AGENDA

Just a thought

12 THE DAILY STAR saturday, september 5, 2009ARTS & CULTURE

LEBANON

MUSIC

‘Coming Home’Masrah al-Madina, HamraSeptember 5, 9:30 p.m.+961 1 803 436Charbel Rouhana and his20-piece orchestra willsing and play a variedrepertoire of six newsongs together with oldfavorites in big bandarrangements.

Ziyad SahhabMasrah al-Madina, HamraSeptember 6, 9:30 p.m.+961 1 803 436Ziyad Sahhab and hisband will be performing aselection of his mostmemorable tunes as wellas new songs from hisupcoming CD.

FILM

‘Mama’s Guest’Art Lounge, KarantinaSeptember 6, 7:30 p.m.+961 3 997 676The first screening of the“Contemporary Persia”film cycle sees a screen-ing of Dariush Mehrjui’s2004 comedy about a last-minute dinner party.

Eugenie JooBeirut Art Center,Jisr al-WatiSeptember 9, 8:30 p.m.+961 1 397 018The New York-basedcurator, who served ascommissioner for theKorean Pavilion at the53rd Venice Biennale,talks about her work andpresents a series of relat-ed short films.

PERFORMANCE

‘Beirut, in My Hands”Theatre Monnot,AchrafiehSeptember 5-6, 8:30 p.m.+961 1 202 422As part of the activitiessurrounding Beirut’s yearas World Book Capital,three actors performBeirut-related extractsfrom authors such asNadia Tueni, May Ghos-soub and Robert Fisk.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Rule of ThreeThe Running Horse ArtSpace, KarantinaUUnnttiill SSeepptteemmbbeerr 1199 +961 3 710 225 Ziad Nawfal curates ashow from photographerYoumna Habbouch, adynamic series of trip-tychs drawing parallelsbetween familiar scenes.

ART

‘Fresh Juice’ Art Lounge, Karantina September 8, 8 p.m. +961 3 997 676 A cocktail of freshly-squeezed talent from avariety of artistic fields,this exhibition is curatedby Jo Baaklini and Cyn-thia Merhej and featuresthe work of Ayla Hibri,Ghadi Ghosn and DavidHabchy, among others.

‘Madness of Colors’ Galerie d’Art SurfaceLibre Opening September 9, 6 p.m. +961 4 716 600 Abdallah Dadour’s mixedmedia painting are theresult of years of workinto the relationshipsbetween pigments, oils,diluents and colors.

I saw a thief who was beinggibbeted. I bowed to himfor being true to the pro-fession he followed.

Junaid al-Baghdadi (830 – 910) Sufi Shaykh

REVIEW

REVIEW

Your bold enthusiasm is drawing attentionfrom all sides - and that’s just how you likeit! Use your great energy to ensure thatwhatever you start with has enoughmomentum for the days to come.

HOROSCOPE

Spend more time with your friendstoday, even if that means neglectingother responsibilities. They need youmore than they are letting on, andsome of them may not even know.

Your career needs attention, even if youthink you’re exactly where you want tobe. There is still room to climb, ormaybe you need to consider a lateralmove to keep yourself fully engaged.

Everyone’s got something to say today,and while you might not agree witheverything they say, you should at leasttry to respect their right to say it. That cango a long way toward good diplomacy.

Your flexible thinking should be a hugeasset today, so see if you can stretchyourself out even further than usual.It’s a really good time for you to showothers that there are more possibilities.

You’re in a great mood today, but youmight be the only one. It’s a good dayfor you to just kick back and enjoy life,though if you’ve got pressing matters,they should be easy to deal with.

You’re a little worn out from recentevents, but that means it’s a goodtime for you to re-evaluate some-thing. It could get bigger, until youyour values are on the line.

Your mind is wandering all over theplace, but that’s not such a bad thing -in fact, it may lead you in some inter-esting directions. It’s a good idea foryou to stay anchored with someone.

You need to hold back from any seri-ous financial dealings - things are crazyenough as it is! Also, your mind is onmore spiritual matters, and that makesit harder to focus on facts and figures.

Make some art and ensure that yourloved ones are doing the same, or atleast open to the possibility. You aretapping a rich vein of creative energythat really merits further exploration.

You just can’t seem to make anythingconnect today, but that’s okay - you canstill take care of the basics and just tryfor the big time another day. Things aresure to pick up soon.

Your great energy is sweeping over youin a colossal wave - and you’re having ablast. It’s a really good day for you tostep up and see if you can get yourfriends and family on board, too.

