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Palestinian art is a term used to refer to paintings, posters, installation art and other visual media produced by Palestinian artists.

While the term has also been used to refer to ancient art produced in the geographical region of Palestine, in its modern usage it generally refers to work of contemporary Palestinian artists.

Similar to the structure of Palestinian society, the Palestinian art field extends over four main geographic centers: the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Israel; the Palestinian diaspora in the Arab world; and the Palestinian diaspora in Europe and the United States.[1]

Contemporary Palestinian art finds its roots in folk art and traditional Christian and Islamic painting popular in Palestine over the ages. After the Nakba of 1948, nationalistic themes have predominated as Palestinian artists use diverse media to express and explore their connection to identity and land.[2]

Themes

Place

Palestinian artist and art historian Kamal Boullata describes "place" as one of the major thematic components of Palestinian art throughout its history. Proximity and distance from the historical Palestinian homeland and the relationship between the artist and his current place of residence is the key element moving Palestinian art. For example, in art produced during the first decades following 1948, works created by Palestinian artists living in Israel are largely figurative, whereas those created by artists living outside the country are largely abstract.[3] Before 1948, Jerusalem was an important theme.[4] After 1948, memory of place and distance from homeland became a central theme.[4] Even Palestinian artists born and raised in Israel explore alienation and a sense of growing up as foreigners in the land of their ancestors. The question of cultural memory and belonging is a recurrent theme.[5]

Politics

Palestinian art - from the early religious paintings of the 19th century to completely abstract works created today also tend to explore a common focus on the idea of resistance and the political backdrop of the Palestinian issue. The Palestinian identity itself is often dismissed by Zionist groups as being indistinct from Arab or Islamic identity thus the act of making art itself and claiming identity is at times a form of protest[6] Even during the colonialism, struggle with Ottoman or British forces played a key role in Palestinian art[5] One of the earliest artist to add a political dimension to his works was Nicola Saig (1863-1942). While most of the art at the time tended to explore religious themes and non-controversial issues (so as to not offend conservative patrons or ire the British authorities00 Saig managed to give his works a striking political dimension. For instance, his work Caliph Umar at Jerusalem Gates c. 1920 seems to just recount a popular religious legend about the Caliph Umar bloodlessly taking over Jerusalem and ushering centuries of peace between the local Christian and Jewish populations. However, upon closer look, the subject matter and the Christ-like stature given to the Caliph in the painting jab at what many Palestinians saw as divisive policies of the British during the Mandate Period which attempted to create friction between Muslims and Christian Arabs.[5]

After 1948, politics became a lot more blatant in Palestinian art. Beginning with Ismail Shammout, Naji al-ali, Mustafa al-Hallaj and Paul Guiragossian directly tackled the painful memories of the Nabka with works showing massacres, refugees, and clear political themes. Others such as Sophia Halaby, Ibrahim Ghannam, and Juliana Seraphim focused more subtly on questions of identity including Palestinian cultural traditions, physical geography, and (especially case of Juliana Seraphim and others, surrealistic look at memories of childhood reverie.[7]

Symbolism

Key iconic symbols are keys and doors. Likewise the cactus tree plays a prominent role. According to Palestinian artist and art historian Samia Halaby, "Liberation Art," or the art that resulted from the revolutionary period of Palestinian resistance that began in the late 1960s and continued through the First Intifada, "is symbolist, using images of things known to popular Palestinian culture – things that anyone experiencing Palestinian life could identify. The horse came to mean revolution. The flute came to mean the tune of the ongoing resistance. The wedding came to mean the entire Palestinian cause. The key came to mean the right of return. The sun came to mean freedom. The gun with a dove came to mean that peace would come after the struggle for liberation. Artists used the colors of the flag, patterns from embroidery, chains, etc. Village scenes, village dress, the prisoner, prison bars. There were special themes regarding the martyr. First there were generalized pictures of the martyr as well as pictures of specific individuals who had been killed by the Israelis. The second form was based on a popular practice of framing a collage of symbols representing the deceased’s life then hanging it at their home or grave."[8]

