  
|  | ||||||||||||
Turning words into artBy Sylvia Smith for CNN  The show brings together the work of artists from across the Middle East and North Africa. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Follow the news that matters to you. Create your own alert to be notified on topics you're interested in.
Or, visit Popular Alerts for suggestions. LONDON, England (CNN) -- The world's most densely populated capitals are familiar with traveling exhibitions that bring large numbers of fantastically rare objects from around the world and put them on display for the general public to enjoy. But London is currently enjoying an exhibition that will startle even the most jaded palate. "Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East" can justifiably claim to offer something that can't be seen anywhere else. The show at the British Museum in London brings together the work of over 80 contemporary artists from across the Middle East and North Africa. By focusing on texts written by or which inspire artists the exhibition opens a window onto the rich literary and artistic heritage of this region. According to Mohammed Gergawi, Executive Chairman of Dubai Holding, the show's sponsor, the work on display will encourage a global audience to discover the outstanding qualities of Islamic calligraphy. "Modern art has found its place in our growing and developing environment because artists from the region have tapped into the potential of the Arabic script as an art form," he said. The exhibition also shows how artists are affected by the complex history of the Middle East. The basic subject matter of the exhibition is the way writing is used to express myriad ideas. The essence of calligraphy traverses a huge time span: From the 8th century up to the present day. Writing is central to Islamic visual expression and the central element for all calligraphy is the text of the Quran. But in a matter of a few cleverly hung rooms the objects deftly illustrate the multiple nature of Islamic writing. Subject to a structured set of rules, it is true that calligraphy can be used to ornament and embellish the words of the Quran. But the show goes beyond the core calligraphic tradition showing Arabic and Persian poetry, both ancient and modern and Sufi writers. There are additional examples of how contemporary artists have woven script into their abstract work. Other artists inspired by ancient scripts have created their own vocabulary. This other view of calligraphy is central to the commercial philosophy of the exhibition's sponsor. Dubai Holding is known as one of the United Arab Emirate's most powerful international property companies. In this new role as patron of the arts the company has ventured into a cultural exchange using the British Museum's collection enhanced by works of art on special loan. And it is an exhibition that clearly demonstrates calligraphy's potential has yet to find its limits, says Mohammed Gergawi. "Within Middle Eastern art the concept of a picture telling a thousand words is turned on its head. It introduces a whole new question -- 'how many images can a single word reveal?'" As Islamic art turned away from trying to depict the visible world to elaborate decorative systems, its understanding of the abstract grew. The intensely-honed formal and visual skills on show here remind us that the conquest of the late Antique world by Arab Muslims happened within years of the death of the Prophet. By 643 the empire of the caliphs -- successors of Muhammad -- included Egypt, Tunisian, Syria, Palestine, Morocco, Iraq and by 740, two-thirds of Spain. While Dubai Holding says it is committed to promoting and preserving the artistic heritage of the Middle East, there are clear parallels here with the earlier Muslim conquest. Wherever these followers of Islam settled in the middle ages, they interacted creatively with local cultures. And so Islamic art diversified. Yet it is still instantly recognizable. The Arab conquests permitted the first Islamic rulers who had the money and time to patronize specifically Islamic works to commission art that transformed the meaning of creativity. It was an intellectually and artistically brilliant move to opt for less; and so by avoiding representing the human figure Islamic art moved towards minimalism and simplicity. In the current exhibition the lyrical abstraction of the dreamlike flowing Kufic script (the calligraphic hand most commonly used by medieval transcribers of the Quran and well represented in the exhibition) liberates the onlooker from earthly concerns. It is art to be studied and pondered. Yet it is not only Kufic script that is presented. The variety of Arabic scripts on display is astonishing, and the way it is used can shift from texts of the utmost complexity, in which one script is layered on another, to the utmost simplicity. One of the most extraordinary single works in the show is by Tunisian artist Njja Mahdaoui, which consists of line after line of tiny, finely drawn text used to illustrate the pages of a recent French translation of The Arabian Nights. But the letters merely appear to be part of the Arabic alphabet; in fact they simply allude to it and remind us that the beauty of the word is as much in the form as in the meaning. The densely-packed columns of gold lettering is set against a starkly simple blue background, which repeats the indecipherable shapes. The ground is of silk; the elegant patterning of the repeated "words" is carried on additional wefts. Then the exhibition changes gear and shows that not all the calligraphers are Muslim and that some Christian Arabs have worked with texts from the Bible. A third section deals with the deployment of lettering in a more abstract and formal way. Often trained in Europe or America, these artists on returning to their mother country have used the Arabic alphabet to assert the identity of their visual experiments. The final section features graffiti scrawls and images of exile and war. Touched up photographs arranged in collages comment on social change and while this may be challenging to the viewer it vividly illustrates the way Dubai and its mega -companies are integrating into the modern world 
|
| ||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
