Written by Arthur Debsi

Born to a master mason father, in 1935 in Tangiers, Morocco, Mohammed Chebaa graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Tetouan in 1955. Particularly interested in architecture, and the work on space, he held the position of designer-draftsman, for construction projects within the architecture department of the Ministry of Sports and Youth. In 1962, he traveled to Italy on a government scholarship, and completed his studies with a specialty in interior design at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome from 1962 to 1964. In the Italian capital city, Chebaa was exposed to a rich artistic culture, and history, including urban landscape with outdoor sculptures, engravings, and paintings. The place truly resembled an open-air museum. He also had the chance to train under the mentorship of the Italian engineer, and architect Pierre Luigi Nervis (1891-1979); which led him to improve his practice. In 1964, he returned to Morocco, where he was assigned a mission to design a mural for the Pavilion of the National Irrigation Office, at the International Agricultural Fair of Casablanca[1]. Two years later, Mohammed Chebaa joined the newly formed pedagogical team, including Farid Belkahia (1934-2014), Mohamed Melehi (1936-), and Mohammed Hamidi (1941-), at the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca. From then on until 1969, he managed the atelier of decoration, graphic arts, and calligraphy at the institution. Following this time, he taught fine art at the École Nationale d’Architecture in Rabat in the 1980s, and was in parallel appointed artistic advisor in 1985, by Minister of Crafts, and Social Affairs, Mohamed Abied (1941-). He was responsible for managing the problems inherent to the art profession, traveling all around Morocco. Between 1994 and 1998, he eventually headed the Institut National des Beaux-Arts in Tetouan between 1994 and 1998. 

During the 1950s, Mohammed Chebaa went on a study trip to Grenada, Spain, where he visited the Alhambra Palace. The student was captivated by the refinement of Andalusia’s craftsmanship, and its architecture, to the extent that he was so moved. He understood the strength of traditional arts, which have an impact on the elaboration of taste, and the spirituality of each one[2].

In the late 1940s, schools of fine arts successively opened in Morocco, like the École des beaux-Arts in 1945 in Tetouan – part of the Spanish protectorate, and the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca in 1950. However, the styles, and techniques from Western art movements, were promoted, and widely spread by these establishments[3]. For example, students were asked to practice by reproducing models of ancient Greek statues, or still lifes[4]. When Farid Belkahia (1934-2014) became director at the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca in 1964, the teaching took another direction to promote, and transmit the cultural, and artistic local heritage. Part of this large-scale project, Mohammed Chebaa brought innovative concepts to build the Moroccan artistic identity, remaining attached to architecture. When in Italy, he was introduced to the German Bauhaus movement from the beginning of the 20^thcentury, which tended to associate in its program both fine arts, and craft[5]. This approach also concerned architecture, dance, and painting. Since then, Chebaa started questioning the place of artworks, or artisan products, in Moroccan daily life, as well as their integration in the public space. He said: ‘At the time, we were far from perceiving a unique visual art form, or one which could lay claim to a universal set of plastic values, in the cladding of Moroccan architecture, the zelligeand chiseled plaster murals, in carved wood, (…), in short, in all the national, traditional forms of autonomous artworks’[6]. He subsequently came to the idea that these forms of art only belong to architectonic places like the mosques, and palaces[7]. Moreover, they are viewed as functional objects, or exposed for aesthetic purpose. According to him, this characteristic demonstrates a valuable know-how related to architecture, that had continued over time, and to which the future generation of Moroccan artists should maintain[8].

From this experience in Rome, Mohammed Chebaa theorized the notion of the ‘3A’, which combines art, architecture, and ‘artisanat’[9]into one discipline. He never stopped improving his knowledge, and skills in these three disciplines to apply this original notion. In the 1960s, he encountered the French architect Patrice de Mazières (1930-2020), established in Morocco, and owned the firm Faraoui & De Mazières. The latter showed a real enthusiasm for the pedagogical methods undertook by the new direction at the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca. The collaboration between the two establishments turned out to be very active. In 1968, Chebaa created the workshop called Studio 400, which was dedicated to general, and interior design practice. There, he worked on materials from traditional arts to create furniture, as well as making design for objects. He also founded the annual event Moussem National de l’Artisanat, which gathered craftsmen from all over the country, who would exhibit, and sell their products[10]. All these initiatives aimed to get the Moroccan audiences closer to their culture, which had to be integrated in their living environment[11].

The oeuvre of Mohammed Chebaa is the reflection of his passion for architecture, and handicraft, through a conceptual approach. In the works entitled Composition(1974), part of the Dalloul Art Foundation’s collection, he only used a white background, on which he articulated abstracted elements. The paintings somehow recall the ceramic tile panels, which are typical of the Islamic architectural art, and ceiling frescoes in the mosques. Yet, the reflection goes further, and highlights the visual power of the image, on the public’s eyes. There is a sense of organization, and disorganization in the compositions, when Chebaa chose to employ different geometrical forms such as the triangle, and the sphere, by putting them together. The pictorial ensemble evokes constructions, but seems to be more correlated to the gesture of the artist, and the movements of the lines, than the image itself. The work on colors is also interesting, since the painter only used pure ones, without mixing them. Farid Belkahia (1934-2014), Mohamed Melehi (1936-), and Mohammed Chebaa constituted a group named ‘Formes et Couleurs’ (‘Forms and Colors’), which placed them in opposition with the Naïve Art movement[12]. In their instigation, they effectively preferred to refuse any form of figuration, and focused on the form, and the colors. According to Chebaa, this was a method, which corresponds to a veritable, and dynamic research on plastic arts[13]. On another level, he affirmed the legitimate place of abstraction in modern Moroccan art, asserting in 1966: ‘(…) Some of our intellectuals now associate representational painting with Moroccan reality, unaware of the fact that the essence of our art was not and will never be representational, for there is nothing representational in either our Islamic art or our Berber art’[14].

