At a time of intensified sensitivity concerning ethnic groups in European countries, the organizers of ‘Le Corps Découvert’ (The Body Revealed) at Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris do not feel there will be any trace of provocative streak or any controversy.
According to the curators, the show aims to break down clichés regarding the Arab world. The multiplicity of works done by artists from across the Arab countries address a hitherto taboo theme: the bodily depiction in Arabic art. Historically speaking, artists from the Arab world have tended to focus on vegetal, floral and geometric motifs as well as calligraphy. Representations or references of the human body have mostly been avoided.
However, on the 25th anniversary of the celebrated art institute, an elaborate mixed-media show of over 200 works shows, the body, quite contrary to popular belief prevailing in the west, has always been present in the work of many Arabic artists. It does occupy an important place in the oeuvre of many popular contemporary artists.
"It started to surface in the work of a few Arabic artists when they learnt painting the way European painters did," explains curator Makram-Ebeid. In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was not really unusual for the elite few including artists to go to Europe to study. 'Pioneer' artists like Khalil Saleeby, Moustafa Farroukh, Georges Daoud Corm, and Georges Hanna Sabbagh had a dialogue with many European contemporaries.
Instead of a chronological approach, the show highlights certain repetitive themes, which recur in these artists' work like beauty, suffering and desire. It becomes amply evident that if 100 years ago artists from Arabic countries were not keen reluctant to paint the nudes, over the last two or three decades, the body appears more frequently.
The curators perhaps suggest that if the nude tends to constitute a sort of ‘blind spot’ for several of the monotheist religions, the tight grip of religious beliefs on a community might precisely end up producing the kind of art of the dogmatic propagators disapprove. The manner in which the contemporary artists tackle the subject testifies their resolve to respond to unwelcome constraints.
According to the curators, the show aims to break down clichés regarding the Arab world. The multiplicity of works done by artists from across the Arab countries address a hitherto taboo theme: the bodily depiction in Arabic art. Historically speaking, artists from the Arab world have tended to focus on vegetal, floral and geometric motifs as well as calligraphy. Representations or references of the human body have mostly been avoided.
However, on the 25th anniversary of the celebrated art institute, an elaborate mixed-media show of over 200 works shows, the body, quite contrary to popular belief prevailing in the west, has always been present in the work of many Arabic artists. It does occupy an important place in the oeuvre of many popular contemporary artists.
"It started to surface in the work of a few Arabic artists when they learnt painting the way European painters did," explains curator Makram-Ebeid. In fact, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was not really unusual for the elite few including artists to go to Europe to study. 'Pioneer' artists like Khalil Saleeby, Moustafa Farroukh, Georges Daoud Corm, and Georges Hanna Sabbagh had a dialogue with many European contemporaries.
Instead of a chronological approach, the show highlights certain repetitive themes, which recur in these artists' work like beauty, suffering and desire. It becomes amply evident that if 100 years ago artists from Arabic countries were not keen reluctant to paint the nudes, over the last two or three decades, the body appears more frequently.
The curators perhaps suggest that if the nude tends to constitute a sort of ‘blind spot’ for several of the monotheist religions, the tight grip of religious beliefs on a community might precisely end up producing the kind of art of the dogmatic propagators disapprove. The manner in which the contemporary artists tackle the subject testifies their resolve to respond to unwelcome constraints.
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