Biblical Fruits: Pomegranate

Artist: Adnan Charara, American, born Lebanon 1962 Title: Biblical Fruits: Pomegranate, from the series, For God’s Sake Medium: chromogenic print from digital file Date: 2015 Edition: 2/12 Image Size: 19 3⁄4 x 14 inches (50.2 x 35.6 cm) Overall Size: 25 1⁄4 x 17 inches (64.1 x 43.2 cm) The Artist With vibrant color and calligraphic line, Adnan Charara recalls the fruit— pomegranates, figs, grapes, and olives--of his childhood. Charara came to the United States in 1982, and now lives in Dearborn and works in his studio in Detroit. The Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs presents for purchase a group of five chromogenic prints by Charara from the series, For God’s Sake, 2015. The titles are Biblical Fruits: Pomegranate, Biblical Fruits: Olive, Biblical Fruits: Fig, Biblical Fruits: Grapes, and Intertwined Vessel No. 1. Charara was born of Lebanese parents and raised in Sierra Leone, before spending part of his childhood in Lebanon with his grandparents and in boarding school. After the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon, he attended high school in Sierra Leone, before moving to the United States for college. He studied at Yakima Valley Community College and the University of Washington, then moved to Boston where he earned a BFA in Architectural Design from the Massachusetts College of Arts and studied urban planning at Boston University. Charara has exhibited widely in the United States and Europe and was featured in the Detroit Public Television show “Arab- American Stories” (2012). Technology and Style The proposed group of five chromogenic prints represent a dramatic shift for Charara, integrating new technology with a style evoking his Islamic heritage. The DIA owns eight earlier works by Charara: two monoprints from 2003 and a group of five screen prints from 2013 depicting factory workers. For the chromogenic prints, Charara begins each piece by drawing by hand, then continues on his computer, drawing and adjusting the color digitally with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The gracious calligraphic lines and knot patterns evoke Arabic calligraphy, and the overall composition suggests Islamic miniature paintings. New Subject Matter With this series, Charara turns to new subject matter, combining memories of his childhood with references to the three monotheistic religions. Charara vividly remembers watching birds in the fig trees in his grandparents’ garden in Lebanon. He also recalls the pomegranate tree in the garden and the idea that the pomegranate seed was magical and could take you to heaven. Charara emphasizes that the fruits in this series are all mentioned in the Torah, Bible, and Quran, the texts of the three faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. For Charara, the fruits represent “the bitterness and sweetness of life,” something all humanity shares. In addition, Charara repeats in the background the distinctive profile of the Dome of the Rock, placed against a shimmering gold background. The Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque are located on the Temple Mount or Noble Sanctuary in the Old City of Jerusalem. This central site is sacred to all three religions, and is considered the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest site in Islam. The site is believed to be where Abraham prepared his son Isaac for sacrifice, and was later the site of the Second Jewish Temple destroyed by Titus in AD 70. The Umayyad caliph built the Dome of the Rock on the site believed to be where Muhammed ascended on his “Night Journey” to God. The site is hotly contested. Although all visitors can enter the Temple Mount, non-Muslim visitors are not permitted to enter the Dome of the Rock. In his Biblical Fruits and For God’s Sake, series, Charara combines traditional drawing and contemporary digital technology to create images evoking Islamic heritage. His fervent wish is to convey hope and emphasize how much Islam, Judaism, and Christianity have in common.