Ibrahim Hassan Kheite (1930–1984), also known as Ibrahim Ghannam, was a Palestinian visual artist and painter. He was born in the coastal town of Yajur near Haifa in Palestine and later resided in Tal Al-Za'atar refugee camp, located north of Beirut in Lebanon.[1]
Ibrahim Ghannam | |
|---|---|
 Ibrahim Ghannam | |
| Born | Ibrahim Hassan Kheite 1930 |
| Died | 1984 (aged 53–54) |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Known for | Painting |
| Movement | Plastic art |
Biography edit
Ghannam suffered from Gout since childhood, which led him to rely on a wheelchair for mobility throughout his life.[2]Despite his physical challenges, he persevered in his passion for painting, thanks to a UNWRA nurse who provided him with painting materials. Ghannam depicted scenes of village life in Yajur, in a naïve style using bright colours and a meticulousness approach to detail reminiscent of the Islamic miniaturists.[2][1] Ghannam's choice to paint evocative village life, a far cry from his room overlooking an open sewer, and his subsistence diet of canned foods. By transcending his harsh reality to capture vibrant rural scenes, he was able to preserve the visual memory of bountiful Palestinian countryside for a generation of children born in the refugee camp.[1] In addition to this visionary approach to his own work, Ghannam was also one of the founding members of the General Union of Palestinian Artists and the General Federation of Arab Artists.[3]
Ghannam is the subject of Adnan Mdanat's 1977 documentary film, Palestinian Visions.[4] He said in an interview, "I feel that my life stopped at the age of 17, because that is how old I was when I left, and I only live when I dream of those days."[5] Ghannam found solace in playing the oud (as pictured here).
Exhibitions edit
- 2020, The Naïve Arab Artist: Naïfs, Outsiders, L’art Autre, and L’art Brut in the Middle East, American University of Beirut Art Galleries, Beirut, Lebanon
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c Boulatta, Kamal (2005). ""Art", in Philip Mattar, ed. The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians (New York: Facts on File, 2005)".
- ^ a b Gannit Ankori, Palestinian Art, Reaktion Books, 2006, p. 54. ISBN 1-86189-259-4
- ^ Dalloul, Ramzi (18 November 2023). "Ibrahim Ghannam, Palestine, 1930-1984". Dalloul Foundation.
- ^ Nurith Gertz, George Khleifi, Palestinian Cinema: Landscape, Trauma and Memory, Edinburgh University Press, 2008, p. 71. ISBN 0-7486-3408-8
- ^ The Palestinians, by Jonathan Dimbleby Archived 2010-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
Sources edit
- Palestine Foundation for Culture Archived 2017-02-14 at the Wayback Machine (in Arabic)
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