Past Exhibition
May 3, 2003 - October 23, 2003
Made In Palestine
Station Museum of Contemporary Art
Category
2003, Past Exhibitions
MADE IN PALESTINE
May 3, 2003 – October 23, 2003
Participating Artists:
Zuhdi Al-Adawi
Tyseer Barakat
Rana Bishara
Rajie Cook
Mervat Essa
Ashraf Fawakhry
Samia Halaby
John Halaka
Rula Halawani
Mustafa Al Hallaj
Jawad Ibrahim
Noel Jabbour
Emily Jacir
Suleiman Mansour
Abdul Hay Mussalam
Abdel Rahmen Al Muzayen
Muhammad Rakouie
Mohammad Abu Sall
Nida Sinnokrot
Vera Tamari
Mary Tuma
Adnan Yahya
Hani Zurob
Text:
Introduction… James Harithas, Director
A Land Without a People for a People Without a Land…Tarif Abboushi
Made in Palestine: Allan Antliff
Palestinian Artists Working Under Siege… Salwa Mikdadi-Nashashibi
Made in Palestine: Ileana Marcoulesco
The Stuff of Dreams…The Stuff of Nightmares… Santiago Nasar
Made in Palestine: Tex Kerschen
The Lover
Her eyes and the tattoo on her hands are Palestinian,
Her name, Palestinian,
Her dreams and sorrow, Palestinian,
Her kerchief, her feet and body, Palestinian,
Her words and her silence, Palestinian,
Her voice, Palestinian,
Her birth and her death, Palestinian.-Mahmoud Darwish
Made in Palestine is the first museum exhibition in the United States devoted to the contemporary art of Palestine. It is a survey of work by artists living in the West Bank, Gaza, and parts of Israel. Also included in the exhibition are a smaller number of Palestinian artists living in Syria, Jordan, Germany, and the United States.
This exhibition follows the modern history of the Palestinian people from the Naqba of 1948 to their dream for a homeland. There are evocations of the forced dispossession of the Palestinian people and testaments to the day-to-day brutality of the current Israeli occupation. It winds up with a dream for the future of Palestine. Throughout, Diaspora and occupation complicate the telling.
Palestinian artists, under the most egregious circumstances, create works of art that are a contribution to world art. Specifically, they create symbols and visual configurations that define their national liberation struggle for a free Palestine. Being an artist for Palestine is an act of courage.
Twenty-three artists were selected during a month long stay in the Near East by members of the museum staff. Others were chosen during frequent trips to New York. These artists, representing two generations of modernists and postmodernists, work in a multiplicity of techniques and mediums, including painting, sculpture, video, textiles, ceramics, and photography. In style the work ranges from realism to abstraction and conceptual art. Its influences range from the art of ancient Near East and Egypt to Dada, Surrealism, Social Realism, Abstract Expressionism, Arte Povera, and Installation Art. In other words, Palestinian artists, like their peers in Europe, the United States, and the international community, are thoroughly modern, but with a significant difference. The Palestinian artist is deeply concerned with the historical fate of the Palestinian people and with life and death issues of freedom and justice.
Most of the artists represented in this exhibition live under military occupation or in exile. Through their art, they communicate Palestinian aspirations for a better future, respect for their martyrs and their love of their land and people. They also express the pain of imprisonment and death, the innocence and the righteous exultation of their struggle. Nevertheless, this exhibition is not primarily a political exhibit. Nor is it a simple survey of contemporary art. Rather, it is an expression of cultural identity and resistance by important, courageous, and profoundly committed artists.
Gabriel Delgado
James Harithas
Tex Kerschen
Mary Tuma, "Homes for the Disembodied", 50 continuous yards of silk, 2000
Emily Jacir, "Memorial to 418 Palestinian Villages Which Were Destroyed", Depopulated and Occupied by Israel in 1948 Refugee tent and embroidery thread, 138" x 115" x 96", 2001
Emily Jacir, "Memorial to 418 Palestinian Villages Which Were Destroyed", Depopulated and Occupied by Israel in 1948, Refugee tent and embroidery thread, 138" x 115" x 96", 2001
Hani Zurob, "My Eye and the Other", from the series: "I Tell You No, It Means No", acrylic on canvas and wood, 37 x 6” and 37 x 37”, 2002
Mervat Essa, "Saffurya", 2000, ceramic sacks, C-print: print: 48" x 67"
Zuhdi Al Adawi, "Ashkelan prison art in Israel", Crayon and cut pillowcase linen
Zuhdi Al Adawi, "Ashkelan prison art in Israel", Crayon and cut pillowcase linen
Muhammad Rakouie, "Ashkelan prison art in Israel", Crayon and cut pillowcase linen
Muhammad Rakouie, "Ashkelan prison art in Israel", Crayon and cut pillowcase linen
