Photo Exhibition by President John Waterbury

Far right: President Waterbury presenting his work

On June 1, Room 400 in West Hall witnessed the opening of an exhibition of photographs produced by AUB President John Waterbury. Of the 54 photographs on display, all but six were for sale. Waterbury explained the reason why: they were taken in Bolivia, Cairo, Mexico, Turkey, and India, and did not represent Lebanon in any way. The remaining photos, however, all depicted Lebanese sites, both natural and man-made, and candid shots of Lebanese people. Many of the photos had, in fact, been published in the President's Calendar of 2005-2006.

Laila Baroody, president of the President's Club, spoke of how she had convinced Waterbury, despite his objections, to exhibit his photos. She also explained that all the proceeds from the sale of the photos would go to the President's Club, to help provide scholarships and financial aid to needy students.

President Waterbury then spoke briefly of how he happened to start taking photographs one day and never stopped. He referred with passion to some of the photographs he had taken, such as the one of the nude torso of a man in India. "I intentionally cropped out the head of the man before developing the picture, because the man's body was so very fit that it was hard to believe it belonged to the head of a 70-year-old." The president also pointed out that the colors in the photos were slightly touched up to provide more depth and contrast, but that in every other aspect the images were kept intact as shot. Thanking the members of the AUB Art Center Committee and the President's Club for organizing the exhibition, he especially thanked Marwan Sabban, head of the AUB Photography Department, for the great job he did on enlarging the photographs and installing the show.

At the exhibition opening, Cesar Nammour, member of the AUB Art Center Committee, revealed that henceforth Room 400 in West Hall would become the venue for all future art shows organized by the center.