The art of being: A conversation with Manal Deeb

It was noon and the rain had started to fall on the roof of my cramped little trailer, precariously parked in the back woods of Oklahoma.

As I listened to the soft rattle of a cold morning sprinkle against the shuttered window, I was beginning to get a little nervous. I've interviewed some interesting people in my career, but no one that has lived under such harsh conditions, and turned that struggle into such beauty.

I don't mind admitting, I was a little intimidated.

I mustered up what courage I could and placed the call to Mrs. Manal Deep. Artist, activist, mother, wife and seminal figure in the fight for Palestinians (particularly women) to have their human rights respected by not only Israel, but the world.

Mrs. Deep or Manal as she prefers, was born in Ramallah just a few miles from Jerusalem, in what is now considered Israeli territory. As a child Manal witnessed and was subject to the confinement, restriction of rights, and inhumane treatment that is an everyday occurrence in the life of Palestinians under Israeli occupation. This, all to real, aspect of life as a Palestinian in Israeli territory, is often overlooked by American media. As Manal spoke about the memory of being a child while being told that today was a day of seclusion, the tone of her voice would drop just slightly. I could tell that the memory was difficult and emotional for her. There were days when she was not allowed (by decree of the Israeli government) to venture outside of her home. Like any precocious child, sometimes she went outside anyway. She would be chased by IDF (Israeli Defense Force) soldiers. I didn't ask if she had ever been caught. She didn't volunteer any details.

At an early age she was drawn to art as a means of expression. Art for Manal is a ticket, a passageway for her to go home. In her art she creates the homeland that she so dearly misses. She spoke of the smell of the olive trees, the feel of the hot sun on her face and the friends that gave meaning and peace to an otherwise traumatic existence. "It is no way for a child to grow up" her smokey middle eastern accent filled the phone. It was her art that let her express her anxiety, hope, love, longing, memories and fears. It was her passion for the country that birthed her that shown through in that art. In her homeland artists are not looked upon so reverently as in other parts of the world. Yet Manal knew that this was her voice, through art she would talk to the world. And after years of talking,...the world began to listen. Today Manal and her expressive, emotionally charged artistry are on display on her website @http://manaldeeb.com, In her studio at 1011 of Building 10 at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA (http://www.workhousearts.org) where she is the resident artist.

• When your producing your artwork is there an overall message your trying to get across, or is each piece separate with an individual message?

"Usually I don't intend to give a message with each piece, but everyone comes to it with a different experience when you look at my artwork. But when i started to create my art I was trying to create my homeland, away from home.

• I hate to bring up harsh memories, but I would like people to know what it was like living under occupation. Is there anything that you can tell me that would help those whom have never lived under those conditions understand the fear of a life like that?
  "Definitely, fear, the word you just mentioned, it took a long time.....i mean getting rid of fear is never happening for me. I'm so used to it its like my best friend. I have to go to therapy to deal with anxiety and fear. As a school age girl we used to go outside for demonstrations, and when the Israeli soldiers would try to stop us, we were literally in the streets and they were chasing us because they just wanted to stop us from calling them what we call them, and the fire wheels and the tear bombs, all that never goes away from my mind as a kid, its all painful, and it never goes away, the days of curfew where we stay home, as a kid its imprinted on your insides. Is it normal? Is it always like this? Do other kids in the world that have to live like this? There is somebody we fear outside, we can not go outside and play. And all of this of course I carried this coming here, wanting to study and be someone who is proud of herself in this life. So yes it definitely affected me as a kid and as an adult, to the point where one of my exhibits called Holographic Memories (which is was exhibited in Washington D.C.) it brings back memories as a movie, it is a movie, a horror movie, where every time I would think its gone, its not, its still there in my mind, and I have even passed it to my three daughters, they are very much familiar with everything I went through, that we call Palestinian living under occupation."

• Now just to change gears a little bit, obviously you keep up with politics, and being that you live here in the United States now, we have the Presidential election coming up and the Democratic nomination having been, thus far, all about Hilary Clinton, every channel that you turn on has Hillary leading in every poll. With her background being somewhat questionable as far as her ties to the whitewater scandle in the early 90's, and lately Benghazi, and the aproximately 30,000 emails that were deleted from her personal server, do you believe that if she is to become president that it would be a good thing for the progress women have made in our culture, or would it hinder that progress?

"Personally I don't believe she would set that back. I think its a step forward for women in the United States, I believe it is time for a female to be in the White House, I don't see why not. Because it will empower women in general, of course that's my personal opinion, I'm just stating that as a female. I think it is positive. Not just for the United States, but in general all over the world, I think if a female comes forward into government, I think it's a good thing.

• As I mentioned, you came to America in 86', when did you become an artist, or begin producing art?

"I've been doing art since I was a kid, it was something I really liked to do. I believe everyone is born with that in them, an artist inside. I came the United States when I was 17-18 and I studied studio arts at the University of IIllinois in Chicago and I got married.After that, and I had my children and I stopped producing art. Interestingly when I did art at the university it was the beginning of the first intifada. (*b) most of my artwork was reflecting the intifada, even with the stones. I had one of the installations where I used plenty of stones, the kid who's throwing a stone at a bulldozer with soldiers pointing weapons at that kid. Its that movie that's never ending, it keeps coming back. And with the second intifada until now, whatever we call it, its still there. To be honest I got busy living as a mom and I did several things, I resumed art but not as its supposed to be. I did it when I feel like,.... I was not consistent. I was reading a lot. I am inspired by poetry a lot, specifically Jubran Khalil Jubran and Sufism, it affects me. That is why the Arabic language is very much a symbol in my artwork, in evey piece almost. So from there when my daughters are old enough I went back to school and I studied psychology of course, because I was always interested in the therapeutic base behind making art. I did study it, it was very helpful, then my artwork came totally different than when I used to make it when I was 18. Of course maturity, and growing up be a mom and all kinds of things in life, it all reflects in my artwork.
I'm still that Palestinian in heart but there are so many issues that come along with it that are very much reflected in my artwork that I'm consistently showing and exhibited in so many countries all over the world."

