War sexy? Ask a Lebanese art dealer
War-themed art is as popular as ever in Lebanon, but many are tired of the fixation on their country's troubled history.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — To many Americans or Europeans, the words "Middle East" are synonymous with conflict and war.
So Bernard Khoury, a Lebanese man who is one of the Arab world’s most famous architects, says he’s had enough — at least with what he says are negative and simplistic views of the Middle East, and especially those perpetuated by the art world. He says American and European gallery owners, curators and collectors have fed Western perceptions that have pigeonholed Arab artists into creating “war art.”
“I believe [Lebanese and Arab artists] are only celebrated through aestheticizing war, and fetishizing war … what I call the neo-colonialist fantasy of what Lebanon is and what the Arab world is,” Khoury said at his sprawling studio in a warehouse near Beirut’s port.
Khoury’s criticism is expressed in a collage and sculpture called “P.O.W.,” or “Prisoner of War,” now on display at a Beirut gallery. The point, he says, is to create awareness and spark a discussion among Lebanese and Arab artists about the “war slot” to which they’ve become “prisoners.” “It’s scary to see that all contemporary artists today are being put into that slot, even those who have a lot more to say in their work,” he said.
Khoury says he’s come to this realization in the 11 years since he first gained international fame for his own war-themed projects, which have been called “combat architecture.”
In 1998, eight years after the end of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, he created BO-18, an underground nightclub on the site of a 1976 massacre in Beirut. A year later, on the old frontline that once divided Beirut’s warring militias, he designed a sleek underground sushi restaurant which sat next to housing for war refugees. A few blocks away, Khoury gutted and wrapped an abandoned Lebanese house in steel mesh for a high-end restaurant called Centrale. The restaurant’s bar is suspended above the dining room in a steel, gun-like tube; windows slide open for a view onto downtown Beirut.
All the projects were Khoury’s reactions to war and urban space; among them, the way Lebanese society dealt with memories of the war and the way the war altered the fabric of the city. But now Khoury says the war theme has become commercialized and cliched.
This is a great way of claiming the negative and making it positive!!
My son went to Lebanon with his friends this summer and visited a couple of these night spots. They were apparently the hottest places in town...
More power to the artist!! :)
Holli in Ghana
http://hollisramblings.blogspot.com
Recent on Lebanon:
Economic crisis affects Lebanon de-mining
Don Duncan - Lebanon - November 9, 2009 08:55 ET
Funds that would go toward clearing a 205-square-kilometer danger zone have been diverted.
HOG heaven meets downtown Beirut
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - October 26, 2009 08:10 ET
The Arab world’s motorcycle fans embrace the bike, and a little American culture, in their later years.
The politics behind Lebanon's big hash bust
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - October 19, 2009 14:29 ET
There's more to the recent clean out of drug gangs and the destruction of their hash crop in the lawless Bekaa Valley than meets the eye.
Tensions flare in Lebanon
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - September 25, 2009 10:21 ET
After a sleepy summer slumber, Lebanon wakes up to cold, hard reality: it's still in the Middle East.
Lebanon's Bernie Madoff
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - September 24, 2009 09:04 ET
A wealthy businessman with close ties to Hezbollah has been charged with stealing millions in a Ponzi scheme.
War sexy? Ask a Lebanese art dealer
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - September 22, 2009 06:46 ET
War-themed art is as popular as ever in Lebanon, but many are tired of the fixation on their country's troubled history.
Amid sex revolution, AIDS on the rise in Lebanon
Don Duncan - Lebanon - September 14, 2009 16:17 ET
Amid sex revolution, AIDS on the rise in Lebanon
Don Duncan - Lebanon - September 11, 2009 08:43 ET
Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton ... Beirut's back!
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - August 28, 2009 11:42 ET
War is but a distant memory in the Lebanese capital, as celebrities swoop in to revive a once-famous party scene.
Meet the economic gangsters
Mark Scheffler - Commerce - August 12, 2009 09:03 ET
Economic gangsters come in all shapes and sizes — they're Asian dictators and Somali pirates.
Lebanon's Indie Arabic renaissance
Don Duncan - Lebanon - August 11, 2009 10:52 ET
Beirut’s synagogue reconstruction kicks off
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - August 1, 2009 14:03 ET
Construction could spell a new beginning for Lebanon’s underground Jewish community.
Musical pioneer prowls the Lebanese stage
Don Duncan - Lebanon - August 1, 2009 12:07 ET
How an indie music diva in skintight leather brought Arabic and electro-pop together.
Syria-Saudi ties improve
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - July 25, 2009 10:31 ET
After a three-year freeze-out by Riyadh, Damascus finds itself back in favor. Why now?
Lebanese find alleged Israeli spies in their midst
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - July 21, 2009 20:32 ET
Cooperation between Lebanese security agencies and Hezbollah leads to a number of arrests.
Key players in Lebanon's future take their place
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - June 30, 2009 00:30 ET
Another Hariri is named Prime Minister, two crucial posts are filled and minimal — though worrying — violence is quelled.
Interview with Hezbollah's strategy man
Thanassis Cambanis - Lebanon - June 27, 2009 07:41 ET
Ali Fayyad, 46, is an Oxford-trained political strategist for Hezbollah. He was elected to the Lebanese Parliament in June 2009.
Out of the closet, into the fire
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - June 26, 2009 14:06 ET
Lebanon is gay-friendly by Arab standards, but that's not saying much.
Gay ... and breaking new ground
Ben Gilbert - Lebanon - June 25, 2009 16:30 ET
Watch GlobalPost videos:
Reporter's Notebook
Lebanon's interior minister will ban motorbikes this week during certain hours...Read more >
Al Jazeera English will begin broadcasting in the U.S. on July 1 in the Washington, D.C. area, the first time the Qatar based satellite channel...Read more >
When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran’s presidential election earlier this week, Hezbollah leader Hassan...Read more >
Featured: Special Projects
After the Fall:
20 years since the Berlin Wall came down
Life, Death and the Taliban:
Videos and stories
Study Abroad:
Students report from the road
Living in the Shadows:
An intimate look at China's migrant workers
A World of Trouble:
The global economy in 20 hotspots
Global Blogs:
Comments:
1 Comments.
Login or Register to post comments