Dafatir: Contemporary Iraqi Book Art
The University of North Texas' Art Gallery will be exhibiting Iraqi Collage Art. The pieces arrive in July.
Fellow blogger Caleb Wills, a student in the communication design program of UNT, has been working for the university's gallery this summer and has posted a series of the works on his blog. He writes of the coming exhibition:
basically it is a collection of handmade art… i suppose most art is techincally handmade… however these artists had to hide all their supplies and subject matter because of your buddy saddam’s anti-creative regime. they are all small pieces in size, it made it easier for them to hide and smuggle the art out. if you are anywhere near UNT you are obligated to see this exhibit.
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posted by Amanda @ 5:40 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
As the organizer of this exhibition I must tell you that the information Mr. Willis posted in regards to the works’ creation and transportation are inaccurate. Some of these books were created after 2003, and hence after Saddam's fall and others were created outside of Iraq. Further, they vary in size and were neither hidden at any point nor smuggled out. Knowledge about Iraq’s arts and conditions before and after the Baath regime are completely lacking in the rest of the world allowing for much to be imagined. He is right, however, that it is certainly a show worth seeing in terms of the aesthetics of the works and a chance to learn about Iraq’s arts and cultures.
Nada Sahbout
This was also sent by Mr. Azzawi in response to Mr. Willis.
Dear Mr.Wills.
I read your comments about Dafater exhibition, which I found to be completely wrong.
Firstly, I think that the books are not tiny, and are no means representative of your opinion about the reason for the sizing. The artists chose the size of the book according to their need.Nor were they smuggled from Baghdad. In fact, only three of the artists come from the city,whilst the rest live abroad. The pieces which I got from Baghdad were sent to me without problems, and some of them- if you notice- are still clearly stamped by the art committee in Markaz Sadam for modern art. The work of these three artists was mainly about the sanctions which Iraq suffered for many years and what happened during the American invasion of Baghdad.wherw many museums and libraries destroyed, whilst the American looked on. I hope you will be able to better understand now the message these artists were attempting to convey.
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Best Regards
Dia al-Azzawi
Thank you so much for this information. I should have researched the works and artists before posting anything regarding them.
Would you recommend a reliable source for learning about Iraq's "arts and conditions before and after the Baath regime"? You are right; we do know very little, and what we hear is often inaccurate. I would love to learn from you, if you would like to share. You can reach me by email at autumnskysmiling@yahoo.com
Thank you again for commenting.
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