Nevine El-Aref discovers that this year the Aswan International Sculptures Symposium has come of age A dozen dancers wearing vivid costumes in all shades of red shake to the rhythm of Karam Murad's Nubian songs. The captivated spectators clap to the rhythm of the drumbeats reverberating on the honey-coloured walls of the Nubia Museum's amphitheatre. The dance was part of the ceremony to mark the end of the 12th annual Aswan International Sculptures Symposium (AISS), attended by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and Aswan security chief Mokhtar El-Wekil who represented of the Aswan governor, Samir Youssef. This year's entries brought the total number of AISS sculptures since the symposium began to 150. These are all now displayed in an open-air museum on top of a hill overlooking the Nile near Shallalat on the outskirts of the Aswan governorate. The closing ceremony would have followed the same pattern each year were it not for the surprise that awaited loyal spectators and visitors: as of the next round, this outdoor museum will be made more tourist-friendly, a long-awaited move and greeted with much enthusiasm. Initial steps towards development have already begun. Roads leading to the museum are smoother and paved with gravel in an attempt to prevent disturbance to the original desert cap, while sophisticated lamps and spotlights have been installed along the main path to the museum as well as on surrounding rocks. The sculpture museum is set in breathtaking scenery, illustrating the magical marriage of desert and Nile, with the green of the valley standing out like an emerald amid the dusty plains of the desert. In the 12 years since the first AISS, the museum has been neglected; the roads leading to it were lined with rugged pieces of art haphazardly installed on the parched desert except for a few that had been carved in the bed-rock. The absence of a lighting system meant the museum was inaccessible after dark. "All this complexity has now come to an end, and the development project will be implemented on three phases," Culture Development Fund (CDF) Director Ayman Abdel-Moneim says. He said the first phase was already well under way. This involved studying the geology and topography of the site as well as the various paths taken by flash floods in an attempt to choose the best location for a visitors' centre. This will provide visiting guests with all the information they need about the history of the AISS from 1996 up to now, as well as of the artists who have taken part in the symposium and their exhibited work. A parking zone will be organised, as well as a rest house, restaurant, cafeteria and bookshop which will offer historical, archaeological and art books. To promote the museum and art venue, Abdel-Moneim told Al-Ahram Weekly, street signs would guide visitors to the location and brochures would be handed out at the Nubia Museum. Designer and Symposium Committee member Salah Marei told the Weekly that the pieces of art placed on display would be reorganised and strikingly lit in an attempt to convert the whole site into an open-air "Sculpture Park " where visitors could appreciate and learn more about granite sculpture. "A small indoor museum with Nubian-style architecture will be constructed within the museum's bed rock," Marei said, adding that it would display the artists' sketches, drawings, and models of their sculptures as well as photos featuring artists at work. This is not the only development planned for the symposium. The AISS plateau area at the footsteps of the Basma Hotel will move permanently to a site adjoining the open-air museum. According to engineer Gamal Amer, who drew the architectural plans, 20 domed bungalows of the type found at Hurghada beach resorts are planned, 15 of which will accommodate the sculptors while five will house a restaurant, a café and other facilities. Several areas in the zone of the museum are now being studied so as to find the best location. This AISS round witnessed another change. In an attempt to spruce up the public taste for granite art and to promote granite sculpture in an indoor décor, a new trend in carving was demonstrated by two young artists, Hani Faisal and Mohamed Radwan. At the request of the AISS commissar Adam Henein, these two artists concentrated their attention on carving three small blocks of granite enriched with detail and forms embodying the spirit of exploration. "If the technique proves successful, this trend will be implemented every year in the AISS but with a larger number of artists," Henein said, adding that the symposium would be not only for huge granite blocks but for small ones as well. Faisal carved three black granite conceptual pieces symbolising sundials, while Radwan carved conceptual pieces captured from ancient Egyptian motifs such as canopic jars, the jackal-headed god Anubis and a seated scribe. Back on the AISS plateau, the artists transformed the legendary hard granite into works of art. This year's sculptures, as in previous rounds, reflect the artists' own vision of the process of life, featuring the sacred boat that ferries people to eternity, an Alexandrian woman with a flying scarf, a bird awaiting the moment when it can soar, a winged women symbolising liberty, a beautiful woman embodying the joy of life, a window on the other world, the Nile flood and a brain removing negative thoughts from itself. However well put together it was, political conflict had its impact on the symposium's mood, with some sculptures being inspired by events in progress such as the war in Iraq, and the aggression in Palestine and Lebanon. The Greek artist Dimitris Skalkotos sent a message to the world calling for aid to those affected by war and aggression in the Middle East and Africa, as well as worldwide terrorism. The message was conveyed by carving the international message SOS in red granite to represent the bloodshed of innocent people. "Guardian of History" was the second sculpture carved in relation to current events. This time it reflected Said Badr's concern about Arab history and the