Sorry seems to be the hardest word…

English

Apologies my dear, faithful reader, I know you feel left out; and rightfully so. Yet, my disappearance has nothing to do with you. I hate to use clichés here, but truly: it is not you, it is me. Involuntarily, no doubt. Still, I take the blame. 

The truth of the matter is, I am incarcerated in Mommyland. It breaks my heart you have been losing sleep over my absence however some things cannot be helped. Perpetuity is indeed a long time, but thank God I do get a day out every once in a while, on probation of course. So here I am, at your service, for an hour or so. 

I could give you a double bill of rantings: one on Mia and one on Jad. I could talk bottles, milk, diapers and colics. Paracetamol, antibiotics, syrup and suppositories. I could throw in some sleep depravation somewhere. But I refuse to use this time nagging. 

What I will do instead is volunteer a few hints of what you can while you wait for my next day out ;)

Beirut's cultural scene is buzzing these days, so here's how you can enjoy interesting art events and why not, even do your share of good deeds. 

The line up compiled for your eyes only has something to please everyone: fine arts, performing arts, film screenings and even a little activism because well, there are some things worth nagging for over, and over, and over. 

So, currently running at the UNESCO Palace until April 15, an exhibition coming all the way from Switzerland by Lebanon-born painter Sayed Yammine.

Sayed Yammine UNESCO Expo (invitation)

All the details are available on Facebook, and for those who would like to get to know the artist a little more, here is an interview where he introduces his latest work and the subjects of his Beirut Exhibition:

Moving on to movie lovers now, with the screening of "Meet Me Halfway", the documentary produced by The Nawaya Network. Learn more about this awesome NGO and the people behind it on April 17 at the AUB. All the event details are available on Facebook.

And cherry on top: Cupcake Box will also be there, supporting this event! Yum!

May is also looking good so mark your calendars because on the 6th Maz Jobrani is returning to Beirut, with a cause! Tickets are on sale at Virgin Megastore and all proceeds will go to SANAD, a wonderful organization that provides care for terminally ill patients and their families in Lebanon.

Photo Credit: Maz Jobrani

And last but definitely not least, and also on May 6, The Lebanese Laïque Pride will take Beirut's streets by storm for the third consecutive year. Be there! The protest details are all available on Facebook.

Photo Credit: Lebanese Laique Pride

Find this blog on Facebook

Introducing Young Talents: Yasmine jeitanY

English

Painting Portraits : A Series of Interviews

Her name is Yasmine jeitanY. She was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil and currently lives in Beirut, Lebanon where she graduated in Fine Arts from the Lebanese University before completing her Masters in Fine Arts at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA).

This artist describes her passion as "an extreme appreciation for all new media art such as printmaking, installation, art video, motion graphics and photography" and whose "everyday work is based on graphic art". 


It is when she left for London to attend the Chelsea College of Art and the Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design in the Fall of 2006 that she got the opportunity to explore animation, textile painting, etching and motion graphics for television. 


This versatile artist has enjoyed wide exposure all around Lebanon with exhibitions at the Rachid Karami International Fair, Ehden's Symposium of Paintings and Sculpture, Ehdeniyat's Collective Exposition, the UNESCO, the Cultural French Center's Collective Modern 256 Exhibition and more recently at the Salon d'Automne XXX held by the Sursock Museum.

The Artist

The word has been defined and redefined so many times. It was and remains abused. Used in vain some of the times. Used for vanity most of the times. What does the word means to you?
 

The Artist is a person who has the ability to join between two different ideas or more into an exceptional concept and turn it to a different perspective and that of course in a highly professional process, where he is leading by inspiration. That’s how all-new ideas are developed.

Installation: A Graph between London and Beirut" (2010) 
Salon D'Automne XXX, Sursock Museum
Photo Credit: Yasmine Jeitany

How do you see yourself within your own definition of an "Artist"?

Through my years of cultivation I had the ability to think independently and creatively and that is what induces my wide imagination. That is how I define myself after years of practicing and pursuing in that field.


You are Lebanese. That identity does not come without its own load of history. How did Lebanon shape you as an artist and as a human being? 

Living in a country like Lebanon, helped me to adopt the surreal concept because I wanted to join between the beautiful and the useful (le beau et l’utile). This was to improve more than a figurative technique, but a moral of the current life in Lebanon. Since my childhood, Lebanon has gone through the most weird and shocking events. So the subjects of my works were like a mark of what is happening socially, politically and environmentally.

Le malheur palestinien (2005)
Image Credit: Yasmine Jeitany

What is the best part of being an artist? 

Having an independent thinking and a free spirit, identify my personality, and being an Artist helped me to induce more this independence and the ability to face my environment. So nothing was able to hinder my confidence and self-esteem.

The Artist

Labels can be often confining and sometimes misleading. A person's work evolves as that person grows. And you are probably far from where you started. But for the sake of argument, how do you define your work within the known frames of "styles"? 

