحاضِرة بالواقع الذي نعيشه، وتلامسنا بقسوة -أحياناً- كونه يجعل الكائن المعاصر فينا يقف متأملاً أمام المعضلات التي نمر عليها كل يوم مرور الكرام، مثل القضايا التي نعلم بوجودها، لكن تكرارا عرضها وحدوثها أصبح لا يهُزْ إنسانيتنا.

هنا يأتي دور الفنّان -والمبدع عامة- مثل كوزنسكي، الذي يحاول بريشته أن يحيّ الإنسانية ويبقينا على يقظة ووعي دائم بالواقع الذي نعيشه، فقضايا الفقر والتلوث والوفيات، وحتى القضايا المعاصرة سواء السياسية، أو تلك المرتبطة بتأثير مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي على واقعنا، يتناولها بذكاء في أعماله.

satirical-illustrations-pawel-kuczynski-2-3 thought-provoking-paintings-pawel-kuczynski-23

من أبرز اللوحات التي لفتت نظري هي تلك التي تتناول “الفيسبوك” كأداة للتواصل الاجتماعي، وكيف أن الإنسان أصبح لا يفهم الواقع إلا من خلالها، وكأنه حبيسها وتحولها لأداة سياسية تقام عليها حروب وتنهى من خلالها أخرى.

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Art English Blogs

“SECTION 11“

5 مايو، 2015

“SECTION 11”, Rashed Alshshai’s solo exhibition in Hafiz Gallery, was one of the most memorable exhibits I have ever attended. I’m not talking about the individual artworks as much as I’m talking about the whole concept–every single piece was a story related to another. It used contemporary artwork to talk about the traditions and ideas that changed in our area. It forced me to go back and research in order to refresh my memory about the history of societal change in Saudi Arabia.

For example how religious misinterpretation and the way people think take over everything. The whole way of life changed as a result of it, starting with people’s behavior. One of the things I was curious about: how to take over peoples’ minds and control them by using religion and the current situations of people. For example, the young men who felt the world had let them down. They lowered their expectations of life and their minds became vulnerable to anything. The idea of “winning” something drove them to choose death instead of working hard to reach their goal.

I remembered a book I read previously that was written by Dr AbdulAziz Al Khider. The book analyzes the changes that happened in the way people think here. It was one of the best books I have ever read about the societal changes in Saudi Arabia-maybe I will talk about it in another post one day. The exhibit took me back to think about all of this.

The exhibit “Section 11” is like a study and it focuses on education because the artist is a teacher and he tried to make the exhibit like a hypothetical class. The art piece which I spent the most time at was a collection of school notebook pages with drawings of students’ dreams, made when they were still young and innocent. The kids dreamed about achieving something, about helping people, about being doctors, engineers, or scientists. He used a reflection in the mirror to show the changes that happened to them when they grew up and how they changed their definitions of “achievement”. I loved how he tried to use objects from our everyday environment, such as the coffee cup display, to show how traditions can sometimes trap and imprison us.

I went to the exhibit twice because the opening night was crowded. I felt like I wanted to come back in order to spend as much time as possible looking at the artwork. The artist was smart to touch our minds in a way that makes us think, remember, and even imagine. It’s not easy to push people to ask existential questions.

Art is not always about creating beautiful pieces. Sometimes it serves as a message or a reminder. And sometimes it’s something that allows us to encounter ourselves or face our reality. That’s what Rashid did in this exhibit. It was a reminder about facing our past. People are good at looking away from their mistakes and repeating the past. I wonder why the artist chose this subject right now? Is it because of what is happening around us? Is he afraid that history will repeat itself?.

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The second day I went back to meet the artist– Rashid. We talked about many things. I was able to see the mind behind all the work revealed. We had a great discussion. I was alone at the exhibit and took another tour through the work. I saw a lot of things I did not see at the opening.

During our little discussion I asked the artist about the message of the art. I asked him, “What is the artwork, is it asking
questions? Or trying to give answers?” He said, “For me, I try to put the person who comes to see my work in a position where he or she will start to ask questions and to think. As an artist, I do not think our job is to fix anything. Rather we put a spotlight on the problems or what we think they are.”

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Art English Blogs

The Reader

15 يناير، 2015

What is the meaning of this word “ART”? Yes, it’s a general question. It is Big because there is no right or wrong answer. Everyone has his or her own idea of art.

I am curious about the details of anything. I like to ask questions about small details, then I try to find the big answer for everything I need, but I found out that I spend most of my time and energy jumping from one question to another and I found myself thinking and going to my own inner world all the time. I realized this did not work, so I decided that I will go for the big question. Maybe that will help to calm down my mind and focus on one thing.

Art is our own way of living and dealing with life, things. Some of us are lucky to have been born creative and have done beautiful and original things. But others just repeat what everyone else did. Not everyone knows how to be himself or herself and not anyone else and that is what we call “NORMAL”. Everyone can look at it from her own point of view.

I asked a question to a French artist, Vincent Floquet, who I met last week, when I attend his exhibit in Jeddah. I told him I want to ask you about the art itself. He opened his eyes, touched his glasses and said. “Oh, the Art itself.” I asked him this question without explaining what is going on in my mind. There was no time to explain, he was busy, but when he opened his eyes I knew that he understood that it’s a huge thing to talk about. Well, maybe we only talk about a tiny part of it, but i told Vincent Floquet that I’m always curious about what the artist feels or thinks about when they paint. I look at the painting and try to figure out what the artist felt when he painted it. Usually I feel something. I do not say that I have a super power and I know for sure it’s just what I like to do when I see a painting that I love: I build a connection, then I try to see behind the colors and the lines.

الفنان الفرنسي فينسا فلوكية بجانب لوجة القارئة تصوير مشاعل العمري

The Artist with “The Reader” painting

Mr.Floquet told me that he paints when he feels like he is full of something. And he said: “I try to put what I saw in my many travels into my paintings and the art for me is speaking about something. That is why I do not paint a lot because I do not have a lot to say.”

In Mr.Floquet’s paintings I saw a lot of faces. I was curious about this. I’m still thinking about these faces which were hidden in the paintings. It was like I was standing with a thousand eyes looking at me. But no one was there except me and my friend. It was as if everyone the artist had met in his life was there hidden in his paintings.

I saw a lot of great paintings in other Art exhibits before. Some of them I could not afford or the painting was already sold. And sometimes I feel like I’m not ready yet. But it was special day for me because I met the painting that I could not pass by without buying it. I ignored this strange feeling I had when I feel like I’m not ready this time with a painting titled “the Reader”. The day after the exhibit, I called Mr. Ahmad Huseen and told him I wanted this painting. I remember when they put a red label that announced that this painting was “SOLD.” I had a strange dream that same day, it was full of red dots and I felt worried like if I’m about to have my first baby. I woke up asking myself, “where am I gonna put it? Or should I hide it?”, but what is the point of buying something pretty if I can’t see it every day or let other people see it? It was a lot of pressure I did not expect. But I’m willing to go through this for “The Reader.” I think I will take a good care of this painting, as it is my first Art purchase.

I have to say that everyone who visits the exhibit will take a trip visiting the places the artist visited before. Everyone will start in France, then Italy, New York, Philippines, Indonesia, Colombia, Africa, and then finally Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and then end the trip on Hail Street. The painting of this street was spectacular and was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it. Lol.

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