"Political Art"
Edited by Sarah Rogers

In certain historical contexts, the always present relationship between art and politics takes on added urgency. The contributions to this edition of ArteEast’s online journal underscore our contemporary moment as such whether the focus is on Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, the Occupied Territories, or the U.S.

Nada Shabout’s essay examines the way official policy on cultural heritage breaks down on the ground as the looting in Iraq has created a black market for Iraqi art and artifacts- both the real thing and forgeries. Carole Corm locates cultural production in unexpected venues: the houses abandoned by the Syrian Army in Mount Lebanon after the recent 2005 withdrawal. Walid Sadek theorizes representation in postwar Beirut through a focus on several works exhibited in the city’s public spaces in the aftermath of the Taef Accords. Greta Anderson Finn explores how the emerging genre of Hip-Hop among Palestinian youths gives voice to the struggle and connects artists across the borders between Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and the U.S. In an interview with Pamela Karimi, Shoody Sharifi discusses how her body of work- from photography to strategic appropriations of Persian miniatures in collage- examines gender in both contemporary Iran and the field of art history.

Whereas each author takes a different point of entry to this edition’s theme, what they share is a methodological approach. Neither art nor politics assume a subservient role, but instead each author identifies the mutual configuration between artistic and political praxis. Although mostly limited to the field of the visual arts- an editorial bias more than anything else- the contributions succeed at illuminating the value of cultural production in Middle East to our contemporary understanding of the relationship between art and politics.

Sarah Rogers is a PhD Candidate in the History, Theory, and Criticism section of the Department of Architecture at MIT. Her dissertation examines contemporary artistic practices in postwar Beirut .

Andy Warhol in a War Zone
by Carole Corm

While driving up and down what stands as the historic core of Lebanon, my colleagues and I were stunned to fall upon deserted houses scattered across the mountain, usually in strategic points, which had once been occupied by refugees before being seized by the Syrian army. Each house had a myriad of layers to read from: it had a specific history, bore the traces of heavy artillery, and yet kept some curious remains from better days. (more...)

Arab American Hip-Hop
by Greta Anderson Finn

Although Arab-Americans have been involved in Hip-Hop for some time- including L.A. producer Fredwreck who works with SnoopDogg and top Miami DJ Khaled- a new breed of more overtly political Arab Hip-Hop has recently emerged. While still using the freshest Hip-Hop beats and rhymes, their lyrical content focuses on the Arab story- from being stereotyped and strip searched in airports to more pressing global issues affecting the Arab world. (more...)

Place at Last: On the Afterlife of Civil War (a work in progress)
by Walid Sadek

Limbs frozen, eyelids held open, the Emperor’s body is deferred: Fixed for the well being of the Empire, the Emperor is pure power. He is absent and present simultaneously. On the throne, the Emperor, says: I am elsewhere. But when replaced by the crown he is then relegated to a life of “pleasure and idleness” and is forced to abdicate: No longer able to say I am elsewhere, the Emperor, dethroned, is all here. But can the crown, when enthroned claim the same and say: ‘I am elsewhere’? (more...)

From Miniatures to Mixiatures: An Interview with Soody Sharifi
by Pamela Karimi

Q. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, governmental institutions demanded gender segregation in stairwells, corridors, prayer halls, and lounges. New rules either limited or barred inter-gender interactions on university campuses, in sports stadiums, and on public transportation. Despite these restrictions, the Islamic Republic encouraged women to be present in public—present but veiled. This concealed female is highlighted in most of your works. But your young, veiled, female teenagers somehow contest Islamic public life as they mingle with boys, play the guitar, and install illegal satellite dishes. These Muslim looking teenagers who nevertheless live non-Islamic lives, also as you mention in your website, “challenge the Muslim expectation of propriety.” Can you elaborate on this? (more...)

Cultural Destruction and its Implications
by Nada Shabout

Cultural destruction is neither a new phenomenon nor limited to times of aggression and armed conflict. It is in fact an act that takes place somewhere in the world on a daily basis. At times, even acts celebrated as forms of renewal would constitute a form of cultural destruction as they impose the removal of aspects of history through facilitating the growth of new neighborhoods or demolishing certain dilapidated areas to build new and improved structures. (more...)