Syrian Fine Arts Cannon: 1920 - 2020 with Mohammad Omran

Through this series, we look forward to introducing the audience, especially art students, amateurs, and those interested in fine and visual arts in the Arab region, to the Syrian fine arts scene, its beginnings, its development, and its transformations over a century. To achieve this, we will suggest ten themes of entry that are supposed to render the process of receiving/viewing easier. In (Syrian Fine Arts Cannon: 1920 - 2020) Atassi Foundation & Mohammad Omran prepared the content by classifying the artistic productions according to the following ten specific themes: portrait, art and political commitment, sculpture, photography, poster art or political posters, silent nature, cities and villages, the development of means of expression, religious signs and symbols in contemporary works of art, and finally the influence of folk art on the works of contemporary men and women artists. Through these episodes, we document a large part of the Syrian fine arts’ movement, presenting more than 400 works of art, from the generation of pioneering artists to the generation of young artists today. The artwork ranges from paintings, sculptures, posters, photographs, and technical equipment to performances and videos. Through this series, we are trying to make the culture of fine arts more accessible to anyone who desires it.

Episodes

Episode 01: The Portrait, Face & Body in Syrian Visual Arts

A portrait may be one of the most common subjects in Syrian workshops, as artists across all generations worked on it employing different styles and techniques, from the pioneer generation to the younger generation of today. At first, portraits tended to be descriptive and representative, such as the work of Tawfik Tarek, Rashad Mustafa, Michael Kurcheh, Nazim Al Jaafari, and others. With time and subsequent generations, they developed and became a means of expressing a state, a metaphor, or even a pun on a subject; they also became central in the works of some artists, both men, and women.

Ep 02: Still Life in the works of Syrian Visual Artists

Since the emergence of the modern fine arts’ movement in Syria, the topic of silent nature has been present in most of the works of Syrian painters, men and women, even if not as often as other topics such as the human being, the landscape, or the city. This theme has evolved since the pioneers’ generation, and it has gone beyond the concept of drawing elements and objects that exist in our daily living environment. Nowadays, it often carries symbolic dimensions as if it were an argument or pretext to reflect the social and political situation.

03: Modern Sculpting in the Syrian Visual Arts Movement

Since the emergence of the modern fine arts movement in Syria, oil painting has been the go-to art, giving it its specificity. Therefore, in the beginning, no sculptural works profoundly impacted the development of the fine arts movement. However, we cannot underestimate the importance of the pioneering work that laid, in one way or another, the first building block for the concept of modern sculpture in Syria, such as the work of the artist Fathi Mohammad Qabawah. The sixties witnessed a critical turning point in the Syrian fine arts movement, and sculpture developed in style and content - to some extent – as much as painting did during that period. Sculptures of many artists, such as Said Makhlouf, emerged and contributed to sculpture, making its big entrance into modernity. Later, the concept of sculpture expanded and overlapped with other arts in the work of young sculptors, both men, and women.

E04: Photography in Syria

Photography entered Syria at the end of the nineteenth century and began to spread as a profession, especially in taking personal pictures. Since the seventies, the art of photography began to spread widely in Syria, the number of practitioners of this art increased, and a photography club including amateurs and professionals saw the light. Foreign cultural centers started offering photography activities as well. Some names also worked on photography as an art comparable to other art forms. The relationship with the concept of the photograph changed after 2011, as it became an essential tool in documenting events. The camera, especially mobile, has been around for ten years.

Ep 05: The Art of the Poster in Syria

Poster art was not present in the modern artistic scene in Syria. Of course, there were commercial advertisements and movie posters that were executed in calligraphers' workshops, in addition to prints promoting consumer goods. We had to wait until the end of the fifties and the beginning of the sixties, to witness the emergence of pioneering artist Abdelqader Arnaout's work. He was the first visual artist to take-up graphic art and advertising design. Poster art has evolved over the past decades, and a lot of artists have left their own mark in this art, namely Ihsan Intabi, Ahmad Moualla, and others. With the beginning of the revolutionary movement in 2011, posters became one of the most important media used by Syrian artists to express their solidarity with the Syrian cause, such as the group “The Syrian People Know Their Way” and others.

Ep 06: The City, Town, and Village in the works of Syrian Visual Artists

Syrian artists, both men and women, have created an archive of the Syrian geography through their paintings of cities, villages and towns. There is no doubt that the methods and techniques differed from one generation to another. In fact, men and women pioneer artists were interested in portraying the city or the village in an honest descriptive manner as close to reality as possible. Later, the city became a central topic in the works of some modern artists. However, during the war, the city no longer bore the characteristics of the real local place, but rather drifted more towards an imagined place depicted with a dark brushstroke. The painting of the city/ruin became a popular theme amongst young artists, who depicted it in paintings, but also through new media.

Ep 07: Folk Art and Its Modern Extension in the Works of Syrian Artists

Abou Sobhi Al Tinawi is considered one of the most famous folk painters, renowned for his paintings on glass. Al Tinawi drew his inspiration from popular biographies, such as the life of Antarah Ibn Shaddad, Abou Zaid Al Hilali, Al Zahir Baibars and Al Zir Salem. These biographies used to be hung in cafés to accompany the hakawati or storyteller as he tells the story of these artists, as to illustrate them. Some artists, men and women, such as Burhan Karkoutly, Assaad Zakari, Nizar Sabour and Boutros Al Maari, were influenced by the popular local heritage, especially the work of Al Tinawi. They produced artwork based on the concept of heroic biographies and epics, but with a contemporary touch.

E08: Religious Symbols and Signs in the Modern Syrian Painting

Those who follow the Syrian fine arts’ scene would notice the influences from the culture of the Levantine region, whether the concept of the Christian icon or the Islamic miniature, or evoking religious symbols and references, or depicting important religious or historical scenes.

E09: New Expression Methods in the Contemporary Syrian Atelier

Since the emergence of the Syrian fine arts’ movement, art in Syria in general has been keeping pace and being influenced by the art scene in the West. Those who follow the Syrian fine arts’ scene would notice the development of means of expression, and the emergence of new media and digital arts, especially in the works of the younger generation. The relative openness that Syria witnessed at the beginning of the current century contributed to this matter, as well as the fact that a large number of

E10: Art and Political Commitment

Despite being taken by their personal research and the development of their artistic visions, Syrian artists in general, did not forget national concerns and general humanitarian issues, especially the Palestinian cause. A cause that transcended the borders of Palestine and created a cultural and artistic identity deeply connected to both political and human aspects.