Regional Emissaries:
Geographical Platforms and the Challenges of Marginalisation
in Contemporary Egyptian Art
Dina Ramadan
Over the last few years, particularly post-9/11, there
has been a dramatic increase in interest in the Middle East
and
Islamic world.(1) Naturally there have been manifestations
of such interest in the realm of cultural production, and
artists
from the region have found themselves sought-after commodities
after years of disregard on the part of the Western art world.
Initially such attention was greeted with enthusiasm by artists
who felt that they were finally being given the opportunity
to exhibit abroad. Indeed, the last two years alone have
seen more work by independent artists of Middle Eastern origin
being
showcased in international art capitals than ever before.
However, zeal is quickly giving way to disillusionment as
it becomes
more and more apparent that 'curiosity' about
these artists is restricted to their position as regional
or cultural
emissaries, with little attention being given to them as
individual artists engaged in an international art scene.
An overwhelming
majority of the opportunities available come under the umbrella
of platforms with a specific geographical or ethnic focus,
to which artists must cater if they expect to be included.
As
I hope to illustrate, rather than challenging and overcoming
the boundaries which have been constructed between East and
West, such exhibitions reinforce them, perpetuating many
of the preconceived ideas in circulation — as well
as creating new clichés — about what it is to
be Arab, African or Muslim. While my paper will focus primarily
on the Egyptian
case, such questions concerning issues of representation
are equally applicable to the Middle East, Africa and the
Third
World at large. This problem is evident in the growing awareness
on the part of artists, curators and critics that they play
a minimal role in the way they are being represented. Consequently,
we are witnessing an increase in independent initiatives — removed
from both the private and government sectors — which
attempt to release artists from their previously prescribed
role as cultural ambassadors, allowing them to be viewed
as subjects rather than objects, as practitioners involved
in
an international discourse which transcends national and
ethnic boundaries.
Possibly one of the most visually represented
countries in the world, Egypt has a long history as the object
of Western
depiction, dating back to the Napoleonic invasion of 1798.
The immense ten-volume project Description de L'Egypte essentially
signified the initial step in 'the visual mapping of the
Orient',(2) which had the ultimate goal
of rendering this part of the world accessible to Europe
in a
(visual) language it could find legible. One need only look
at the lithographs of David Roberts (1839) and the photography
of Lehnert and Landroch (1905–25) — reproductions
of which continue to be used on innumerable book covers,
postcards, and posters — to realize that a certain
image of Egypt has been immortalized despite the disconnect
that may exist
between it and present-day reality. The result is a country,
indeed a region, restricted and confined to a particular
time and space, static, unevolving, constructed only to serve
a Western gaze, never being allowed to exist independently
of
its audience.(3)
In the case of Egypt, the Pharaonic continues to fascinate,
and has been deemed the country's most significant asset,
overriding all other periods of its multifaceted history,
to the extent that visitors often seem oblivious to the existence
of a rich Greco-Roman, Coptic, Ottoman, Mameluke or European
heritage. Such a limited focus has been promoted by Europe,
and more recently the United States, in an attempt to de-emphasize
the Arab and Islamic elements in Egyptian culture, which,
considering
the role it has historically played in the region, are regarded
as potentially dangerous. The Biblical face of Egypt, as
an extension of the Pharaonic, is also highlighted, indicative
of an 'American passion for origins, historical myths
by which' they explain themselves 'with reference
to a past that dignifies and makes sense' of them.(4) It
legitimizes a presence and interest in the region — including
America's unwaning support of Israel — to its own
citizens, rather than reflecting anything of the way Egyptians
themselves view their country. One should briefly note that
the Egyptian government itself has internalized this image
and perpetuates it for many of the same reasons.(5) What
is interesting here is the way in which the West has monopolized,
and continues
to do so, the means through which Egypt, and by extension
the 'Orient,' is artistically represented. As we shall see,
this continues to
be the case on the contemporary art scene; by objectifying
the artist, by rendering him or her silent, the Western art
world is able to retain the control it has historically maintained
over the way in which its 'Other' is represented,
as well as the criteria through which art — and in
this case contemporary art — is defined and assessed.
