GRAPHIC & VISUAL ARTS EXPERIENCE

Mr. Sakkal studied painting, print-making, and sculpting in Plastic Arts Institute, Aleppo, Syria,1960-1969

Participated in national and juried art exhibitions in Syria. Paintings and drawings are in the collection of the Culture Ministry of Syria, and in private collections in England, France, Holland, Japan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Poland, and USA. Two of pieces of his artwork are now on display in the American Embassy in Syria as part of the Art in Embassies program. Mr. Sakkal's artwork has appeared in Alhayat Newspaper, Aljadid magazine, Arts and the Islamic World in London, California Quarterly, Computer Artist, Cune Online magazine, Iqra Magazine, Islamic Horizons, Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Multilingual Computing, The Seattle Times, Visual Impressions, the Weekly, The Guardian Review of London, and others. His Arabic calligraphy artwork is included in the book "Islamic Art and Architecture" published by Koneman Publishers in Cologne, Germany. He is also featured in the book "Arab Typography" published by Saqi Books in London.

Illustrated children's books, designed Arabic and English typefaces, posters, book covers, exhibition catalogues, promotional material, and many logos and trade-marks for corporations and institutions in the Middle East and United States.

Mr. Sakkal uses the Macintosh computer for illustration, graphic design, and desktop publishing since 1985, with special emphasis on compatibility between Arabic and English, and on adapting traditional forms of Arabic and Islamic graphics for modern aesthetic and functional needs. He produced the first computer clip art collection of Arabic calligraphic designs in vector format.

Mr. Sakkal drew many renderings for architectural projects in Syria, Saudi Arabia, and United States. Worked as Illustrator for the Daily, University of Washington newspaper 1980/81; Art Consultant for Islamic Horizons magazine 1988/92; Iqra magazine 1993- present; and Art Director for Cune Press 1994- present.

Mamoun Sakkal started experiments in using calligraphy as painting in the mid nineteen sixties, and produced abstract water colors utilizing his personal interpretation of the Arabic letter forms. He now uses a computer to produce calligraphic designs based on classical letter forms.

SELECTED ART SHOWS:

Solo art show of calligraphy work at Historians of Islamic Art Majlis, Seattle, WA, 2004
Solo art show of calligraphy work, Contemporary Art Center, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 2004
"Diversity in Harmony" A National Exhibit by Artists of Arab & Middle Eastern Heritage. The Alfred Berkowitz Gallery, The University of Michigan-Dearborn, September 8 through October 10, 2003
"2+2=Art: The Art of Mathematics," The Everett Center For The Arts, Everett, WA, 2003
"Art in Embassies Exhibition" American Embassy in Damscus, 2003-2005
"The Spirit of Islam: Experiencing Islam Through Calligraphy" Museum of Anthropolgy, Vancouver, British Colombia, 2002
"Arab Art from the Northwest"Odegaard Undergraduate Library, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2002
"Threading Memories: Arab Art from the Northwest" Seattle Center House Gallery, Seattle, WA, 2001
Peal Gallery at the King Library, University of Kentucky, Lexington, 2001
Islmaic Society of North America National Convention. Special art show 2000
"Artworks" Art Exhibit, Seattle Center Pavilion, Seattle 1999
"Arab Festival Art Exhibit" Seattle Center Pavilion 1999
The Gallery, Texas Union, University of Texas, Austin, TX 1997
Amandari Gallery, Seattle, WA, 1996
"Works of Faith," First Presbyterian Church, Portland, Oregon, 1996
"Inscription as Art in the World of Islam," Hofstra Museum, New York, 1996
"Art by Architects," Seattle Chapter American Institute of Architects, 1996
Islamic Arts Show, The Abiquiu Inn, Abiquiu, New Mexico, 1995
Islamic Society of North America Convention, Chicago, IL, 1994
Arab Center of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1994
University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 1979-80-90-91
University of Cambridge, England , 1990
University of Aleppo, Syria, 1974
Aleppo National Museum, Syria, 1969

PRIZES AND AWARDS

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Mamoun Sakkal
A European artist in Syria,
an Arab artist in the United States

Drawing and painting are some of the earliest activities I remember doing while growing up in Aleppo, Syria. Born in 1950 to teachers of Arabic language, I spent many hours with children’s books, which my father had amongst his extensive library, and always enjoyed copying the illustrations or making the craft projects. Most of these books were French or English. They opened windows to fascinating worlds for me, and made my childhood a mixture of local traditions and European images.

