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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN AND ART
The Fertile Crescent
Gender, Art, and Society
Edited and text by Judith K. Brodsky, Ferris Olin. Text by Kelly Baum, Margot Badran, Gilane Tawadros.
The Fertile Crescent examines the work of 24 women artists of Middle East heritage: Negar Ahkami (Iranian), Shiva Ahmadi (Iranian), Jananne Al-Ani (Iraqi), Fatima and Monira Al Qadiri (Kuwaiti), Ghada Amer (Egyptian), Zeina Barakeh (Lebanese), Ofri Cnaani (Israeli), Nezaket Ekici (Turkish), Diana El Jeiroudi (Syrian), Parastou Forouhar (Iranian), Ayana Friedman (Israeli), Shadi Ghadirian (Iranian), Mona Hatoum (Palestinian), Hayv Kahraman (Iraqi), Efrat Kedem (Israeli), Sigalit Landau (Israeli), Ariane Littman (Israeli), Shirin Neshat (Iranian), Ebru Özseçen (Turkish), Laila Shawa (Palestinian), Shahzia Sikander (Pakistani), Fatimah Tuggar (Nigerian) and Nil Yalter (Turkish). These artists all explore matters of gender, homeland, geopolitics, theology and the environment. The authors in this volume address transnationalism and the interaction between Muslim culture and Jewish, Christian and Euro-American cultures, resulting in U.S. and European relationships that are sometimes congenial and at other times problematic. The book also addresses the Middle East’s cultural diaspora in black Africa and South Asia. The Fertile Crescent is published in conjunction with a fall 2012 multi-venue exhibition at Rutgers and Princeton Universities and the Arts Council of Princeton/Paul Robeson Center for the Arts.
Featured image, by Ayana Friedman, is reproduced from The Fertile Crescent.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Choice
E. K. Mix
This catalogue for an exhibition held at multiple venues at Rutgers and Princeton Universities makes a substantial contribution to an understudied topic bridging the disciplines of art, art history, and gender studies: the transnational discourse of women artists of the Middle East. Four short but well- illustrated essays provide important context for the work. Brodsky and Olin, exhibition curators and cofounders of the Rutgers University Institute of Women and Art, explain the irony of the title in their essay " The Fertile Crescent: Gender, Art and Society: Unavailable Intersections." Badram contributes " The Art of Revolution in Egypt: Brushes with Women", which contains lucid interpretations of works by Huda Lutfi, Nadine Hammam, and Souad Abdel Rasoul. "Art, Precarity, Biopolitics" is penned by Baum, and Tawadros offers " Slipping away (or Uncompliant Cartographies)." The catalogue portion includes statements and biographical essays for the artists; among the many included are Shiva Ahmadi, Ghada Amer, Zeina Barakeh, Parastou Forouhar, Mona Hatoum, Ariane Littman, Shirin Neshat, Laila Shawa, Shahzia Sikander, and Nil Yalter. The excellent color illustrations, including many video stills, serve as an important additional scholarly resource.
Last week, The New York Times published its annual Books for Art Lovers Holiday Gift Guide, recommending a surprising star from our list: THE FERTILE CRESCENT: GENDER, ART, AND SOCIETY, an investigation of "art being made by women all across the Middle East." Karen Rosenberg recommends the book "for any curator interested in recent art from the region — or, for that matter, anyone curious to know how artists are responding to the instability of the past couple of years." She continues, "The artist profiles, which make up the bulk of the book, cover a lot of ground; they include some museum and art market stars like Ghada Amer, Mona Hatoum and Shirin Neshat, but also many younger women with less exposure in the United States. Those to watch include the performance artist Fatima Al Qadiri, who directed transvestites in a video series about Kuwaiti housewives; Hayv Kahraman, who paints mysterious beauty rituals in a style derived from Persian miniatures; and Parastou Forouhar, whose photograph of a woman’s hand emerging from a patterned veil graces the book’s cover. Featured image, a staged shot for the performance "Red Freedom" (2008), is by Ayana Friedman. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.5 x 11 in. / 256 pgs / 180 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $55 ISBN: 9780979049798 PUBLISHER: Rutgers University Institute for Women and Art AVAILABLE: 9/30/2012 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: *not available
Published by Rutgers University Institute for Women and Art. Edited and text by Judith K. Brodsky, Ferris Olin. Text by Kelly Baum, Margot Badran, Gilane Tawadros.
The Fertile Crescent examines the work of 24 women artists of Middle East heritage: Negar Ahkami (Iranian), Shiva Ahmadi (Iranian), Jananne Al-Ani (Iraqi), Fatima and Monira Al Qadiri (Kuwaiti), Ghada Amer (Egyptian), Zeina Barakeh (Lebanese), Ofri Cnaani (Israeli), Nezaket Ekici (Turkish), Diana El Jeiroudi (Syrian), Parastou Forouhar (Iranian), Ayana Friedman (Israeli), Shadi Ghadirian (Iranian), Mona Hatoum (Palestinian), Hayv Kahraman (Iraqi), Efrat Kedem (Israeli), Sigalit Landau (Israeli), Ariane Littman (Israeli), Shirin Neshat (Iranian), Ebru Özseçen (Turkish), Laila Shawa (Palestinian), Shahzia Sikander (Pakistani), Fatimah Tuggar (Nigerian) and Nil Yalter (Turkish). These artists all explore matters of gender, homeland, geopolitics, theology and the environment. The authors in this volume address transnationalism and the interaction between Muslim culture and Jewish, Christian and Euro-American cultures, resulting in U.S. and European relationships that are sometimes congenial and at other times problematic. The book also addresses the Middle East’s cultural diaspora in black Africa and South Asia. The Fertile Crescent is published in conjunction with a fall 2012 multi-venue exhibition at Rutgers and Princeton Universities and the Arts Council of Princeton/Paul Robeson Center for the Arts.
