Art in Amman: The Familial Photographs of Karimeh Abbud
10/11/2017 Yesterday my roommate and I had some time to explore Amman and happened to stumble upon the Khalid Shoman Foundation, which is an art gallery near Paris circle. It was an amazing area and we were able to see three exhibits, distinct from one another by separate buildings. The main exhibit was Desert Soundcapes by Ammar Khammash who “explores the landscape of Jordan and Palestine to unearth a hidden order, a secret code, or an undiscovered musical scale hidden in the millions of flints in the desert” (Sahel Al Hiyari, exhibit curator). My favorite exhibit, however, were photographs taken by the first Arab woman photographer, Karimeh Abbud. Her photographs document her life in Palestine during the British Mandate--around 1920-1930--and was such a compelling view of the everyday life of a Palestinian. Because Abbud advertised herself as a family photographer, her photos are intimate and honest in a way staged photographs from that time are not. Her photographs are staged, but
