Sofia VanniniVAN12359271

Central Saint Martins

BA Fine Art, Stage 1UNIT 2: Critical Studies Essay

Anthony Reynolds GalleryWalid RaadPreface to the first English edition

Issues raised through the use of photography in Raads work

Word Count: 1553The exhibition Preface to the first English edition at the Anthony Reynolds gallery in London, by the Lebanese New York based artist Walid Raad, comments on the financial and cultural investments made in the Arab world with the emergence of new infrastructure for Arab, Islamic and middle eastern arts. The work is a response to the opening of the Louvres new Islamic art spaces to create a sense of acknowledgement towards the belonging of the pieces. The artists concern is that objects alter their state when placed in a different context. The exhibition serves as a critique to the displacement of pieces from Arab history from their homeland to the Louvre, as they will not bear witness to the Arab identity as expected: these objects will be insidiously changed, far more than museum curators, conservators or directors could predict.[footnoteRef:-1] When visiting the exhibition in the London gallery I thought it was interesting that most of the work was digitally made, offering a modern perspective on cultural and historical issues. I decided to critically analyze Raads use of photography by reflecting on the medium itself and the issues underpinning his work. [-1: (Bonacorsi, 2013)]

Walid Raads work, as the work of other artists who have left their homeland and now live abroad, is characterized by the point of view of someone looking back to his origins with a broader outlook. Like him many Arab contemporary artists find a source of inspiration in the ancient heritage of the Middle East. The region has seen various cultures flourish and shape the Arab identity into what it is today. Evidence is found for example in the development of scripts through the influence of the various civilizations that have inhabited the land and the spread of Islam. As a way to ensure the preservation of Allahs word, calligraphy became the highest form of art that had to visually represent the sanctity of the text. The overpowering form of art that grew in geometry, symbolism and abstraction prevented other types of visual arts to gain momentum. The script only could describe physical appearance so all other forms of figurative illustrations were prohibited. Calligraphy became the only form of Fine Art, other forms of art were Folk, for decorative purposes rather than aesthetic ones as we are able to see in Raads photographic documentation of objects. Coming from a culture that prioritizes word over image, it is interesting to notice that Raads primary medium is video and photography perhaps just because the photograph has so often been seen as as a neutral, accurate documentary record.[footnoteRef:0] Raads previous work, especially the work created in the Atlas Group, is deeply rooted in Lebanons history and through photography the artist is able to write its obscure history in the form of photographic historical documentation. Photography is documentation as it is a testimony of something that has happened or changed. The use of photography as evidence raises an issue of authority, not only because the medium itself allows only one point of view, but also because there is authority in the selection of images to be shown that shapes ones understanding of facts. Despite the fact that photography is an objective medium, acting as a mirror of reality, photographs are responsible for the way in which history is written, raising doubt in the existence of a definitive history and absolute truth. [0: (Without Boundry, 2006)]

The Atlas group, an imaginary foundation, was interested in writing history around fictitious characters, playing against the objectivity of the images in order to tell multiple stories behind one fact. Speaking about the Atlas group Walid Raad states Traditional history is written as a chronology of events or a biography of participants. We are not saying history should not include this; we are certainly saying history cannot be reduced to this.[footnoteRef:1] Through images the artist questions the way information reach the wide audience and the reliability of photographic documentation towards discovering the truth about facts[footnoteRef:2]. Raad challenges the reliability of the medium not only to satisfy his own interest in the history of the Middle East, Lebanon especially, but also to assess the rising Western sympathy in the regions heritage. Evidence of the phenomenon can be found in London, the V&A being the host of the Jameel Prize: an international award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic culture. The appreciation for Islamic traditions in Western Europe opens a debate about the role of Islamic art today beyond the boundaries of the Arab countries but in a wider context. The interest lays in the development of practices that are so keen on tradition and leans towards artistic exchange. Faig Ahmed, for example, by disrupting traditional forms and structure in carpets, a symbol of tradition and an icon of Eastern culture, he is interested in destroying the stereotypes of the tradition and creating new modern boundaries[footnoteRef:3]. On the other hand the calligrapher Nasser Al Salem is interested in discovering the potential of the old Islamic technique and conceptual relevance in a contemporary context. The opening of new spaces for Islamic art at the Louvre is yet another example of Western European interest in the Eastern traditions and the photographic work conceived around the event, by Walid Raad, document the change the objects undergo when travelling to the destination. Although in this case the destination is Paris, the critique could apply to any place away from the site the work is originary of. With the statement that history cannot be looked at as facts but that it has to be evaluated, Raad declares the importance of reflection, which hints at the use of words in relation to images. [1: One of the questions we find ourselves asking is, how do we approach facts not in their crude facticity but through the complicated mediations by which they acquire their immediacy? (Buck, 2013)] [2: It is important for us to note that the truth of the documents we research does not depend solely on their factual accuracy. We are concerned with facts, but we do not view facts as self-evident objects that are already present in the world (Walid Ra'ad by Alan Gilbert, 2002)] [3: http://www.faigahmed.com/about/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2014].]

