Nadim Karam, International Visiting Artist in Memphis

by Dixy Yong

               Nadim Karam. Archaic Procession, 20 monumental steel sculptures, Beirut, Lebanon, 1997-2000.

Nadim Karam is an architect, artist, academic and author who has created large-scale projects internationally, including in Melbourne, Australia; Prague; London; Tokyo; Kwangju, Korea; and in his home city of Beirut, Lebanon. Following an invitation by the UrbanArt Commission and Memphis College of Art, Karam visited Memphis from October 25 to 27, 2012. On his itinerary were major cultural venues, such as Graceland and the National Civil Rights Museum, meetings with cultural and urban leaders in the City, and presentations of his philosophy and public art projects to MCA and UAC audiences.

During his stay, Karam lectured at Memphis College of Art and spoke at the dedication of the new Legacies sculpture by Vinnie Bagwell in Chickasaw Heritage Park, a City of Memphis Percent-for-Art project. Nadim Karam’s visit was sponsored in part by the UrbanArt Commission in celebration of its 15-year anniversary. Nadim Karam spoke at Memphis College of Art as part of the college’s ongoing Visiting Artist Lecture Series. A major part of Karam’s work is focused on exploring moments and dreams: he sees moments as an accumulation of vignettes from different periods of our lives, both of good times and of horror or war. For him, the temporality of these moments turns into projects.

Early public art projects followed on the heels of the long civil war in Lebanon and contributed to the rejuvenation of the city during the 1990s. Stressing the difficulty to counteract the setbacks of war, he noted that creating and rebuilding takes much more effort than to kill and destruct. Karam’s Urban Toys are a series of public sculptures placed in cities to tell stories and make people dream. His question is a basic one, expanding the concept of dreaming from the individual to a civic construct: “Can cities dream?” Thus, he provides glimpses of fantasy in urban networks and around the world.

Nadim Karam. Kagami Lake installation, Nara, Japan, 2004.

From 1982 to 1992, after receiving a scholarship, Karam pursued temple architecture studies at University of Tokyo, where he graduated with his Ph.D. in Architecture. In 2004, his deep connection with country, culture and people led to the realization of a large-scale public art project in Kagami Lake in the sacred temple city of Nara, accompanied by a ritual performance in Todaiji temple. Seven hundred anchored, unique steel sculptures and large flowers floated above the lake, doubled by their reflection on the water’s surface. Noting the 20-year timeline for this temporary installation and Karam’s knowledge of Buddhism, a glimpse of understanding the artist’s concepts of temporality and moments emerges.

Presently, together with his Atelier Hapsitus, Nadim Karam is working on his new Wheels of Chicago project that envisions the revival of Olive Park on the Lakeshore. The installation of seven, large-scale revolving wheels would introduce a site-specific narrative, with different wheels representing diversity, leisure, business, art, and nature.

Through February 3, 2013, Nadim Karam’s work can be seen in the exhibition 25 ANS DE CRÉATIVITÉ ARABE at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, France. 

Further reading
Christina Lanzl. Nadim Karam: The Phoenix of Beirut, August 2012. 

REPORT FROM THE DISTRICT 7 GATEWAY SCULPTURE DEDICATION ON SEPT. 6, 2012

By Dixy Yong

Memphis community gathered at the intersection of Chelsea and Hollywood on September 6 at a once neglected street corner to celebrate the installation of the District 7 Dogwood Gateway, a steel sculpture designed and fabricated by the Metal Museum, the only museum and work shop of this type in the U.S. The vibrantly painted sculpture signifies positive change and serves as a portal that symbolizes regeneration and resurrection for this District 7 neighborhood. The dedication brought together community members of the Midtown North Community Association and neighbors, as well as representatives of the organizations involved in realizing the Dogwood Gateway: the UrbanArt Commission and the City of Memphis, represented by District 7 Councilman Lee Harris. Rhodes College, under the leadership of Dorothy Cox, Community Liaison of the Office of External Programs, co-sponsored the event, which culminated in a performance by its jazz band, while students and volunteered to help prepare and clean up the area.

The Dogwood Gateway has a context: for each of the City’s districts, well-respected artists from the area are designing unique entry points to the neighborhoods. They are enriching Memphis with new landmarks and cultural assets that create places for people. This dedication is the first during the UrbanArt Commission’s fifteen-year-anniversary celebration, also marking the tenth anniversary of the City of Memphis Percent-for-Art Program.

SKATE PARK DEDICATION EVENT

 

DEDICATION OF NEW WAVE SCULPTURE AT TOBEY PARK SKATE PARK ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12 FROM 3 TO 5 PM

Memphis artist Mark Nowell’s latest public art installation is a monumental landmark at the Tobey Park Skate Park, 1627 Avery Avenue in Memphis, that honors the culture of skateboarding in a dynamic and interactive way.  The UrbanArt Commission will host a dedication ceremony and celebration for the sculpture on Friday, October 12 from 3 to 5 PM.  The public is invited to attend and enjoy refreshments, live music, and a speaker program.

The Wave acts as a permanent landmark and monument for the Skate Park, while also acting as an integral and functional component of the skateboarding area.  Nowell describes the sculpture as “symbol of the culture and history of skateboarding.”  Previous commissions with the organization include Aspire at Brewster Elementary School and A Center in the Universe at Katie Sexton Community Center.  Throughout his career, Nowell has completed numerous commissions around the city, including Shazam, 2005, on the corner on Monroe and Madison.

The Tobey Park Skate Park, Memphis’ first public skateboarding park, was dedicated and opened to the public in November 2011.  The Skate Park was brought to Memphis largely through the efforts of Skatelife Memphis, an organization that is focused on increasing public awareness of the benefits of skateboarding related to public health and community building among youth.  Founder of Skatelife Memphis, Aaron Shaffer, wrote of the Skate Park, “Growing up as a surfer and skateboarder, I know how these activities positively impact the development of our youth.  So advocating for a public skate park meant showing our youth that Memphis values them and wants to let them know that we think they and their activities matter.”  Skatelife Memphis is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote Memphis and the health of Memphians by serving as an advocate for public skate parks.  They continue to act as advocates for skateboarding in the Memphis community and in surrounding communities.    

The UrbanArt Commission, the independent non-profit organization that administers the City of Memphis Percent-for-Art Program, commissioned the project through an open competition. Celebrating 15 years of service to the community and the ten-year anniversary of the City of Memphis Percent-for-Art Program, UrbanArt’s mission is to enhance the cultural vibrancy of the community through public art.