There
is no denying that, at a surface level at least, there has
been a change in the landscape of the international art
scene and what it is willing or able to absorb. Post-colonial
theory has no doubt played an essential role — as it
has in other fields — in challenging the West's
historical dominance over the concept of 'modernity.' Historically
a Eurocentric construct, the post-colonial has allowed for
the possibility of a multiplicity of modernities which do
not necessarily entail 'a decisive break or rupture with
the past,' but instead provide a space for 'an
uneven negotiation between past and future that can remain
unresolved.'(6) After years of being restricted to the museum
space, art from across the Middle East, Africa and further
afield is being recognized as a 'valid' means of
contemporary artistic expression. This seeming change in
attitude is evident in the numerous exhibitions which have
centered
on these regions in the hope of 'promoting' their
creative talents and exposing audiences to artists which
have for so long been silenced. One need only look at the
5oth Venice
Biennale, during which the Arsenale housed both an African
and an Arab platform, amongst others, in a recognition of
the under-representation of the regions in past years.(7)
Or look
at the London exhibition calendar for the coming season,
which includes the Hayward Gallery's hosting of Africa
Remix,(8)
which coincides with Africa 2005 at the British
Museum and the refurbishment of the Africa Centre. Or, even
more recently,
the Arab Art Workshop at the Barbican Centre.(9) While I
hope to subject a number of these exhibitions to closer scrutiny,
I mention them here merely to draw attention to the fact
that
they are becoming significant dates on the international
arts calendar, occupying major spaces and crucial periods.
From
such events, it would seem that Western art institutions
have conceded and acknowledged the right of multiple voices
to exist.
I would argue, however, that despite such 'token' gestures,
the international contemporary art scene is as monotone as
ever.
I would like here to discuss the dynamics which exist
between the non-Western artist and the international (Western)
art
world, before returning to examples of specific exhibitions.
Central to this relationship are three binaries which have
long dictated the relationship of the 'Occident' with
its 'Other,' and continue to operate within the
contemporary art context: the subject vs. the object, the
individual vs. the collective, and the modern vs. the authentic.
Essentially
Eurocentric constructs, the former component of each binary
is ascribed to the Western artist, while the non-Western
artist is confined to the latter, a situation which continues
to prevail
despite the 'inclusion' of non-'First World' or 'G7' artists
in exhibitions.(10) This power dynamic depends first and
foremost on the persisting disconnect between art theory
and the site
of artistic production, with the former being formulated
in the West and the latter by artists in their indigenous
spaces.
The imposition of alien standards and criteria ensures that
the contemporary art scene will continue to be Eurocentric,
and that the non-Western artist's role will forever
be confined to that of an object.
The objectification of the
artist is clearly indicative of the way in which he is in
effect viewed as a cultural commodity.
The intense focus on the artist as a person, his childhood,
his relationship with his country of origin, his religion,
his political leanings, all distract attention from what
should
be the focal point: the work itself. Despite the artist's
relentless efforts to redirect interest back to his work,
despite a refusal to answer personal questions which are
not immediately
relevant, he fails 'in his efforts to displace the critic's
gaze onto his work, to specify the latter as the rightful
focus of contemplation.(11) His role has already been cast;
if he wishes
to appear on the pages of recognized publications he must
play his assigned part. His most valuable asset is not his
talent
but his position as an 'Arab,' 'African,' 'Muslim,' or
even better, all of the above. And of course a female artist,
veiled if possible, is the most preferable of all. The representation
of the non-Western artist must be on their terms
not his, 'the
questions [are] not intended to reveal the artist as a subject,
but rather to display him as object, an object of exotic
fascination.'(12) And so he becomes a commodity which is
packaged by the Western
curators to satisfy Western taste (a process which I shall
discuss shortly), stripped of his agency. While seeming to
give him a voice, the Western art world is in fact sentencing
him to silence, ensuring that its position of authority and
authorship is in no way challenged.
Through his objectification,
the artist simultaneously loses his individuality and is
viewed in a collective light, what
had been referred to in the African context as the 'one
tribe, one style' paradigm, and which is equally applicable
across the Third world.(13) By focusing on the group rather
than the individual, the Western critic is able to simplify
an
entire region, continent or religious group neatly into one
unified
entity, posing no challenge to his own preconceived ideas.