Images from Jameel Prize 3

Faig AhmedTradition in pixelsWoolen handmade carpet 2011

Nasser Al SalemKulPaint on paper 2012

The digital work showcased in the exhibition is particularly relevant because the images are joined by writing, evidence of the artists authority in choosing to highlight aspects of the photographs. The prints are collaged images of objects from the Arab culture such as vases, plates and knives that are cut out and drawn upon as if trying to find reason or meaning. The photographic medium loses part of its objectivity as the writing suggests subjectivity and reflection. Nevertheless, while some artists incorporate the Arab script in their work to recall spirituality, Raad prefers to use French, English and numbers instead. The use of drawing and diagrams appeal to a form mapping or a codifying approach towards what is shown. They are elements that describe a study rather than a personal and spiritual relationship with the objects. In fact the digital outcomes seem to be an attempt to assess the authenticity of the objects portrayed. An authentic objects is of undisputed origin and not a copy. The dictionary defines the authenticity of an object based on its provenance, site being the key to determine its legitimacy. It is interesting to speak about the issue of authenticity when discussing an artists use of photography, being reprographic, in the context of a project dealing with site.

Preface to the Second Editionarchival inkjet prints 2014each 41 x 40 cm

A photograph is inevitably linked to site as it is evidence of an event taking place in front of the lens of a camera at the time in which the shutter closed. It is a form of documentation but what is represented in images is a copy of something authentic. So what is the value in Walid Raads documentation of objects? Showing a photograph means looking at the past, at what once was, and that is what Raad is interested in. The images tell the story of altered objects. They dont display authentic artefact from the Middle East as to embody the Arab heritage, but illustrate a memory of what the objects used to be: how they functioned in the site where they belonged and the ways in which they transformed travelling elsewhere. Although the ways in which the objects changed may visually appear only in the artists distorted pictures, in reality they will have lost part of their value: One person will be convinced that the objects themselves have changed and that change will only appear in certain photographs that this person will make.[footnoteRef:4] In the images objects are distorted, overlapped and clouded by uneven blocks of colour. [4: (Buck, 2013)]

Preface to the Third Edition, Commentary IV and Varchival colour inkjet print 2012119.4x92.7cm

The sense of disorientation is especially effective in the video pieces projected in the gallery in which images repeat themselves in a loop. At times photographs of objects appear before being overlapped by decorative patterns or bits of writings that move across and into the screen, until they blur and fade away into colourful stripes and ultimately plain colour and its various shades. Colour, lines, shapes and forms deploy defensive measures, hide, take refuge, camouflage and dissimulate[footnoteRef:5] aiming to represent the physical transition of artefacts from the Middle East to the Louvre as well as their spiritual loss during as the travel. [5: (Buck, 2013)]

Installation viewPreface to the first English edition 2014Video projections

Walid Raads practice relies on the conventional assumptions about photography, in the same way he aligns with the traditional mode of address of museums and galleries, in order to cloud his informative authority. As he questions the ways in which facts are expressed and the authenticity of the information delivered, he asks the viewers of his pieces to see through the medium, the images and how they are presented in order to grasp the concepts and ideas that underpin his work. Although the message within the outcomes is not immediate it is skilfully embedded in the works for the spectator to discover.BibliographyPress Release

Anthony Reynolds Gallery, (2014). Walid Raad. Preface to the First English Edition.

Books

Without Boundry. (2006). New York: Museum of Modern Art.

Porter, V. and Causs, I. (2006). Word into art. London: British Museum Press.

Pal, P. (1974). Islamic art. 1st ed. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Eigner, S., Causs, I. and Masters, C. (2010). Art of the Middle East. London: Merrell.

Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. (2007). London: Museum with no Frontiers and Art Books International.

Cotter, S. (2006). Out of Beirut. Oxford: Modern Art Oxford.

Magazines and Newspapers

Walid Ra'ad by Alan Gilbert. (2002). BOMB Magazine, [online] (81), Interviews. Available at: http://bombmagazine.org/article/2504/walid-ra-ad [Accessed 28 Apr. 2014].

Bonacorsi, I. (2013). Preface to the First Edition. domus, [online] Art. Available at: http://www.domusweb.it/en/art/2013/02/26/preface-to-the-first-edition.html [Accessed 28 Mar. 2014].

Buck, L. (2013). Artist interview, Walid Raad: a mediator between worlds. The Art Newspaper, [online] (242). Available at: http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Artist-interview-Walid-Raad-a-mediator-between-worlds/28352 [Accessed 27 Mar. 2014].

WALID RAADs Preface for the first edition @ The Louvre. (2013). [Blog] Taswir Projects. Available at: http://www.taswir.org/walid-raads-preface-for-the-first-edition-the-louvre/ [Accessed 27 Mar. 2014].

Naji, C. (2013). Walid Raad explores exploding Middle East art infrastructure in Louvre exhibition. [online] Available at: http://artradarjournal.com/2013/03/12/walid-raad-explores-exploding-middle-eastern-art-infrastructure-in-louvre-exhibition/ [Accessed 27 Mar. 2014].

Websiteshttp://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-jameel-prize/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2014].

http://www.vam.ac.uk/channel/things/graphics/nasser_al-salem_jameel_prize_3/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2014].

http://www.faigahmed.com/about/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2014].

http://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/the-jameel-prize-islamic-tradition-and-modernity-in-art-and-design-at-the-v-a/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2014].

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