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In Baghdad, an enormous monument nearly twice the size of the Arc de Triomphe towers over the city. Two huge forearms emerge from the ground, clutching two swords that clash overhead. Those arms are enlarged casts of those of Saddam Hussein, showing every bump and follicle. The "Victory Arch" celebrates a victory over Iran (in their eight-year-long war) that never happened. This text is a study of the interplay between art and politics - of how culture, normally an unquestioned good, can play into the hands of a power with devastating effects. Kanan Makiya uses the culture invented by Saddam Hussein as a window into the nature of totalitarianism and shows how art can become the weapon of dictatorship. Under Saddam Hussein, culture connived in his evil - this text explains how. It should be useful reading for anyone concerned with the power of culture and the culture of power.
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Wafaa Bilal's childhood in Iraq was defined by the horrific rule of Saddam Hussein, two wars, a bloody uprising and time spent interned in chaotic refugee camps in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Bilal eventually made it to the United States to become a professor and a successful artist, but when his brother was killed by an unmanned U.S. Predator drone, he decided to use his art to confront those in the comfort zone with the realities of life in a conflict zone. His response was “Domestic Tension,” an unsettling interactive performance piece: for one month, Bilal lived alone in a prison cell-sized room in the line of fire of a remote-controlled paintball gun and a camera that connected him to ...
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A book that highlights the enduring talent of a group of contemporary Iraqi artists who are united in their experience of exile. Modern Iraqi art represents one of the main foundation stones of modern Arab culture. As with Iran, modern and contemporary culture in Iraq draws heavily on its rich pre-Islamic and Islamic heritage, from the Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian civilizations through to Ottoman Baghdad, the Iraq of the Baath Party, and today a country that has been ravaged by foreign invasion. In the 1970s, Baghdad was at the center of a pan-Arab art movement. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, it became clear that the art movement was becoming a political tool of propaganda for the Baath Party. Forced to work within the parameters set by the government, a number of leading artists decided to leave Iraq for Europe and North America. Today, a new generation of Iraqi artists is receiving much-deserved international acclaim. Their art draws increasing attention from international seasoned collectors and is at the forefront of modern and contemporary Arab art.
Following the tradition and style of the acclaimed Index Islamicus, the editors have created this new Bibliography of Art and Architecture in the Islamic World. The editors have surveyed and annotated a wide range of books and articles from collected volumes and journals published in all European languages (except Turkish) between 1906 and 2011. This comprehensive bibliography is an indispensable tool for everyone involved in the study of material culture in Muslim societies.