Aries (Mar. 21 – April 19) Taurus (April 20 – May 20) Gemini (May 21 – June 21)

Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22)Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22)Cancer (June 22 – July 22)

Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22)

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18) Pisces (Feb. 19 – Mar. 20)

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21) Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21)

Inshad: End of summer ecstasy comes in point-counterpointMustafa Said’s Asil Ensemble and the cadre of Shaykh Salah Yamout bring the Madina audience to its feet

Matthew Mosley Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: An etherealwail rises from the ven-erable lungs of 81-year-old Shaykh Salah

Yamout, hovering on one notefor a super-human length oftime before oscillating down-ward. Soon the lusty chorus ofoud virtuoso Mustafa Said andhis associates plunge into thefray with a lively refrain. The counterpoint of youth

and age was very much at thefore during “Inshad” on Thurs-day evening, the latest show inthe Forward Music End-of-Summer concert series at Mas-rah al-Madina. On one side ofthe stage sat Yamout with histhree singing sons. The otherwas occupied by 26-year-oldSaid and the Asil Ensemble, acomplement of frame drum andriq (tambourine), qanun(zither) and another backingvocalist – young guns of theArabic music world. Appropriately for the holy

month of Ramadan, the ensem-ble performed a selection ofmusic from the Islamic tradi-tion, as broadly defined. Begin-ning with a passage of Koranicrecitation from Yamout,famous for his work in thisgenre, the lion’s share of theconcert was filled with Sufiincantation. A dominant lyric

theme for the evening was love,whether sacred or profanedepended on the audiencemember’s taste. “Inshad” translates roughly

as “chant,” and is the name giv-en to religious music in the Ara-bic tradition. Only secular songsare “sung.” In musical terms, inshad usu-

ally implies the dominance ofvocals, with minimal instrumen-tal accompaniment. The concert at Masrah al-

Madina stuck to this tradition.Aside from an extended qanunsolo, where the rippling cascadeof notes drew audience ap -plause, and some introductorysolo oud by Said, instrumentalaccompaniment was on thewhole kept to a subtle minimum. Currently studying for a

graduate degree in musicologyfrom the Antonine Universityin Baabda, Said sat with his oudpropped on his knee, occasion-ally plucking a series of repeat-ed notes as inspired byYamout’s extended, soaringvocal improvisations. The musician’s oud skills had

their moment in the spotlightduring a solo in the final piece.Rattling around among the low-er notes of his instrument, Saidperformed a rousing and per-cussive passage. Perhaps the most remarkable

aspect of the performance, how- ever, was the wonderful con-

trast between the vocal styles ofYamout and Said, which repre-sented two aural variations on atheme of the ecstatic. Yamout sat composed and

reserved, allowing his strongvoice to exhibit its remarkableclarity as it wafted throughoutthe auditorium. Said, on the oth-er hand, proved to be a moreemotive performer. Throwinghis head back and opening hismouth as wide as it would go, he

let out a high-pitched cry that hemodulated through the register,altering the dynamics to make asurprising stream of sound. The Madina Theater audi-

ence was enraptured by Said’sintense technique, each of hissolos garnering a loud clatter ofapplause. Throughout, themusician’s palpable energy andenthusiasm seemed to guidethe ensemble, as though engag-ing in telepathic conducting.

“Inshad” fits into Said’s larg-er project of working to devel-op classical Arabic music withinits own terms of reference,resisting the lure of fusion withWestern styles that has provedirresistible for many of hispeers. The musician dislikes theterm “traditional” to categorizethe music he plays – for Said,this is still a living, vital form. On the evidence of the audi-

ence reception of “Inshad,”

there are many who shareSaid’s view. A diverse crowd,with a healthy representation ofdifferent age-groups, rose to itsfeet as one to give the ensemblea standing ovation.

The End-of-Summer concertseries from Forward Music ends onSeptember 6 with a concert fromZiyad Sahhab and his band at Mas-rah al-Madina. For more details, call +961 1 803 436.

Said and Yamoutsing of love.

Photo by Fadi Abou Ghalioum

Golden Lion lineup ’Prince of Tears’ at the Venice film festival

VENICE: Chinese actresses Xuan Zhu, left, and Terry Kwan pose during the photocall for “Lei Wangzi” (“Prince ofTears”) at the Venice film festival on Friday. Following the adventures of two sisters in Taiwan whose parents arethrown into jail, “Lei Wangzi” is competing for the Golden Lion, the festival’s top prize. Taiwanese film maker AngLee is president of the jury at the 66th Mostra Internationale d’Arte Cinematografical. – AFP

AFP/Filippo Montefort

Ettehad, center, during a performance of “Purdahs of Silence” at the Azad Gallery.