So comes the assumption that there is one version of Islam,
that being 'Arab' is viewed through the same prism
across the Middle East — itself a European construct — and
that an entire continent, Africa, can be unified under one
banner and thus one exhibition. This oversimplification,
this underplaying
of specificity and individuality, disarms the non-Western
artist, the 'Other,' rendering him one anonymous face amongst
millions, a role which is tolerable, safe, static and unthreatening
to the status quo. While the Western artist is considered
as
an individual, his art approached because of its exceptionality,
his non-Western counterpart is selected to 'represent' a
collective. And so the non-Western artist finds himself the
mouthpiece of a much larger body, burdened by the expectations
of both those who have assigned him that role and those whom
he is forced to speak on behalf of.
Expectations on the part
of the Western curators and critics are of course crucial
in the construction of a non-Western
contemporary-art scene. Armed with preconceived ideas and
little real expertise in the areas they approach, it is they
who designate
the categories of 'modernity' and 'authenticity' — two
notions which have essentially been conceptualised in the
'Occident' — as
they see fit. The problematic of the modern vs. the authentic,
and how to reconcile the two, is one that has long plagued
post-colonial imagining, and continues to do, the essential
predicament being how to articulate a modernity outside of
the West, how to break a monopoly over the concept which
continues to prevail. And so in the Egyptian case, the artist
producing
today finds himself subject to an outside criterion of what
it means to be an African artist, an Arab artist, an Egyptian
artist. There are certain issues which are deemed important,
which should preoccupy the local artist, and which are of
interest to the international community. Issues of religion,
gender,
the repression of the state, are all 'choice of the day.'
They must be addressed, and they must be addressed in an
ideological
manner which is appropriate. Artists who are subversive,
critical, aware of the 'backwardness' of their situation
and the need for change, are scouted out; the agenda is curated
in the international arena.
However, the criteria is not that
simple; there is a fine line which must be walked between
the 'modern' and the 'authentic'.
An artist can easily find himself leaning too much towards
one or the other and will quickly fall out of favour. In
other
words it is possible to be too 'modern,' to be
too influenced by the West — either with regard
to issues or medium — and to thus be dubbed 'un-authentic',
not Egyptian enough, and therefore not a viable
representative. On the other hand, one can be too authentic
or traditional, and therefore dismissed as 'folkloric,' not
befitting 'our'
notion of contemporary art.(14) What is required is just
the right balance:
an aspiration towards or utilisation of so-called contemporary
mediums, while focusing on issues which have been deemed
authentic and important, so that the end result is one which
reaffirms
to Western audiences their preconceived ideas, satisfying
their desire for the exotic, in a language they understand
while
relieving their guilt at having so long ignored the non-Western
world. The introduction of an alternative visual language,
one seeped in references which demand effort on the part
of the audience, is threatening to the Western art world's
sense of entitlement and domination; once a code exists which
has been formulated outside the 'traditional' domain,
the possibility of alternative scenes, governed by non-Western
authorities, exists. It is much safer to reduce the complexity
of the issue to a series of simplistic binary oppositions
like the ones discussed above.
There is no denying the recognition
on the part of non-Western artists, critics, and curators
that these binaries must be
exploded, allowing the complex realities in which the work
is being produced to be fully explored. One must also acknowledge
that much progress has been made in thinking and rethinking
the relationship between the non-Western artist and the Western
art institution. And if one were to go by the written work
that has been produced, by the numerous exhibition catalogues
and essays alone, one could argue that these issues are well
on their way to being addressed, that an alternative form
of representation is being made possible. I would propose,
however,
that these 'alternative' platforms simply reword
the already existing discourse rather than challenging it.
Numerous
factors play into maintaining the status quo in a more politically
correct, less offensive guise. First and
foremost,
curators, art critics and artists are forced to operate within
the system they hope to subvert if they are to have any success.
