Islamic Art and Abstraction: Towards a Discussion of a "Global" Art (original) (raw)
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London Middle East Institute, SOAS, University of London, 2015
What is the location of contemporary Middle Eastern art in the broader context of global art or in light of such concepts as diaspora, deterritorialisation, transnationalism, hybridity and cosmopolitanism? Are ‘local’ and ‘global’ opposites or are they interdependent? Th e essays in Hamid Keshmirshekan’s edited volume, originally presented at a 2013 conference at the London Middle East Institute at SOAS, off er fresh responses to these queries. Together they make one of the fi nest recent volumes on contemporary Middle Eastern art, examining local artistic aspirations in relation to mainstream global art trends.
Contemporary Arab Art from a Global Perspective
This paper investigates the status of contemporary Arab art in terms of its relationship with Globalization. Recently, Globalization as a new world order has become the subject of many discussions and debates in intellectual circles and academia. Very often the discourse of Globalization is complex-for reasons probably related to its rapid growth as a new phenomenon with positive and negative effects on many economic, social and cultural fields, including contemporary art. Thus, this paper addresses the function, approaches and concepts of contemporary Arab art in this global age. Further, this paper also examines the impact of Globalization on the quest for local identity by Arab artists, an identity that is closely linked to the cultural heritage of the Middle East.
Contemporary Art from the Middle East: Regional Interactions with Global Art Discourses
I.B.Tauris, 2015
How is home-grown contemporary art viewed within the Middle East? And is it understood differently outside the region? What is liable to be lost when contemporary art from the Middle East is 'transferred' to international contexts - and how can it be reclaimed? This timely book tackles ongoing questions about how 'local' perspectives on contemporary art from the Middle East are defined and how these perspectives intersect with global art discourses. Inside, leading figures from the Middle Eastern art world, western art historians, art theorists and museum curators discuss the historical and cultural circumstances which have shaped contemporary art from the Middle East, reflecting on recent exhibitions and curatorial projects and revealing how artists have struggled with the label of 'Middle Eastern Artist'. Chapters reflect on the fundamental methodologies of art history and cultural studies - considering how relevant they are when studying contemporary art from the Middle East - and investigate the ways in which contemporary, so-called 'global', theories impact on the making of art in the region. Drawing on their unique expertise, the book's contributors offer completely new perspectives on the most recent cultural, intellectual and socio-political developments of contemporary art from the Middle East.
The Concept of Islamic Art: Inherited Discourses and New Approaches
The Journal of Art Historiography June 1, 2012, vol. 6 (Special Issue on the Historiography of Islamic Art and Architecture, guest-edited by Moya Carey and Margaret S. Graves), 2012
The article examines the shift in the field, since the 1970s, from a predominant focus on the early period of Islamic art and architecture in the 'central zone' of the Fertile Crescent to a broader chronological and geographical scope. This shift has contributed, among other things, to a change of emphasis from artistic unity to variety, accompanied by an increasing diversification of concepts and approaches including dynastic, regional, media-based, textual, theoretical, critical, and historiographical inquiries. The article seeks to address the unresolved methodological tensions arising from the expanded scope of the field, along with concomitant anxieties over the fragmentation of its traditional 'universalism'. It begins by outlining the premises of still prevalent approaches inherited from the construction of the field during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a field rooted in the entangled legacies of Orientalism, nationalism, and dilletantism. The article then reviews recent statements on the state and future of the field before turning to personal reflections on challenges posed by its expanding horizons and its relationship to the Museum. “The Concept of Islamic Art: Inherited Discourses and New Approaches,” in Islamic Art and the Museum: Approaches to Art and Archaeology of the Muslim World in the Twenty-First Century, ed. Benoît Junod, Georges Khalil, Stefan Weber, Gerhard Wolf (London: Saqi Books, 2012), 57-75. (Electronically reproduced in The Journal of Art Historiography, June 1, 2012, vol. 6; Special Issue on the Historiography of Islamic Art and Architecture, guest-edited by Moya Carey and Margaret S. Graves, 1-26).