• Your art work has been shown almost everywhere around the world with the acception of Asia, is that correct?

"That is true, and sadly not in the middle east. Taking my artwork home, that is what I'm working on now. To people that are really in a struggle, to show them the artwork, as is...I don't know how I can put it,... I just think I've waited enough.
The idea of art back home is different than here, its how we perceive things. The importance of art back home is totally different than here, that took me some time to establish what I wanted to establish here and then maybe go there with the whole message."

• Your art has a lot to do with women's issues, obviously you use the female form in your art all the time, a lot of female eyes permeate your pieces. You have a brilliant way of merging not only images but different mediums, some being more tactile while others more supple like a paint. Your art has been called mixed medium modern art. What inspired you to combine mediums like that?

"To be honest the medium itself was inspired, it was in my soul. I believe the act of painting is a ritual. Like a dance. I call it that from how much I go back and forth. Its a ritual dance between the maker and the higher power, my intent will flow though the work of art no matter what. Seeing stuff like my grandmothers head piece or a piece from a tree bark, I used to play around trees a lot when I was a kid. Especially olive trees, fig trees, its something sacred, it goes back to the Koran, I read it and lived it, and its in my soul. These mediums they come together just by looking at them in front of me and images I create digitally, sometimes and I'll take and incorporate it in my work. They are like music, they go like a symphony in front of me and I combine them in a very simple way. They just let me, and when I'm into it, I don't know, its just there. I read a lot. I love poetry. It effects me so much, the reading, as I said, Jubran. Even with the reading and the images, the mix of the images, I look at and readings it just brings out magical things for me.
One of the quotes I read for Jubron, and it made so much sense to me is that "time and place are the ritual state , and all that is seen and heard is ritual, and if you close your eyes; which I do I close my eyes and I see images inside me when I do work, I play with colors and images and calligraphy, as I said..if you close you eyes you will perceive all things to the depth of your inner self. That's what I call it, inner self. Things like Arabic letters or old wooden tree bark, when I put them on the canvas and combine them the energy just happens beautifully in front me. So that's what inspires me, the reading, the things in front of me while I'm working.

• You brought up the text, using calligraphy, and using phases or words from the Koran, is that from a deep religious belief, purely aesthetics, or a combination of the two?

"Its a combination of the two, its both, in most or all them even; in my artwork its not something that you can read, I can point out a couple that you can read, other than that its not meant to be....I don't want someone to read it and get the message out of it,...as is, I want him or her to read it iff they can, if they know Arabic, but what's amazing is that people that can not read Arabic, they think that there is a beautiful harmony between the letters and the facial expressions. The ultimate to me is when I put the face, like the female face, and Arabic calligraphy just go in harmony with the face as if they are made to be for each other. And that's the ultimate for me, its not the calligraphy emphasizing Arabic, its the beauty of the calligraphy WITH the face that's what I want."

• So its not meant to be taken for what it says? Because there are images that cut through the calligraphy and wrap around the letters. So its not meant to be literal but more aesthetic when it comes to the entire paintings overall image?

"Yes, that's correct."

• Okay, the final question I have for you today, since your obviously a roll model for women and girls throughout the world that are interested in art as well as those facing challenges in their lives that they may look at your life as an example of how to overcome obstacles in there life, what goal or goals do you, through your art or your activism, would you like to accomplish this year?

" Sure, my art is an activist, I believe that. I would like every young lady or woman to believe in herself, to belief in the idea of what ever she wants to be no matter what. I remember in one of the writings of Rumi he's in Sufism, he said "do not grieve, anything you lose because it comes around in another form" I believe in that. There is also another one he said that "god turns you from one feeling to another - and teaches by means of opposites so that you will have two wings to fly not one." So every one of us; you have your wings you need to fly. Nothing should stop you from going anywhere you want if you believe in it. There is a project we are working on its called Caravan. In that project one of my artwork is going around with a group show, the idea behind it is to combine the three religions as one and the title is love. To start with, to live in this world we need love. That's the basic for every human to really nourish and live in peace. So that's basically my message. That he or she has been mislead by Islamaphobia or Arabic phobia. I am Muslim Arab female presenting the beauty of my identity, my soul, language, culture, and religion."

As I hung up the phone I began to picture Manal as a young girl with a Palestinian flag draped around her shoulders, marching and chanting in the streets. In her eyes there is a fire. Then I saw her as a mother, a wife, an artist and activist. An adult now the fire has moved from her eyes to her heart and through her hands. She is creating art that has meaning and purpose. Art for all people, of all nations and all creeds. Art that crosses all languages, art that has the ability to give hope to those who struggle and fight for respect, to be recognized, to be free from oppression.

In her art Manal Deeb brings to life the all to real circumstance of power left unchecked and unrestrained. As my pen came to rest and Manal's final words faded out of my mind, the meaning of them struck me. I realized then, just how important people like her are, especially in the world as it is today. Manal Deep doesn't need to change everything about the world, she just want to change your mind.