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March2011
WALID RAAD
Miraculous Beginnings
Umea - Sweden
until 25 April
Miraculous Beginnings
Umea - Sweden
until 25 April
UMEA. Bildmuseet presents the first major Swedish exhibition of US-Lebanese artist, Walid Raad. One of the important artists from the Middle East, Raad says his work 'was in some ways made possible by the civil wars in Lebanon'. He playfully considers the effects of conflict not only on body and mind, but also on art itself. The exhibition Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings presents his most important works from the past 20 years.
Stories about the Lebanese wars of the past three decades
Now living in the US, Raad's work The Atlas Group(1989 - 2004) is rooted in his experiences as a teenager in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil Wars. His artworks, presented as documents and attributed to fictional as well as historical figures, narrate and visualise stories about the Lebanese wars of the past three decades. His images piece together a complex story of modern Lebanon with Raad's exploration of photographic medium, its materials and conventions. Raad has said growing up in Beirut he wanted to be a war correspondent - 'I didn't have to go very far. It was right outside the house.' Being in a city at war directly affected his work - rather than seeing photographs as impartial documents, Raad says 'in a city that is divided, a photograph can generate all sorts of facts: some military; others cultural; and yet others aesthetic.'
The exhibition begins with photography and videotapes by The Atlas Group where Raad queries conventional distinctions between fact and fiction and asks how history, in particular one characterised as traumatic, can be told and visually represented. Key works include the photographic series Secrets in the open sea (1994/2004); Civilizationally, we do not dig holes to bury ourselves (1993/2003); My neck Is thinner than a hair: Engines (2001/2003); We decided to let them say, "we are convinced," twice (2002/2006); and Let's be honest, the weather helped (1998/2006-7), and selected video works.
Sweet Talk: Commissions (Beirut) (1987 - present) presents a series of photo assignments Raad gave himself about Beirut to capture the changing face of his home city.
The boom of contemporary art in the Middle East
The final section, Scratching on Things I Could Disavow: A History of Art in the Arab World (2008 - present), looks at the boom of contemporary art in the Middle East and how this affects artists working in the region. The centre piece is a model of an imaginary gallery with scaled-down versions of The Atlas Group's archives displayed on the walls. Originally shown at the Sfeir-Semler gallery in Beirut (the first 'white cube' gallery for contemporary art in Lebanon), Raad says, 'My artworks, especially those from The Atlas Group, shrunk once they entered the Beirut gallery.' The model is accompanied by large-scale almost monochromatic plates, whose colours are 'borrowed' from documents such as letter heads and exhibition catalogues in an attempt to connect with artworks and artists from the future and the past. The exhibition ends with a large-scale projection imagining views within museums currently under construction in the Arab world.
About the exhibition and catalogue
Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue co-published by Whitechapel Gallery and Festival D'Automne à Paris with contributions by Walid Raad, Achim Borchardt-Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery, Hélène Chouteau-Matikian, writer and curator, Alan Gilbert, writer and poet, and Blake Stimson, Professor of Art History at University of California.
Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings is curated by Achim Borchardt-Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery. The exhibition is a collaboration between Whitechapel Gallery and Bildmuseet, Umeå University.
Stories about the Lebanese wars of the past three decades
Now living in the US, Raad's work The Atlas Group(1989 - 2004) is rooted in his experiences as a teenager in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil Wars. His artworks, presented as documents and attributed to fictional as well as historical figures, narrate and visualise stories about the Lebanese wars of the past three decades. His images piece together a complex story of modern Lebanon with Raad's exploration of photographic medium, its materials and conventions. Raad has said growing up in Beirut he wanted to be a war correspondent - 'I didn't have to go very far. It was right outside the house.' Being in a city at war directly affected his work - rather than seeing photographs as impartial documents, Raad says 'in a city that is divided, a photograph can generate all sorts of facts: some military; others cultural; and yet others aesthetic.'
The exhibition begins with photography and videotapes by The Atlas Group where Raad queries conventional distinctions between fact and fiction and asks how history, in particular one characterised as traumatic, can be told and visually represented. Key works include the photographic series Secrets in the open sea (1994/2004); Civilizationally, we do not dig holes to bury ourselves (1993/2003); My neck Is thinner than a hair: Engines (2001/2003); We decided to let them say, "we are convinced," twice (2002/2006); and Let's be honest, the weather helped (1998/2006-7), and selected video works.
Sweet Talk: Commissions (Beirut) (1987 - present) presents a series of photo assignments Raad gave himself about Beirut to capture the changing face of his home city.
The boom of contemporary art in the Middle East
The final section, Scratching on Things I Could Disavow: A History of Art in the Arab World (2008 - present), looks at the boom of contemporary art in the Middle East and how this affects artists working in the region. The centre piece is a model of an imaginary gallery with scaled-down versions of The Atlas Group's archives displayed on the walls. Originally shown at the Sfeir-Semler gallery in Beirut (the first 'white cube' gallery for contemporary art in Lebanon), Raad says, 'My artworks, especially those from The Atlas Group, shrunk once they entered the Beirut gallery.' The model is accompanied by large-scale almost monochromatic plates, whose colours are 'borrowed' from documents such as letter heads and exhibition catalogues in an attempt to connect with artworks and artists from the future and the past. The exhibition ends with a large-scale projection imagining views within museums currently under construction in the Arab world.
About the exhibition and catalogue
Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue co-published by Whitechapel Gallery and Festival D'Automne à Paris with contributions by Walid Raad, Achim Borchardt-Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery, Hélène Chouteau-Matikian, writer and curator, Alan Gilbert, writer and poet, and Blake Stimson, Professor of Art History at University of California.
Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings is curated by Achim Borchardt-Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery. The exhibition is a collaboration between Whitechapel Gallery and Bildmuseet, Umeå University.
ArtGuide - Museum
Umea - March
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About Bild Museet
The museum, which opened in 1981, today announces international contemporary and classical art historical exhibitions side by side.
Bildmuseets exhibitions are often self-produced and has made guest appearances in over fifteen countries. In recent years the museum has established itself as one of the country's most outstanding museums of contemporary art and visual art.
Seven exhibition halls total of 1 200 hectares provides room for diverse expressions of photography, painting, sculpture, drawings, graffiti, video and installations, photojournalism, scientific images, architecture and design.
In the spring of 2012 Bildmuseet will move to a new building situated on Umeå Arts Campus by the Umeå river. The new Bildmuseet, a seven-story building, which is now under construction, is expected to be completed in December 2011.
The museum, which opened in 1981, today announces international contemporary and classical art historical exhibitions side by side.
Bildmuseets exhibitions are often self-produced and has made guest appearances in over fifteen countries. In recent years the museum has established itself as one of the country's most outstanding museums of contemporary art and visual art.
Seven exhibition halls total of 1 200 hectares provides room for diverse expressions of photography, painting, sculpture, drawings, graffiti, video and installations, photojournalism, scientific images, architecture and design.
In the spring of 2012 Bildmuseet will move to a new building situated on Umeå Arts Campus by the Umeå river. The new Bildmuseet, a seven-story building, which is now under construction, is expected to be completed in December 2011.
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