Therefore the museum, the gallery space, the exhibition,
the biennale, all Western structures, which have historically
encouraged
geographically based division, must be adopted before they
are overturned. Bamako's Les Rencontres de la Photographie
Africaine, DAK'ART Biennale of Contemporary African Art
(note the reference to the continent in both titles), and
the Cairo International Biennale have all been created as
alternatives
to existing Western structures. Or, one could suggest, as
imitations. This is aside from the abundance of exhibitions
in which marginalization
is imbedded in the very title, as with Dis-ORIENTation,(15) Contemporary
Arab Representation,(16) and Fault Lines: Contemporary
African Art and Shifting Landscape, in which the curatorial
logic is somewhat questionable. At least with regards to
many of
the
Egyptian participants, it is difficult to identify a tangible
link between them beyond that of nationality. All too often
marginalization is being imposed from within, that is to
say by a 'local' curator who wittingly, or unwittingly,
reaffirms what the West has for so long dictated to be important.
By curating an exhibition entitled VEIL(17) or Breaking
the Veil,(18) are stereotypes of Middle Eastern women
really being deconstructed
or are they being catered to and reaffirmed? And perhaps
most importantly, who is the audience in mind? One presumes
a Western
one, and if this is the case, it seems crucial to question
whether we wish to become trapped in a cycle of the 'Empire
writing back,' constantly looking to its former colonizer
for validation and acceptance.
The fact that curatorial criteria
are still being dictated from the West is apparent in the
way in which expertise is
measured. A strong command of English or French, and knowledge
of the so-called international scene are deemed much more
important skills than an awareness of the social, political
and economic
history and present reality of the people and places which
the curators are supposedly interested in representing.
Unfortunately superficial visits, short but oft repeated,
limited by language
barriers and inadequate exposure, continue to be the norm
in Egypt, rarely extending beyond Cairo and Alexandria.
Interested curators and critics fail to recognize the role
of local
politics
in shaping their visit: the rift between the government
and private spheres is significant, and the makeup of one's
contacts radically alters the art scene one is exposed
to.
Despite the criticisms and reservations many have about
taking part in the geographically or regionally specific
platform,
the option of opting out is not a realistic one. On occasion
Egyptian artists have refused to take part in exhibitions
which would have meant a reading of their work far removed
from their
intentions. However, on the whole, when this is the only
platform on offer, when this is the only entry point
to the international
area, the price of rejecting it is, for most, high. As
for curators and critics, while many recognize the dangers
of
recreating or adhering to geographical definitions which
have been prescribed,
they too are faced with the dilemma of internalizing
the rules in order to go on and break them, or choosing not
to engage
with the process at all, in which case their chances
of
having any influence is limited.(19) When I was considering
whether
or not to attend this conference, I faced a similar decision.
Although rather uncomfortable with the circumstances
of my invitation, I chose to accept it, recognizing that
it
afforded
me the opportunity to address the very issues which caused
my discomfort, and to highlight a growing consciousness
of the need for an alternative to the 'alternative' means
of representation which currently exist for Egyptian
artists.
As I suggested in my introduction, there has a been
a slow but steady increase in the number of independent
initiatives
being undertaken by local artists and curators in Egypt,
in recognition of the need to reclaim agency. Such
projects are
concerned with overcoming the stigma of regional or
ethnic representation, of relieving artists of the role of
cultural
ambassadors, and instead with enabling them to engage
in the local and international scene from the center
rather
than from
the periphery. Workshops, exchanges, and residencies
including Wasla,(21) Open Studios,(22) and In a Furnished
Flat in Cairo,(23)
have all focused on moving Egyptian artists into contemporary
art discourse not as Egyptians, but as artists whose
work, while
addressing concerns pertinent to their particular locality,
also transcends national and ethnic boundaries. What
is ultimately
at issue is the dismantling of the binaries which I
discussed above, recognizing them as defunct and limiting.
The
potential for a challenging and critical representation
of Egypt,
the region, or any art scene, lies in the deconstruction
of the
structures which have for so long dominated and monopolized.
It is only in their absence that a multiplicity of
discourses will have the opportunity to exist, and that any
effective
representation of non-Western artists can take place.
1. It is worth noting that there was
some interest in the mid-1990s, with artists like Ghada Amer
and Mona Hatoum exhibiting internationally,
but nothing on the scale which we see today.
2. Gilane Tawadros, 'Curating the Middle East: From Napoleon to the Present
Day,' in Universes in Universe, January 2004.
3. In his essay 'Orientalism Reconsidered,' in Reflections on Exile
and Other Essays (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003), Edward Said
discusses the construction of 'Orient" and 'Occident' as
a means of confining the 'Orient' to a particular moment, treating
it as a frozen object for Western consumption.
