Chanel: de Beauvoir feminism and Sartre existentialism

Source: Elle

One of the most insulting ways designer Karl Lagerfeld (creative director of Chanel) defended his use of exceptionally skinny models was to say "its easy to make clothes look good on a human hanger" - the same man finished the Chanel Spring Summer 2015 show today by holding a mock feminist parade with models such as Cara Delevigne, Kendall (formerly with a Jenner family name), or Gisele Bundchen carrying banners with messages such as "history is her story" or "he for she" (a nod to the Emma Watson recent campaign), or "women's rights are alright"... But smuggled inside those there was "tweed not tweet" (with tweed being the fabric of choice for the house of Chanel). Maybe that last one could be the enduring message considering Lagerfeld had a row with H&M for producing larger sizes of their collaboration together, after all, he wouldn't want to be caught dead dressing someone who was not size zero. Now, how feminist is that?

USEK student Elio Mechleb take on #bendgate

Image credit: Elio Mechleb - USEK

Image credit Elio Mechleb 0 USEK

What's with the #bendgate owning the airwaves USEK students were given an exercise to either defend or attack Apple. One of the outstanding exercises was by Elio Mechleb who launched a social media campaign with the idea that the new iPhone repair tools were utensils or electronics which could flatten something back (a rolling pin and an iron). I get super excited when students are capable of such creative outputs in an incredibly limited time.

A rundown of some of the Apple #bendgate spoof ads.

Research credit: G.M.

Almaza and Heineken: "cahet de famille" iPhone "bend"wagon....

Research credit: P.C.

Everyone is now jumping on the iPhone "bend"wagon among the many brands there was Heineken with "no worries.... it happes to us all the time" - local beer brand Almaza pitched in with "we're been bending since 1933". Both used the beer cap to do the analogy. Small problem?

Almaza is actually owned by Heineken. So is this a case of "let's apply this to all our brands" directive from the Netherlands? Is it a case of a copycat from someone who has access to the mother company's advertising? Or is it "like mother like daughter" and all think alike with a "cachet to famille"?

Great ads for the Ghadi News and Lebanon Debate amateurish initiative

Now here's a paradox! Ghadi News and Lebanon Debate came up with a great campaign for an amateurish initivative. But at least they are advertising it correctly. Here's some visuals of their campaign and what they mean.

"No matter how much we scream "we are thirsty", water remains water" in this context the expression means "no one is willing to make a change".

"Water passes under him and we are thristy" again used in this way, it means "he is oblivious of what is going on around him" speaking mainly of politicians,

"How can the people drink when the officials responsible for them drown in a cup of water" - self explanatory when spekaing of someone who has no initiative or over-worries and does nothing on the ground.

 "The decision to import water from Turkey, you can boil it and drink its water" - an expression which refers to something which has no impact on the ground or while dismissing a thought as fruitless.

"First it was the story of the oil pitcher, now it's the water picther" - this one is very tricky to explain, 

because the "oil pitcher" story refers to something which gets repeated over and over.

The revealer that ties everything together is this one:

Which means "together, we bring back the water to its channels" - meaning "we will fix things" or "make amends".

As I said, the campaign is actually very smart, the initiative however, is a bit all over the place.

Annahar reviews Oum Kalthoum: It's the economy, stupid!

Image source here

The saying goes, "you can't compare apples to oranges" but apparently you can compare apples to great art, as is the case of this article in Annahar dating back to 17-7-1966 which reviews the concert of the late Egyptian diva Oum Kalthoum which took place two days prior.

The headline states "The Baalbaki Oum Kalthoum recoups in two nights whatever Egypt imported of Lebanese apples this season" - remember, this is one of the most incomparable voices in the world, one which at full capacity would reach 14,000 vibrations per second, this is one of most respected artists to have come from the region, but to Annahar at the time - it all goes back to "it's the economy, stupid!"

A friend of mine had a positive outlook on things putting a shiny spin on the matter saying that the two concerts were such a roaring full-house success so much they netted as much money as whatever Egypt imported of the Lebanese apples in 1966, which he assumed to be a sizeable figure.

But the tone of the title of the article leaves little to the condescending attitude - if an entertainer can get back financially whatever its country paid to Lebanon for its apples, then the operation was by no means of any significant volume, and worst, the article implies that the presence of such an outstanding singer actually hurt the economy by robbing it back of the few pennies which tricked to the land from the sale of the apples.

