Counter-‐Actualization: the Art of Wafaa Bilal
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Leading Iraqi Contemporary Artists Donate Works to Be Auctioned at Christie’S Dubai to Benefit a New Foundation for Contemporary Iraqi Art
For Immediate Release October, 2011 Press Contact: Alexandra Kindermann +44 20 7389 2289 [email protected] Eileen Wallis +971 4369 356 [email protected] Emma Cunningham +44 207 389 2496 [email protected] LEADING IRAQI CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS DONATE WORKS TO BE AUCTIONED AT CHRISTIE’S DUBAI TO BENEFIT A NEW FOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY IRAQI ART Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art Part I - Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 at 7pm Part II - Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 at 7pm Dubai - . An inspiring group of 6 works by some of Iraq’s most innovative contemporary artists, including a drawing made especially for the sale by the internationally recognized Ahmed Alsoudani (shown here), will be offered for sale for the first time at an international auction by Christie’s Dubai this October 26th, 2011. Proceeds from the sale will benefit Echo (Sada) for Contemporary Iraqi Art, a new non-profit organization established to support new works, education programs, preservation initiatives and research in the realm of contemporary art in Iraq and the Diaspora. Their sale will be among the highlights of a new sale format for Christie’s in Dubai which sees the introduction of a part II sale to complement the existing sale format. Echo was founded by Iraqi-born Rijn Sahakian in 2010, who commented: “though Iraq is particularly known for its regional and historic artistic influence and contributions, today there is little support for artists living in Iraq or the rising Diaspora. Echo is committed to artistic engagement, accessible education, and the critical exchange of ideas, practices, and research.” Echo has already taken steps towards this mission, beginning with their public program at the Venice Biennale Iraq Pavilion in June. -
Art Games: Performativity and Interactivity a Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Fine Arts of Ohio University In
Art Games: Performativity and Interactivity A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Fine Arts of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Sarah M. Grabner May 2018 © 2018 Sarah M. Grabner. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled Art Games: Performativity and Interactivity by SARAH M. GRABNER has been approved for the School of Art + Design and the College of Fine Arts by Jennie Klein Professor of Art History Matthew R. Shaftel Dean, College of Fine Arts 3 Abstract GRABNER, SARAH M., M.A., May 2018, Art History Art Games: Performativity and Interactivity Director of Thesis: Jennie Klein This research’s intention is to define and classify what art games are and how these three particular games rely on the audience to activate the artworks, thus making the audience’s interactions essential to complete the artworks. Technology has always impacted the art world and shaped the media that artists experiment with and use. Today, there are many artists who use games as their method for conveying their ideas and messages. This paper will examine how three artists use gaming structures to critique historical and social topics through the audience’s interactions with the artworks’ gaming structures. The three case studies about Pippin Barr’s The Artist is Present, Tale of Tales’ The Path and Wafaa Bilal’s performance Domestic Tension will examine how these artworks exemplify and use the elements of the particular genre of games, art games. Through looking at research done on digital space and the case studies this paper will address how these artworks create a shift from the focus of the artwork being on the creator or artist to how the interactions and performance of the audience complete the works. -
Remote Control: Distance in Two Works by Emily Jacir and Wafaa Bilal
Remote Control: Distance in Two Works by Emily Jacir and Wafaa Bilal Kerr Houston s a part of her 2001-3 project Where We Come honor of all those who gave their lives for Palestine.” To From, the Palestinian-American artist Emily Jacir the right, the beach appeared, in early morning blues, on Aasked dozens of Palestinian exiles and children a small video screen. of Palestinian refugees a simple question: “If I could do Four years later, in May and June of 2007, the anything for you, anywhere in Palestine, what would it Iraqi-American artist Wafaa Bilal took up residence be?” Able to travel relatively freely within Israel due to in a Chicago art gallery, in a project called Domestic her American passport, Jacir then executed the wishes Tension. Subsisting on donated food and drink, Bilal of several respondents, recording her performances in lived for thirty days in a simulated bedroom/office space photographs and videos, which she exhibited alongside that was enclosed in transparent walls. Visible to gallery transcriptions of the requests and brief personal histories visitors, the space was also outfitted with computers of the exiles (Figure 1). “Drink the water,” ran one and a streaming webcam, and visitors to Bilal’s website appeal, put forward by a woman named Omayma, “in could control the camera and periodically interact with my parents’ village” – and, adjacent, viewers saw an him through an online chatroom or view videos that he image of a glassful of water, tilted towards the camera. posted on Youtube. Or they could attempt to shoot him, “Go to Haifa’s beach at the moment of the first light,” read another request, made by a man named Mohannad, Figure 1. -
