 Manoug
Alemian
Articles
AIM: Armenian International Magazine; 2/28/1994; Harry L.
Koundakjian -
02-28-1994 - Ethnic NewsWatch © SoftLine Information,
Inc., Stamford, CT
ARTS
JOURNAL: A PHOENICIAN LEGACY.
Since 1956,
his signature has become all but synonymous with an idyllic Lebanon
that seems to have emerged unscathed
from civil war and foreign invasions. The signature reads Manoug,
and it is an ubiquitous as the photographs of the Roman ruins of
Baalbek, the magisterial Lebanese Cedar, and the ancient port cities
of Byblos, Sidon and Tyre that adorn the offices of Lebanese diplomatic
missions, tourism bureaus and business establishments throughout
the world.
Manoug Alemian
died on February 17 in Montreal, Canada, of cancer. He was 76. Born
in Hama, Syria, Manoug, as he eventually came to be known, studied
photography on his own while still a teen-ager, borrowing film money
and cameras from relatives.
He later moved
to Lebanon, where the living traces of several civilizations, coupled
with the lush Mediterranean landscape, would provide ample material
for the photographic eye. For Manoug, Lebanon would become a lifetime
obsession - and a launching pad for both commercial and critical
success.
Fame would also
bring a glamorous brush with the movers and shakers of the Middle
East. Soon, leaders ranging from Kings Hussein of Jordan, Faisal
and Khaled of Saudi Arabia to Presidents Hafez el-Assad of Syria
and Camille Chamoun of Lebanon were enlisting Manoug for a shot
at immortality.
But perhaps
his most awe-inspiring portrait studies remain those of Catholicoi
Vazgen I of All Armenians and Karekin II of Cilicia.
The prizes,
too, began pouring in: first and second competition prizes from
Kodak, 1964, and Nikon, 1969; fist prize for International Tourism
Congress photography in 1970 and 1974, for his cave studies; and
the Knight of the Order of the Cedars, one of Lebanon's highest
civilian medals.
Recently, in
Canada, where Manoug had settled with his family, he was decorated
by both leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church: an Encyclical
and the Mesrob Mashtots Greater Cilicia medal from Catholicos Karekin
II, and the Movses Khorenatsi medal from Catholicos Vazgen I. He
was also decorated for a second time with Lebanon's Medal of Cedars,
Officer's Rank.
The Armenian Reporter; 3/5/1994; Harry L. Koundakjian -03-05-1994-
Ethnic NewsWatch © SoftLine Information, Inc., Stamford,
CT
A Testimony
to Manoug, Decorated Photographer.
NEW
YORK, NY - Did you know Manoug Alemian? Of course you did!
He was the world-famous photographer from Lebanon who made Baalbeck
and its Roman ruins famous, the Cedars eternal and the Biblical
port cities of Byblos, Sidon (Saida) and Tyre (Sur) immortal with
his pictures during his long residence in Lebanon
It is said that,
since Manoug was born in Hama, Syria, in the year 1918, the famous
water wheels that pumped water from the river for irrigation, provided
his first lessons in photography and artistry.
A self-made
man, Manoug, as he eventually went on to be known worldwide, studied
photography on his own, borrowing relatives' cameras and sometimes
borrowing money to buy film. He was only 16 then.
And then one day, taking
on the challenge, he arrived in the Lebanon to face the world.
He drove around
the country with his cameras and films, sometimes waiting days for
the correct light of the sun and clouds before clicking the shutter.
Accepting invitations
from many a Middle Eastern head of state, he was soon photographing
presidents and kings. Among them were King Hussein of Jordan; King
Faisal, and King Khaled of Saudi Arabia, Presidents Hafez el-Assad
of Syria and Camille Chamoun of Lebanon and General Mustafa Tlass
of Syria. But his most serious face studies were those of Catholicoi
Vazken I of Etchmiadzin and Karekin II of Cilicia.
Since 1956,
his exquisite views of Lebanon have decorated the offices of all
Lebanese diplomatic missions, tourism bureaus, Middle East Airlines
offices around the world, and offices of all Lebanese who have business
branches around the world. The signature reads "Manoug."
His prizes began
coming in. From Kodak, 1964, 1st prize in a competition; 2nd prize
for photography in Munich, Germany, 1967; 2nd prize for Nikon's
competition in 1969 in Japan; 1st prize for International Tourism
Congress photography in 1970 and 1974 in Spain, for the world speleology
pictures.
In 1975, Manoug
was the winner of prominent Lebanese Druze poet Said Akl's art exhibit
prize and was decorated with the Lebanese government's "Chevalier
de L'Ordre du Cedres" (Knight of the Order of the Cedars),
one of the country's highest civilian medals.
Recently, in
Canada, where he sought asylum with his family from the disastrous
fratricidal Lebanese war, Manoug was decorated by both leaders of
the Armenian Apostolic Church. His Holiness Karekin II of Cilicia
honored him with an encyclical and the Mesrob Mashdotz Greater Cilicia
medal and, from Etchmiadzin, His Holiness Vazken I bestowed on him
to Movses Khorenatsi medal.
Lebanon, in
the person of its representative to Ottawa, Consul General Elynne
Alem, decorated him for the second time with the Medal of Cedars,
Officer's Rank, (Officier de l'Ordre des Cedres), one of the country's
highest distinctions.
Who
said art does not pay?
I am proud to
have known him all the years that I was press photographer with
The Associated Press in the Middle East, based in Beirut, and I
am prouder to have been accepted by him all these years.
►►
Le
dit du sculpteur, Le dit du photographe par Nazih Khater
►► Some of the artist's
artwork
Contact: editorial@onefineart.com
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