WINTER ISSUE > 2012-2013

LITT

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Kez

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Arc

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goes to Qatar airways

Qatar Airways has been announced as the world's best airline at this year’s World Airline Awards, held at

Farnborough Air Show. A benchmark for customer satisfaction, the World Airline Awards carries out surveys of business and leisure passengers flying on over 200 airlines, both international and domestic carriers. Research carried out over ten months

asked passengers from all cabin classes to rate their satisfaction across more than 38 key performance indicators, including check-in, boarding, on-board seat comfort, cabin cleanliness, food, beverages, in-flight entertainment and staff service. The result: Qatar Airways was named the best airline in the world, followed by second placed Asiana Airlines and third placed Singapore Airlines.

“the Art of Travel: Bartholomäus Schachman (1559-1614)” exhibition held in Doha from November

15, 2012 to February 11, 2013, explores European: Ottoman relations in the 16th century. Visitors will be transported back in time through the travels of Bartholomäus

Schachman, mayor of Danzig, explorer, traveller, art patron, who commissioned an album of watercolour and pencil drawings in 1590 of all he saw during his travels. These vivid and intriguing pieces provide an unusually clear insight into the travels of a 16th century European through North Africa and the Middle East.

QMA’s orientAlist MuseuM’s“the art of travel”

exhibition words: SuSAn WILSon

words: SuSAn WILSon

Graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts, Shanghai born painter Yan Pei Ming grew up during China’s Cultural Revolution. He later moved to France to study and has lived there ever since, developing his signature style. Known as a master

of big brush strokes, he is most famous for his “epic-sized” portraits of Mao Zedong and Bruce Lee.

His current exhibition, his first in Doha, is curated by Francesco Bonami and aims to

enforce the power of paintings as a medium to record historical events and history’s iconic figures. Split into three sections,

it begins with a modern history of Arab culture, with over 100 watercolour portraits of the influential figures of the Arab world including Gamal Abdel Nasser, Yasser Arafat and Lebanese singer Fairuz.

The second section of the exhibit delves into art history as it examines the way in which art has chronicled news. Here the focus is on “The Death of Marat” by Jacques-Louis David. The original work by the French neoclassical painter was painted soon after the event took place in 1793, just

How can we capture moments in History? tHe rise of modern tecHnology Has meant tHe dominance of pHoto journalism as

tHe visual medium in wHicH we experience people and events. for cHinese artist yan pei ming, However, it is tHe medium of painting

tHat allow us to truly engage witH Historical moments.

PaiNtiNG the historyYAn Pei Ming

words: SuSAn WILSon

RoLA IBRAhIm, 2012

watercolor on paper, 56 x 38 cm

Photography : André morin

© Yan Pei-ming, ADAGP, Paris, 2012

ZInEDInE ZIDAnE, 2012

watercolor on paper, 56 x 38 cm

Photography : André morin © Yan

Pei-ming, ADAGP, Paris, 2012

as a photojournalist would now capture it.The final section of the exhibition

sees Yan Pei Ming carry on in David’s tradition, painting a history of assassinated political leaders from the 20th century until recent times, including Che Guevera and Mahatma Gandhi. Using his bold, rapid brush strokes to capture the people he is depicting, Yan Pei Ming succeeds in proving that even in today’s digital age, a painting can still play its role in engaging people with history.

“Painting The History” is on view from October 12,

2012 to January 12, 2013 at the QMA Gallery in Doha.

a b o v e

YAn PEI-mInG, mARAT

(13 July 1793, Paris) III, 2012

oil on canvas, 280 x 280 cm

Photography : André morin

© Yan Pei-ming,

ADAGP, Paris, 2012.

r i G h t

YAn PEI-mInG In WhITE, 2009

Photograph by Gérard Rancinan

born in Istanbul, Kezban Arca Batibeki started out as a graphic designer, illustrating magazines and book covers for famous Turkish writers. However, with a father who was a movie director and an artist

for a mother, she got her start in the art business at a very young age.

