Amman in the eyes of young Jordanian artists

AMMAN — I enjoy Amman, when I live in it. It seems that Amman's charms are secrets only revealed mostly to its inhabitants who look hard, and once they see, they really appreciate them.

I owe the beginnings of my love affair with the city to downtown, going there for coffee, chatting with Mohammad, the Egyptian waiter who left to get married, I still go for coffee but it is not the same with him gone.

Later I would stroll further towards Souk Al Bukhariyeh to buy beads from the handsome Majid, whose passion is football.

Amman is incomplete, to me, without its centre, downtown-core.

Amman has lent itself to artists.

One can trace windows and trees, alleys and houses, people and atmospheres in paintings by local artists such as Ammar Khammash, Omar Hamdan, Salam Kanaan, Riham Ghassib, Fouad Mimi, Ali Jabri and many more.

Amman is, of course, presented differently according to the perception of the artist.

Young artists are also documenting their vision of Amman in their works, they too have their own way of seeing their city.

The works of Samer Kurdi, Hani Alqam and Ala' Younis, which I present in this article, are example articulation of this vision.

Samer Kurdi escorts the viewer to a variety of scenes from Amman.

Through a painting one is engaged in a wide shot of people in Aljamiah Al Arabiyah Coffeehouse in downtown, one can hear the chatter of those in the cafب, playing cards and backgammon, calling for tea and argueileh, and the sounds of cars in the street on a breezy evening.

Another painting positions one in front of a watermelon stand. One can anticipate the vendor calling for his watermelon, “honey watermelon” he calls, one can feel the intense smell of thyme and mint leaves and the hint of rotting vegetables and fruits in the loud vegetable market of downtown, a beautiful trip in thin spaces between the stacks.

Samer's strong and thick brush strokes, rapid and intense, assured and evocative, portray the vibrant atmosphere, and they portray his affection for these scenes.

Samer painted Amman in his downtown studio, in the building that his grandfather built in the 1920s where his father was born.

In relation to his understating of the city he narrates: “As a contemporary Jordanian artist I have found something which most resembles an identity in the souks and cafes of the balad. This was not a conscious decision on my part; I did not `plan' to draw and paint the cafes and the streets of the balad — it just happened. There was something in those cafes, streets, and alleys that was worth seeing, that was worth looking at and living with. Every painting and drawing was an attempt to feel and to find out what that something is. History, perhaps, or something that is more raw, real, authentic. There is something magical about downtown Amman.”

Hani Alqam watches the city from his residence in Jabal Luweibdeh, his paintings of the scenery are almost abstract, landscapes of courageous strokes of lines and colours.

“My city is a child, innocent and powerful, free from the violent mutation of signs, consumption, and `development.' She is also simple and a little wild.”

His landscape paintings are rich in colour; one can feel the life of the city.

“From my balcony in Jabal Luweibdeh I enjoy the surrounding scene, that of Jabal Amman and downtown, I like the houses, the green areas and the streets winding along the hills. I find the city beautiful.”

Hani has paintings and drawings of Al Aljamiah Al Arabiyah Coffeehouse, they also portray the atmosphere where he is an observant, taking in the life of his city, contemplating the beauty of details.

A chair, a table, a plate, a cup, and further, parts of a chair, a corner of a table, are sometimes his main objects of illustration. They seem complete, grand and charming.

“Amman is about details,” described Ala' Younis, the plant in a tin pot, the porch painted green, the winding steps which mystifyingly transport you from one space to another.

“Amman is layers and layers of stories; a house built on top of a house and each house a tale.”

I told Ala' that her paintings are happy, childish and pretty, she said: “Amman is like my paintings.”

“Amman is diverse,” Ala' said, “I am fond of these mountains, sprayed with houses. This topography allows for the playfulness of the tricky perspectives and dramatic scenes.”

The eye travels across the surface of her paintings wondering from an arched window to a green door, from a hanging porch to narrow steps.

Ala's background as an architect reveals itself in her appreciation of the architectural details and the urban fabric.

In her work Ala' displays the concentration of Amman houses, the variety and detail allow us to see beautiful what is assumed otherwise.

Ala's work reminded me of what I call naشve Jordanian art. I have noted that many houses have been decorated with patterns drawn or printed along the top, on the main faءade, or around a window sometimes in a particular order other times at random.

Whatever the reasons — a spell against the evil eye or to repel the mosquitoes — I believe it is for an impulsive desire and simple appreciation for aesthetics.

“I spent the best summers in my grandfather's house in Jabal Al Tajj, I remember the cactus at the entrance, which we had to squeeze by lest its thorns prickle our skin, the wide steps lead to a large courtyard. The main faءade of the house was a concrete wall divided with black lines into geometric shapes each was painted a colour different from the others-reds, greens, blues, yellows and more. I can still see this wall, simple and colourful.”

Amman, as the night falls and the lights are turned on, one after another then millions, I wonder about the houses behind these lights and think of the secrets.

The city entrances these artists, captivates them, their works witness to their curiosity and search for answers and reasons. They paint their view of the city; we see their works and review the city.

Diala Khasawneh
The Jordan Times
September 2005