عبدالله حماس

Abdullah Hammas

 

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يذكر الفنان عبدالله حماس١٩٥٣م أشد المواقف بلاغة في حياته الفنية عندما كان يدرس في معهد التربية الفنية بالرياض عام ١٩٧٢م ولاحظ معلمه الفنان العراقي سلمان الدليمي محاولاته المبكرة في الرسم  الواقعي والرمزي وأعجب بها ويستطرد أنه عندما بدأ يرسم أعماله التجريدية الأولى رواد معلمه الشك ما إذا كان صاحبها، من هنا نشآت بينهما علاقة متبادلة ساهمت في تعزيز ثقته بنفسه حتى ان حماس عرض عليه اعمال معرضه الأول قبل ان تستقبلها قاعة العرض اعترافآ ووفاء بالجميل الذي قدم له الدليمي في مسيرته التعليمية غير أن هذه القصة لا تكتمل من دون إشارته إلي دعم عائلته لموهبته في الرسم منذ طفولته ، ويدين حماس بالفضل لوالده حماس بن سلطان العسيري يرحمه الله فى أحتضان وتحقيق حلمه  والوقوف بجانبه عندما كان يشتري له علب الألوان وكراريس الرسم تشجيعآ له ، وتقديرآ لبلاغة موهبته إبان دراسته في الصفوف التعليمية المبكرة في مدينتي الطائف وتبوك التي إنتقل اليهما تباعآ بحكم عمل والده في المجال العسكري. يكشف حماس هذه المواقف متتابعة كلما سمحت له الفرصة مثل تعويذة على بلاغة موهبته، أصبحت فيمآ بعد مؤشرآ حقيقيآ للرهان على دخوله الى عالم الفنون التشكيلية ، التقى حماس في معهد التربية الفنية بمعلمين أكاديميين  في لحظة زمنية كانت فيها مناهج التعليم تزخر بتيارات عصر النهضة مثل السريالية والتكعيبية والتجريدية

 

درس حماس في معهد التربية الفنية تقنيات تيارات عصر النهضة التكعيبية التي لامست طقوسها المتداخلة حيوية تجربته المبكرة ولازالت مؤثراتها ملحوضة بشكل ما على تكويناته يقول حماس انه اعجب بالتكعيبي جورج براك ووصيفه بيكاسو  واخذ عنهم ما اعانه على تحقيق خصوصيته الجمالية المتفردة ، فيما استفاد من ملاحقة تقنيات بيت موندريان اللونية الصريحة والمتقشفة وفق بناء عقلاني منتظم

 

تأثر حماس في تضاريس طقوسه الجمالية بالرعيل الأول من التشكيليين العراقيين  الذين إتصلت منجزاتهم الإبداعية في السبعينيات بمفاهيم فكرية و جمالية تتصل بالهوية والأصالة والمعاصرة ومن خلال إنحيازها للمورث الشعبي والتراث وحمولات من ذاكرة العمارة في المدن العتيقة والقرى الحالمة في تضاريسها العريقة وفضلآ عن ذلك يعتبر حماس واحدآ من الفنانين القلائل الذين إحتفت تجربتهم بالطقوس التجريدية مبكرآ في المحترف التشكيلي السعودي وممن استأسدواة.

 

Abdullah Hammas (born in 1953), remembers one of the peaks of his career, while he was studying in the institute of art in Riyadh in 1972 and his teacher, the Iraqi artist Salman Dulaimi, noticed and admired his first attempt at realist and symbolic art. He continues to remember when he first started painting abstract, his teacher doubted it was truly his work. From there, started a relationship that reinforced Hammas’ self confidence. Hammas even showed his teacher his first complete artwork before displaying it in his first exhibition as a token of appreciation for Dulaimi’s motivation and support for Hammas.
 

However, his story is not complete until he expresses the amount of support his family gave him since he was a child. He stresses on the role his father, Mr. Hammas Ben Sultan Al Ouseiry (May his soul rest in peace), through buying him the coloring crayons and coloring books as an encouragement for his talent. His father also appreciated his talent while young Hammas studied in early learning classes in the cities of “Taef” and “Tabok” and which he moved to back to back as per his father’s work. Hammas mentions these situations whenever he gets a chance to do so as a sign of his true talent, which in turn later became insurance for him to enter the world of abstract art. Hammas met two renowned teachers at the institute of art at a moment in time where art witnessed new currents from the renaissance era such as surrealism, abstract, and cubism. Hammas studied at the institute of art, the techniques of cubism of the renaissance era, that in turn, marked his early works and is still visible in his recent paintings. Hammas says that his work in cubism is inspired by George Braque and Picasso and that he used their work to create his own individuality. He also benefited from chasing the frank and colorful techniques of Piet Mondrian through an organized mindset.

 

Hammas’ work was also affected by the first group of abstract Iraqi artist, whose work in the seventies was connected to ideologies related to identity and authenticity and modernism through its loyalty to cultural heritage and loads from the memory of architecture in ancient cities and old towns, and it’s beautiful topography. Moreover, Hammas is considered to be one of the few artists whose early work in abstract was celebrated early by the elite of abstracts artists in Saudi Arabia, and whose work was applauded for its simplicity. Since that moment, Hammas made sure to keep his originality and his beautiful sensitivity, which was immensely present in Saudi Arabia, especially after he excelled in the techniques of cubism, abstract, and symbolism; and its rhythm which depends on cubic compositions and great spaces upon an intertwined perspective. He also took advantage of explicit coloring techniques and its multiple groups and closeness as he weaved combinations of color that rise from the ocean of his hometown like meadows that extend infinitely. Hammas clung to the different faces of life in the town of “Aseir”. His works ranged to reveal austere and simple cubism in its folkloric coloring and spontaneous compositions which is connected to architecture in an instance, and to spaces taken from a dream in another. Hammas used the topography of his hometown of Aseir, he still carries it as a beautiful heritage just like a lover.
 

In this exhibition, Hammas displays his vision that reveals his strong memory, that spontaneously shows on the walls of his paintings as he reconstructs it’s compositions by Human insinuations, fashion, rugs, symbols and supplies of coloring immersed in its locality; and which in turn reveals an amount of pleasure like a lullaby he sings through his creations.

Hammas paints on his, unusually small, paintings, features of people in a symbolic and spontaneous lines which he distributes like a farmer would distribute his crop. It appears as if its preparing to receive the bright morning, while others appear to have a seated position as if taking a break from a long and hard day.

 

Hammas grants women a big piece of the cake, and he adds to their glory by decorating their heads with studded veils that show his close knowledge with the beautiful traditions of village women more than that of city woman. These imaginations enjoy a lawful marriage with its surroundings. They also reveal his loyalty to ever regenerate the heritage of his hometown. At the end of the day, he is an artist that works on recreating his world once and again like a lover that embraces his world without boredom. Hammas reinforces, through a group of his valued work, the presence of his explicit coloring according to color splashing techniques and close color shading. However, in another group of work he celebrates folkloric colors scattered on the walls of his paintings like chess pieces that go on till infinity. These imaginations reassures his strong talents, technical skills, experience, and originality; that he inherited once he realized the strong relationship between him and his hometown, considering it his identity that he can use to promote himself as a creative artist wherever he goes.

Abdul Aziz Ashour August 2015, Jeddah.