Maybe what really made me write about this find is that, in the collective imagination, the words Oum Kalthoum inspire awe, magic, power, and prestige and perhaps if I am to ask any journalist working at Annahar, past or present, they probably would repeat those words of variants thereof. But that is the romanticized version of our past, this is what we think the "good old days" were about - but when Oum Kalthoum actually performed in Baalbeck for the first time (she was to return in 1968 and 1970) the newspaper which was (past tense) the beacon of culture in Lebanon chose to compare her "incredible" (as Maria Kallas who knows a thing or two about oustanding voices said about the Egyptian diva's voice after listening to her for a few seconds) voice to apples. How's that for an orange... or a lemon?

Ahmed Imad Eddin scores new Pink Floyd album cover

Image: Ahmed Alam Eddin/Pink Floyd

A very young Egyptian digital artist (reportedly 18 years old) has just scored the cover of the upcoming Pink Floyd album "the endless river". Pink Floyd fans are already divided (and not just by the bell!) as to wether the cover is worthy of the pantheon of the previous albums - let's face it, this image will not look good on black t-shirts like "Dark Side of the Moon" or on white t-shirts such as "The Wall". Personally, since the departure of Roger Waters, and since Pink Floyd have drifted more into Paulo Coelho territory as opposed to some deeper insights, I find the image to be fitting in the mood of the general direction of where the band went. In other news, Roger Waters was "Amused to Death" by the cover. 

Mike el Hajj Assaf - Bewejak 7aki at Iris gallery.

Mike Hajj Assaf (full discosure: a former student of mine) is having his first solo show at no other than the Iris gallery at the rooftop of Annahar Building in downtown Beirut. The exhibition smartly titled "bwejak 7aki" which rougly translates as "in-your-face news" is exactly that - faces of prominent Lebanese people of whom we are proud (such as Feyrouz or Gebran Khalil Gebran) made up of newspapers and glue (and only that). The viewing will be on the 22nd and 23rd of September from 6 to 8 P.M. and the exhibition continues till October 6th.

Mazen fashion: Daily dresses, bachellor customs, ext.... (UPDATE)

I admit, my English is getting rusty for the current market, which is why probably I did not understand what Mazen Fashion is selling: Daily dresses I could approximate to "day dresses" (as opposed to evening dresses - which, dang, they also sell!), but "bachellor customs" had me seriously scratching my head. I think it originates from "costume" French for "suit" (hence customs?) but "bachellor" is simply incomprehensible to me (is it for bachelor parties, or for single men as opposed to married ones?), and if this was not enough, they add an "ext...." which I though meant extension once you call the listed phone numbers only to then understand it means "etc...." Not only this, they also sell "wholesale and retalil" - that's English problems in wholesale and "retail" if you ask me!

If their quality and taste is as good as their communication, we're in deep trouble!

I have received the following clarification from Mazen Fashion and it seems that sometimes things happen behind our back, so appologies to Abir for being too quick to judge the situation:



Dear Mr. Chemaly, with regards to the above let me clarify the situation.
First am Abir Najem the owner of this shop.
Second I'd like to thank you for highlighting the above mentioned english problems to clarify for my clients as well. actually till now if you visit this shop ( the above one ) you will see that its closed which means that I did not finalise the last touch on every single detail,
Concerning the above huge mistake what happened is that i were out of country when the advertising company came and finished everything during my absence and the girls in the shop didn't realize the mistakes in the board, till the company will not change anything unless I will pay them again and it is not my responsibility to pay since they printed wrong sentences in addition to typing mistakes (daily,retalil, bachellor,ext) and they should cover the expenses not me!! everything is pending for the time being and i didn't start launching my opening date waiting for the result of this discussion with company X to change the board accordingly.
Thank you.

So there, now it's clarified, pity Abir had to go through this with a supposed advertising agency. Wishing her the best with the rest of the story!

Beirut/PAL (Persistence And Longing) by Tarek Chemaly now out!

Beirut/PAL (Persistence And Longing) by Tarek Chemaly is now out on 7UPstairs Publishing. Based upon a very complex mathematical pattern, retro kitsch images were rearranged very rigorously but also according to chance making the final works very representative of Beirut – an organized chaos which can be interpreted depending on the viewer’s circumstances and background.

Mercedes 280SL - sweet dreams are made of this.

It is no secret I am in love with vintage Mercedes Benz - from the whole collection, the above could be my dream car (the 280SL) - I saw it hidden in plain sight in Achrafieh, parked underneath a building.... Another carcheology find worth reporting about.

