Past present

Broad Art Museum explores clash of cultures in the UAE

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The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, tucked into a corner of Michigan State University’s historic East Circle, represents a clash between past and future, and plenty of ink has been spilled debating whether the sleek metal structure fits in its neighborhood. This straddling of past and future makes the museum an entirely appropriate setting for its latest exhibit, “Past Forward,” a striking collection of art by artists from the rapidly changing United Arab Emirates.

“It gives such a comprehensive view of contemporary art in the UAE,” said Caitlin Doherty, the museum’s curator and deputy director of cultural affairs.

This exhibition is right in Doherty’s wheelhouse. Before coming to the Broad Art Museum earlier this year, Doherty served from 2012 as a curator at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Qatar campus, where she organized several international and regional exhibitions.

The first display visitors encounter, however, is not artwork at all. A large map gives viewers a geographical reference for what they are about to see. While the UAE is an emerging economic power, the relatively small nation — nestled between Saudi Arabia and Oman on the Persian Gulf — has largely managed to avoid the headline-grabbing political and military struggles that have plagued many of its neighbors.

The theme of the exhibit, if there is a theme among the diverse styles and subjects on display, seems to be that of a society caught between past and future. Since gaining its independence from Britain in 1971, UAE has seen rapid economic growth, fueled primarily by the oil industry. The country boasts the seventhlargest oil reserves in the world, and, in terms of GDP, UAE trails only Saudi Arabia within the Arabian Peninsula. Its most populous city, Dubai, has become virtually synonymous with opulence and features some of the world’s most daring contemporary architecture.

At the same time, the region is anchored in Arabic culture and Muslim religious influence. A modest dress code is enforced by criminal law, and much of the nation’s legal system is based on Sharia law.

The friction between these worldviews — Doherty refers to it as a “collision between heritage and contemporary culture” — is expertly exploited by several works in this exhibit. A striking example is Lateefa bint Maktoum’s “Observers of Change I,” which features a man in traditional Emerati garb looking out over a bay where flamingos are feeding. On the far side of the bay, the skyline of Dubai emerges from the fog, littered with construction cranes that represent the incredible pace of building in the city.

In “The Last Look,” another of Maktoum’s photographs, a female subject looks out at an artificial archipelago — land that was literally reclaimed from the sea to create more coastal real estate. “What I See,” a painting by Alia Lootah, also uses construction cranes at its subject matter, while Alia Saeed Al Shamsi’s “Forgotten Building” photographs depict buildings erected as recently as the 1980s which were avant garde at the time but have been deemed all but obsolete by the rapid pace of construction and a thirst for the cutting edge of design.

With construction such a prominent theme, it’s fitting that the presentation of this exhibit required some construction of its own. The Broad Art Museum’s first floor gallery, normally a wide open, airy space, has been partitioned off with temporary walls. (Well constructed temporary walls, mind you. Had I not visited the museum just a few weeks earlier, I would have assumed they were part of the permanent structure.)

The primary purpose for the walls, explained Doherty, was to create more space for the exhibit’s hanging works. But the walls have a secondary, temporal effect. Rather than presenting itself all at once, the collection reveals itself gradually as visitors wind through the makeshift hallways. The diversity of mediums greatly enhances this effect, as something new and eyecatching seems to appear around each corner.

Even works that seem playful at first glance reveal a hidden depth on further investigation. As visitors round the last corner of the exhibit, the eyecatching “2012” is there to greet them. A large, circular piece, the work looks like some kind of giant lollipop made up of colorful candy wrappers. In truth, however, artist Khalid Al Banna has created this work using a large number of different fabrics, each representing a nationality residing in the UAE. The cloths come from jalabiya, a traditional dress worn by Emerati women.

The interplay of traditional culture and contem porary style runs through much of this exhibit. Mohammed Al Qassab plays off of the nation’s aluminum industry with his “Aluminum Life” series. A sculpture in this series transforms traditional aluminum milk jars into a long, caterpillar-like creature. Several works draw on the region’s tradition of falconry, including “Ajyal,” a striking, digitally altered portrait of a falconer and his birds. Obaid Suroor’s “Old Houses” features a landscape scene painted over a traditional Emerati fabric pattern.

The goal of exhibits like “Past Forward,” said Doherty, is to give visitors an opportunity to encounter and explore a culture that may not be familiar.

“Our vision is a global vision,” said Doherty. “All work reflects the society it comes from. It allows us to understand a place and a culture that is lesser known.”


“Past Forward: Contemporary Art from the Emirates”

On display through Oct. 18 FREE Broad Art Museum 547 East Circle Drive, East Lansing

(517) 884-4800, broadmuseum.msu.edu

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