Style is a word that I hate the most because in my opinion if the Artist is labeled within a definite style, he will fall down in repetition and that is what will kill his progress, hinder his creativity, and his work will become repetitive and meaningless.

So tell us a little about your work. What inspires you? How do you translate this inspiration into visuals, colors, and shapes? 

My photos are the point of departure of most of my artwork. Taking photos is one of my favorite hobbies and the photos are related to how much I care about life and how much I like to keep prints of my past too. My Photos are instances of my space not to be forgotten, they are winks of the past time either of good or bad moments. Because in my opinion, our past, whether important or not, happy or miserable, is what we are today. Today always holds in its treasure a memory of a spiritual and material past. And photos are visual and material memories that could not eliminate our most delicate and spiritual moments.

Devil Sun (2004)

Image Credit: Yasmine Jeitany

As I said before, I have adopted surrealism by joining more than one idea or image to create the work. I started to be figurative after my first academic years. And after a while, the work changed by destruction of the figurative with the abstraction. We can see the destruction of the photo by the color and the line, which have a creative value of the space and atmosphere. It’s a destruction of the real figure to build or create a utopian abstract world. The line and the color are produced by the pure feelings of survival, of resurrection after the destruction.

The line gives me the ability to describe my interior life and my feelings in a rhythmical and symbolic aspect, and especially the rising vertical line that has the expression of determination and willpower. The willpower to hope a better and respectful world for all the Lebanese of all kinds, because we are different with just one identity.

The Unknown (2006)

Image Credit: Yasmine Jeitany

The Color is the matter of a sparkling obscurity, an obscurity where light filters tenderly in between to fill the emptiness of the paintings; where the black that is not really a color, plays an important part in the paintings. Black doesn’t just gives colors the opportunity to shine through but also depth and value. And the reason I work with contrast is to propose a sublime and luminous set up of beings and things around me.

What artists have influenced you and why? 

The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, and because beyond the suspense in all his films he had a message to say.


When things get tough and you seem to be stuck somewhere outside of inspiration, how do you cope? How do you keep yourself motivated? 

I have no problem in taking someone else ideas and point of view. Everything around me, whether are simple people or common things, always hold me with a moral or new idea.

Love Road (2010)

Image Credit: Yasmine Jeitany

The Person



As a well-rounded person, art is not the only interest to you of course. What else is important to you? What are your concerns as a citizen of the world, not only as an artist? 

Knowing that War is still in our everyday life after all the progress of science and human being is my nightmare. And what I really hope is a better future for Lebanon, because my dreams are part of this future.


Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 

I have an immense installation project in mind that I hope could be done by ten years from now. The purpose of the installation is about human and war but it still requires large sponsoring before it can be completed. 


In One Word...

If you were a 

color? 
White 



Shape? 
The vertical line

Texture or fabric? 
Glass 


Song or music composition? 
Avec le temps (Leo Ferre)



Film? 
House Of The Flying Daggers

Book or literary piece?
Sand And Foam by Khalil Gibran

Famous character (real or fictional)? 
Steve Jobs

Find this blog on Facebook

The Nawaya Network

English

A couple of weeks ago, I received an invite to attend the pre-launch of a new Lebanese NGO: The Nawaya Network, an organization that aims at "empowering underprivileged youth by connecting them to educational, material, and financial resources to help them develop their talents, skills, and interests".

Unfortunately, it happened to be on March 8 which is when I was due to participate in a launch of another kind and indeed, I found myself at the Clemenceau Medical Center Maternity that very morning, giving birth to gorgeous baby Jad. 

Needless to say I was a little disappointed I missed the event but I am so glad to hear the pre-launch was very successful and helped raise about 9,000 US Dollars in one night thanks to the generosity of the 200 people who attended that special evening at the American University of Beirut. To date, The Nawaya Network has raised almost 12,000 US Dollars in just three weeks!

The volunteers are still working hard at fundraising so if you or anyone else you know is interested in supporting this cause, do share the following link where donations can be made online. The Nawaya Network is also recruiting volunteers and mentors before introducing their online platform and officially launching the NGO towards the end of the year so do not hesitate to spread the word.

Ideas, suggestions, contacts, or resources to support The Nawaya Network are also welcome as the organization is looking to connect with art, music, dance, and athletic institutes, as well as partner up with local NGOs. 


The organization also produced a documentary, Meet Me Halfway, which "follows the lives of four underprivileged youth in Lebanon while they struggle to pursue their passions and develop their strengths despite very limited resources".

If you have the time (and your connection allows for it), you can enjoy the documentary in its entirety on YouTube:

Screenings will be held around Lebanon and in London in a couple of weeks so if you would like to stay updated, sign up to The Nawaya Network Newsletter or follow the organization on Twitter and Facebook for more details.

Bookmarks:

• The Nawaya Network Official Website
• Like The Nawaya Network on Facebook
• Follow The Nawaya Network on Twitter
• Subscribe to The Nawaya Network channel on YouTube

Find this blog on Facebook