Lebanon and its people never cease to surprise. Despite the challenging times the country is experiencing, an enterprising couple has created the first Modern and Contemporary Art Museum in Lebanon. MACAM as it is known, is a new cultural institution dedicated to exhibiting, documenting, and preserving art in Lebanon. Nazeem El Khoury, a Lebanese minister officially inaugurated the museum on June 29.
The museum itself is located on the hilltop of Alita, in the district of Jbeil/Byblos. The Recto Verso Library in Monot Street, in Beirut, is also an outreach venue documenting art in Lebanon and offering numerous cultural activities.
“We started a few months ago as an NGO with the basic requirement of land and a building. We do not have a collection nor do we have the funds to acquire one. At this early stage, we have not made the effort to have a collection, as we can function well with loans without worrying about acquisitions, as the artists trust us and are generous in loaning us their work. The museum consists of two adjacent old factories with high ceilings; we do not have climate control on the premises to exhibit paintings. At this stage, we exhibit only sculptures, stone, metal, wood, ceramics and installations. We are planning to add in the near future a special floor to accommodate paintings and related media,” said Gabriele Schaub, one of the co-founders of this cultural venture alongside Cesar Nammour.
MACAM’s co-founders acknowledge that modern art in Lebanon began in painting with Khalil Saleeby in the early 20th century and in sculpture by Michel Basbous in the middle of the 20th century, while installation art originated in the eighties.
“Modern art in Lebanon abides by the general rules of aesthetics, in spite of its tendency toward experimentation in different materials and styles. Installation art does not follow at all the same rules and it is often three dimensional though inscriptions, video, sound, and light are considered, after the eighties, as installations; installation aims to provoke thoughts about social, political and philosophical issues, and change our perception of visual matters,” explained Nammour.
MACAM’s permanent exhibition of sculptures are practically all loaned by the artists themselves starting with Youssef Howayek, the three Basbous brothers (Michel, Youssef, and Alfred), Salwa Choukair and Zaven. Salwa Choucair’s talent in sculpting has been recognized worldwide. She was given a special award for sculpture from the Union of Arab Artist.
“We aim to display a panorama of Lebanese sculpture. Our criterion is that the artist has either exhibited in a gallery or has been part of the art scene in the country. We therefore exhibit all schools, styles and media in sculpture. We also like to introduce talented sculptors who are not known to the public such as Saleh, a wood sculptor (who passed away a few years ago), and Mario Saba, an installation artist. Mario Saba’s work expresses the paradoxes of life and humanity’s aggressiveness and stupidity.
One of MACAM’s specificity is its willingness to preserve installations. Installations require a lot of space, which is not available in the city. MACAM provides 10,000 square meters of land and 4,000 square meters of closed space with possibilities for expansion in the future.
Installation artwork incorporates a broad range of everyday and natural materials as well as new media such as video, sound, performance and the Internet.
Installation art originated in the 1970s but its roots can be linked to earlier artists such as Marcel Duchamp with his use of the readymade and Kurt Schwitters’ Merz art objects, rather than more traditional craft based sculpture.
Installation art can be defined as an artistic tryst between time and space, in which the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch and taste) are aroused. Installation art was deeply influenced by two American artists Kaprow and Cage, who were at the vanguard of an anti-establishment in the 1950s, which sought to create “art which cannot be art”.
Despite the power, poignancy and success that installation art now enjoys, many viewers and patrons have reservations about it, and consider it the “devaluation of art”.
“This genre of art is often three dimensional, site-specific and is often conceptual and provocative. Installations are ephemeral, when the exhibition comes to an end they are dismantled and often disposed of. As this form of art is the art of this age, we feel a responsibility as a museum to preserve, document and pass them to the coming generations,” said Nammour.
The Modern and Contemporary Art Museum is planning to create interesting events that will attract a wide audience such as competitions, artists in residence, music and theater performances.
Partnerships with other museums are also instrumental in organizing guest exhibitions.
MACAM is more than an exhibition space. It fosters talent and creativity, provides the place, the information, and the events that bring people and art together.
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