Orientalism

with Curator, Jefferson Godard

“We can not fight for our rights and our history as well as future until we are armed with weapons of criticism and dedicated consciousness.” 

-Dr. Edward Said

Ghazal Ghazi’s current show Forms of Relation addresses a myriad of themes and topics from Persian miniature painting, Kilims, migration, domesticity, family, and the diaspora. One work in particular, Monumental Redactions: Ali’s return to America from the Middle East four months after 9/11 addresses post-9/11 issues. The painting contains delightful pairings of paint and fiber, text and portrait, as well as personal stories and redactions. Ghazi places her brother as the subject here and renders him in layered paint surrounded by embroidery floss. While his profile and thoughtful gaze has a vibrant impasto texture, his hair and upper torso are remarkably absent of much detail. Then, surrounding this portrait is Persian text (which can also be referred to as Farsi) with some of the words obscured by thread. The text reveals a horrific incident where her brother, then two years old, was harassed in an airport while entering the US from Kuwait. Unfortunately, this episode alludes to the misguided stereotyping of SWANA people.

SWANA, or Southwest Asian and North African is an updated term for the ‘Middle East’ and includes some twenty-seven countries such as Egypt, Iran, Israel, Libya, Palestine, and Syria. While this updated term may seem new, it was discussed in a theory called Orientalism back in 1978 (which, incidentally, was the same year that the Salina Art Center was founded).    

Orientalism is a theory published by Dr. Edward Said which offered up a challenge to how Western culture often misrepresented SWANA people, their practices and culture. Said addressed many aspects in his work, one of which was how artworks from the 19th C mischaracterized people from these regions. He spoke about how artists, writers, politicians, and theoreticians created portraits of middle-eastern (SWANA) peoples that contradicted their actual daily lives and culture. This also contributed to the ‘othering,’ or exoticisizing of people from these countries. 

Jean-Léon Gérôme, a celebrated French artist from the 19th Century, painted intriguing scenes which set out to create a narrative of people from the ‘Middle East.’ While these works are included in the canon, they often wax heavily on stereotypes, depicting SWANA people as exotic and savage. Snake Charmer, a painting from 1879, portrays a nude young boy with a python intertwined around him while an older man plays a flute nearby. The boy is performing for an audience made up of men in various states of intrigue and dismay, all wielding weapons at the ready. All of this against a broken and distressed tile backdrop suggesting a post-war aesthetic. While we can see these works now as pure fantasy, they had quite an effect on the way Western people viewed SWANA people in our pre-digital era.                                            

Alternatively, Ghazi makes deliberate attempts to avoid reinforcing said stereotypes in her oil and thread woven paintings. This can be evidenced in the way she renders clothing or the nuances to Kilim rugs. There are subtle references to fabric and color in these works, much like the aforementioned lack of detail in Ali’s head and the nuanced outline of his collarless shirt in Monumental Redactions: Ali’s return to America from the Middle East four months after 9/11. Matriarch II is another example, where soft sweeping lines of blue and white oil paint hint towards a silk fabric that might adorn this regal woman. Another example is how the shapes of Persian text in her pottery and sculptures relate to their organic forms. Rather than focusing on ‘othering,’ the collective work from Forms of Relation brings in family, personal histories, along with some trying and celebratory moments. Allowing for this robust dialogue opens up a greater understanding and acceptance of our shared experiences. After all, we are all part of the same planet and ultimately share similar histories.   

Ghazal Ghazi | Monumental Redactions: Ali’s return to America from the Middle East four months after 9/11 | 2022 | Oil, embroidery floss, canvas, linen, and watercolor pencil | 84 x 69 in

Dr. Edward Said | photo courtesy Nicholas Turpin/The Independent/Shutterstock

photo courtesy The Clark Art Institute | Jean-Léon Gérôme, Snake Charmer, 1879, Oil on canvas. 32 3/8 x 47 5/8 in, Collection of The Clark Art Institute