Reading Marie Al-Khazen’s Photographs : Gender, Photography, Mandate Lebanon

Laila who prevented me from becoming completely absorbed by my work. Beshara, Walli, and Hisham for their confi dence in me and their positive encouragement all along this journey. I must thank Nour for her patience and understanding and mostly Ali, who was left with no choice but to manage the household when I was writing. I also thank my son, Karim, for reminding me every day that there are other things in life than writing a book. ## ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix To standardize the transliterated terms for non-Latin terminology, all Arabic terms are transliterated following a simplifi ed version of the International Journal of Middle East Studies, IJMES system, without dots and dashes. In cases where a more commonly accepted version exists or when the person named has provided a transliteration, I use those instead. Th e family name al-Khazen appears in diff erent transliterations-al-Kh ā zen, al-Kh ā zin, el-Khazen-in English publications. For consistency, I use the transliteration "al-Khazen" throughout this book. ## NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION x xiii Preface I question the ability of the photograph to address how the notions of history can be shaped by the way the photographer relates to her space, family, and friends, and on how her decisions on what to include and what to exclude within her photographs shape a specifi c narrative. Photographs, in this case, can be considered authentic evidence within a fi eld of historical inquiry that values objectivity above all else. Here, the photograph is a piece of evidence that arrests decay and revives the past. ## xiv CHAPTER 1 Elkoury further explains that, "although photography was available to the Arab bourgeoisie, it was regarded as a hobby. To pursue it professionally would have lowered the photographer's social status to that of a craft sperson. " 11 Stephen Sheehi, in his essay, "A Social History of Early Arab Photography or a Prolegomenon to an Archaeology of the Lebanese Imago, " describes al-Khazen's photographic practice as reminiscent of Gertrude Bell's in her portrayal of peasants and Bedouins, which "display an anthropological impulse. " 12 Th ere is a long history of a relationship between photography and anthropology that can be traced back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the production of anthropological evidence at the time. 13 However, comparing Marie al-Khazen's anthropological impulse in 1920s and 1930s Lebanon to Gertrude Bell's photographic practice should be more nuanced here. Photography framing and practice throughout the history of anthropology was probably very diff erent when practiced by non-local travelers of diff erent cultures than when practiced by local (indigenous) photographers depicting their own cultures, as is the case with al-Khazen. Interestingly, these concerns about translation and epistemology may also apply when the anthropological impulse is displayed by the local indigenous photographer, what with the power dynamic challenges of the anthropological gaze. 14 Marie al-Khazen, whose fi rst camera was a gift from a well-traveled Lebanese francophone poet and close friend of the al-Khazen family, Hector Klat (1888-1977), may be seen as an icon of modernity with her display of anthropological impulse. 15 Although she lived in a rural area of northern Lebanon, she strove to represent herself and her family as urban and cosmopolitan in contrast with the peasants and Bedouins. By portraying herself with friends and family in front of various landmarks around the country, such as Baalbek, the bay of Jounieh, and the Beirut port, she expressed a mobility that was not accessible to other Zghortawi villagers. ## How to write the history of photography in Lebanon when the history of Lebanon has not been written 30 Th e Lebanese context is a specifi c one indeed. Th is is further detailed by Akram Zaatari, co-founder of the Arab Image Foundation, who claims that among the biggest challenges in writing the history of photography in Lebanon are both the inaccessibility of the photography archive and the absence of a Lebanese national archive. 31 Th ere is a wealth of private archival material that is in transition, making its way to join the public archive at the Arab Image Foundation: eclectic institutional photographs, studio portraits, candid snapshots, and family photographs of well-established families with a long social standing and political history, or even of prominent businessmen, diplomats, and other distinguished fi gures. 32 Archival documents are valuable to help trace events, vernacular, and eclectic practices of photography. Th e largest institutionalized initiative to archive these precious "photographic objects" in Lebanon is the Arab Image Foundation. Photographs can be sites for debate about Lebanese and regional history, politics, art, and society. Th ey are not only documents to chronicle past events but can serve as material for discussing political, economic, cultural, social, and other narratives, all while contributing to the preservation of history. Photos can prompt new ways of thinking about their content, form, and values. Hence, photographic archives emerge as contested territories in, for example, defying attempts to homogenize photography, and so by presenting models of heterogenized photography, with eclectic histories and practices. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION PREFACE CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The al-Khazen family’s background Marie al-Khazen: A not-so-obedient daughter The photographs as a narrative How to write the history of photography in Lebanon when the history of Lebanon has not been written30 The social life of photographs Reflections on “oriental” photography in the region A feminist Nahda photograph Rethinking categories of gender in the photographs A feminist reading of the photographs Photographs to re-insert women in history Synopsis of the book CHAPTER 2 TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY, AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY, AND LOCALITY Identity, locality, and belonging Colonial viewing: Viewing colonialism Baalbek through Marie al-Khazen’s gaze An archival impulse The present recreates the past: Baalbek as an icon for a nation CHAPTER 3 WERE THERE EARLY FEMALE PHOTOGRAPHERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST? Emerging female photographers in the region Marie Lydie Bonfils, an Orientalist photographer in Beirut Bonfils’s mysterious and sensual photographs Karimeh Abbud, a studio photographer in Palestine Muting the Palestinians in the photographs Marie al-Khazen, an amateur photographer Sartorial codes domesticating Oriental spaces CHAPTER 4 PRODUCING ALTERNATIVE SPACES: DESTABILIZING FIXED IMAGES OF WOMANHOOD Visibility/invisibility in the space of the photograph Reinforcing the batal and the abaday20 Social hierarchy in the photograph Interpreting masculine accoutrement A mise-en-abyme of a masculine space Crossdressing as counterculture Layers of social, colonial, and gendered connotations Debating sartorial choices in the local press Fashion and body politics in Mandate Lebanon CHAPTER 5 WOMEN, POLITICS, AND PORTRAITURE DURING THE FRENCH MANDATE Representation of power and power of representation Reconciling the feminine with the feminist Collapsing the public and private Breaking conventional notions of feminine behavior Reclaiming her body CHAPTER 6 MODERNITY AS EXPRESSED IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS Women’s education as a condition for the nation’s entry into modernity The franji dress as a sign of modernity10 The Bedouin: Dissolving the dichotomy between being modern and being traditional Celebrating the establishment of a new airport in the north Mobility: Who controls the wheel? When women ride camels but also drive cars CHAPTER 7 “SUCCESSFUL FAILURES” OR MARIE AL-KHAZEN’S PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPERIMENTS Can human vision perceive two separate moments simultaneously? Photography as a technology Photography as art Photographs as imagined spaces Photographs as surreal spaces CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX "The Lebanese photographer Marie al-Khazen seized every opportunity to use her camera during the years that she was active between 1920 and 1940. She not only documented her travels around tourist sites in Lebanon but also sought creative experimentation with her camera by staging scenes, manipulating shadows, and superimposing negatives to produce different effects in her prints. Within her photographs, bedouins and European friends, peasants and landlords, men and women comfortably share the same space. Her photographs include an intriguing collection portraying her family and friends living their everyday lives in 1920s and '30s Zgharta, a village in the north of Lebanon. Yasmine Nachabe Taan explores these photographs, emphasizing the ways in which notions of gender and class are inscribed within them and revealing how they are charged with symbols of women's emancipation to today's viewers, through women's presence as individuals, separate from family restrictions of that time. Images in which women are depicted smoking cigarettes, driving cars, riding horses, and accompanying men on hunting trips counteract the common ways in which women were portrayed in contemporary Lebanon"-- Provided by publisher The Lebanese photographer Marie al-Khazen seized every opportunity to use her camera during the years that she was active between 1920 and 1940. She not only documented her travels around tourist sites in Lebanon but also sought creative experimentation with her camera by staging scenes, manipulating shadows, and superimposing negatives to produce different effects in her prints. Within her photographs, bedouins and European friends, peasants and landlords, men and women comfortably share the same space. Her photographs include an intriguing collection portraying her family and friends living their everyday lives in 1920s and 1930s Zghorta, a village in the north of Lebanon. Yasmine Nachabe Taan explores these photographs, emphasizing the ways in which notions of gender and class are inscribed within them and revealing how they are charged with symbols of women’s emancipation to today’s viewers, through women’s presence as individuals, separate from family restrictions of that time. Images in which women are depicted smoking cigarettes, driving cars, riding horses, and accompanying men on hunting trips counteract the common ways in which women were portrayed in contemporary Lebanon.