Art et Liberté

Art et Liberté was an Egyptian artistic and political movement active from 1938 to 1948, about the time of the Second World War. Among the founders was the Surrealist poet Georges Henein; the group was based mostly but not exclusively on Surrealism.[1]

Members of Art et Liberté at their second exhibition of independent art, Cairo, 1941
Art et Liberté
Years active1938–1948
CountryEgypt
Major figures
Influences

History

The origins of Art et Liberté lie in a manifesto published by Henein and others on 22 December 1938 titled Vive L'Art Dégéneré! ("Long Live Degenerate Art!");[3] it carried thirty-six signatures.[4] The group adopted the term "degenerate" as a badge of honor. It was originally used as a demeaning term by Germany's Nazi Party in the Entartete Kunst exhibition as a way to ridicule modern art. The group was officially formed on 19 January 1939, and brought together Henein and other Cairo Surrealists, such as Kamel el-Telmissany and Ramses Younan, with various anarchists and Marxists.[1]:83

The group's initial formation was sparked by Henein's encounter with the Italian Futurist Filippo Marinetti. Marinetti was born in Alexandria, Egypt which, at the time, had a large Italian population. He left to attend the Sorbonne in Paris but eventually returned for the first time in 1930 to give a series of lectures on Futurism to the city's Italian-Egyptian community.[5] He returned for a second time in 1938 to give a lecture on Futurism at Les Essayistes literary club in Cairo on March 24.[6] Henein, Jean Moscatelli and Georges Santini were in attendance and caused an uproar in opposition to what Marinetti preached. The night quickly descended into chaos and Henein, Moscatelli, Santini (and other writers later involved with Art et Liberté) eventually broke away from their associations with Les Essayistes club, which they had been involved with for several years, due to the club’s gradual alignment with Marinetti and fascism.[7]

Most of the group's members were not Egyptian-born but foreign "Egyptianized" residents known as mutamassirun.[8] What distinguished Art and Liberty from previous Egyptian art movements was their embrace of cosmopolitanism and universalist ideas. Artists like Mahmoud Mukhtar and Mahmoud Sa'id have become known for their artwork which depicted local Egyptian life. They often employed nationalist symbols of the fellahin and ancient Egypt. Their work has been revered as the epitome of an Egyptian national style and they were considered "national heroes".[9] Art and Liberty formed in opposition to this nationalist sentiment which was growing in early twentieth century Egypt. Since 1881 up until 1952, Egypt had been under British occupation. A nationalist sentiment was brewing at the time which started out as being anti-British but eventually became anti-foreigners.[8] This ultimately harmed the Art and Liberty group since most of its members were either foreign-born or children of mutamassirun. Under the leadership of Gamal Abdel-Nasser, most of the mutamassirun were forced out of the country because of a hostile government.

Long Live Degenerate Art!

The Egyptian surrealists adopted the term “degenerate” as a badge of honor. Originally used by the Nazi Party as a way to ridicule art which they felt stood against the fascist ideals of the state. In 1937 they held the “Degenerate Art Exhibition” which displayed works of modern art. Over 700 artworks which had been confiscated and seized by the Nazi Government, mainly Cubist, Dada and Surrealist, were shown with derogatory slogans painted on the walls.[10]

The Long Live Degenerate Art! manifesto aligned itself with the modern artists whose work was being seized, censored and/or destroyed by the Nazi Party. Such artists mentioned in their manifesto include Pablo Picasso, Paul Cézanne, Paul Klee, and George Grosz. As well, a reproduction of Picasso's Guernica was included in its first printing. The manifesto called for free expression which they felt was being threatened by fascist governments and growing nationalism. It urged artists and writers to embrace the title of "Degenerate" art in the face of nationalism. It was first published in both Arabic and French, which further established the group's cosmopolitan stance and their influence in European Surrealism.

Group Exhibitions

Over the course of their ten year run, Art and Liberty organized five groups shows and individual one-man shows.

First Show

Their first show was held at the Nile Gallery in Suliman Pasha Square in February 1940. The show was name "Independent Art" in reference to the "Manifesto for an Independent Revolutionary Art" signed by André Breton and Diego Rivera but most likely written by Breton and Leon Trotsky.[11] Georges Henein submitted a work titled "The Murdered Poet." This would be the first and last time Henein exhibited a work of art since he was, first and foremost, a writer. Most of the artists exhibited were under thirty years old and many of them under twenty five. The first show represented a fresh, new approach to art that had not yet been seen by the Egyptian public. Their show was described as a "violent revolution against order, beauty, and logic."[11] Ahead of the shows opening, nearly ten thousand pamphlet invitations were distributed in order to attract the largest number of "educated youth." The group continued this practice of distributing large numbers of invitations for their other group shows. In one of the pamphlets entitled "We Are Still in Turmoil", Ramses Younan published his translation of Arthur Rimbaud's "A Season in Hell."[11]

Artists exhibited included: Georges Henein, Ramses Younan, Kamel el-Telmissany, Fouad Kamel, Aida Shehata, Mohammed Sadek and Angelo de Riz with a contribution from Mahmoud Sa'id.