When I was about nine years old, the first institute for art instruction opened in Aleppo. It was named after Fat’hi Muhammad, a Syrian artist who started to gain international repute with his sculpture work, but died at a young age, just before returning home after finishing his art study in France. My father was a friend of the artists who taught at the Art Institute, all trained in Italy, so I was accepted despite my young age in the twice a week evening painting courses, an activity I continued for the next ten years, with some interruptions, until I went to the University of Aleppo in 1969 to study architecture. During these years, I learned about print making, sculpting, and some calligraphy, in addition to drawing and painting.

I started painting in oils and watercolor in the third grade, when I was barely tall enough to reach up to the canvas on the easel, but was fortunate to have an encouraging and talented teacher. The next teacher who had a great impact on my art training was Fawaz Nasri, who had just returned from Italy in 1966 and was appointed to teach art in our high school. He showed me how to draw directly from nature, and how to go out into the street to record what I saw in my daily life, and the lives of those around me. For three years I drew sketches whenever I was out of school, and studied the different styles of modern art when I was in the school art studio. During these years I started to show my artwork in local and national art exhibitions and won several awards in painting, print making, and poster design.
The wars with Israel in '67 and '73 brought a lot of anger, resentment, and doubts about our life and beliefs. But most of all they brought a mistrust in many convictions we held about our world, including the meaning and role of art. Despite my admiration for the European traditions of art, the only traditions I had learned, I started to have serious doubts about their appropriateness in communicating with my town’s folk. I felt that I was isolated from the majority of my people and wanted to reach them through my artwork. This was a reflection of a deeper alienation I had from the visual heritage of my own culture. My artwork barely revealed an Arab or a Muslim artist at work.

Since then I have embarked on a quest to understand the visual heritage of my country more intimately, and to explore the possibilities it provides for producing artwork which is more relevant to the lives of the majority, not the minority. Artwork that has local roots and speaks to the deepest emotions and aspirations of my people. This search has lead me to consider new ways of visual expression not only in fine art, but also in architecture, interior design, and graphic design.

After graduating from the University of Aleppo, I served in the army as an architect, then came to the University of Washington in 1978 for a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design. My graduate studies unveiled the inseparable Islamic qualities of my Arab personality, and broadened my appreciation for the riches of my culture. Although my research work at this time was focused on architecture, it affected my artwork over the years. I found myself drawn towards calligraphy and moving away from representational art. Language has been the premier medium of self expression for the Arabs for millennia, and calligraphy is the visual manifestation of that love for language.

In the mid 1960’s I experimented with the use of calligraphy in drawings and paintings. My early work involved letter forms I modified to give contemporary, abstract shapes. These works were influenced at the time by pioneering artists such as Sami Burhan and Mahmoud Hammad from Syria, who started to use calligraphy in their paintings in the 1950’s and 60’s. Since then, many other artists around the world realized the inherent value of the Arabic letter-forms as a rich visual vocabulary. Since the early 1990’s my work incorporated more traditional calligraphic forms which are presented in a modern garb of coloring and composition, and with more emphasis on order and structure.

I am trying at present to explore abstract patterns as a medium for visual expression that goes beyond mere decoration by bringing out their emotional and poetic qualities. I am also working on a series of prints that incorporate fragments of old buildings, sometimes coupled with calligraphy, as I become increasingly homesick and burn with a desire to express my love and attachment to a place which seems so remote now, yet so close to my soul.

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