“I was around three or four when I started drawing,” she says. “My family noticed I could draw very well. They gave me pencils and crayons, encouraged me and told me to keep drawing. My mother

was my first collector. She still

has my first painting - a fish in a deep blue sea.”

Batibeki notes how things have changed for Turkish art since Istanbul launched its Biennial. “People started accepting us and coming to Turkey from all over the world to see the works of local artists. Now, we have lots of art museums and galleries. Contemporary art is very much in vogue,” she says. Things have also changed for the artist herself, as she admits that beyond being well-known in her homeland, now collectors from outside Turkey are beginning to recognise

Kezban arca batibeKi is tHe artist beHind ‘He loves me, sHe loves me not’

turkish delightwords: noRA nAThAn

Too LouDGo AWAY ! - 90 x 100 cm -

acrylic based mixed media

and embroidery with

sequins on canvas - 2012

TRIo

LITTLE BEIGE CIRCLE -

Diameter 1 m - acrylic

based mixed media and

embroidery on canvas-2012

LITTLE BLuE CIRCLE

t o P

ShADoW

a b o v e

GoSSIP GIRLS

her works. “Some just see the bright colours - that’s fine with me. That’s just the beginning,” she says. “They then have to read between the lines, that it’s not just colour and figures. But this is a long procedure, understanding art. “

Although sometimes men appear in her artwork, she confesses to preferring to paint women. “I understand women, because I’m a woman,” she says, adding that these female depictions don’t have faces, because they could be any woman, yet they all have long, black hair. “And that’s the part of me that’s in all my paintings,” she says. Batibeki sees her art as her own form of social commentary; the detached or solo nature of women in her art is symbolic of their precarious role in society, while at the same time Batibeki is conscious of conveying a message that, in a region where women have to follow the rules dictated by the men in their lives, it’s okay for women to be independent.

Batibeki claims she was one of the first to do pop art in Istanbul. “I was always doing this, even as a child,” she says. “And, I’m very lucky to be still doing this.”

Qatar has a reputation for aiming for and doing things big. So what better way to start off a season of operatic performances at the cultural village of Katara than with one of the world’s most loved and extravagant operas – Aida.

The year is 1871. Isma’il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt, wanted an opera that would mark the achievements of his reign, which included the opening of the Suez Canal. Who better to write this ode than the world’s most famous opera composer of his time - the man behind Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and La Traviata - Giuseppe Verdi.

The end result was a four-act love story set against the backdrop of Egypt’s ongoing war with Ethiopia. Two ill-fated lovers, a jealous princess, a bit of political intrigue, subterfuge, and a whole lot of drama with exotic costumes and set design.

The titular role is that of an Ethiopian princess taken prisoner and enslaved by the Pharoah’s army to serve the Egyptian princess. But her gentle and unassuming ways wins the heart of the captain of the Egyptian army, Radames. Unfortunately, Aida’s love rival is none other than the Egyptian princess Amneris.

The stage for this colossal sold-out production in Doha was the Katara amphitheatre, the biggest outdoor venue in the region. Even the occasional drone

oPeratic MaNoeuvres in the dArk

aida KicK-starts tHe opera season at tHe Katara ampHitHeatre

words: noRA nAThAn

of planes landing and taking off could not disrupt the enjoyment at being able to enjoy a large scale open-air opera performance.

And so, the mood was set.Aida is not for the faint-hearted. The

opera lasts three hours, made a little longer this time with 20-minute breaks between the acts. It also requires quite a bit of high-octane singing and acting to keep up with a resplendent set complete with giant gold statues of ancient Egyptian gods.