Kameel Hawa - Art for Art's sake (to our delight!)

Mr. Kameel Hawa, who defines himself as "thinker, designer, and artist" graced us with a brilliant work of art (which he dub's "art for art's sake") in his "participation in Beirut Art Week [...] eight sculptural interpretations of the word Fann, which is Arabic for art. Not all words in Arabic can be artistically formed with such visual variety. Fann is somehow lucky! Lucky in shape, and of course specially inviting in meaning". The works are exhibited inside the pool of the "Samir Kassir garden" right opposite Le Grey Hotel in Beirut.

Audi and the #landofquattro

Audi is launching the Month of Quattro and a chance to put one's name on map through #landofquattro - according to their website this is the explanation:

"The Land of quattro is a global campaign that showcases the unique beauty of countries around the world. Now, in our region and during the month of quattro, Audi is on a quest to discover and promote the most exciting hidden trails across the Middle East – and we want you to be our expedition partner.
Hit the road with us as we explore uncharted territory. Together we will show the world just how incredible your country is, inspiring them to follow in your path. Best of all you’ll get to name the trails."

I am far from being a car enthisiast, so basically if I am mentionning this it is for the advertising and communication part. I really loved the #landofquattro name for the campaign, it immediately conjures images of outlandishness, grandeur, rugged landscapes and symbolic banner emblems. I also admit that musically, it's very inspiring with deep, rallying and melancolic sounds (I immediately thought of Scottish music - which darn me, they are voting tomorrow to see if they get independence or not! - and the Brittany-originating Breizh music).

All in all, a majestic name very fitting for the campaign.

Home city vs Apple - copycat slogan?

I still smile when I remember that I see similarities everywhere, "laughable" someone recently said. OK, so let's see if this makes you laugh or not. "Live different" for Home City (by none other than the agencies that basically is incapable of coming up with an idea on its own) and the classic "think different" signature for Apple.

My theory about similar ads includes three parts: the theft, the spoof and the tribute. The first part is when the core creative element is stolen, the second is when the ad is being laughed ad, and the third is when the fame of the ad is capitalized on to draw attention to something else (most usually a social cause for example).

One of the first things I detected in the ad, is the repetition in the Home City of the grammatical error in the Apple slogan - because to be correct the selling line should be "think differentLY". so when I read "live different" this is when the similarities started in my mind.

To be fair however, I actually loved the Home City ad - the transposition of the diver to the table as jumping board is pretty lovely. But the live different is the bit that annoys me. Any other slogan - with no references to previous famous ones - would have done.

Libans de Reves: Tarek Chemaly x Charif Megarbane audiovisual collaboration

Based on a title which is a part of a sentence by Rimbaud in his prose poem “Villes I” in Les Illuminations, “Libans de reves” (or “Lebanons of dreams”) is an audiovisual diptych between visual artist Tarek Chemaly and musician Charif Megarbane (the talent behind the Cosmic Analog Ensemble) which includes “CocoCommodore” and “Abou el Rish” – a kind of false introspection for a nation that lost sight of itself (assuming it ever had it).

CocoCommodore tackles the story of Coco, a grey African parrot owned by the BBC correspondent Chris Drake and which sat in the lobby of the Commodore Hotel in Beirut. Coco was able to whistle the Marseillaise, the opening bars of Beethoven's 5th symphony but his specialty was imitating the incoming sound of shells (a trick every newbie journalist at the Commodore would fall for). In Feburary 1987, the hotel was raided and looted by mitiliamen and Coco was abducted in the process. Chris Drake put a reward of 10,000 LBP at the time for anyone who could bring back Coco, but to no avail.

Abou El Rish (father of feathers) is a character that showed up out of nowhere in west Beirut during the war (specifically around 1981) and built himself a cardboard shack net to the American University of Beirut. He would wear strange medallions and a hat with feathers on it (hence the nickname) and would try to play traffic police with a duster. People would give him leftover food, and have pity on him and help him. When the Israeli invasion (the second one) came in 1982 it was revealed that he was an intelligence officer to the Israeli army whose work was to collect information. A mass hysteria happened afterwards with people reporting his sightings on barricades on in patrols. Private information gathered shows that he was a Iranian jew who eventually went to Israel and got recruited in the Israeli Defence Forces.

The original soundtrack by the Cosmic Analog Ensemble can be heard independently on this link.

Original sountrack and sleeve jacket by Charif Megarbane