Salwa Mikdadi

In the short span of thirty years, art of the Arab World moved from the periphery of international art to the center of global visual art production. This course examines the conditions that prompted this change and the theoretical framework that currently situates Arab art within the global discourse on visual art. Focusing on selected artists from key periods of art production, the course will explore the impact of political, social and market forces on the region's art. Examining art production in relation to state formation, identity, gender politics, representation and reception, globalization, and activism. The course will also explore the recent discourse on Islamic art and its links to modern and contemporary art of the region.

The course offers an introduction to the theoretical and practical knowledge on the curatorial process, exploring new alternative curatorial strategies that re-examine the role of the curator and the art institution. Using case studies, the course will look at current models in curatorial practice and the relationship of the curator with artists, the art market, and the public, both inside and outside traditional art institutions. Students will work on a collaborative project curating an art exhibition that may be realized virtually or inside a gallery space. Working in teams, students will become familiar with the different aspects of exhibition production from research to writing wall texts, to designing the exhibition, and its educational program.

Countries in Western Asia, Southeast Asia and China are witnessing a significant rise in the number of art museums as part of their urban regeneration. Focusing on examples from these regions, the course will examine the changing role and function of art museums in the 21st century offering a theoretical and practical understanding of the current discourse on contemporary art, social practice and the community. Students will meet with curators and administrators at art museums, galleries and alternative art spaces to analyze how art exhibitions and museum acquisitions are shaping art history and the relationships between the art institution and society. Class will gain an understanding of the forces that are shaping the UAE art history and its nascent art ecosystem.

The making of abstract visual forms is a near-universal human activity across time and cultures. Some of the earliest known cave art, dating back approximately 40,000 years, is abstract. The use of abstract forms in ornament and for symbolic communication is found at different periods of history and in different locations across the globe. And abstraction has become prominent in modern art all over the world. This course takes a comparative approach to abstraction and asks why human beings in different places and at different times have drawn and carved similar shapes, lines, and patterns. What are the meanings of these forms? Why have some cultures with long traditions of representational painting turned to abstraction? How have religious, political, and social contexts shaped this turn? What has been the role of abstraction in Islamic and other non-Western traditions and how have these traditions influenced Western art? Although the course will range widely historically and culturally, it will take the Middle East as one of its key areas of interest and will include visits to galleries, private collections, and selected centers for traditional arts in the UAE.

Visual arts capstone students will work primarily with their faculty mentor during the spring semester with the goal of completing their capstone project. Students will continue working actively in the studio and will be expected to produce a body of artworks and a 10-page critical reflection paper based on their capstone research topic. The capstone project will culminate in a public exhibition and a formal critique with a faculty panel.

Prerequisite: VISAR-UH 4000