Bavand BehpoorSpecial to The Daily Star

TEHRAN: It is all aboutsilence. A silent figureplays a silent instrumentto resist a failure to play.

A text is unspoken, to representresistance to a failure to speak. To display an artwork is an

urge to speak. Iranian contem-porary art is formed on theverge of such an urge – to find away to speak, when you are notallowed to speak, to resist anideological assimilation ofspeech. A huge ideologicalmachine is at work, one special-izing in talking without mean-ing, the very definition of non-sense. Iranian contemporary artis developing in the gap betweensilence and nonsense.“Purdahs of Silence,” Ali

Ettehad’s recent Installation-Performance at the Azad ArtGallery, is a demonstration of

failure. In the work can befound a failure to play an instru-ment, a failure to read a sacredtext, a failure to observe thetext, a failure to see, a failure tobe seen, a failure of ethics, to berighteous or devious, a failure tounderstand what is written inthe margins of his self-portraits. The piece is the latest install-

ment in Ettehad’s series “Raz-varzi” (“Confidence/Secrecy”).For four hours a day over sixdays, Ettehad sits, covered fromhead to toe in a burial shroud,“playing” a classical Iranianstringed instrument, one that hasbeen denuded of its strings. Allthat can be heard is the sound ofscratching. A score of electronicmusic, composed for this showby Kaveh Kateb, fills the gallery.The artist can be heard readingancient mystical poetry of thesufi tradition, which dwell onthemes of mourning.On the fifth day of the per-

formance, theatrical bloodpours from his head. As it hap-pens, the fake blood failed tosoak through the burial cloth.This was propitious for theshow’s theme of failure, but itwas a little traumatic for theartist himself.“I was seeing a horrible

scene inside, blood running

down all over,” Ettehad saidafter the performance. “I didn’trealize that it didn’t show fromthe outside.” Another fortuitous metaphor

arises from this inadvertent fail-ure – the artist’s bleeding is notunlike that of his Iranian audi-ence, who have themselves suf-

fered decade-long internalbleeding, unseen until thesepast months. Ettehad is well-aware of the

historical context of the per-formance. The ambiguity of thehistorical references is there forgood reason: If you don’t knowin which historical situation tolocate this work, simply con-nect it to the present.Ettehad’s works are an alter-

native to the much publicizedstate version of “spiritual art.” “In a governmental jargon,

by the spiritual they mostlymean the religious, especiallyof an institutionalized ideolog-ical type,” he said. There is much irony in the

way he uses the vocabulary ofspirituality in his work. Thetwo curtains hanging on eitherside of the performer, repre-senting the idea of the virtuousand the evil, both portray theartist, with different embroi-

deries on his chest. This spiritual vocabulary can

easily turn political. Indeed, itdid turn political for the artist,who in his youth was impris-oned and tortured for hiscuriosity about mysticism.Hung from the prison ceilingfrom the knees, he is now ingreat pain if seated for a longtime cross-legged. For this showhe squatted in the gallery for 24hours over six days beneath aburial shroud. The work also references

censorship via a glamorous illu-minated book, open, with blankpages, behind which theshrouded artist sits while per-forming. The gesture can easilybe read as a metaphor for theerasure of Iranian history. There can be two sides to cen-

sorship. If for 30 years reitera-tions of sacred texts haveoppressed a nation, here the textis effaced, an illuminated void.

The void echoes with silenceas the artist dares to plunge intohis Lacanian void without ask-ing others to watch or join him.As the title of work, “Confi-dence/Secrecy,” implies, it rep-resents an exclusion of theaudience and an inclusion ofthose few who know the artist. The failure of the work to

reach a general audience under-lines its success in staging thefailure. This irony, so redolentof Beckett, characterizes Iran-ian contemporary art in general– which at times makes youwonder whether Tehran’s con-temporary art galleries are turn-ing into a large, segmented stagefor an absurdist or dadaist the-ater. Perhaps this is simply areflection of contemporary Ira-nians’ way of dissecting silence,of their own peculiar stammer.

For information on the Azad Gallerycontact azadgallery@yahoo.com.

Resisting failure, in the accent of Beckett

The artist’s bleeding is notunlike that of hisIranian audicence