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An illuminating look at one of the Middle East's most fascinating contemporary artists, this survey is the first to explore the extraordinary life and work of Saudi artist Dr Ahmed Mater. Mater's work, exhibited at the Venice Biennale and in the collections of the British Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is informed by his education and life as a medical doctor, as well as by his traditional religious upbringing and Saudi culture. His work, which encompasses photography, calligraphy, painting, installation and video, explores the narratives and aesthetics of Islamic culture in an era of globalization, consumerism and dramatic flux. The book examines four of Mater's most important artistic projects, and includes contributions from leading scholars and commentators writing from London, Riyadh, Los Angeles, Paris, Abha, Sana'a and Amsterdam. Catherine David's foreword positions Mater's work within the cultural context of the Arabian Gulf, while the book's elegant design evokes the artist's Middle Eastern sensibility. -- Product Description.
Artistic expression in the Middle East is experiencing something of a renaissance. Domestic patronage is flourishing, and an impressive array of new museums and art fairs across the region is helping to stimulate international interest in an increasingly influential movement. Art of the Middle East is an accessible overview of modern and contemporary art of the Middle East and Arab world from 1945 to the present, with an emphasis on artists active today. The featured works are divided into seven themed sections - including literature, portraiture and the body, and politics, conflict and war - while extended captions provide an engaging commentary on each artwork and the artist behind its creation. Lavishly illustrated throughout, this landmark publication is an authoritative guide to a challenging and exciting body of work.
This book tells the story of Saudi Arabia through my artists perspective. I am a doctor-turned-artist with a mission to confront with my traditional context, to explore Islamic culture in an era of globalization and to uncover the unofficial histories that have shaped the present. Mapping my journey between Abha, Jeddah, Mecca and Riyadh, this book is both a mid-career survey of my work and a prognosis of the changes forged by and in the Kingdom, and its significance in world religion, culture and geopolitics. From the year of my birth in 1979, when Islamic revolution reconfigured the region, my training as a community doctor on the Saudi/Yemeni border, my rise as the Gulf's most radical you...
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In secular Europe the veracity of modern science is almost always taken for granted. Whether they think of the evolutionary proofs of Darwin or of spectacular investigation into the boundaries of physics conducted by CERN's Large Hadron Collider, most people assume that scientific enquiry goes to the heart of fundamental truths about the universe. Yet elsewhere, science is under siege. In the USA, Christian fundamentalists contest whether evolution should be taught in schools at all. And in Muslim countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Pakistan and Malaysia, a mere 15 per cent of those recently surveyed believed Darwin's theory to be 'true' or 'probably true'. This thoughtful and passionately argued...
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Unofficial Histories Behind the Mass Expansion of Makkah Through a series of photographs, Ahmed Mater charts the city's origins to its more recent history over the last 5 years. It is a study of the site's recent transformation -- Makkah, until recently, embodied a unique urban tapestry, layered with histories that are stitched together by an abundance of organically rooted communities and cultures. It is a place that accommodated not only sacred structures and sites but also huge fluctuations in population during Ramadan (up to 3 million visitors a year travel to Makkah for Eid and Hajj). More recently, these sites and communities have been eradicated and are being replaced with five-star-s...
"With over 500 stunning colour illustrations New Vision: Arab Contemporary Art in the 21st Century offers the most comprehensive, scholarly and in-depth survey yet of what is happening at the cutting-edge of art in the Arab world." "In the perpetual quest for the new, the exciting and the innovative, the attention of the global art community has in recent years been more and more focused on the Middle East. Exhibitions and articles have highlighted a remarkable burst of creativity in the region, as Arab countries from Syria to Algeria, Egypt to Lebanon and Palestine to Saudi Arabia have launched some of the most fascinating artists in recent years." "The conceptual playfulness of Hassan Khan...
This thematic encyclopedia examines contemporary and historical Saudi Arabia, with entries that fall under such themes as geography, history, government and politics, religion and thought, food, etiquette, media, and much more. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, known for its petroleum reserves and leadership role in the Middle East, is explored in this latest addition to the Understanding Modern Nations series. Organized into thematic chapters, Modern Saudi Arabia covers both history and contemporary daily life. Chapter topics include: Geography; History; Government and Politics; Economy; Religion and Thought; Social Classes and Ethnicity; Gender, Marriage, and Sexuality; Education; Language; Eti...
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