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Art gives way for better understanding (Part II)

Hidden riddles

But the most important point for the two artists: their work provokes - like it was their target - gives an open invitation to the passerby to discuss, gets gripping associates going (pictues above, Egyptian and French tourist groups). People are trying to decipher the hidden riddles inside the painting, to read the lines into real figures (camels, lizzards, crocodiles?), to decode the symbols (Christian, Coptic, Byzantine crosses?) and try to commit the artists to a statement. But trying that they only earn an impish smile and the challenge, to let work out some own interpretations. Because overyone has to escape into his own world of fantasy, just to see what the imagination gives him.

To the frequently asked question, why the dimension of the painting is so small, there is a very simple answer. Shayma: "In the beginning the dimension of our draft was much bigger designed. But for that we would need about four weeks of time for our work." And Carola puts in concrete terms: "Before starting we did some tests with the chalks and found out that already after one week the colours start to fade. Therefor we had to reduce the dimension to a size that makes us able to finish the painting within a very short time. Now we can do our work within four days, so out painting can survive for some days more."

Exitement - of course - is coming from the all the children around, who curiously are surrounding and watching Shayma and Carola from the beginning. Some of them (like Shayma's little girl friend in the photograph below right) surely are going to protect the completed art work like a treasure, are going to "restore" it by using the gifts - the remaining pieces of chalk - and so "insh'allah" keep it a little longer alive.

There are no loose ends in the idea of the project. Carola: "I'm quite happy with it, have the feeling that for the first time I have been realized as an artist, as a working woman. particularly by Egyptian men, and not than before just as a demanded foreign female subject," she tells us content. And she likes to come back to work again in Egypt in a public place. Hopefully she will be able to realize her new idea: a cooperative action with Egyptian children. She likes it best with girls to boost their self-esteem. It is our - and me be also your wish that Carola will succeed with her idea, and also that she will find any needed support from officials and sponsors.

The artists

Shayma Aziz grew up in Assiut, studied interpretative art at the faculties of arts of the universities in Minya and Luxor. Now she is shortly doing her final examination at the "Faculty of Fine Arts" in Luxor. Even she favours the lines of the ancient pharaonic art, yet she not found her own personal style. She is still in her experimental phase, is working with ink, pigments, acryl. But she already exhibited her work to the public in Alexandria, Cairo and Minya. Hopefully she will participate in the "International Festival 2004" in the German City of Osnabrück. For this event the City Council invites for example painters, musicians, comedians and acteurs from all over the world. A wonderful chance for the young Egyptian artist, who now is living and working in Cairo, to collect more experiences abroad. Until today she visited Turkey, Morocco and France.

Carola Rümper was born in Bremerhaven/Germany, studied art and literature in Osnabrück and Enschede (Holland). She is working as a free-lanced artist in Osnabrück. She has shown her very individual art work to the public within individual and group exhibitions in Osnabrück, Gronau, Enschede, Achenkirch, Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Bad Oeynhausen, Hamm, Oelde, Georgsmarienhütte, Salzgitter, Essen, Münster, Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg and Luxor. She was a prizewinner for the competitions "kunst in het volkspark" in Enschede and "Das neue Jahrtausend (the new millenium)" of the art and culture foundation Georgsmarienhütte. After holding scholarships by the foundation Kulturfond, Berlin/Kulturhaus Lukas und the Künstlerbahnhof (artist station) Ebernburg, Bad Münster, she holds the Wafidin Grant from the Egyptian government, for that she stays in Luxor from November 2003 until March 2004.

Did you also miss the "Twilight Zone" in Luxor?

In contrary to the two sidewalk artists another group of German female artists were disappointed. Disappointed because of lack of audience. Beginning of February a group from the KünstlerinnenForum Münsterland presented the second exhibition at the "Faculty of Fine Arts". Under the slogan "Twilight Zone" the German ladies were showing flags produced in the technics painting, graphic, collage, photo transfer, woodcut and assemblage. This flags created the "stage" for a modern dance performance. Integrated in the dance were the processes of birth, life and death, representing the connection to the ancient Egyptian culture and myths.

With 24 translucent "columns" the eight German artists Beate Ruberg, Liane Sommer, Waltraud Kleinsteinberg, Irmingard Stelter, Elisabeth Fellermann, Gabriele Templin-Kirz, Gina Rohrsen und Ulrike Vetter created a twilight zone concerning human relations. Inside and in front of this uncertain, dream-loaded up to terrified scenarios the well-known German dancer and choreographer Regina Biermann transformed the expressions into movement.

Unfortunately the invitation for the two events only reached a very small group in Luxor. At least the Gouverner General Desouky El Banna (picture left when signing the guest book) joined them. One reason might have been the unlucky chosen dates during the important Islamic festival "Eid el Adha". For that event the students of the faculty are for ten days off, most of them were leaving Luxor to visit their families. But also, we are sorry to say that, because of the unsufficient knowledge of marketing and promotion by the faculty's staff. Unfortunately, because that artistic event really was something completely new und unusual for the city of Luxor. Above all, since the target of the second project of the female artist group was going to continue the dialogue between the Western and the Oriental world, to encourage the mutual understanding and learning from each other, and to bring people with their splitting opinions closer together. Sorry for Luxor, because the city (again) missed another chance.

But anyway: after two years the KünstlerinnenForum will send another exhibition to Luxor, hopefully more successful than this year. (Text and Fotos Antje Sliwka)

By feet and bicycle the eight German artist have been around, came together in front of Luxor's Faculty of Fine Arts (Photograph by Peter Ernst, Studio Ernst, Rheinbach/Germany).

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