old, inherited traditions which, according to his expectations, might well soon be lost to modernism. Badr, like all the people of the Middle East, is distressed by war in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine as well as the vibes of tension expended by Syria and Iran. Worried about these endangered traditions, the artist has rung alarm bells by sculpting a piece of art symbolising his concerns and urging people to pay more attention to the greatness of their past. Badr's sculpture "Guardian of History" consists of two granite blocks; a long, thin piece featuring a soaring obelisk representing the guardian, and a short, wide piece that looks rather like an open history book, decorated with irregular illustrations representing houses and buildings of an old city, along with some primitive handwriting conveying the artist's message to humankind. Ancient Egyptian monuments are Badr's muse; from these he throws small modern twists on all his sculptures to suit the conceptual art that he practises. His message expresses his desire to see the Arabs in a much stronger position, able to protect not only their cultural heritage but also their historical and religious principles. In his message, he depicts the Arabs in the light of a brave man ready to smite his enemies with his anger: he is aiming at those who are trying to destroy his past and his sacred religious sites. In the second line of the message, Badr describes the Arabs as an eagle, the Horus of the ancient Egyptians, who gazes on his enemies and places fear in their hearts. He ends his message with the advice: "Arabs! Learn how to safeguard your history!" Other sculptures carry a religious theme taken from ancient Egyptian rituals and also from Buddhism. The first is an "Exclusive Dance to the Sun" by Akram El-Magdoub, which follows an ancient story about Pharaoh Ramses II of the 19th Dynasty. Magdoub is a well-known architect responsible for creating distinguished buildings in Egypt and abroad. His creativity has led him to explore all fields of art. In addition to his engineering career, El-Magdoub is a poet and a writer. One of his poems and two theatrical plays were written for the Cairo Experimental Theatre, the Basic Elements and Towards a New World. In Aswan this year he explored another art field, granite sculpture. Enthusiastic about becoming a sculptor, El-Magdoub decided to carve an environmental work of art that reflected the same philosophy of "shadow and light" that he adopts when constructing large edifices. After practising mathematical calculation and watching the day's movement of the sun, he chose a special place within the bed rock of the open-air museum under the full glare of the sun. There he carved three red granite blocks on the shape of an open hand and installed each on the original rock of the museum's hill, where the sun rays illuminate mot of the surface from dawn to dusk. He likened this to the bi-annual solar phenomenon at the temple of Pharaoh Ramses II in Abu Simbel, where a ray of sunlight enters the holy of holies and shines on the Pharaoh's face. This event also occurs twice a year on the right shoulder of the Giza Sphinx. "At that solar moment I feel that the three blocks are meditating before the sun as it sends its rays to illuminate their surfaces," El-Magdoub said. Although he is influenced by the art of ancient Egypt, El-Magdoub's architectural designs reflect the modern school in architecture. He captures only the framework of his ancestors, converting it into a complete, modern design. The second religious piece is carved by the Japanese sculptor Takashi Kondo, whose somewhat dour expression masks a delightfully cheery personality. Kondo's work reflects his belief in Zen ritual. Watching him interacting with his colleagues, one can see him as a part of such a ritual -- shedding his mind of negative thought and replacing it with optimism. Kondo's belief has given birth to his distinguished carving style. "In Zen, one is alone in a void. One tries to admire the world around so as to rid the mind of any thought at all, whether negative or positive. Reaching this goal, the mind is free for new thoughts," he says. This concept is reflected in his work: he carves a plain, solid rectangle representing the brain with shreds of stone emerging from a large hole at its centre. The shreds symbolise the thoughts that are on their way out. Kondo likes straight lines, since he believes they reflect the human will. Kondo took part in the symposium not only to practise a new kind of stone carving but also to introduce his own concepts to people of different cultures. After seeing the sculptures on display at the open-air museum, however, he realised that his sculpture was smaller than others, but since he had already started there was nothing to be done. So he plans to return next year to carve an enormous sculpture more like the others. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni told the Weekly he was very proud of the results achieved by the symposium. "It not only re-establishes the practice of stone sculpture in Egypt and contributes to its development worldwide, but also provides opportunities for sculptors to produce large works in granite, instilling in young Egyptian artists the drive to regenerate Aswan as the international arts centre it once was," he said. "I am very happy that the symposium has created a skillful generation of young Egyptian granite sculptors." Hosni said that establishing the AISS was a dream conceived when he was Egypt's cultural attaché in Paris. "Now, after more than two decades, the AISS not only exists on Egypt's cultural calendar but has established itself as an important international event attracting leading sculptors and amateurs from many countries. "Aswan stone," Hosni went on, "which was used to build the Pyramids, huge temples, obelisks, colossi and tombs, is now helping develop the skill and perseverance of not only professional sculptors but their assistants as well, and the local assistants in Aswan are now considered among the best in the world."