Mohammed Chebaa characterized his art as a ‘social practice’[15], which materializes a sort of visual education for the community. In a postcolonial context, it was important for him to stimulate the artistic sensitivity of the people, in order to develop a national culture based on tradition. He reconciled the roles of the artist, and the artisan, to create what he called ‘position-works’ – artistic objects that participated in this process of intellectual emancipation. 

Mohammed Chebaa passed away in 2013. 

[1]Chabaa, Nadia. “Chabâa's Concept of the ‘3 As’ - Articles.” bauhaus imaginista. Accessed June 23, 2020. http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/articles/2430/chabaa-s-concept-of-the-3-as.

[2]Chabaa, Nadia. “Chabâa's Concept of the ‘3 As’ - Articles.” bauhaus imaginista. Accessed June 23, 2020. http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/articles/2430/chabaa-s-concept-of-the-3-as.

[3]Ali, Wijdan. Modern Islamic Art: Development and Continuity. Gainesville, USA: University Press of Florida, 1997. [P.74]

[4]Ali, Wijdan. Modern Islamic Art: Development and Continuity. Gainesville, USA: University Press of Florida, 1997. [P.75]

[5]Universalis‎, Encyclopædia. “BAUHAUS.” Encyclopædia Universalis. Accessed June 26, 2020. https://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/bauhaus/.

[6]“À Propos · School of Casablanca.” School of Casablanca. Accessed June 23, 2020. https://schoolofcasablanca.com/fr/.

[7]Chabaa, Nadia. “Chabâa's Concept of the ‘3 As’ - Articles.” bauhaus imaginista. Accessed June 23, 2020. http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/articles/2430/chabaa-s-concept-of-the-3-as. 

[8]Chabaa, Nadia. “Chabâa's Concept of the ‘3 As’ - Articles.” bauhaus imaginista. Accessed June 23, 2020. http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/articles/2430/chabaa-s-concept-of-the-3-as.

[9]Chabaa, Nadia. “Chabâa's Concept of the ‘3 As’ - Articles.” bauhaus imaginista. Accessed June 23, 2020. http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/articles/2430/chabaa-s-concept-of-the-3-as.

[10]Chabaa, Nadia. “Chabâa's Concept of the ‘3 As’ - Articles.” bauhaus imaginista. Accessed June 23, 2020. 

[11]Mohammed" class="redactor-autoparser-object">http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.... Chebaa, Responses to the Souffles Artists’ Questionnaire (1967) in Lenssen, Anneka, A. Rogers, Sarah, and Shabout, Nada. Modern Art in the Arab World, Primary Documents. New York, USA: The Museum of Modern Art, 2018.

[12]Goldenberg, André. “1956 - 1986 : Trente Ans De Peinture Marocaine.” Cahiers De La Méditerranée, 1989. [P.48]

[13]Goldenberg, André. “1956 - 1986 : Trente Ans De Peinture Marocaine.” Cahiers De La Méditerranée, 1989. [P.54]

[14]Mohammed Chebaa, ‘On the Concept of Painting and the Plastic Language (1966)’ in Lenssen, Anneka, A. Rogers, Sarah, and Shabout, Nada. Modern Art in the Arab World, Primary Documents. New York, USA: The Museum of Modern Art, 2018. [P.264]

[15]Lakrissa, Fatima Zahra. “École Des Beaux-Arts De Casablanca (1964–1970) - Articles.” bauhaus imaginista. Accessed June 10, 2020. http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/articles/2413/e-cole-des-beaux-arts-de-casablanca-1964-1970?0bbf55ceffc3073699d40c945ada9faf=ppq3kadfmlm2tm02ime94tk3q0.

Sources

Ali, Wijdan. Modern Islamic Art: Development and Continuity. Gainesville, USA: University Press of Florida, 1997.

Aroussi, Moulim el., and Brahim Alaoui. Peinture Marocaine 1950-2010: Collection Elisabeth Bauchet-Bouhlal. Marrakech, Morocco: ES-SAADI Garden & Resort, 2010.

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Eigner, Saeb. Art of the Middle-East, Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran. London, UK: Merell Publishers Limited, 2011.

Goldenberg, André. “1956 - 1986 : Trente Ans De Peinture Marocaine.” Cahiers De La Méditerranée, 1989.

Lenssen, Anneka, A. Rogers, Sarah, and Shabout, Nada. Modern Art in the Arab World, Primary Documents. New York, USA: The Museum of Modern Art, 2018.

Meier, Prita, and Isabelle Montin. “Authenticity and Its Discontents | Cairn International,” 2013. https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_MULT_053_0077--authenticity-and-its-discontents.htm.

Powers, Jean Holiday. “Published.” Casablanca School - Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism, 2016. https://www.rem.routledge.com/articles/casablanca-school.

Sefrioui, Kenza. “La Revue Souffles (1966-1973): Quand Culture Rime Avec Politique.” Revue Interculturel/Francophonie, (Lecce, Alliance Française, n°16), Ss. Dir. Bernoussi Saltani : "Abdellatif Laâbi : Un Intellectuel Tout Simplement", 2009.

Lakrissa, Fatima Zahra. “École Des Beaux-Arts De Casablanca (1964–1970) - Articles.” bauhaus imaginista. Accessed June 10, 2020. http://www.bauhaus-imaginista.org/articles/2413/e-cole-des-beaux-arts-de-casablanca-1964-1970?0bbf55ceffc3073699d40c945ada9faf=ppq3kadfmlm2tm02ime94tk3q0.

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Universalis‎, Encyclopædia. “BAUHAUS.” Encyclopædia Universalis. Accessed June 26, 2020. https://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/bauhaus/.