Ahmad el Abed, a tailor. Madani’s parents’ home, the studio, Saida, Lebanon, 1948-53. Hashem el Madani 2007
Dimensions: image: 289 x 191 mm
Copyright: © Akram Zaatari, courtesy Hashem el Madani and Arab Image Foundation, Beirut | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Akram Zaatari’s photograph, "Ahmad el Abed, a tailor," captured between 1948 and 1953, offers a striking study in monochrome portraiture. Editor: The sitter's intense gaze, framed by that remarkable hair, creates a geometrically satisfying composition. A stark contrast, almost confrontational. Curator: It's from a series taken by Hashem el Madani in his studio, a space where craft and commerce intersected, revealing the social fabric of Saida, Lebanon. Editor: Indeed, the plaid shirt, the very texture of the paper – these material details speak volumes about the individual and the wider postwar economy of Lebanon. Curator: The photograph as an object, with its scratches and imperfections, adds another layer of meaning, challenging our ideas of perfection. Editor: Absolutely, and the image’s formal elements, like the use of light to highlight the texture of the subject's hair, enhance his presence. It's a subtle, yet effective, way to present an individual through their material existence. Curator: Agreed; the interplay of these details is what makes this seemingly simple portrait so compelling. Editor: Seeing it this way, I appreciate the interplay between form and context even more.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/zaatari-ahmad-el-abed-a-tailor-madanis-parents-home-the-studio-saida-lebanon-1948-53-p79484
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This work is one of a series of black and white silver gelatin photographs of varying sizes that are collectively titled Objects of study/The archive of studio Shehrazade/Hashem el Madani/Studio Practices. All of the photographs were taken by the Lebanese commercial photographer Hashem el Madani between 1948 and 1982 and compiled into the present group, 117 of which are in Tate’s collection, by the Lebanese artist Akram Zaatari. All of the photographs include people, either alone, in pairs or in small groups, and most were taken in Madani’s studio, although some were shot outside and in his subjects’ homes. The series features men and women and covers a wide age range from babies to elderly people. Almost all of the sitters assume poses deliberately for the camera, sometimes accompanied by props or costumes, and most gaze directly towards the lens. Many of the pictures show subjects interacting in various ways, including embracing, kissing and acting out scenes, such as a mock wrestling match. The photographs are mostly tightly cropped, with the sitter or sitters filling most of the frame, although in some cases the figures are positioned further away from the camera, for instance when shown sitting at a table or standing behind a chair. The photographs tend to have sparse backgrounds, often dominated by a blank posterior wall. They are mounted on white paper, displayed in plain white frames and signed on the back by Madani. Many of them have been organised into categories by Zaatari – such as a group featuring men dressed as Syrian resistance fighters and a collection depicting newly married couples – while the rest are presented individually. Zaatari has stated that although he prefers these groups to be displayed together, this is not a requirement (Akram Zaatari, email to Rachel Taylor, 24 April 2008, Tate Acquisition file).
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