Translation of the article Al-Tiba9 Barcelona 2017: la note del arte contemporáneo rabe by the Liceo Magazine
For the original piece press:
Al-Tiba9 Barcelona 2017: la noche del arte contemporáneo árabe
For the original piece press:
Al-Tiba9 Barcelona 2017: la noche del arte contemporáneo árabe
It was, without a doubt, the artistic event of the year: for its concept, for its importance in this historical moment, for its curatorship, for its works and its present artists. It was the night in which contemporary art blew itself away from all the clichés that have marked it in recent years to show that art can remain beautiful, content and useful .. It was the night in which contemporary Arab art conquered to Europe.
"The uneducated man is kept in the immediate intuition, he does not have his eyes open and he does not see what is at his feet, his vision is subjective, he does not see the thing, he takes a hasty judgment based on a point of view Unilateral, letting go of the true concept of the thing.The mark of a cultured man will be to be aware of the limits of his attitudes, "say Benhadj and Djab, curators of the international Arab art exhibition Al-Tiba9, citing Georges Steiner.
For five years, Mo 'Mohamed Benhadj & Mazia Djab, artists and curators of the official edition of the event in Algeria, decided to bring to Europe, via Barcelona, a sample of it. During one night visitors to the city can attend an exhibition of art, photography, paintings, new media and other disciplines, but where the real protagonist is the performance. A way of making the spectator more participant, as in a great party, of the new proposals of the Arab world (and some guests of other origins). In this way, Al-Tiba9 appears almost as a ritual, a dream of a summer night, which seeks to elevate the soul between so much aesthetic pleasure.
This was the night of Arab contemporary art ...
"The uneducated man is kept in the immediate intuition, he does not have his eyes open and he does not see what is at his feet, his vision is subjective, he does not see the thing, he takes a hasty judgment based on a point of view Unilateral, letting go of the true concept of the thing.The mark of a cultured man will be to be aware of the limits of his attitudes, "say Benhadj and Djab, curators of the international Arab art exhibition Al-Tiba9, citing Georges Steiner.
For five years, Mo 'Mohamed Benhadj & Mazia Djab, artists and curators of the official edition of the event in Algeria, decided to bring to Europe, via Barcelona, a sample of it. During one night visitors to the city can attend an exhibition of art, photography, paintings, new media and other disciplines, but where the real protagonist is the performance. A way of making the spectator more participant, as in a great party, of the new proposals of the Arab world (and some guests of other origins). In this way, Al-Tiba9 appears almost as a ritual, a dream of a summer night, which seeks to elevate the soul between so much aesthetic pleasure.
This was the night of Arab contemporary art ...
The location
A large inflatable sculpture of the Russian Sasha Frolova is imposed on the central courtyard of the University Pompeu Fabra - Ciutadella and points us to the basement, converted only that afternoon into a large museum room. Perfect setting for hosting such great works (in all sense of expression). When you enter there, again another Frolova inflatable work, "Wave" in the center of the room, welcomes you and invites you to the end, where the luminous calligraphy "Walking on the Light" by the Moroccan Mounir Fatmi, radiates and watches whole place.
The propose
Transgression frees creative energies in which man is the agent (transgression implies the human capacity to act consciously.) Hannah Arendt. This transgression was what the curators Benhadj and Djab sought in each of the works chosen for the exhibition.
"When a phenomenon occurs, it moves from a potential state to a present state, relativity coming into play (a contradiction of perceiving, understanding and overcoming information.) Ibn Arabi explains that in order to see and understand the contradictions and tensions contained in Names need the password to join the thing (the will) Thinking about the phenomenon in a different way to perceive the different levels of reality that makes us go beyond the deceptive appearances, to access the veiled reality, According to his personal ability (himma), activate the light of the intellect. "
In this way, what the curators proposed was that each work left in the viewer a question, a restlessness, a brainstorming. Perhaps, in fact, the only regret of Al-Tiba9 was that he could not go on any longer (the curators did not get sponsors and the space rent for one night was their two wages together). We would have loved to lose ourselves in the city and come back to that sacred precinct to communion-reflect-seek more questions in their works.
