A Tour Through the Halls of the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts

In this age that all but sweeps everything before it and stops at nothing — in this age that whirls us round with its speed — it is a sin for us to consign the rewarding of our eminent figures to history!

It is a fine thing for one of us to give much with his right hand unbeknownst to his left; and it is an ugly thing in us to take, and then begrudge that hand a gesture of thanks and gratitude...

It is easy for us to fill the emptiness of our minds with the fantasies of projects that humor our ambition with all manner of promises while our imagination cheers them on... The difficulty lies in imposing upon ourselves — or in those projects imposing upon us — the hardship of casting them into visible reality... And reality does not accept everything laid before it...

You may know where the building of the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts stands; or your feet may once have alerted you, in our Burj quarter, and you find yourself before an edifice whose middle age carries a dignity in which your soul finds rest and assurance! And if you enter, on an impulse you may not even understand, no one bars your way... In the Academy's corridors you come upon groups of students going and coming, and you wander on... And if your glance betrays that you are a stranger in this great house, several of the young lady secretaries hasten to you to ask what you wish... Do not take fright... they are the friends of everyone.

Every classroom there embraces a cluster of students whose aims branch out and whose directions diverge — and how not, when the Academy contains several schools: the School of Sciences and Letters, whose graduates hold the licence; the School of Economic and Political Sciences; the School of Law, the first of its kind in Lebanon, since its courses are given in Arabic; then the School of Architecture, the School of Painting and Sculpture, and the School of Music. As for the Academy's family, they are of our elite: its board is composed of Mr. Alexis Boutros as president, Mr. Farid Trad as vice-president, and Mrs. Widad Maqdisi Cortas as secretary-general. Our lady had the foremost hand in founding the Academy and in strengthening its artistic and cultural mission.

These work together with Dr. Najib Sadaka, Mr. Joseph Najjar, and Mr. Cesar Gemayel in running the Academy's affairs; its two counselors are Dr. Charles Malik and Dr. Salim Haidar, and the teaching body is made up of the best men of learning.

The idea of founding the Academy Mr. Boutros nursed long within himself; then before long he brought it forth, tangible and steadfast, to rule over him after he had long ruled over it! — lawfully wresting from him his time, his money, his rest, and every sacrifice his soul could hold... And so the idea grew and came of age: from a simple association of amateur musicians, to scattered classes in halls offered by some of the schools of Beirut, to an Academy that is the first Lebanese institute of higher learning. Alexis Boutros wanted it to be a workshop for men in whose souls the authentic culture of their country has taken root... Have we not had enough of a hybrid culture, and of an imitation that fills no void?

Sweet is the talk of the Academy's president about his Academy: how he loved it and it returned his love; how he suffered for its sake the crossings of this man and the aversion and rebuffs of that... But he did not retreat, until he won the government's official recognition of his project entire...

Say with me that the presidents of universities must consider themselves presidents of Platonic republics, whether we consent or not!!

Our professor wanted to fill the gaps

of our culture in his Academy, and to find — or to create — its missing links; and how many those links are! He was vexed by the ambition among us that leans on others, by the foolish building and the destructive imitation... He wants us to build without demolishing and wrecking, and not to stand in the shadow of others... Time no longer allows us to persist in the heedless experiment — to let what stands by mere endurance go on standing, and to leave its fate to the judgment of time...

A special stamp clothes the Academy... It exists to further human art, to spread it and encourage it... It also bends tenderly over our country's culture and heritage, and cooperates with the other institutions in providing the courses those institutions have been unable to give — the School of Law being but one example, and perhaps the boldest and most adventurous of cultural ventures, for the French language had all but monopolized the science of law in Lebanon.

I forgot to ask Mr. Boutros about his journey to Europe, where he visited Prague and Germany on an official invitation; but I found in the newspapers a sufficient answer to my captive question! There he met the masters of art and music and received the esteem he deserves; and he stayed some while in Munich, where he visited the famous Goethe institute, and that visit of his left the deepest of impressions!

And I still remember his story with music here in Lebanon — it began with him applauding alone for the immortal melodies; but he knew how to spur thousands of hands to applaud them in admiration and love... Have we forgotten the musical concerts he brought to life, numbering more than a hundred?

Yes... in this age that whirls us round with its speed, it is a sin for us to consign the rewarding of men like Alexis Boutros to history!