Venturing into uncharted territory with photographic and video installations, Mapping Sitting uses portraits by Arab photographers, including passport studio photographs, photo "surprise," itinerant photography, and group portraits to present a dynamic picture of the Middle East.
Sponsored in part by Illinois Arts Council and Hampton Inn
The exhibition also raises larger questions about identity and culture as they are represented in portraiture photography. This exhibition is organized by two contemporary artists, Walid Raad and Akram Zaatari, using photographs from the Arab Image Foundation, an archive in Beirut with more than 50,000 images taken by professional and amateur photographers from the late 19th century to the present.
Exhibition programming
Thursday, April 28
7 pm: Lecture & Gallery Conversation with Walid Raad
"The Atlas Group," an imaginary, non-profit cultural research foundation based in Lebanon and New York, uses mixed-media installations combining humor, personal recollection, archival material, and references to the mass media to comment on the memories and desires that underlie the writing of history. Gallery Conversation follows presentation.
Sponsored in part by the Lorado Taft Lectureship on Art Fund/College of Fine and Applied Arts and the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities
Sunday, May 8
1 pm: Second Sunday Gallery Tour
Guided tour of the exhibition by Kevin Hamilton, School of Art + Design, University of Illinois
Guest curators: Walid Raad and Akram Zaatari