Performance, Migration, and the Middle Eastern Diaspora in the United States
STAGING BELONGING: PERFORMANCE, MIGRATION, AND THE MIDDLE EASTERN DIASPORA IN THE UNITED STATES Mohamadreza Babaee Tamirdash A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2020 Committee: Angela K. Ahlgren, Advisor Kei Nomaguchi Graduate Faculty Representative Jonathan Chambers Lesa Lockford © 2020 Mohamadreza Babaee Tamirdash All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Angela K. Ahlgren, Advisor What does it mean to be a Middle Eastern immigrant in the Islamophobic and anti- immigrant context of the early twenty-first century US? How can performance help to construct and make sense of Middle Eastern immigrant identities and their belonging to US society? In “Staging Belonging: Performance, Migration, and the Middle Eastern Diaspora in the United States,” I take on these questions to interrogate facets of “belonging” for Middle Eastern immigrants in a post-9/11 US. I use ethnographic, archival, and performance analysis research methods to examine a range of performances, from the explicitly theatrical to the everyday, to argue that Middle Eastern immigrants use performance tools in aesthetic and quotidian settings to challenge xenophobic and Orientalist meanings of the Middle East while constructing nuanced understandings of Middle Eastern identity in US diaspora. In my attempt to learn about the diasporic formations of Middle Eastern identity through performance, I pay attention to a variety of performance types. In the first chapter, I engage with cultural citizenship theory to study the performance practices of Middle Eastern American theatre companies in producing civic participation opportunities for their target audiences. I focus on the notion of “home” in the second chapter to examine the complicated relationship of Middle Eastern immigrants with their host countries in Saba Zavarei’s travel performance Looking for Tehran (2013) and Mohamad Hafez and Ahmed Badr’s installation Unpacked: Refugee Baggage (2017). -
Arab Glitch Laura U
In this groundbreaking book, a range of internationally renowned and emerging academics, writers, artists, curators, activists and filmmakers ① critically reflect on the ways in which visual culture has appropriated and developed new media across North Africa and the Middle East. GRO UNCOMMON Examining the opportunities presented by the real-time generation of new, relatively unregulated content online, Uncommon Grounds eval- U NDS uates the prominent role that new media has come to play in artistic practices — and social movements — in the Arab world today. Analysing alternative forms of creating, broadcasting, publishing, in Media and Critical New Practices distributing and consuming digital images, this book also enquires into North Africa and the Middle North Africa a broader global concern: does new media offer a ‘democratisation’ of — and a productive engagement with — visual culture, or merely capi- talise upon the effect of immediacy at the expense of depth? Featuring full-colour artists’ inserts, this is the first book to extensively explore the degree to which the grassroots popularity of Twitter and Facebook has been co-opted into mainstream media, institutional and curatorial characterisations of ‘revolution’ — and whether artists should be wary of UNCOMMON perpetuating the rhetoric and spectacle surrounding political events. In the process, Uncommon Grounds reveals how contemporary art GROUNDS practices actively negotiate present-day notions of community-based activism, artistic agency and political engagement. East Anthony -
Contemporary Art of Iraqis and Categorical Assumptions of Nationality
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2008 Contemporary art of Iraqis and categorical assumptions of nationality: an analysis of the art and narratives of Hana Mal Allah, Adel Abidin and Wafaa Bilal Amanda Marie Duhon Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Duhon, Amanda Marie, "Contemporary art of Iraqis and categorical assumptions of nationality: an analysis of the art and narratives of Hana Mal Allah, Adel Abidin and Wafaa Bilal" (2008). LSU Master's Theses. 3885. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3885 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONTEMPORARY ART OF IRAQIS AND CATEGORICAL ASSUMPTIONS OF NATIONALITY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ART AND NARRATIVES OF HANA MAL ALLAH, ADEL ABIDIN AND WAFAA BILAL A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The School of Art by Amanda Duhon B.A., Louisiana State University, 2004 August 2008 Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………...………………iii Chapter 1 The Inadequacies of Identifying -