Second Show

Their second show was held the year after in 1941. Its concept was more conceptual and experimental compared the first show. The interior was described as such: Pots of paint and plaster were scattered here and there... Fastened on the walls were hand silhouettes pointing towards an open door from which loud humming was escaping."[11] The exhibition was constructed like a maze, "set up in the shape of a mysterious passageway."[11] Paintings were hung on the walls in unorthodox ways with clothespins and a hangman's noose.

The show was met with harsh reviews, particularly on the part of Jean Bastia who described the show as childish and accused its organizers of not taking the show seriously. However, the larger Cairo public enjoyed the shows ingenuity and considered the show a success. "Mohammed Sadek wrote: The opening was gratifyingly successful, to the point that we consider the Cairene public, which is accustomed to academic art of greater artifice, took genuine notice of this show. So we must heartily congratulate Mr. Georges Henein, the instigator of this group of youths."[11]

The second show had more contributors than the first show and even included a photography section. Artists exhibited included: all the artists from the first show, Raymond Abner, Laurent Marcel Salinas, Eric de Nemes, Anne Williams, Art Topalian, Miss Behman, Amy Nimr, Hassia, Mrs. Baroukh and Abu Khalil Lutfy.

Third Show

Art and Liberty's third group show occurred between Thursday May 21-30 at the Hotel Continental in Cairo in 1942. Ahead of it opening, Georges Henein wrote an article titled "Message of Free Art" in which he encourages the modern artist to persist in the face of fascist regimes that wish to stifle them. Before its opening, a new journal was published to accompany the show stating: "This show has exceptional value, in that it includes for the first time the works of some of the eminent artists of Syria and Lebanon. This is a new and gratifying indication of the connection between artists of the sister lands."[11]

The show was celebrated for exhibiting works which primarily dealt with themes and subjects of the working class, a far cry from the elitism of academic art. "The Labour" newspaper wrote: "The themes of this school are for the most part the working classes... the disciples of this school avoid themes of the privileged classes with their sumptuous halls, luxuries and fineries."[11]

Fourth Show

The fourth show, titled "For Independent Art," was held on Friday May 12th, 1944 in the dining hall of the Lyceé Francais School on Hawayaty Street in Babelouq, Cairo. It lasted till May 20 or 22, 1944 and exhibited 150 works of art including painting, sculpture and photography.[11] The art critic Richard Mouseiry for the newspaper Le Progrés Egyptien praised the group for pulling off the exhibition despite several obstacles that stood in their way.

Artists exhibited included: Mahmoud Sa'id, Fathy el-Bakri, Fouad Kamel, Samir Rafei, Saad el-Khadem, Rateb Sidik, Angelo de Riz, Suzy Green, Art Topalian, Aidabel, Hassia, and the Surrey brother who contributed photographs. As well, it was Ramses Younan's final exhibition with the Art and Liberty Group. Samir Gharieb explains that not all of these artists were "surrealist" artists. Instead, what tied them together "was the belief in and practice of the spirit of freedom and renewal in art."[11]

Fifth Show

The fifth and last group show organized by Art and Liberty was held on Wednesday May 30th, 1945 and lasted through June 9th. This show is described as being "simpler and less peculiar"[11] than their previous shows, possibly foreshadowing the disbanding of the group only a couple of years later.

Thirty artists participated. New artists included: Ibrahim Masoud, Lutfi Zaki, Kamel Youssef, Aziz Riad, Edwin Gallahan, Robert Meadley, and Kenneth Wood. The photography section included: Khorshid, Ida Kar, Wadid Sirry, Aidabel, and Hassia.

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References
  1. Don LaCoss (Spring 2010). Egyptian Surrealism and "Degenerate Art" in 1939. The Arab Studies Journal 18 (1): 78–117. (subscription required).
  2. Negar Azimi (May 2017). When We Were Modern: Egyptian Surrealism: a Case-study in Global Modernity. Frieze (187).
  3. Background Art et Liberté. Stockholm: Moderna Museet. Accessed March 2019.
  4. Sam Bardaouil (2017). Surrealism in Egypt: Modernism and the Art and Liberty Group. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781786721631
  5. "When Cavafy met Marinetti - European studies blog". blogs.bl.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  6. Bardaouil, Sam (2016). "Fascism at Home: Towards a New Reading of Art and Liberty's Founding Manifesto of December 22, 1938". Surrealism in Egypt: Modernism and the Art and Liberty Group. I.B. Tauris. p. 233.
  7. Bardaouil, Sam (2016). "Fascism at Home: Towards a New Reading of Art and Liberty's Founding Manifesto of December 22, 1938". Surrealism in Egypt: Modernism and the Art and Liberty Group. I.B. Tauris. p. 239.
  8. Gorman, Anthony (2003). "The Mutamassirun". Historians, State and Politics in Twentieth Century Egypt: Contesting the Nation. New York: RoutledgeCurzon.
  9. Seggerman, Alexandra Dika (2014). "Mahmoud Mukhtar: 'The First Sculptor from the Land of Sculpture". World Art. 4: 34. doi:10.1080/21500894.2014.893811.
  10. "Degenerate Art | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  11. Gharieb, Samir (1986). Surrealism in Egypt and Plastic Arts. Prism Art Series. pp. 11–24.
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