OK, I'll bite: what's this got to do with progressive economists?
michael
At 19:17 23/04/2006, you wrote:
The Asian Age
http://www.asianage.com/
23 April 2006
Culture Plus
A Saudi princess zooms in on Haj
- By Siraj Wahab
Jeddah: When you hear the words "Saudi princess," the image that comes to
mind is probably not that of a talented artist. That's why when you meet
Princess Reem Mohammed al Faisal, granddaughter of the late King Faisal, it
is a pleasant surprise because she challenges such preconceptions. The
princess is a photographer and her work has been exhibited for more than a
decade. Working always with a roll-film, medium-format camera and always in
black and white, the 30-something princess has sought to capture images that
play with light and shadow and also tell stories at the same time.
Princess Reem first tried to capture the essence of the streets of Paris and
later focused on the port of Jeddah. Her current exhibit tries to capture
the essence of the Haj, an ambitious undertaking that required three years
of photography to realise.
"In Reem al Faisal's world, all solidity is a reflection of the light which
gives it form and content," wrote one critic. "The orb is round because of
the light that curls around it. The archway is tall because of the light
that streams through it. Colour is only a distraction. By working in
black-and-white, the artist sees and renders to us the divine light of her
vision."
During a conversation in Jeddah with this correspondent, the princess
explained the motivation behind her current exhibit, aptly called "Al Hajj."
"My objective in photographing the Haj was to take photographs from the
angle of humanity. I wanted to project how humanity deals with an intense
situation - a dramatic situation," she said.
"The Haj is a religious ritual that goes back to pre-Islamic times, all the
way back to the days of Prophet Ibrahim. It is an ancient ritual and has
been performed through the centuries in one form or another. I see Haj as a
ritual that really created the Muslim identity more than any other because
it occurs every year, and Muslims from around the globe come here every
year. It was my aim to show that."
To get the images required the affable princess to join the throngs of
pilgrims, accompanied only by her driver. The fact that many Muslims still
have strong objections to photography and feel it is taboo made her task all
the more difficult.
"The most difficult thing in the Haj were those people," she said. "They
come from all races - from all countries. Initially, I thought they were
mostly Saudis, but that was not correct. These people take it upon
themselves to defend their faith, and they were willing to do anything. They
were willing to hit me and attack me... Oh yeah."
This required some precautions. "I had one or two people constantly with me.
The deal with them was that they would fend off anybody who came to attack
me while I was taking a picture. It happened a lot of times; I was insulted
and must have been declared an apostate a hundred times."
Princess Reem is quick to point out that this behaviour wasn't only from
men. "Women were equally harsh," she said. "I was stopped at one camp in the
holy city of Mina, near Mecca, by a woman. I just wanted to rest. She called
the men and told them to get me out of there. I told her I wasn't going to
photograph her and that I just wanted to rest, but she wouldn't listen; she
was furious. She simply kicked me out."
Beyond that, there were the difficulties of becoming one in a crowd of
millions. "The Haj is physically exhausting," she said. "We were walking
constantly - a minimum of 13 hours every day. We didn't have any tents like
the pilgrims have. We would sit down anywhere, grab a bite and drink water
on the go."
Princess Reem's experiences, coupled with her artistic sense, also gave her
some keen insights and a creative perspective about the Haj. "Arafat is the
most dramatic. That is where you feel the intensity. One can feel the
emotions of the Haj in the plains of Arafat. The energy is amazing. It is
like electricity. In the Haj, humanity itself becomes an obstacle. You are
in a river and sometimes you are really swimming against the tide. A lot of
times you can get crushed. On many occasions, you have to just drop out of
the way. The crowd has its own logic. You really have to be on the edge."
After her first year of photographing the Haj in 2001, the princess realised
the enormity of the task and returned in 2002 and 2004 to complete the
project - and gain a new understanding of the ancient ritual and its
traditions.
Princess Reem says she felt she succeeded in capturing an aspect of the Haj,
but she now plans on turning her camera in other directions. "Photography is
a state of mind and being," she said. "It is always there. It is like the
volume - you turn it off and on. Sometimes it's very frustrating. I am sick
if I am not able to go out and photograph. Photography is a way to praise
God's glory in the universe."
She also says sticking to the older medium of film becomes part of the
essence of her art. "Black and white is a more artistic form of
photography," the princess said. "People can get distracted by colour and
forget about the image itself, but a black-and-white photograph forces the
people to focus on the image."
Princess Reem laments that the importance of artistic expression seems to be
overlooked by many Muslims. "One of the basic ills in Muslim society is that
we think art is a luxury. I say art is not a luxury - it is a necessity. The
beauty of the Muslim world in earlier times was that art was an intrinsic
part of society. Go to a village in Pakistan, for instance. Go into a
mosque, and you will find that there was someone there who painted the
mosque - who drew flowers on the walls. There is beautiful calligraphy. It
doesn't mean that the person had been through a fine arts school. It was
part of society. It was a natural expression - down to the people who made
the bowls, the chairs. The problem is we have separated art from utility.
There is this mistaken belief that what is useful cannot be beautiful. As a
result, it is almost as if Muslim society no longer appreciates beauty."
Princess Reem sees her perspective as an Islamic one. "The Qur'an in itself
says you have to appreciate beauty. Part of the Prophet's miracle is that he
fascinated the Quraish of Mecca more than 1,400 years ago with the language
of the Qur'an. They were genuinely impressed with the beauty of the Qur'an
language. That is also an art."
The way you dress is also a form of art. Perfumery is a form of art. Just go
back 100 years and look at many things in the Muslim world: So much of it
was a work of art."
Interestingly, however, the photographer still has a few reservations about
photography. "Let my work speak for myself," she said when this
correspondent asked to photograph her for this interview. "I don't want to
be in front of the camera; I am comfortable behind the lens."
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6
Currently based in Venezuela. Can be reached at
Residencias Anauco Suites
Departamento 601
Parque Central, Zona Postal 1010, Oficina 1
Caracas, Venezuela
(58-212) 573-4111
fax: (58-212) 573-7724
