Tag: beirut

by jad

Growing Up Middle Eastern Here (Readymade: Big Gulp and Mailbox)

Interstitiality. The service area in between two sections of artwork at the 9th Avenue gallery. x A central question in Gizelle’s exhibit is: what does it mean to grow up Middle Eastern here? This question speaks to a universal diasporic unease between “here” and “elsewhere,” but for those of us inscribed in Arabic script on a backdrop of Alpha Beta Charlie, the question cuts more deeply. Our very existence “here” rends us in two, like an act of betrayal. In many ways, I relate more to Gizelle’s parents’ experience than her own. I chose to come here as an adult. … Continue reading “Growing Up Middle Eastern Here (Readymade: Big Gulp and Mailbox)” →

by jad

Gizelle’s Belltown Show, and Modern American Masculinity

I kept saying that I’ve had Gizelle’s Belltown Art Walk show in my calendar for a year, and today my phone reminded me that we in fact did hang out exactly one year ago today, when I must have put it in my calendar, because it was already in there the next time we met up and she excitedly relayed her plans for it. I had a vague idea what to expect, but walking into the space still took my breath away, like “wow.” The sheer scale of these pieces, combined with the patient labor it took to make them … Continue reading “Gizelle’s Belltown Show, and Modern American Masculinity” →

by jad

Japan Trip: Fujifilm on Fujifilm

More from Electric Town: This bus, so ideogrammatic in my mind of Beirut, as seen in its natural habitat; Lebanon often gets these second-hand. That train—I actually waited several minutes for it to come back around so I could catch it in that reflection like a real photographer or something. This street featuring the Beastie Boys in their hi-viz jackets with the built-in air condition. x Fujifilm on Fujifilm. Back when I first started daydreaming about this trip to Japan, I entertained fantasies about going camera hunting here, but to be honest, the bargains aren’t so ubiquitous to make that … Continue reading “Japan Trip: Fujifilm on Fujifilm” →

by jad

Middle Finger to the City

The concrete structure sandwiched between the first and last slides in this series is the Interdesign building designed by Khalil Khouri in 1973. As ArchDaily puts it, “the building took 23 years to build, a process halted by the onset of the Lebanese Civil War. By the time it was completed in 1996, the urban landscape that surrounded it had changed. The structure has stood largely unused since, as a relic of hopeful modernity. While its design is singular in its narrative and expression, this structure illustrates the tension between aspiration and struggle throughout its complex history.” I first learned … Continue reading “Middle Finger to the City” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 9

I was charmed by this whole area. Google Maps insisted on sending us in random directions, but the locals kept us on the right path, joking with us about the almost-nonexistent signage pointing the way. At one point, Google sent us down a road that turned out to be blocked; “maqtou3a, maqtou3a,” a guy on his scooter told us. Before we knew it, another guy in a pickup truck opened up the gate to his farm and told us to drive through his land to get back down to the main road. All in the typical Druze accent and matter-of-fact … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 9” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 8

Today’s my last day here. Yesterday, Christine picked up on an “extra sweetness” in my messages, asking me if feeling nostalgic now that my time in Lebanon is coming to an end. I replied: “I’m being sappy I guess.” She put her finger on the pulse: “It’s more than sappy, I think. I can’t imagine having your heart split in two places. And I think that’s what you’re feeling right now. The beautiful agony of knowing you cannot be in two places at once.” I cried. Today is a day to remember. Thousands of families have forced a new status … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 8” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 7

I’m nearing the end of my time here in Lebanon. Pages are turning, chapters are closing, narratives are being bookended, and parentheticals are emerging like ducks in a row. It’s gratifying, for example, to see how far @ridersrightslb, the afterlife of the @busmapproject I started working on 10 years ago, has come. I might say more about that at some point. It’s good to put faces to internet names and make new friends. It’s also nice to go with the flow more often. This country isn’t kind to sticks in the mud. There have been days when I’ve slowed down … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 7” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 5

“Heritage is never rediscovered; it is only the objects/monuments or the material remains of past socio-cultural dynamics that are rediscovered. The interpretation of these objects creates what is commonly known as Heritage. This creation is carried out through a story-making/storytelling process in which all these ingredients are meticulously positioned according to their differential value and related significance, as Heritage is no more than a value-based construct.” (Assaad Seif, ‘Beirut as a Palimpsest’) I’m reaching the point of the visit when more of the things that make Lebanon “Lebanon” are beginning to grate on my nerves. This was bound to happen; … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 5” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 3

Have you heard of Daheshism? Me neither. Not until Abu Imad mentioned Dr. Dahesh (“Astounder”) in passing the other day. Apparently, a “Daheshist believes that all of creation is spread out over a multidimensional universe divided into three principal realms, each divided into 150 levels.” I don’t know about that, but it does sound a little bit like Lebanon. Layer upon layer upon layer. Destroyed and rebuilt again and again, usually worse than before. And yet it endures. Now that’s truly astounding. I’ve been binging on local news in this week of speedy developments; first, a new president, now a … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 3” →

by jad

Lebanon: Day 2

Weaving through the “Sunday Souk” (also open on Saturdays) isn’t exactly a “shock” to the senses (I’m not an orientalist writing paeans to the grand bazaar), but it certainly is a vibe. There’s one surreal sensory dimension to this Souk that I could never handle for more than a couple of minutes: multiple pre-recorded messages on tiny squawk-boxes and megaphones repeating the latest deals over and over and over and over in the same deadpan monotone. They made me laugh but I could easily see my sanity slip away if I had to endure that for a whole day. I … Continue reading “Lebanon: Day 2” →