Jordan Times
Monday, March 20, 2006
The world of images
AMMAN (JT) — The Embassy of Jordan in Washington,
DC and the Jerusalem Fund Gallery hosted a unique exhibition of artistic and
scenic photographs of Jordan by renowned Jordanian photographer Jan Kassay.
The exhibition, titled “Alam Al Mithal” (or The World of the Image), opened on
March 17 at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery and will run through April.
“Alam Al Mithal” delves into the world of play and imagination as seen through
the camera's lens. The collection showcases the variety of Kassay's subjects,
from the flowers of which she began her photographic work, and a study on the
salts of the Dead Sea, to a thorough and large documentation on Irbid, a city
struggling to find itself in its own landscape.
Kassay's work explores the essence of the subjects she photographs through a
contemplative journey. For Kassay, it is that essence that makes her country,
Jordan, an ever-welcoming and inviting place to be.
Kassay, a fine art and commercial photographer, was the first Jordanian
photographer to exhibit in the United States. She has won numerous photography
awards, starting with the first prize in the “New Concepts Best Directions, 37th
Annual Exhibition,” held by the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington in
1986.
Critics have called her work “a study in the protocol of aesthetics” and
“photography at its best.”
In 1995, Kassay moved back to Jordan and established herself as the first woman
in Jordan to make a full-time career as a commercial photographer, working with
notable national and international advertising firms. Her work has been
published in the Almanac of International Contemporary Architecture (Phaidon
Press) and in Wallpaper Magazine.
The Jerusalem Fund Gallery is the cultural programme of the Jerusalem Fund for
Education and Community Development. It promotes the work of contemporary
artists from Palestine, as well as from the greater Middle East and the
Arab-American arts community.
The gallery seeks to educate the American public about the richness and cultural
diversity of the region through art exhibits, musical performances, film series
and literary events.
Each year, the gallery partners with an Arab embassy to showcase the arts and
culture of that country.
The event was coordinated by the Jordan Information Bureau at the embassy.