The Egyptian newspaper, al-Ahram Weekly, reported this past week on an exhibition at the Khalil Museum highlighting the work of two artists who seek to tell the story of the Palestinian people through their paintings. According to the Weekly, these paintings are meant for the future Museum of Palestine
in Abu Dis, Jerusalem. The author of the reverent piece on the exhibition writes, [Y]ou will know the moment you walk into the
Khalil Museum that you are entering a sacred realm
There is art, for sure, there are paintings; big ones that almost overcrowd the gallery. But, even more overpowering, there is a nation
Palestinian
.
Both of the artists works described in the Weekly article attempt to tell a story, in terms that many Palestinian and Arab readers would agree with, of an idyllic pre-existing Palestine that was uprooted by force -- suddenly. One of the artists, born in Lod, displayed a work called The Spring That Was in which there is a pastoral landscape with lush greens, (smiling) peasant women picking oranges, children listening to their grandfather telling stories by lantern light, and a circle of dancing men - all wearing traditional Palestinian costumes. Another artist, originally from Jaffa, painted Jaffa, Bride of the Sea, which, according to the al-Ahram article, portrays the Jaffa shore line with distinct domestic architecture, minimized in the foreground and upper left corner, with farmers picking and packing fresh oranges from the trees, and little boys swimming happily.
The paintings on display at the Khalil Museum, according to al-Ahram, chronicle the plight of the Palestinians, the forceful uprooting from their homes of the people of Al-Lid and Al-Ramla in July 1948. The artist of The Spring That Was even included in the right corner of the painting the quintessential teary-eyed Palestinian family looking back in sadness to the spring that once was, as it is described by the Egyptian weekly. Another of the same artists paintings is entitled al-Atash An Tariq al-Tih (The Road to Nowhere) and, according to the art al-Ahram review, obviously recalls the Exodus. Human bodies lie in a desert mountain area, obviously hot and dry, begging for water.
The Jaffa-born artist is quoted in al-Ahram as saying, In 1948 when we were forced out of our homes, in Jaffa, we only had the sea to turn too: it was literally the sea before us and the enemy behind us. Her painting reflects her understanding of events, reports the weekly, In her painting ?Al-Iqtila?? (Uprooting), "There are soldiers forcing people out of homes directly to the open sea. At the center of the painting, and what hits the viewer, is a big white splash of waves. And beneath it are the drowning people of Jaffa on their faces you can see horror."
The series of paintings goes on to portray various types of Palestinian Arabs, reports al-Ahram, there are the refugees of the camp and Palestinians of the Diaspora, occupying every possible profession in countries of the Gulf. Two paintings relating to more recent events are called Homage to the Martyrs and Fire of the Intifada. The former, the article states, is almost all red, shades of red flowing like a sea of blood and melting into a carpet of roses, with five women, in white, at the side of the canvas [their dresses] inscribed with the names of martyrs, sites of massacre. The latter painting is bitter, displaying the rebellious young men of the uprising in action, fires blazing, bodies rising up to form a pyramid, raising a Palestinian flag. And in the background, in sepia, is an almost documentary reproduction of the historic handshake at the White House.
With this historical overview in mind, the concluding painting of one of the artists series is understandable. His work Dreams of Tomorrow portrays a woman in white reports the Egyptian weekly, carried (almost like a corpse, though) by masses of people. On her bodice is red needlework spelling words like love, good, patience, tomorrow and then names of Palestinian cities Nablus, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Al-Khalil, Al- Nasira.
Both of the artists works described in the Weekly article attempt to tell a story, in terms that many Palestinian and Arab readers would agree with, of an idyllic pre-existing Palestine that was uprooted by force -- suddenly. One of the artists, born in Lod, displayed a work called The Spring That Was in which there is a pastoral landscape with lush greens, (smiling) peasant women picking oranges, children listening to their grandfather telling stories by lantern light, and a circle of dancing men - all wearing traditional Palestinian costumes. Another artist, originally from Jaffa, painted Jaffa, Bride of the Sea, which, according to the al-Ahram article, portrays the Jaffa shore line with distinct domestic architecture, minimized in the foreground and upper left corner, with farmers picking and packing fresh oranges from the trees, and little boys swimming happily.
The paintings on display at the Khalil Museum, according to al-Ahram, chronicle the plight of the Palestinians, the forceful uprooting from their homes of the people of Al-Lid and Al-Ramla in July 1948. The artist of The Spring That Was even included in the right corner of the painting the quintessential teary-eyed Palestinian family looking back in sadness to the spring that once was, as it is described by the Egyptian weekly. Another of the same artists paintings is entitled al-Atash An Tariq al-Tih (The Road to Nowhere) and, according to the art al-Ahram review, obviously recalls the Exodus. Human bodies lie in a desert mountain area, obviously hot and dry, begging for water.
The Jaffa-born artist is quoted in al-Ahram as saying, In 1948 when we were forced out of our homes, in Jaffa, we only had the sea to turn too: it was literally the sea before us and the enemy behind us. Her painting reflects her understanding of events, reports the weekly, In her painting ?Al-Iqtila?? (Uprooting), "There are soldiers forcing people out of homes directly to the open sea. At the center of the painting, and what hits the viewer, is a big white splash of waves. And beneath it are the drowning people of Jaffa on their faces you can see horror."
The series of paintings goes on to portray various types of Palestinian Arabs, reports al-Ahram, there are the refugees of the camp and Palestinians of the Diaspora, occupying every possible profession in countries of the Gulf. Two paintings relating to more recent events are called Homage to the Martyrs and Fire of the Intifada. The former, the article states, is almost all red, shades of red flowing like a sea of blood and melting into a carpet of roses, with five women, in white, at the side of the canvas [their dresses] inscribed with the names of martyrs, sites of massacre. The latter painting is bitter, displaying the rebellious young men of the uprising in action, fires blazing, bodies rising up to form a pyramid, raising a Palestinian flag. And in the background, in sepia, is an almost documentary reproduction of the historic handshake at the White House.
With this historical overview in mind, the concluding painting of one of the artists series is understandable. His work Dreams of Tomorrow portrays a woman in white reports the Egyptian weekly, carried (almost like a corpse, though) by masses of people. On her bodice is red needlework spelling words like love, good, patience, tomorrow and then names of Palestinian cities Nablus, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Al-Khalil, Al- Nasira.