4. In 'Egyptian Rites,' also in Reflections, op. cit., an essay which
coincided with the opening of the new Egyptian wing of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Said analyses the film The Ten Commandments (1956) as a product
of such an agenda, drawing particular attention to the date of its release, two
years
after the Egyptian revolution and six after the creation of the state of Israel.
5. This can be seen, for example, in the neo-Pharaonic architecture of many of
the
recent government buildings in Egypt.
6. Gilane Tawadros, 'The Revolution Stripped Bare,' in Fault Lines:
Contemporary African Art and Shifting Landscapes (London: inIVA, 2003).
7. The African platform Fault Lines: Contemporary African Art and Shifting Landscapes
was curated by Gilane Tawadros, first director of inIVA, and the Arab platform Contemporary
Arab Representations by Catherine David.
8. Africa Remix is 'an ambitious anthology of contemporary African art, covering
the entire continent, and focusing on work made within the past decade by internationally
recognised and younger artists.' Curated by Simon Njami and traveling to
Museum Kunst-Palast in Düsseldorf, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris,
and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, the exhibition brings together 88 artists from
25 countries.
9. 'The Workshop explores new perspectives on modern and contemporary Arab
art and examines their interaction with the wider contemporary scene. This timely
event adds to the debate underlying recent curatorial shifts in the representation
of Arab art at exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale (2003), Video Brasil (2003),
Documenta XI (2002) and the São Paulo Biennale (2002).
10. A term used by Okwui Enwezor and Olu Oguibe in their introduction to Reading
the Contemporary: African Art from Theory to the Marketplace (Cambridge, Mass.:
MIT Press, 1999) to collectively describe artists from Britain, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
11. In 'Art, Identity, Boundaries: Postmodernism and Contemporary African Art,'
in
Reading the Contemporary, op. cit., Oguibe deconstructs an interview between
Thomas McEvilley and Ouattara in which the frustration the latter feels at being
unable to transcend the space which has been ascribed to him by the former reveals
much of 'the hierarchical location of the white critical and artistic establishment
over the African artist.'
12. Ibid.
13. Sidney Kasfir, 'One Tribe, One Style? Paradigms in the Historiography of
African Art,' History in Africa, no. 11, 1984.
14. In his essay 'The Modernist Experience in African Art,' in Reading
the Contemporary, op. cit., Salah Hassan refers to Jean Clair, the 1995
Venice
Biennale's French artistic director 's comment regarding his decision
not to include African artists based on the idea that ' their" notion
of art is different from 'ours'.
15. DisORIENTation Contemporary Arab art production from the Near East- Egypt,
Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Iraq was curated by Jack Perskian and exhibited
in
the Haus der Kulteren der Welt between March and May 2003. It included exhibitions,
theatre productions, films, readings and podium discussions. I would like to
draw attention the decision to capitalize the word 'Orient" in the
title and suggestion that such an approach reinforces the focus on geographical
confinements rather than dispels them.
16. Contemporary Arab Representations, curated by Catherine David, was part of
the 5oth Venice Biennale 2003. It was part of a long-term project series which
began
in 2001 and includes Contemporary Arab Representations: Beirut/ Lebanon and Contemporary
Arab Representations: Cairo.
17. Veil was an inIVA touring exhibition initiated by curated by David A. Bailey,
Zineb Sedira and Gilane Tawadros.
18. Breaking the Veil: Women Artists from the Islamic World featured the work
of
51 women artists from 21 Islamic countries.
19. It is also important to consider the issue of funding; more often than not
funding
for these 'alternative' platforms comes from Western organisations.
20. The Wasla Contemporary Art Workshop took place from March 21–April
4,
2003 in Nuweiba, South Sinai, Egypt. The workshop is an artist-run initiative
coordinated
by independent curator Mai Abu ElDahab.
21. In a Furnished Flat in Cairo, curated by Hala Elkoussy, brought together
7
artists
(4 Egyptians and 3 Swiss) to share a furnished flat for one month.
22. Open Studios is an annual project run by the Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary
Art in Cairo, Egypt. It brings together 10 international artists and 10 Egyptian
artists, and provides them with a studio space for a period of 10 days. |