Cactus in Palestinian Art

The Cactus (Arabic: الصبار) has been a motif in Palestinian art since the birth of Israel. For Zionists, the indigenous plant became a national symbol of their attachment to the land, while Palestinians saw it as an incarnation of their national dispossession (see, for example, the Arabic version of Sahar Khalifa's Wild Thorns, the Arabic title of which translates literally as Cactus). The plant served the practical function to designate territorial borders in peasant villages. In summer, the prickly pear was a common fruit eaten by people in the region. During the 1920s, the thorny tree was incorporated as a symbol of Israeli identity.[9]

Nicolas Saig, one of the earliest Palestinian artists to break from the Christian icon tradition, painted works of the prickly pear cactus to break into secular art by capturing one of the most common pleasures of the era. The prickily pear still lives served as some of the most important early secular works of the period.[10] The cactus also had become a symbol of Palestinian defiance and sumud. Villagers had already taken the symbol and incorporated it into a dance song protesting the 1917 Balfour Declaration with the phrase "Ya'ayn kuni subbara - O eye, be a cactus tree!". [citation needed]

Historical Overview

Before 1948, most Palestinian artists were self-taught, painting landscapes and religious scenes in imitation of the European style. Art exhibitions were almost unheard of. Notable artists of this era include Khalil Halaby, Nahil Bishara, Sophie Halaby and Faddoul Odeh. Sophie Halaby was an exception, in that she was educated in France where she lived and worked for years. Jamal Badran (1909–1999) was a leading artist in the Islamic style.[11]

According to Tal Ben Zvi, Palestinian artists after 1948 reside in four geographical territories and have no art colleges. Thus unlike sovereign nation-states where art is based on "national borders, national museums and institutes of learning, he claims Palestinian art is based chiefly on artists operating within the frame of Palestinian identity.[1]

Palestinian artists in Israel

Abed Abdi, born in 1942 in Haifa, is a pioneer in the Arab Israeli art movement. Hisham Zreiq, Ahlam Shibli, Sami Bukhari, Reida Adon, Ashraf Fawakhry, Ahlam Jomah, Jumana Emil Abboud, and Anisa Ashkar are Palestinian artists - most of whom are graduates from art schools in Israel and form part of an entire generation of Palestinians, citizens of Israel born after 1967.[1] The issue of identity for Palestinian citizens of Israel is a key subject of importance to the artwork produced. It is an identity described by Azmi Bishara thus:

From both the historical and theoretical perspectives, the Arabs in Israel are part of the Palestinian Arab people. Their definition as 'Israeli Arabs' was formed concurrent with the emergence of the issue of the Palestinian refugees, and the establishment of the State of Israel on the ruins of the Palestinian people. Thus, the point of departure from which the history of the Palestinians in Israel is written is the very point in which the history of the Palestinians outside Israel was created. One cannot point at a nationality or national group called 'Israeli Arabs' or 'the Arabs of Israel'.[1]

Ben Zvi suggests that this definition pinpoints the dialectic underpinning the identity of this group of artists who are identified "on the one hand, as part of a broad Palestinian cultural system, and on the other — in a differentiated manner — as the Palestinian minority in Israel."[1]

Israeli art historian Gideon Ofrat argues that understanding Palestinian art requires familiarity with the complexities of Palestinian culture,language and history, and therefore attempts by Israeli art critics to analyze Palestinian art are doomed to failure.[12]

Palestinian artists in the Arab world

Originating from the Palestinian culture that crystallized in the refugee camps mainly in Lebanon and Jordan, Palestinian artists in the Arab world were among the first to put forward a vision of Palestinian contemporary art.[1] As the Palestinian Authority became more central to Palestinian nationalism, their number and influence in the Palestinian art field has decreased, and diasporic Palestinian artists in Europe and the United States, have become increasingly prominent.[1]