Islamic Art Now: a Conversation with Wafaa Bilal
Art Muse Los Angeles May 1, 2015 Islamic Art Now: A Conversation with Wafaa Bilal Regina Mamou Wafaa Bilal, The Ashes Series: Chair, archival inkjet photograph, 40 x 50 inches, 2003-2013. Copyright Wafaa Bilal. Courtesy Driscoll Babcock Galleries and Lawrie Shabibi Gallery. Wafaa Bilal is an Iraqi-born artist, and Associate Arts Professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He’s known internationally for his online performative and interactive works provoking dialogue about international politics and internal dynamics. Wafaa is currently exhibiting artwork at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East, which is an ongoing exhibition that commenced on February 1, 2015. Islamic Art Now “marks the first major installation of LACMA’s collection of contemporary art of the Middle East.” Wafaa and I met at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Department of Photography in 2005. We recently caught up via email to discuss his work, the LACMA exhibition, his recent show at Driscoll Babcock Galleries, New York, and the Venice Biennale 2015. Regina Mamou: In LACMA’s Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East, your work from The Ashes Series (2003–2013) is currently on view. The series utilizes small- scale models of destruction as a method of speaking to the literal and metaphorical toll that war takes on infrastructure and architecture, culture and the soul. This concept, or the effect of war, is present in many of your works, including Domestic Tension (2007), Virtual Jihadi (2008), and …and Counting (2010). -
United States District Court Northern District of New York
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK MEDIA ALLIANCE, INC. and STEPHEN C. PIERCE, COMPLAINT Plaintiffs, Civil Case No. ________ -against- Hon. ________________, U.S.D.J. ROBERT MIRCH, Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Troy, individually and in his official capacity, PLAINTIFFS DEMAND and the CITY OF TROY, TRIAL BY JURY Defendants. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 1. Plaintiffs Media Alliance, Inc. and Stephen C. Pierce bring this action to vindicate their civil rights, under the United States and New York State Constitutions, to exercise free speech and freedom of assembly and to provide a forum for artistic and political expression and other protected forms of free speech in the City of Troy, New York. 2. In March 2008, Plaintiffs extended an invitation to artist Wafaa Bilal (“Bilal”) to display his digital art work, “Virtual Jihadi,” at Plaintiffs’ Sanctuary for Independent Media, located at 3361 Sixth Avenue, in Troy, New York. Previously, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (“RPI”) had offered to display Bilal’s digital art work, but had withdrawn the offer due to controversy surrounding the exhibit. 3. Defendant Robert Mirch, Commissioner of Public Works for the Defendant City of Troy, learned about Bilal’s exhibit and the controversy surrounding it. Disagreeing with the content of the piece, Defendant Mirch issued a press release denouncing Bilal’s piece, calling upon Plaintiffs to abandon their plans for the exhibit, and calling upon the public to participate in a protest against the exhibit at the Sanctuary. 4. On March 10, 2008, the opening day of the exhibit, the City of Troy Department of Public Works, which Defendant Mirch directs, conducted a previously unscheduled inspection of the Sanctuary’s building at 3361 Sixth Avenue, in Troy, New York. -
Wafaa Bilal 168.01 Wafaa Bilal: 168.01 Curated by Srimoyee Mitra
Wafaa Bilal 168.01 Wafaa Bilal: 168.01 Curated by Srimoyee Mitra AGW Art Gallery of Windsor Table of Contents Director’s Foreword Right On the Ash: The Traumatic Palette of Wafaa Bilal by Gregory Sholette Rebuilding Futures, One Book at a Time by Srimoyee Mitra The Ashes Series by Ian Alden Russell Artist’s CV Contributor’s Bios Acknowledgements (facing page) IMAGE CAPTION Director’s Foreword It has been a pleasure to witness the creation of the exhibition Wafaa Bilal: 168.01 over the past two years and to present this accompanying publication. The two activities illustrate how the artist calls to question forms of endemic violence against culture in times of conflict in both historical and contemporary life. The AGW’s Curator of Contemporary Art, Srimoyee Mitra has been at the centre of this project following her first introduction to his social art practice in 2011 and her continued advocacy as she has developed her curatorial practice at the AGW since that time. She has done so with a conviction to the importance of this artist and to the issues arising from his work with the larger goal of exposing important issues of citizenship, visibility and power structures as prevailing global concerns. The exhibition comprised of two rooms of photographs flanking a central gallery containing a sculptural installation made up of bookshelves totalling some forty feet in length were breathtaking visual experiences. The experience was minimalist in initial impact and haunting on closer inspection as the viewer learned the stories buttressing the artwork — stories of places, objects and people in search of knowledge and a site and its contents destroyed by war and conflict, stories of lives lost including civilians and family members. -