Artists and works
Mazia Djab photography is the first selection we find: an Arab boy is there, head down, face hidden, immersed in his world ... women in the photographs of Mahsa Alikhani perform their daily activities immersed in glass boxes .. Dizos Dokos presents communism and Nazism as two almost twin beetles in his paintings ... JZ Aamir (light calligraphy and light graffiti), Mark Cypher (net art), Zoi Pappa (painting), Mia Pearlman (installation) And Fabrizio Cornelli (light sculpture) ,,, bring the light, literally, to the place; Dividing the space wisely among these contradictions to which the curators refer in their proposal. In the background and at the center, Mounir Fatmi seems to serve as a tie, as ying-yang, as Al-Tiba9 of the whole exhibition: white-black, light-shadow, inertia-movement ... and when it comes to this, appears In play, as part of Fatmi's work, the artist-healer Mo 'Mohamed Benhadj.
Mazia Djab photography is the first selection we find: an Arab boy is there, head down, face hidden, immersed in his world ... women in the photographs of Mahsa Alikhani perform their daily activities immersed in glass boxes .. Dizos Dokos presents communism and Nazism as two almost twin beetles in his paintings ... JZ Aamir (light calligraphy and light graffiti), Mark Cypher (net art), Zoi Pappa (painting), Mia Pearlman (installation) And Fabrizio Cornelli (light sculpture) ,,, bring the light, literally, to the place; Dividing the space wisely among these contradictions to which the curators refer in their proposal. In the background and at the center, Mounir Fatmi seems to serve as a tie, as ying-yang, as Al-Tiba9 of the whole exhibition: white-black, light-shadow, inertia-movement ... and when it comes to this, appears In play, as part of Fatmi's work, the artist-healer Mo 'Mohamed Benhadj.
"It is understood that" seeing and understanding "requires an inner freedom, because to enter into conflict, the reconciliation of opposites is a long odyssey or myth and the symbol share a place of honor.But if you are careful you can realize these concepts Are now present in our societies.We must now complete the journey, follow the path of knowledge in the imagined world, dreaming of its time, imagine the next, while staying awake.
Performances
The wisdom of the curators was not only reflected in the selection-position of the works, but in the selection-order of the performances.
Albert Marques, musician of the Barcelona, gave the beginning note with his recital, next to the work of Mia Pearlman; Skall was the first to break into the tranquility of the night (creation of the conflict) with his transgressor performance: a man tries to flee from some ties to which he binds himself, fights against them, wraps himself around them, Writhes ... finally released, but it is not the same ... a staging that does not leave anyone indifferent.
The wisdom of the curators was not only reflected in the selection-position of the works, but in the selection-order of the performances.
Albert Marques, musician of the Barcelona, gave the beginning note with his recital, next to the work of Mia Pearlman; Skall was the first to break into the tranquility of the night (creation of the conflict) with his transgressor performance: a man tries to flee from some ties to which he binds himself, fights against them, wraps himself around them, Writhes ... finally released, but it is not the same ... a staging that does not leave anyone indifferent.
At the climax of the night: Mo 'Mohamed, the spirit of Al-Tiba9, a sublime, ethereal performance that synthesizes the whole proposal: a body that submits to fire, represented by sparks of live metallurgy, must release its "If you are not focused, if you can not separate the spirit from the body, you will obviously suffer, you will burn and your body will be damaged." If the performance were Western, surely Mohamed would have been completely marked and his scars would be his "work of art", but it is not. The artist is in perfect physical condition. The transformation was on the spiritual and intellectual plane, not only his, but the audience. It is a mystical, sacred, spiritual performance with which Mohamed seems to pay tribute to his religion:
"The human condition is complex, being alone with its multiple nature, overwhelmed by desires, emotions and passions, has an eagerness to know the possible dimensions of its being, shared between the sacred and the profane, the original contradiction How can I attain the union between freedom and constraint of the world How to anchor myself in the center of myself This chimera within me will have the "Reason" of the "I", or my soul like a bird, can reach another reality ?
"The human condition is complex, being alone with its multiple nature, overwhelmed by desires, emotions and passions, has an eagerness to know the possible dimensions of its being, shared between the sacred and the profane, the original contradiction How can I attain the union between freedom and constraint of the world How to anchor myself in the center of myself This chimera within me will have the "Reason" of the "I", or my soul like a bird, can reach another reality ?
Finally, the outcome comes with the physical appearance (her plastic work had been present throughout the evening) by the Russian artist Sasha Frolova who now comes to sing and dance, dressed in her own costume-art, extension of her sculptures. Sasha turns the place into a kind of children's party. Once cleared of so many passions, we are all children again "I'm happy!" She sings and everyone chants as they go out. We are reborn.Reality?
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