22 - 28 November 2001
Issue No.561
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 22 - 28 November 2001 Issue No.561 |
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Of books and more
The 17th round of the Salon du Livre de Jeunesse, the French book fair for children and young adults, is under way in Paris. This year the fair places special focus on Arab books. As part of these celebrations a special exhibition of the works of Egyptian artist Moheiddin El-Labbad is being held at the Noisy-le-Sec public library.
El-Labbad has distinguished himself in a wide variety of fields: as an illustrator, a graphic designer and cartoonist. Having designed and illustrated numerous books for children the artist has chosen Le faiseur de livres (The Bookmaker) to be the title for this, his most recent exhibition.
El-Labbad's interest in children's books goes back a long time. He was one of the founders of the children's publishing house Dar Al-Fata Al-Arabi a quarter of a century ago. This exhibition includes many examples of his original art work for both children and adults, including examples of his illustrations for children's books, book covers, as well as some of his (often sharply satirical) cartoons which are published in the Arabic edition of Le Monde Diplomatique. This exhibition also features selections from his covers for the monthly, UNESCO-supervised "Book in a Newspaper" series, which comes out as a supplement to no less than 20 Arab newspapers in 20 different Arab capitals simultaneously. El-Labbad is also responsible for the design and layout of these supplements which each month publish a major Arab literary work alongside art work by different Arab artists, thus offering both forms of intellectual nourishment free of charge.
Alongside the original artwork the exhibition shows some of El-Labbad's drafts together with a selection of personal belongings, examples of the abiding visual references by which much of his work remains inspired. These include a wide range of objects, from 18th century manuscripts to 19th century Bulaq edition books, from popular drawings on glass to shadow-puppets, old cigarette packs, matchboxes, and 1930s stamps -- all of which have been variously employed as motifs in cartoons and book designs.
"Mohieddin El-Labbad... deserves the title of Ferry Sailor," the catalogue of the exhibition, written by Sylvie Vassallo, the director of the Salon, reads, "the man who works between two banks. The visitor to the exhibition will discover the work of this dualistic artist, encountering the echoes and channels through which he moves his audiences, conveying them between history and the present, classicism and modernism, between East and West. | "
The Salon is also organising public meetings and encounters between El-Labbad and various French artists. It is also organising a workshop for young Arab book illustrators in which the artist will take part.
The Bookmaker exhibition will run from 24 November to 26 January 2002 at the Noisy-le-sec library and will then move to the Montreux library during the month of February 2002.
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