View the Program
Welcome to the 2021 Creative Capital Artist Retreat! In the past year, the pandemic, our nation's ongoing crisis in social justice and racial justice, and our global climate emergency have profoundly transformed the cultural landscape. Our new reality has disrupted the way we experience art, and indeed, the way we live our lives. Yet, in this period of incredible upheaval, we come together with renewed strength and dedication to celebrate artists, freedom of expression, and the ideas we wish to see flourish in the world. At Creative Capital, we are committed to supporting risk-taking artists who challenge the status quo and stand out as luminaries in their fields. This Artist Retreat is an introduction to the extraordinary people who push boundaries of form and content while asking us to nurture their radical and urgent visions for the future. As a retreat guest, you bring your passion, curiosity, and spirit of adventure — that is essential to Creative Capital’s DNA. Now is the time to dive into projects by artists working in every medium, reach out, introduce yourself, and connect with old friends and make new acquaintances. The truly exciting moments of gathering brilliant minds come from the unexpected, so go outside your comfort zone, reach beyond your expertise, and embrace the potential for discovery and collaboration across disciplines and geographies. Let us inspire each other through art! Most importantly, we gather at this retreat to honor the collective power and beauty of our wild, artist-led community. Thank you for so generously -
Performing Abjection in Wafaa Bilal's Domestic Tension ﻣﻧزﻟﻲ ﺗﻣﺛﯾلُ اﻟﺑﺷﺎﻋﺔِ ﻓﻲ
Performing Abjection in Wafaa Bilal’s Domestic Tension تمثي ُل البشاع ِة في العر ِض الرقميِ توتر منزلي لوفاء بﻻ ِل Dr. Hany Aly Mahmoud Abdel Fattah Assistant Professor - Department of English Faculty of Alsun - Minia University د. هاني على محمود عبد الفتاح أستاذ مساعد - قسم اللغة اﻹنجليزية كلية اﻷلسن - جامعة المنيا Dr. Hany Aly Mahmoud Abdel Fattah 8 Philology 71 January 2019 Performing Abjection in Wafaa Bilal’s Domestic Tension Performing Abjection in Wafaa Bilal’s Domestic Tension This paper is a psychoanalytic literary study of the online performance Domestic Tension (2007) by the Iraqi-American artist Wafaa Bilal. Fundamentally built on the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection is well suited to be the critical tool to analyze the online performance Domestic Tension. This paper yields answers to these questions: How does Bilal transform his body into an abject body? How do the Brechtian theatrical techniques suppress any cathartic experience by the audience? The paper concludes that Wafaa Bilal has performed abjection in which his body is transformed into an abject body. These viewers-cum-shooters have finally “disavowed” Bilal’s body and abstained from their cannibalistic desires, and rather started chatting with him online. Keywords: Domestic Tension, Wafaa Bilal, Julia Kristeva, Powers of Horrors, Abjection, Cyborg. تمثي ُل البشاع ِة في العر ِض الرقمي ِ توتر منزلي لوفاء بﻻل انطﻻقاً من نظرية التحليل النفسي للبشاع ِ ة الخاص ِة بجوليا كريستيفا والمنشورة في كتابها سلطات الرعب: مدخل إلى البشاعة ُتقدم الدراسةُ تحليﻻً نفسياً أدبياً للعر ِض الرقمي توتر منزلي للفنان العراقي اﻷمريكي وفاء بﻻل. -
Exhib Bition Advi Sory
^ exhibition advisory Exhibition: Islamic Art Now: Contemporaryry Art of the Middle East Dates: February 1, 2015–ongoing Location: Ahmanson Building, Level 4 (Image Captions Page 4) (Los Angeles – January 8, 2015) The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East, the first major exhibition of LACMA's holdings of Middle Eastern contemporary art—the largest such institutional collection in the United States. In recent years, the parameters of Islamic art at LACMA have expanded to include contemporary works by artists ffrom or with roots in the Middle East. Drawing inspiration from their own cultural traditions, thesee artists use techniques and incorporate imagery and ideas from earlier periods. As the first of a two-part exhibition program, Islamic AArt Now features 25 works—including photography, sculpture, video, and installation—by 20 artists from Iran and the Arab world, including Wafaa Bilal, Lalla Essaydi, Hassan Hajjaj, Mona Hatoum, Susan Hefuna, Youssef Nabil, Shirin Neshat, and Mitra Tabrizian, among others. Most of the works in Islamic Art Now have never been dispplayed previously at LACMA. "The works of art in this exhibition are a contemporary counterpart to LACMA's world-renowned historical Islamic art collection and demonstrate the deep connectioon between past and present," said Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director. "Within the last decade, LACMA has collected major artworks by some of the most influential Middle Eastern and diaspora artists working today. We are thrilled to share some highlights of the museum’s collection in the context of this exhibition." "Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East demonstrates the virtuosity and creativity of artists from the Middle East (and diaspora communities) whose work is at once local and global.