Lucrezia Garcia, who played Aida, dominated the stage, while Jorge de Leon cut a moribund Radames. Garcia held her own in the duet with Ambrogio Maestri, who was utterly convincing as Aida’s father, the Ethiopian king, Amonasro. His voice rose and dipped as he cajoled, implored and, eventually, railroaded Aida to choose loyalty to her people over her love for Radames. No surprise then that the biggest applause of the night was reserved for the Italian baritone, considered by critics to be the best baritone of his generation.

The highlight, though, was the triumphal march heralding the return of the war hero – opera’s most famous victory parade – a rousing volley between the orchestra and the choir, complete with ballet dancers, flame carrying ushers and a massive Trojan horse on wheels.

The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, in particular the brass section, rose to the occasion under the direction of Verdi specialist, Pier Giorgio Morandi. It was certainly a night to remember and has only whetted the appetite for more live operatic performances in Doha.

rediscovering the GoldeN aGe of inventions

Qatar’s museum of islamic art’s arabicK roots aims to inspire tHe next generation of innovators

a thousand years of Arab artistry and ingenuity is now on display at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. The showcase features innovations from a time known as the Dark Ages in the West. But, in the Arab world, this was the

Golden Age of Enlightenment, from the 9th to the 19th century, when advances were made in science and industry.

Curator Dr. Rim Turkmani explains that Arabick, with a “k”, is the word “used at that time to refer to languages that employ Arabic characters - mainly Arabic, Persian and Ottoman,” and thus the appropriate choice of term for this showcase.

Her team has painstakingly trawled museum vaults across the world to gather the items on display, from rare manuscripts,

to astrolabes, medicinal jars, early surgical implements and fashion accessories, all of which tell the story of the shared eastern and western roots of today’s world.

From Spain to faraway China, Arab innovators inspired Western scientists and introduced to the world coffee, early cameras, the decimal system and universities, among other things.

According to Aisha al Khater, Director of the Museum of Islamic Art, the exhibition provides a way for visitors to rediscover some of the roots of modern civilisation. “We also want to raise awareness about the importance of museums to societies, especially among schoolchildren here in Qatar and are now focusing on expanding the outreach programmes involving schools and teachers,” she says.

Arabick Roots is showing at the Museum

of Islamic Art until January 19, 2013.

words: noRA nAThAn

1001 iNveNtioNsa recent companion exHibition to arabicK roots in

doHa engaged visitors witH its wealtH of curiosities witH tHeir creative roots in tHe arab world.

the exhibition begins with a scene reminiscent of the Harry Potter movies, showing three British students learning about Arab inventions from a librarian, who turns in a whoosh

of smoke into the 12th-century inventor Al-Jazari.

Visitors then enter through a dark tunnel to come upon a fairground. Only this is no ordinary arcade. The kaleidoscope of stalls is arranged to describe early innovations, from those of the home to the science of the stars and universe. Each has a video image of

an actor portraying the innovator

from a bygone era, beckoning inquisitive guests

to click on the button and

hear their

stories. Colourful and engaging, it’s clearly an attempt to appeal to young schoolchildren, many of whom are immediately drawn to the literal elephant in the room. That is the centrepiece - a floor-to-ceiling replica of Al-Jazari’s elaborate and fanciful Elephant Clock – a mechanical beast which tells time.

Its creators call 1001 Inventions a “global educational initiative” aimed at providing positive “role models” for young Muslims all over the world. The showcase is proof that collaboration across the cultural divide can lead to amazing results.

The focus is primarily on science and education, as visitors are encouraged to touch, watch and reach for the skies, as they use their hand to move a constellation into its proper place, making for a fun-filled day of activities for the entire family.

1001 Inventions was named the best touring exhibition of the year at the Museums and Heritage Excellence Awards in 2011 and has been seen by more than 50 million people in Europe, the U.S. and now the Middle East.

To find out where 1001 Inventions

is showing next check their website

www.1001inventions.com.

words: nora natHan

french architect Jean Nouvel has unveiled his latest design for the new national museum of Qatar. The bold and contemporary structure is designed to embrace the rapidly evolving modern landscape of Qatar and to also pay homage to the

vanishing Bedouin culture that is rooted in Qatar’s history and beginnings.

