Mohieddine al-Labbad: Influences
Al-Labbad's oeuvre derives from a long tradition of book illustration in the Arab and Islamic world. The impact of Arab and Islamic heritage is evident on al-Labbad’s style and outlook, it can be seen in his incorporation of elements from famous Islamic map makers, renowned Arabic calligraphers, beautifully illustrated and ornamented manuscripts, and traditional Arabic printing presses. In addition and perhaps equally important was the influence of a generation of Arab illustrators who worked mainly in the comics industry and in children publishing houses on al-Labbad’s outlook and style. The writings of Kamil al-Kilani and the drawings of Majallat Sindibad and Majallat Samir may very well count as some of the deepest and most permanent such influences. Al-Labbad himself stated that al Kilani's writings convinced him to launch a career in children book writing: " وقعت أسيرا لكتب كامل الكيلاني في طفولتي، وذات مرّة اقتنيت قصة " علي بابا " بخمسة قروش، هذا الكتاب وغيره من كتب كامل الكيلاني جعلتني أختار هذه المهنة [Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, No. 27, Childhood: Creativity and Representation / الطفولة: بين ﺍﻹﺑﺪﺍﻉ والتلقي (2007)]
"Majallat Sindibad, majallat al-awlad fi jamee' al-bilad" was published by Dar al-Ma’arif in Cairo, and edited by Mohammad Said el Aryan. Sindibad made a concerted effort to put out original material that addressed Arab youth, and al-Labbad often acknowledged his admiration for Sindibad's talented illustrator Hussein Bicar.
In this beautiful drawing, al-Labbad makes mention of his high school drawing teacher, Khalil Murad, and credits him with being one of his major influences.
كان فنانو الخط العربي العظام رجالا في غاية التواضع والتهذب [يبدو أن التواضع والتهذب من سلوك من يعرف قدر نفسه ويحترمها]. كان الخطاط مهما كبر قدره يوقّع على عمله بإسمه مسبوقا بصفات فيها الكثير من التواضع، فها هو الخطاط العظيم "حامد الامدي" يصف نفسه بانه "الفقير الحقير المعترف بالعجز والتقصير". وهو يحرص دائماً على أن يسجّل على أعماله إسم أستاذه الذي علّمه فن الخط، وها هو يكتب عن نفسه أنه: "من تلاميذ محمد نظيف غفر الله ذنوبه وستر عيوبه"! أعجبتني هذه الحكاية كثيراً، وفي أول رسم رسمته بعد أن عرفتها، حاولت تقليد هؤلاء العظام، ووقّعت إسمي هكذا: رسمها الفقير الحقير المعترف بالعجز والتقصير محيي الدّين اللباد من تلاميذ الأستاذ خليل مراد معلّم الرسم بمدرسة القبّة الثانوية سابقا
Such acknowledgments were expressions not simply of modesty, but also of a deep ethical commitment that al-Labbad took to be a cornerstone of the Arab scholarly tradition of calligraphy and book illustration. He went out of his way to emphasize and cultivate the value of cooperation and communal efforts, and he took great pride in forging ties of many kinds with actual and possible predecessors and colleagues. In view of this, he brought many illustrators and writers from Majallat Samir (e.g. Hijazi, Adli RizkAllah, Mahmoud Fahmi, Nabil Taj) to help out at Dar al-Fata.
The influence of the drawing below from Majallat Sindbad is apparent on al-Labbad's rendition of a drawing of Alice in Wonderland in his Kashkoul al-Rassam.