One such artist whose works were exhibited in the Made in Palestine exhibit that toured the United States in 2005 is Mustafa Al-Hallaj.[13]

Born in what is now Israel, Al-Hallaj is known throughout the Arab world, where he has been described as "Syria's most famous artist" and an "icon of contemporary Arab graphic arts."[13] Al Hallaj died in 2002 in a fire at his home while trying to save his artwork but this effort which cost him his life, meant that some of his work has survived.[13]

In Self-Portrait as God, the Devil, and Man, Al-Hallaj uses rows of overlapping images and intricate etchings that took 10 years to complete to present "an epic retelling of the history of Palestinians from the 11th century B.C. to the present."[13]

Palestinian artists in the US and in Europe

A number of prominent Palestinian artists live and work outside of the Arab world, namely in the US and in Europe. Notable among them are leading international conceptual artists Mona Hatoum, who is based in London, and Emily Jacir, who is based between New York and Ramallah. Prominent painters painters such as Kamal Boullata and Hani Zurob are based in France, while pioneering abstract painter Samia Halaby has resided in New York since the late 1970s. Rising new media artists Larissa Sansour (based in Denmark) and Bissan Rafe (based in USA); have also become one of the recent new names in the Palestinian daispora spotlight. Such artists have played a crucial role in developing and expanding contemporary Palestinian art by pushing for the acceptance of the Palestinian narrative in the mainstream art world despite apparent hostilities, controversies, and setbacks due to blatant censorship and various political contexts. While the subject of Palestine has remained paramount for such artists, especially in light of forced exiles, many in the diaspora have maintained cutting-edge approaches, gaining recognition for the new and innovative ways through which they approach Palestine's complex history, its current reality, and uncertain future.

Collections

The Palestinian Art Court – Al Hoash, was founded in 2004, and opened its first gallery in East Jerusalem in 2005.[14] Al Hoash has exhibited works of, among others, Sophie Halaby, Hassan Hourani, Vera Tamari and Suleiman Mansour.[15]

Notable artists

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Tal Ben Zvi (2006). "Hagar: Contemporary Palestinian Art" (PDF). Hagar Association. Retrieved 06.05.2007. ((cite web)): Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Gannit Ankori (1996). Palestinian Art. Reaktion Books. ISBN 1-86189-259-4.
  3. ^ Boullata, Kamal Palestinian Art: From 1850 to Present Saqi Press, London, 2009. pg. 31
  4. ^ a b Boullata, Kamal Palestinian Art: From 1850 to Present Saqi Press, London, 2009. pg. 32
  5. ^ a b c Boullata, Kamal Palestinian Art: From 1850 to Present Saqi Press, London, 2009. pg. 33
  6. ^ Boullata, Kamal Palestinian Art: From 1850 to Present Saqi Press, London, 2009.
  7. ^ Boullata, Kamal Palestinian Art: From 1850 to Present Saqi Press, London, 2009. pgs. 124 - 159
  8. ^ Farhat, Maymanah. "On 'Liberation Art' and Revolutionary Aesthetics: An Interview with Samia Halaby"
  9. ^ Boullata, Kamal Palestinian Art: From 1850 to Present Saqi Press, London, 2009. pg. 184-186
  10. ^ Boullata, Kamal Palestinian Art: From 1850 to Present Saqi Press, London, 2009. pg. 186
  11. ^ Visual arts IMEU, JAN 14, 2006
  12. ^ Two Palestinians make guest appearance on Tel Aviv's art scene, Haaretz
  13. ^ a b c d Jonathan Curiel (April 3, 2005). "Unknown face of Palestinian art". San Francisco Chronicler. Retrieved 06.05.2007. ((cite web)): Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ About Alhoash
  15. ^ Art from Gaza and the West Bank: Gallery of a troubled nation The Palestinian answer to Charles Saatchi pursues the elusive dream of a permanent home for his unique but unheralded collection. By Donald Macintyre. 13 March 2007, The Independent

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