“Gebran Tarazi – A Story of Oriental Creativity” “جبران طرزي – سيرة إبداع فني مشرقي” is a recently published Arabic artistic book, which pays tribute to the Lebanese geometric artist “Gebran Tarazi” (1944-2010). The date of publication is September 2024, it is authored by the Iraqi poet and art critic, Mr. “Khudhair Zaidi”, and printed by “Adib Books” in Amman in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This book addresses skillfully various topics about the geometric and chromatic achievements of the Lebanese artist “Gebran Tarazi”, who was known for his famous abstract geometric style.
Additionally, it discussed and commented the artistic book written previously by the late “Gebran Tarazi” himself i.e. “Geometric Variations” published in 2007 in Arabic/French by “Fine Arts Publishing” in Lebanon, which represents a valuable reference to understand Gebran Tarazi’s methodology and his own oriental artistic philosophy in a beautifully written manifesto the “Oriental Quest” in the own words of Gebran Tarazi.
In 1944, the Lebanese artist “Gebran Tarazi” was born. That year seemed to herald the birth of a leading artistic personality in the Arab world, who bore the burden of the family’s traditional Arab art journey and its major historical artistic achievements in Levantine traditional arts according to Khudhair Zaidi.
Historically, the “Tarazi” family excelled in producing what is called the elements of the Levantine floral and geometric woodwork over 160 years, which decorated the ceilings and walls of many ancient heritage palaces in the Levant. Therefore, according to the author Khudhair Zaidi, the Lebanese artist “Gebran Tarazi” learned from his youth that glorifying the “Levant” or “Orient” necessitates a return to many sources such as Melkite Christian Icons, the art of Arabic calligraphy, Persian miniatures and geometric arabesque. His Oiental obsession continued to contribute to the crystallization of his cultural vision.
Furthermore, this new publication includes various chapters, some of which relate to the vision that haunts this artist, which is belonging to his identity as an Arab artist who loved the Orient and its arts. The author also addressed the aesthetics of geometric form and the philosophical vision, based on the Khudhair Zaidi’s belief that the artist “Gebran Tarazi” created an aesthetic and artistic innovative relationship between Oriental art and contemporary artistic modernity. Gebran Tarazi relentlessly insisted on reconciling Arab art with modern and contemporary art. The critique of Gebran Tarazi’s abstraction was also addressed in comparison to Western names that dealt with this art.
Indeed, the Iraqi critic “Khudhair Zaidi” admits here that it is not easy to look at the works of “Gebran Tarazi” away from a new and different kind of contemplation imposed on us, as it possesses a formal ability and discipline that will take us back to abstraction and geometry and a profound knowledge about the concept of squares and mathematical shapes including combinatorics and permutations.
Finally, the author Khudhair Zaidi keeps reiterating that “Gebran Tarazi” gained traditional art experience that he inherited from his distinguished “Tarazi” family with a craft that is today considered part of the precious Levantine heritage, which is the decoration of ceilings and the oriental Levantine palaces. What is striking about this craft is that it enhanced his oriental awareness and culture and represented for him an artistic path in order to develop and innovate his unique new modern Arab geometric abstract art.
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