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Juman Malouf expresses her passion for historical styles through her world of art and design By Ruby rogers

Juman Malouf graduated from ASL in 1993 and went on to become an artist and costume designer. Malouf studied costume and set design in graduate school, yet her most recent work has mainly involved drawing and writing. She is known for her historical style, inspired by Victorian and Elizabethan history, in both her art and fashion, which is shown in her unique outfits and use of black pencil and fine lines in her drawings.

During a recent school reunion, Malouf remembered how being at an American school shaped her identity and her connection to the United States, as well as her global outlook. “The American School is a very, very big defining place for me,” Malouf said. “I think I became who I am because of it. It sort of made me an international person because there are kids from everywhere. ” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf.

She explained her interest in art at ASL and the way the students, staff, and curriculum inspired her interest in art. “I didn't realize specifically [art] is what I was going to do when I was at ASL, but I did gravitate towards those teachers and to those classes in high school,” Malouf said, “I really did a lot of theater, a lot of Shakespeare classes. And I did a lot of art classes. I realized that all those things are what I do now. So really, the school was very helpful for someone like me, who really loved the arts.” Photo by Ruby Rogers.

Malouf's mother, Hanan al-Shaykh, who is a writer, used to bring her to art exhibitions and theater when she was a child. Malouf reflected on how her mother’s love and interest in all forms of art influenced her life. “I think she's probably my major influence in the arts, because of her passion,” Malouf said. “You know, she's a writer, she's quite a wonderful writer. And she really is someone who just loves music, loves paintings, sculpture, theater, and she really just influenced me because she just brought that into our lives so much.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf

Malouf is known for the variety of outfits that she designed, inspired by the time periods she admires. She said her mother, Hanan al-Shaykh, inspired her to develop her unique style. “I wear a lot of clothes based on the 1940s, 1970s, and Victorian times, so I kind of mix all that together and create clothes,” Malouf said. “ I mean, all my life my mother had her own personal style to it… I've always liked that you express yourself in your clothes.” Photo by Ruby Rogers

Malouf and her husband, Wes Anderson, a film director, have worked together on multiple projects. Their primary collaboration was curating their art exhibit, Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures, at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. When talking about Anderson’s work, Malouf said, “I love being around someone else who's making things that they love and that they enjoy doing. It's very inspiring to be around.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf.

Juman Malouf has done multiple different types of work - she has curated an exhibition, created drawings for magazines, designed costumes, written and illustrated a book, and much more. Here are some of her past creations:

Soon after completing graduate school for costume and set design, Malouf designed a clothing line named Charlotte Corday. One of the dresses featured in the clothing line was a seashell dress, which Malouf sketched and designed. “You can see the inspiration there, just the shells,” Malouf said. “We actually made all those shells in the back out of embroidered applique.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf

The cover of Malouf’s book “The Trilogy of Two” depicts two identical twin sisters who live in a circus before going on a magical adventure. Malouf explained how the style of much of her work, including The Trilogy of Two, was based on the historical clothing she learned about while studying costume design. “Its style is based on my studies in costume and history and being in theater, telling stories and drawings,” Malouf said.“So it's illustrated and that's because of my art background.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf

A drawing of the protagonists of Malouf’s book The Trilogy of Two, identical twins Sonja and Charlotte. Malouf explained how her interest in history influenced her style of drawing. “I think the book that I wrote and illustrated was really based on Victorian etchings,” Malouf said. “I use pencil to make them sort of seem very dark and deep like a black and white Victorian etching or illustration in a book.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf

The King of Kats, the villain of “The Trilogy of Two,” steals children's talents. Malouf said the origins of this idea and the real-life inspiration that led her to this theme. “It’s this idea of when you become older, you lose your talent,” Malouf stated, “the reason I got that idea was because, you know, through my life, I was around such interesting, wonderful people, specifically also in college… but the minute they left college, suddenly those dreams sort of disappeared, and they focused on more, money-oriented things.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf

In 2018, Malouf and her husband Wes Anderson curated an exhibition together at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which later moved to Fondazione Prada in Milan. The exhibition, named Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures, was made up of pieces of art and historical objects that Malouf and Anderson chose from archives in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which were then sorted into different “rooms” based on category and theme. “That was really one of my favorite things”, Malouf expresses, “because we got to look through historic objects, some of them masterpieces and priceless, and some of them ignored and completely worthless, and all of them from all over the world.” Photos courtesy of Fondazione Prada

While working on the exhibit Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures, Malouf draws portraits of the curators she works with. Explaining the various essential roles that museum curators play behind the scenes, and expressing her gratitude for their presence during the creation of the exhibition, Malouf commented, “it was really nice to do portraits of them because people in the public never see these people or know about them. It was very interesting to go visit them be in their space and speak with them and draw them.” Photo courtesy of. Juman Malouf

Malouf also draws the objects featured in the exhibit, such as an ivory statue of a phoenix, made in the 14th century, and an ancient Egyptian coffin for a shrew. Malouf described how engaging it was to study these objects at a greater depth. “I got to really live with the objects because I drew them for days and days and it was it was really interesting.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf

Malouf has also been involved in her husband Wes Anderson’s movies by designing costumes for characters in his most successful movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and drawing props for Moonrise Kingdom, another one of his movies. Malouf expresses how much she enjoys being involved in Anderson’s movies, and how it contrasts with her area of work. “In illustration or writing I'm very much alone,” Malouf explained, “When you're working in film, you get to collaborate with so many people and you get to have conversations with people, and you get to be part of a sort of community where they're working altogether.” Photos courtesy of Juman Malouf

Malouf published in Zoetrope: All-Story magazine, an American literary magazine that publishes short fiction stories. Malouf told the story The Balloon King and one of her mother's unpublished stories through her drawings. Malouf spoke about her development through art and drawing, and how she got to this point in her career. “I went to graduate school for costume and set design. And it was in graduate school really, where they really pushed us to draw. Drawing sets, drawing costumes, hundreds of hours of drawing,” Malouf said, “And I do really think it's true, if you spend a lot of time doing something like drawing, you can really learn and you can really do it.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf

When expressing her admiration for other artists, Malouf said, “I really love artists that sort of when you see their paintings or drawings, you really feel something. Obviously, everybody likes Frida Kahlo but I went to a show of hers recently in Paris and you really do feel her struggles and her sadness and her happiness. And that's the kind of art I really gravitate towards. Art that tells stories.” Photo courtesy of Juman Malouf