Mideast Art

Eye Level in Iraq: Bringing the Plight of Iraqi Civilians into Sharp Focus

Though most Americans have distanced themselves from any association with the Iraq War, March 19, 2013 marks the tenth anniversary of the United States-led invasion. Perhaps the occasion provides the necessary impetus to reflect collectively on one of our country’s most misguided and tragic military exploits. Ironically, it may be only through the gritty lens of a photojournalist’s camera that we see most clearly what has been so glaringly obscured by the government — the heartbreaking consequences of war on the Iraq’s civilian population.

Eye Level in Iraq: Photographs by Kael Alford and Thorne Anderson, currently on exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, features the work of two seasoned American photojournalists who spent two years photographing the buildup and the aftermath of the Iraq War from cities such as Baghdad, Fallujah and Najaf, beginning in 2003.

Same Faith, Different Narrative: Online “Muslima” Exhibition Gives Muslim Women Voice Through Art

History has a way of finding itself in the voice of heroes. Not so much for the heroines. Women, often the backbone of revolutions, almost always find themselves relegated to the backdrop after the honeymoon of victory wears off. Equals during protest, but second-class citizens under new governments and band-aid-approach “reforms,” Empowerment does not necessarily mean Equality.

But empowerment does provide opportunity for the unified whole that comes when otherwise-muted voices are amplified, not only breaking down myths and stereotypes but also building intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. This is the goal of Muslima: Muslim Women’s Art and Voices, a provocative and groundbreaking online global exhibition from the San Francisco-based International Museum of Women (IMOW). Curated by Samina Ali, an Indian-born Muslim known for her 2004 novel Madras on Rainy Days, the show is an international showcase of the themes and issues faced by female artists who either self-identify with Islam or are labeled Muslim because of familial, cultural or religious background. Exploring and challenging the broad spectrum of perceived status, agenda, and realities lived by Muslim women today, the exhibition gives voice to their passions, their accomplishments and their expressiveness- redefining both individual and collective identities as artists and activists.

“Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here”: San Francisco Poet Builds Bridge to Baghdad with Books

"Cairo writes, Lebanon prints and Baghdad reads." ~ Arab proverb

When the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258, it was said that the Tigris River first ran red with blood from those murdered and then black from the ink of their books. Baghdad has been the literary epicenter of the Arab world since the Mesopotamians invented cuneiform, the first form of writing, in the 4th century B.C.

And no place has pulsated with a stronger literary heartbeat than Baghdad's historic Al-Mutanabbi Street, the bookseller quarter--a crooked, winding thoroughfare running from Al Rasheed Street to the Tigris River, and once described as Baghdad’s “third lung”. For at least 800 years, Iraqis have bought and sold books, sipped tea, smoked nargila and argued about politics and literature on Al Mutanabbi Street, named after the revered Iraqi poet, Abu at-Tayyib Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Mutanabbi. It was the place where you could find translations of Shakespeare interspersed with Shi’a religious texts, Agatha Christi mysteries, ancient Greek poetry, comic books, American magazines and Osama bin Laden cassettes. Iraqis from all faiths and social classes —writers, students, intellectuals and even lovers --have sought refuge on Al Mutanabbi Street throughout the country’s turbulent history.

Mohamed Mahmoud Graffiti, the Threat of Memory and an Unfinished Revolution

The news a few nights ago that “someone” had painted over the Martyrs’ Mural on Mohamed Mahmoud street predictably aroused attention on social media; artists refusing to be erased returned immediately. A few on Twitter quickly pointed the finger at Morsi’s Islamist dominated government and read the destruction as evidence of the Muslim Brotherhood’s long-term plan to crack down on art and expression in line with conservative irreligious ideology. Some called it an attack on Egyptian pluralistic history - the images mixed Pharaonic, Christian and Muslim symbols. A walk along Mohamed Mahmoud Street, site of the Egyptian Revolution’s worst clashes between demonstrators and security forces, suggests a different interpretation. Rather than an imposition of Islamist moral values on the public realm, the eagerness to demolish the Martyrs’ Mural appears, to me, to be a calculated move to curtail possible protests—in short, politics as usual under an Egyptian regime that remains far from fulfilling promises of the revolution.

Evolving Flags and Unfulfilled Demands: Egypt’s Artistic Revolution Continues

In last month’s demonstrations at the U.S. Embassy, the hyper-charged politics of flags were evident to anyone who cared to look. But there are more important flags to pay attention to on the Cairo streets. A few months back, I was putting together my syllabus for a course I’m teaching on visual culture and political consciousness, and I stumbled on the article “Does Egypt Need a New Flag?” by Egyptian artist and blogger Ganzeer. He asks, “What is the significance of updating the Egyptian flag anyway? Although it might seem like a topic fetishized by a group of designers and artists, with no real affect on the masses, I believe it can have grave effects on things to come.” I’m inclined to disagree—but only slightly. It’s already a mass phenomenon. This article was posted in March 2011; it would be overreach to assume that the street art I’ve been seeing recently has roots in this single online post.