The museum will be constructed through a complex series of discs varying in size, curvatures and dimensions that will inter-lock with each other to create the walls, ceilings and floor space with each disc composed of a steel truss structure clad in glass reinforced concrete with the spaces between the discs glazed.

The foundations for the design of the museum were inspired by the desert rose, a mineral formation of crystallised sand that can be found below the surface of the Qatari desert. This inspiration from the Qatari landscape is a major cornerstone for the concept of the museum.

The symbolism found in the design reflecting the beauty and heritage of Qatar’s natural landscape is also mirrored by a surrounding landscaped park which spans out at 1.2 million square foot.

One of the installations planned for the museum will be a series of cinematic displays projected onto the walls within the museum, giving the visitors a visual guide to the museum’s projects, future plans and extensive archive of historical artifacts.

Visitors will then be able to move throughout the museum’s selection of galleries, all of which exhibit three interrelated themes. These are Qatar’s natural geography, specifically its native flora that over the years has evolved to flourish in the harsh desert climate, the social and cultural identity of Qatar and its history as a nation, moving from the 18th century into the diverse and modern metropolis Qatar is today.

Commenting on his design, the Pritzker Prize winning architect Jean Nouvel said, “This museum is a modern-day caravanserai. From here you leave the desert behind, returning with treasured images that remain engraved on your memory. The National Museum of Qatar will become the voice of a culture, delivering a message of modernity, metamorphosis and the beauty that happens when the desert meets the sea.”

wheN the desert Meets the seanew nAtionAl MuseuM design unveiled

West View from Doha Bay

words: ThomAS KInEALY

in putting together "Tea with Nefertiti: The Making of the Artwork by the Artist, the Museum and the Public", curators Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath have succeeded in composing an eclectic and academic treatise, one that proves that the beauty of art

is that it can be interpreted in so many different ways.

The spotlight is on how and why museums across the world amassed their Egyptian collections, with a focus on Nefertiti. This Great Royal Wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten lived between 1370 and 1330 BC, at a time of great reform in politics and religion.

Paying homage to this era, in the centre of the museum’s hall, stand the arms of two excavators, posed to reflect the motif of ‘ka’, which roughly translates as soul. But Nida Sinnokrot’s work doesn’t stand alone. Look closely through a cut in the wall, and you’ll see what it is juxtaposed against – a 1st century AD standing adorant assuming this same pose: a view of the modern and the ancient in one glance.

From antiquity, the exhibition swings into the 1920s and a newly-independent Egypt. Publishing, photography and figurative art flourished, pioneered by the likes of Mahmoud Moukhtar and Georges Sabagh. Their aspiration? A nation where

writer: noRA nAThAn

A Question of Art And our consciousness

tea with Nefertiti

power is shared rather than dictated from above. Contrast this with what’s happening in Egypt now.

Tea with Nefertiti compels you to question, analyse and understand art and its origin and consequences. Every one of the 80 objects, from antiquities to works by Moukhtar, Sabagh, Modigliani, Ai Wei Wei and Grayson Perry, has been carefully selected to facilitate this artistic excavation of history.

The next section deconstructs the mode of presentation, how institutions value and elevate a piece of art, bestowing unto it new meanings, some not intended by its creator. It asks why the name of an artist or the medium matter. Why do we, the viewing public, never question what’s on display or how it’s depicted, simply accepting that a museum is always right?

And finally, the last leg considers what happens when art is appropriated to deliver a political message. There are many thoughtful pieces here, but one of the most powerful is Ala Younis’ video installation. It reflects how the iconic green Nefertiti sewing machine became a national emblem for Egypt, and through personal accounts from women encapsulates nostalgia, national pride and disappointment.

The exhibition continues until March 31, 2013

at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.

A Question of Art And our consciousness