The Nasser Era and Om Kalsoum

Theirs were the inescapable voices of Egyptian possibilities.

For the artist Chant Avedissian, who held on to a lifelong interest in the iconic images of Egyptian history, Gamal Abdel Nasser’s and Om Kalsoum’s pharaonic cultural influences filled his eyes—and ears. Born in Cairo to the parents of refugees from Armenia, Avedissian deployed a variety of media, including photography, costume and textile design, and the sort of stencil work seen here, to reflect upon the complexities and contradictions of his experience of Egypt. In this artwork, he visualizes the complicated, iconic, and unavoidable roles two larger-than-life Egyptians—Nasser and Kalsoum—played in that country’s mid-20th century.
He was the voice of Egypt’s political future, the military officer who helped overthrow the monarchy, led Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970, nationalized the Suez Canal from British and French interests, and became an icon, however fleetingly, of secular pan-Arab nationalism. At the height of the Cold War, Gamal Abdel Nasser promoted a political philosophy of nonalignment and solidarity among formerly colonized peoples.
She was perhaps his only true rival on the mid-century radio. “The Voice,” not just of Egypt, but of the entire Arab-speaking world, Om Kalsoum was one of the 20th century’s most celebrated vocal artists. Her supreme talent, musical virtuosity, and glamour made her a global celebrity as she interpreted modern and classical Arab verse through improvisation and vocal stylization. Sporting her trademark sunglasses and handkerchief, she stands above script that reads “وشاهد سافر” (“travel and see”), suggesting Kalsoum’s star-studded life of tours throughout the Arab world spreading, among other messages, Nasser’s central plank of Arab unity.