Vera Tamari, "Tale of a Tree", ceramics and phototransfer on plexiglass, print: 60" x 61 1/2"; platform: 78" x 62" x 9"; ceramic trees: vary, approx. 3” high, 1999-ongoing
(detail) Vera Tamari, "Tale of a Tree", ceramics and phototransfer on plexiglass, print: 60" x 61 1/2"; platform: 78" x 62" x 9"; ceramic trees: vary, approx. 3” high, 1999-ongoing
Ashraf Fawakhry, "I am Donkey/Made In Palestine", ink and mixed media on wood block, 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" x 1" each
Ashraf Fawakhry, "I am Donkey/Made In Palestine", ink and mixed media on wood block, 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" x 1" each
Ashraf Fawakhry, "I am Donkey/Made In Palestine", ink and mixed media on wood block, 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" x 1" each
Ashraf Fawakhry, "I am Donkey/Made In Palestine", ink and mixed media on wood block, 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" x 1" each
Mervat Essa, "Sacks": 18- approx. 2 - 2 ½' tall each, sacks 16 x 20 x 8"
Nida Sinnokrot, "Rubber-Coated Rocks", rocks and rubber, installation dimensions variable, 2002
Nida Sinnokrot, "AL-JAZ/CNN", live satelite feed and televisions installation dimensions vary, 2002
Abdel Rahmen Al Muzayen, from the series: "Jenin", ink on paper, 25" x 19 1/2, 2002
Abdel Rahmen Al Muzayen, from the series: "Jenin", ink on paper, 25" x 19 1/2, 2002
Abdel Rahmen Al Muzayen, from the series: "Jenin", ink on paper, 25" x 19 1/2, 2002
Abdel Rahmen Al Muzayen, from the series: "Jenin", ink on paper, 25" x 19 1/2, 2002
Abdul Hay Mussalam, "Village Celebration", acrylic on wood composite, 27 1/2" x 48 1/2", 1985
Abdul Hay Mussalam, "Uprising in the Occupied Territories", acrylic on wood composite, 28 1/2" x 23", 1982
Suleiman Mansour, "I Ismael", mud on wood, 6- 78 1/2" x 31 1/2", 1997
Jawad Ibrahim, "Between the Bullet and Stone", 2000, ink on paper, each, 9 1/2" x 9 1/2"
Emily Jacir, "Crossing Surda" (a record of going to and from work), video installation, 2003
Emily Jacir and Anton Sinkewich, "Untitled", selected books on or about Palestine or by Palestinian authors, 2003, dimensions vary
Mustafa Al Hallaj, "Self-Portrait as God, the Devil, and Man", 1994-2002, masonite-cut print on paper, 14" x ~300ft.
Mustafa Al Hallaj, "Self-Portrait as God, the Devil, and Man", 1994-2002, masonite-cut print on paper, 14" x ~300ft.
Mustafa Al Hallaj, "Self-Portrait as God, the Devil, and Man", 1994-2002, masonite-cut print on paper, 14" x ~300ft.
Rula Halawani, From the series: "Negative Incursion", 2002, B/W negative print ,34 3/8" x 48"
Rula Halawani, From the series: "Negative Incursion", 2002, B/W negative print ,34 3/8" x 48"
Rula Halawani, From the series: "Negative Incursion", 2002, B/W negative print ,34 3/8" x 48"
Rula Halawani, From the series: "Negative Incursion", 2002, B/W negative print ,34 3/8" x 48"
John Halaka, "Stripped of Their Identity and Driven from Their Land", 1993/1997/2003, from the series: Forgotten Survivors, rubber stamped ink and acrylic on canvas, 87" x 272"
(detail) John Halaka, "Stripped of Their Identity and Driven from Their Land", 1993/1997/2003, from the series: Forgotten Survivors, rubber stamped ink and acrylic on canvas, 87" x 272"
Samia Halaby, "Palestine, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River", 2003, acrylic on canvas and paper, 85" x 154"
Samia Halaby, "Al Quds" (Jerusalem), 2003, acrylic on canvas and paper, 65" x 65"
Adnan Yahya, "USA", oil on board, 48" x 48", 1998
Noel Jabbour, "Al-Azzami Family", Beit Lahya, Gaza, 2000, from the series: Vacant Seats, C-print, 50 1/2" x 40"
Noel Jabbour, "Danun Family", Beit Sahur, 2001, from the series Vacant Seats C-print, 50 1/2" x 40"
Tyseer Barakat creates his images using burned materials that suggest the damage and cataclysm of Al Nakba (The Expulsion)
Tyseer Barakat creates his images using burned materials that suggest the damage and cataclysm of Al Nakba (The Expulsion)
Tyseer Barakat creates his images using burned materials that suggest the damage and cataclysm of Al Nakba (The Expulsion)
Tyseer Barakat creates his images using burned materials that suggest the damage and cataclysm of Al Nakba (The Expulsion)
Tyseer Barakat creates his images using burned materials that suggest the damage and cataclysm of Al Nakba (The Expulsion)
Rajie Cook, "Ammo Box", 2003,steel, rocks, and enamel paint, 50" x 18" x 65"
Rana Bishara, "Blindfolded History", 2003, chocolate silkscreened on glass, installation dimensions vary
Rana Bishara, "Blindfolded History", 2003, chocolate silkscreened on glass, installation dimensions vary
Mohammad Abu Sall, "A Strange Body", acrylic on paper, 5- 7 1/2" x 7 1/2", 2002
Ashraf Fawakhry, "Line 13", 2000, wood, plastic hearts, lights, and xerograph prints table: 138" x 19 3/4" x 36"; prints: 2- 27 1/2" x 31 3/8", 1- 27 1/2" x 16"
