The Split of Life
Encyclopedia
Nabil Kanso
Nabil Kanso is a Lebanese-American painter born in Beirut, Lebanon.His works deal with contemporary, historical and literary themes, and are marked by figurative imagery executed with spontaneous and vigorous handling of the paint and often done on large-scale formats...
. The paintings span a period from 1974 to 1994, and deal with contemporary and historical issues of war and violence.
Development and description
The subject of war in Kanso’s work began during 1972-74 in New York when he did a series of paintings and drawings on the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. After a brief pause, he started in 1975 the Lebanon war series evoked by the civil war
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
that broke out in his native land
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. The intersection of the two series reflecting similarity in composition, scale, style and theme provided the framework for a larger series whose underlying theme formed the basis of the Split of Life series in encompassing several other series dealing with war.
The Split of Life series delineates two periods: 1974-85 and 1986-94. The works of the first period are characterized by the use of warm colors dominated by red, orange, yellow and black, and the depiction of compositions in which masses of figures occupy the entire surface plane. Among the series in the period are the Vietnam
Vietnam (Kanso)
Vietnam is a mural-size painting made by Nabil Kanso in 1974 in response to the Vietnam War. It is done in oil on canvas measuring 3.65 by 7.30 meters .-External links:*...
, Lebanon
The Vortices of Wrath (Lebanon 1977)
The Vortices of Wrath is a triptych painted by Nabil Kanso in 1977. It is part of the Lebanon series began in 1975 in response to the Lebanese Civil War. The triptych is done in oil on canvas measuring 3 X 7.60 meters...
, One-Minute
Hiroshima Nagasaki One-Minute
Hiroshima Nagasaki One-Minute is the subject of two mural-scale paintings made by Nabil Kanso in 1978-79. One is titled 49-Second done in oil on canvas measuring 3 X 5.50 meters , the other 11-Seconds oil-on-canvas triptych measuring 3 X 4.60 meters center, and 2.75 X 1.32 meters each...
on (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and Time Suspended in Space
Time Suspended in Space (South Africa)
Time Suspended in Space is the title of a mural-size painting on apartheid in South Africa painted by Nabil Kanso in 1980. It is oil on canvas measuring 3.65 X 5.50 meters -External links:*...
on (South Africa) series. The works of the 1986-94 period depict compositions that divide the canvas in 2 or more sections depicting figures painted in dark blue and black within an enclosure of red and orange surrounded by a white space. Among the series in this period are the Cluster Matter, Glory and Cruelty
America 500 Years
America 500 Years is the title of a series of paintings created in 1988-91 by Nabil Kanso in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America...
, and Living Memory
Living Memory (paintings)
Living Memory is the title of a series of 9 mural-size paintings on the Holocaust painted by Nabil Kanso in 1980, 1990 and 1993-94.-Works in the series:*Roll-Call at the Black Wall, oil on canvas, 3 X 4.87 meters , 1980...
(Auschwitz) series. It is suggested that most of the Split of Life paintings are recessive in the upper center, and somewhat bilaterally symmetrical. This division is often in the form of a face placed against a V form. The violence seems to deploy itself towards that opening so that the center is dominated by a mother of war, a kali-figure.
Exhibitions
Between 1983 and 1993, a wide range of paintings from various phases of The Split of Life series were exhibited a various art centers in ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
,Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
,
The exhibitions were the subject of articles, essays, poems, conferences, and peace projects. In Venezuela, installations were featured as part of the Second Ibero-American Symposium held in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
in 1987, the International Encounter for Peace in Merida
Mérida, Mérida
Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...
in 1988.
The paintings displayed in different exhibitions were viewed as reflecting a sense of “over-all-ness, of one painting running into another.” It is remarked that the magnitude of the paintings place the viewer in the midst of a violent cage. Their synchrony and diachronic cross a still point in which the show is no longer a total of several pieces, but only one painting. Some critics point to a sense of entrapment in which standing in the central space surrounded by Kanso’s 12-foot-high paintings is as close as you get to being in the middle of a fire. The horrors appear to burst out of the canvases bringing the viewer face to face with scenes reflecting a continuum of war and violence occurring in our time and space.