Kamal Boullata

Later in his childhood, Boullata recalls sitting for hours on end as a small boy in front of the Dome of the Rock, engrossed in sketching its innumerable and unfathomable geometric patterns and calligraphic engravings.

In “Palestinian Art: From 1850 to Present,” Boullata recounts his first teacher, Khalil Halabi, who taught him as a young boy to trace these geometric patterns and script upon a grid.

[3] He was mesmerized by the convergence of image and word, stating that “the iconographer does not paint an icon he writes it.”[4] In an interview he recalled "I keep reminding my self that Jerusalem is not behind me, it is constantly ahead of me.

Boullata continued to live and create in Washington until 1974, at which time he traveled to Beirut for a short period and worked as art director of a pioneering publishing house.

[8] He frequently has religious references in his work, citing the Bible and the Qur’an, and titling pieces “God,” “Iconostasis,” “Angelus,” and “Bilqis.” He described his fascination with the square as a formal and spiritual anchor that tied him back to Jerusalem.

He was interested in this geometric form not just in Islamic art history, but also in the mandorlas surrounding the figure of Christ in traditional icons.

As Boullata wrote in an article titled To Measure Jerusalem: Explorations of the Square: “Once I saw the link between the central motif in the icons of my childhood and the octagonal star from which radiated those mesmerizing arabesques evolved in Islamic art, I realized why all three monuments I could see from our roof in Jerusalem shared a common building plan.

By circumscribing the intersection of two squares within a circle, the earliest ground plan of the Basilica of the Resurrection, the Church of the Ascension and the Dome of the Rock all sought to mark the divide between heaven and earth.”[10] Presentation and Multimedia work Boullata’s 1994 publication of the twelve silkscreen prints Three Quartets (Opus 1-12) was accompanied by a poem written by Mohammed Bennis.

His 1995 series Twelve Lanterns for Granada was inspired by the Syrian poet Adonis, and took the shape of a sculpted and illustrated book.

He has written introductions and exhibit reviews for other artists such as Sophie Halaby, Steve Sabella, and ‘Asim Abu Shaqra.