KHALIFA
AL QATTAN [1934 - 2003]
PIONEER IN THE ART MOVEMENT
IN KUWAIT
Khalifa Al Qattan, is a pioneer in the art movement of
Kuwait,with a unique style , -CIRCULISM, based on
philosophy.
Khalifa Al Qattan was born in January 1934 in Old Kuwait
town in a family of merchants and traders .
He was still a young student when his potentials in art were
discovered. Encouraged by his teacher he was sketching
scenes and happenings from everyday life, that made him more
deeply interest in everything he saw and fostered the
peculiar disposition that characterizes his dramatic
compositions of the sixties, seventies and early eighties,
which mark his highest attainment in painting and in
sculpture .
He began with stencils, betraying in them a humorous
tendency that faded by the time he became a professional
painter . At seventeen Khalifa became a teacher, among his
many subjects he was teaching art . In 1953 he was the first
Kuwaiti artist- dilettante having a personal exhibition
within the local school festival of that year .Immediately
after he was sent to England to study General Wood-work
Engineering at the Leicester Institute of Art and
Technology;there he also practice art and joined
exhibitions. He graduated in Wood-work engineering with
honor in 1958 and returned to Kuwait to teach at the new
Technical College in Sweikh. He subsequently moved to the
Ministry of General Work supervising on building sites . The
beginning of the Kuwaiti art movement was in 1958 when the
Education Department sponsored the first collective art
exhibition in the country ,and was made an yearly event
under the name '"Spring Exhibition " . In 1960 the
Government Free Atelier was founded and young dilettanti
could benefit of teaching courses and material provided free
of charge for them . Khalifa Qattan was among the first who
attended it . In the Spring of 1962 he was surprising the
public and media alike by having a large exhibition in town
,his works were mainly oil colors and few were water-colors
from earlier days. He was the first artist to come forth and
attracted the attention of the media . Encouraged by the
public reaction he then chose some of his works for two more
exhibitions abroad. In the Summer of 1962 he was exhibiting
in Ferrara , Italy , and in Cairo ,Egypt. Both exhibitions
were held in government galleries and evoked the interest of
art critics and of the public to the extent that in Ferrara
the Assessor of Culture and Youth wrote to his colleagues in
Rome for an exhibition of the artist at the Palazzo delle
Esposizioni in the heart of Rome . Khalifa received an
official invitation for July 1964 .
Due to a report from the Kuwaiti Ambassador in Cairo , Abdul
Aziz Hussein, at his return from his tour Khalifa was
appointed General Director of the Free Atelier ,which was
part of his ministry of News and Guidance. In his exhibition
at the oil town of Ahmedy in the fall of 1962 Khalifa was
presenting a peculiar new style in the making . By mid 1963
"CIRCULISM" was born ,the new trend was based on philosophy
with a strong tendency for human drama .
Exhibited in Kuwait in the Summer of 1963 CIRCULISM caught
the media and received good coverage ; a caricature of the
artist even appeared on the cover of a magazine and
CIRCULISM became synonymous with KHALIFA QATTAN . The
minister of News and Guidance, Sheikh Jaber Ali Al Sabah,
was impressed by the growing popularity of the young artist
and had a full reportage made on him in the prestigious
monthly magazine AL ARABI , published by the ministry.
Following his success and recognition in his country Khalifa
received many invitations from foreign governments - from
Italy, East Germany, Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, and even from
China in 1981 where he was guest for a full month and his
exhibition was held in Beijing at the Modern Art Exhibition
Hall . Khalifa was the first Kuwaiti artist cooperating with
the United Nations's Postal Stamp department since mid
sixties and with other local art-related activities.
THE ART MOVEMENT IN KUWAIT
Besides his uniqueness as an artist Khalifa Qattan was
largely responsible for spurring the development of the art
movement in Kuwait by his example and direct involvement .
Since he became a member of the Free Atelier he had been
encouraging other artists to join him making exhibitions in
order to awaken public interest in art . Involvement was
needed and he realize that only an Art society would had
created a puss . For many years he tried to make the project
feasible, eventually in 1967 sufficient votes were gathered
to make the Kuwait Plastic Arts Society legale; in 1968 it
was officially approved by the Ministry of Social affairs.
