For some, spiritual ascension is achieved through the ecstatic cries and soft lulls of a musical symphony. For some others, it’s through sublime brush strokes on a board of stretched canvas. When visual art and music meet, it becomes difficult to ascertain which guided which into climactic bliss, as evident in the expressionist oeuvre “Om Kalthoum” by painter Asaad Arabi’s at Ayyam gallery in Jeddah.
Om Kalthoum, who died in 1975, is still regarded as the most notable, revered, and beloved singer modern Arabia ever produced. She achieved near-mythical status for her contributions to the history of western and classical Arabic music. Kalthoum has been serving as Arabi’s muse since he produced a painting collection tilted “Nostalgia” in 2011.
Arabi’s fascination with the Queen of Melodies comes from a desire to capture the environment that allowed Kalthoum to evolve and create the music for which she is celebrated, having inspired generations of singers and songwriters.In his collection “Om Kalthoum,” Arabi continues the attempt to capture the essence of her persona in accompaniment with her orchestra ensemble and all the embellishments that formed the personality of her stage presence.
Arabi reflects upon the various states of symphonic climax and release of the intense attitudes and moods experienced between Kalthoum, her music and her audience.
The use of thick brushstrokes lend an almost raw and organic appeal to his artistic process that more than once tempted me to “touch” and experience her in spirit, and to hear the emotive affluence of her voice, resonant of a time lost and locked in the past.
In “Two Chairs for Death,” Arabi depicts two wooden chairs hanging mid-air locked in an embracing union, referring to Kalthoum’s sense of longing for a musical union with composer and musician Mohammed El-Qasabji – who was part of her orchestra. After he died, she would reserve an chair in his memory during her public performances. The revelations in her songs on stage, the trance she caused to audience, the handkerchief she often carried as part of her personal trimmings, the character-rich orchestra members who formed an extended part of her overall frame, her moans, the pleasures and the laments are all expressed vividly in the wild color palette of Arabi’s personal passions.
Arabi lives in Paris and has his collections in various museums, including the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, the National Museum, New Delhi, the Barcelona Contemporary Museum of Art, South Korea’s Museum in Seoul and LAMCA, Los Angeles. The collections “Nostalgia” and “Om Kalthoum” have been the result of a nine-year research for his Ph.D thesis on “The relationship between music and painting in Islamic art ” at the Sorbonne University in Paris.
The exhibition “Om Kalthoum” can be seen at Ayyam gallery until May 30.
Visual ode to legendary Om Kalthoum
Visual ode to legendary Om Kalthoum
