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Jalal Khoury, an essential figure in Lebanese theater and the first author from the country to be translated and performed abroad, was also a talented photographer. This lesser-known facet of the artist with a rich repertoire was highlighted during a ceremony on Wednesday, July 24, celebrating the donation of a collection of his photographs to the Oriental Library of Saint Joseph University in Beirut.
Jalal Khoury is undeniably one of the greatest figures the Lebanese cultural landscape has known. The first Lebanese author to be translated and performed abroad, his repertoire includes numerous works translated into German, English, French, and Persian.
Born in Beirut on May 28, 1933, and passed away on December 3, 2017, Jalal Khoury was an Arabic-language playwright, director, actor, and art critic. He began his theatrical career in 1962 and his directing career in 1964 with Bertolt Brecht’s The Visions of Simone Machard.
Known for promoting political theater in Lebanon in the 1960s, Jalal Khoury was an engaged artist whose most notable works include Weismano, Ben Gori and Co. (1968), Al rafiq Ségéan (Comrade Ségéan) (1974), and Kazzab!… Mouhawarat Chahine wa Tansa (The Chatter of Chahine and Tansa) (1982).
In addition to his artistic career, he had an important academic career. He taught theater at the Lebanese University from 1968 to 1975 and at Saint Joseph University in Beirut from 1988 to 2012, where he also chaired the theater department from 1988 to 1999.
However, Jalal Khoury had a side less known to the general public: that of a photographer. It is in tribute to this other facet of the artist that a signing ceremony for the donation of a collection of his photos to the Oriental Library of Saint Joseph University in Beirut (USJ) took place on Wednesday, July 24.
“We want to reveal a side of Jalal Khoury that the public knows less, that of the photographer. A side that complements this constellation of personas that he was as an artist, director, teacher, and theater theorist,” says Joseph Rustom, director of the Photothèque and the Oriental Library, one of those who worked to preserve and celebrate Jalal Khoury’s legacy.
Indeed, at the beginning of his career, Jalal Khoury was head of the photography department of women’s fashion magazine (Al Hasna). Throughout his life, the artist, equipped with his camera, captured significant events in Lebanese history, as well as simple everyday scenes.
“Jalal had two great artistic passions in his life that are related: theater and photography,” confides Jad Abi Saab, the author’s nephew. “After spending long moments reviewing all his photos, it seems clear to me that the world of theater, with its lighting and characters, was an ideal and fertile ground for developing his photography practice. From there, Jalal would listen, observe, and wait with his lens to capture the decisive moment,” he continues.
Thus, Jalal Khoury, the photographer who particularly loved portraits, was imbued with the formidable man of theater that he was. “He had the right tone, the theatrical voice, the confidence to quickly put the subject at ease and operate without tiring them,” recounts Jad Abi Saab, recalling the moments he posed in front of his uncle’s lens.
Jalal Khoury’s photographs, now under the protection of the USJ Photothèque, testify to the extent of his artistic talent. They confirm his status as a complete artist, a true gem of Lebanese cultural heritage, whose legacy will continue to shine through the generations.