Khalifa Qattan was unanimously elected President and began
to carry out the first objectives . The main purpose of the
society was to encouraged every artist to come forth ,an
exhibition special to all artists was held yearly in which
no one was to be excluded . Another exhibition was held for
members, and a third one was for young children .The most
ambitious plan was the Kuwaiti Biennale , the long-standing
dream of Khalifa that came feasible in 1969 . The Biennale
brought the local art movement into focus and evoked a
reaction among artists of other Arabian nations . In 1971
the Arab Artists Union was formed in Damascus; Khalifa
Qattan was among the founding member representing the
Kuwaiti Plastic Arts Society .Khalifa's expectation in the
local art movement was not thwarted ;for two decades there
was a flare of art activity, enhanced by an exchange of
exhibitions ,collective and personal, from abroad .When in
the eighties the Kuwait art society began losing its true
purpose ,the local art movement suffered and a period of
stagnation set in . A change of policy in the nineties has
revitalized the Society and given a new prestige .In 1971
Khalifa Qattan was chosen for a special Board , sponsored by
the Emir to study the cultural situation in the country
.From the report in 1972 emerged the Higher Council for
Culture and Letters, of which Khalifa became a member in
1974.Since the art movement began in the sixties ,Khalifa
had been searching for a suitable place to hold the stream
of exhibitions which intensified with the birth of the
Kuwait Art Society. His first objective in becoming part of
the Higher Council was to have an exhibition Hall .He was
put in charge of finding one and when he located it he had
to persuade the minister of Social Affair, to which it
belonged ,to released it .The place had been built for
social occasions and Khalifa transformed it into a national
gallery .Appointed director in it, within the same month he
organized the first exhibition for a renown artist from
abroad invited by the Council .A tight schedule of shows
followed and Khalifa being without an assistant he had to
fulfill the role of the organizer, the clark, and public
elation officer. At night, when his job was done, he was
cutting clips of written material in the local papers
concerning art and painting . His intention was to turn the
national gallery into a cultural center, with a
comprehensive library, an archive and an art museum of
donated works from artists using the gallery .His dream
vanished when he left the Council few months later ,
following a misunderstanding with the Council's Director .
In 1975 Khalifa Qattan caused a sensation in town when he
presented a one subject exhibition of 35 paintings under the
name 'THE APPLE ' .It was supposed to be a one week show,
but was extended to a full month. The implication of sex on
society is a delicate and daring subject, but the
philosophical works of Khalifa were well received by the
general public . Renown writers wrote lengthy comments in
magazines and papers and some artists even made cartoons ;Khalifa
collected the material in a book titled "The Apple " .
Another exhibition dealing in one subject was 'WOMEN I SAW'
held in 1978 . It lacked the daring of the previous one and
caused no fuss . Another show "The Egg " has been lingering
from the early eighties. From mid eighties Khalifa Qattan
has been slowing down in his artistic output, and has become
less involved in the art movement he championed for two
decades .His change in disposition has affected his art
.Gone is the drama and satyr of the sixties and seventies
;his blunt criticism on society that characterized his works
of Circulism , has given way to peaceful portraits of nature
, mainly trees, which he adores , and finds in them a true
expression of his soul . After the liberation he has
produced some works reminiscent of CIRCULISM , for the drama
he lived through during the Iraqi invasion could not be
ignored . Khalifa Qattan received many awards specially from
foreign nations The latest was the "FIRST ARTIST OF THE YEAR
's " award ,sponsored by the Amir of Sharja ,Sheikh
Dr.Sultan Ben Mohammed Al Qasemi,in 1993 during the occasion
of the first International Biennale of Sharja.
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خليفة
القطان |
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في أعمال "خليفة القطان " يبدو العالم محمولا على
رأس دبوس فهو تارة يبعث على الحيرة ويثيرالتساؤل حول تلك الفلسفة
غيرالمتوازنة في تصرفات أبطال قصصه، وتارة أخرى يصبح وكائناته الغريبة
الأشكال والأطوار شريحة تحت عدسة مجهر يظل يحلل زواياه ويدرس نفسيات شخوصه
التي تؤدي أدوار رواياته المعقدة التركيب، ولذلك كانت أعماله تحمل فكرا
وفلسفة تحليلية لمكونات المحيط الإنساني الذي يعيشه متتبعا كل حركة أو نظرة
أو همسة، ومتفحصا كل دقيقة من دقائق العلاقة التي تربط أجزاءه الآدمية حتى
تلك التي تظل في أكثر الأحيان سرية ودفينة خلف قناع سميك مرا الملامح
والتعبيرات المغايرة لطبيعة صاحبها الحقيقية.
ومن أهم الجوانب التي ركز عليها "القطان" في بحثه المميز الذي يحاول تحقيقه
من خلال نظريته الفنية التي ترتبط بحركة الكون وما فيه، هي معالجته بالنقد
اللاذع حينا للآفات الاجتماعية والسلوكية في المجتمع، ومحيط البيئة التي
يعيش فيها، وتفجير هذه القضايا بشكل مأساوي عندما تكون هذه الآفة عادة
بالية يضيع في تصرفاتها الأبرياء.
ففي عمله: (ألحس لكي أصل) يصوربطل عمله إنسانا وصوليا مستعدا لفعل الأعاجيب
لكي يصل إلى مبتغاه وهو لن يتوانى في لعق قدم سيده أو حتى نعله.
لقد كانت البيئة المحلية وما زالت لديه أكثرمن مجرد قيمة بصرية تسجلها
فرشاته على القماش ليحفظها من الضياع، فرؤيته لاتقف عند حد التعامل الظاهري
مع الأشياء والأشكال بل تتعدى حواجز الانعكاس البصري لتصل إلى أعماق
مفرداته التي يهوى تحليلها، أو إذا صح التعبير تعريتها وكشف خفايا تكوينها
الداخلي.
لقد اختار"القطان" سلوكا فنيا مغايرا للكثير من زملائه التشكيليين
الكويتيين، وهذا الاتجاه فرضته عليه فلسفته التشكيلية في معالجة المساحات
اللونية والأشكال، خاصة في مراحله الأولى التي بدأ فيها بصياغة هويته
الفنية وأسلوبه الخاص الذي أطلق عليه النقاد (السيركلزم)، وقد كان البحث في
الظواهر الاجتماعية في مجتمعه وتتبعها
خيرمعين له في بلورة رؤيته الفنية وتأكيد هويتها وأيضا في تعزيز فلسفته في
التعامل مع بيئته المحيطة من دون التصادم بين واقع المشهد التراثي وطريقة
تعامله مع هذا المشهد فنيا.
عندما يعبرعن مفهوم كلمة (شقاوة) على مساحة قماش الرسم لا يندفع في اتجاه
الصياغة المباشرة للمشهد، بل هي وجوه لا تستشعر منها سوى البراءة في جو من
التداخلات اللونية المفعمة بالحركة، وهكذا تبدو "للقطان " الشقاوة خيطا من
التواصل العاطفي بينه وبين هذين الطفلين رمز البراءة المليئة بالحيوية
والحركة.
قد تتعدى رؤيته الصورة الروتينية للحوار اليومي لما يدورفي محيطه فيذهب إلى
أبعد من هذا لينقب في سلوكيات هؤلاء الذين يدورون حول محورالمكان الذي يعيش
فيه إلا أنه في بعض الأحيان تتوق ريشته ليسجل مشهدا ما لفت انتباهه كالحلاق
أو كالبدوي يستظل بظلال شجرة هربا من قيظ الصيف، أومجموعة من رواد السوق
يتجادلون في لون البطيخة.
دائما توجد الكويت القديمة بمنازلها الطينية ودروبها الترابية في الكثيرمن
أعماله الفنية، وان لم تظهر بشكل مباشر، فتعامله مع خريطة هذه المدينة
الهندسية، أو طرقاتها أو بيوتها ليس القيمة الفنية المنشودة في مواضيعه.
فالناس وهم ساكنوها يمثلون بؤرة اهتمامه ونقطة بحثه التي يرتكز عليها فكره
التحليلي، ووجود مثل هذه المفردات التراثية التي تلازم لوحته تؤكد التصاقه
بإرثه التاريخي المميز والغني بشتى الأشكال والمفردات المعبرة بصدق وأمانة
عن ماضي الكويت وتراثها. وهذا ما يؤكد شعوره الرقيق الذي يواكب طبعه الباحث
والمتقصي بدقة عن كل ما تقع عليه عيناه أويتسلل لمسمعه، فهموم الناس هي همه،
وما يؤلمهم يؤلمه، وكلما غربت شمس يوم من أيام مدينته يعود إلى داره ليسجل
بالفرشاة واللون حدثا جديدا روته جدران سكيك الكويت العتيقة.
عن كتاب "التراث في الفن التشكيلي الكويتي"
لـ حميد خزعل |
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