Amer, AI-Ani, and Tuggar: Reconstructing the Construction of Contemporary Islamic Identity
Location
CSU 201
Start Date
21-4-2008 8:00 AM
End Date
21-4-2008 9:45 AM
Student's Major
Art
Student's College
Arts and Humanities
Mentor's Name
Alisa Eimen
Mentor's Department
Art
Mentor's College
Arts and Humanities
Description
Through analyzing three artists from the exhibitions Beyond East and West: Seven Transnational Artists and Threads of Vision: Toward a New Feminine Poetics, I have found a commonality of duality amongst contemporary artists Ghada Amer, Jananne Al-Ani and Fatima Tuggar. These three women create innovative artwork that aids the audience in understanding the construction of contemporary identity of women in and/or from Islamic regions. All three perspectives challenge and deconstruct stereotypes, connotations, and misunderstandings, in relation to identity. Their goals are not to find and point the audience to specific answers, but to go beyond strict dichotomies and contradictions between the East and the West. Because of their individual experiences with diaspora (a term used to describe a migration from homeland, generally for reasons related to religion) all three artists are able to go beyond cultural and geographical borders in order to question the construction of Islamic identity, specifically in regards to women. I will analyze the layered relationships between the work of Amer, Al-Ani, and Tuggar. Issues that arise involve figure representation, gender, identity, and the role of tradition in each artist's work. By taking these issues into consideration, the art of these women helps viewers understand the complex construction of identity as it pertains to our contemporary, multi-cultural situations, and specifically Muslim women.
Amer, AI-Ani, and Tuggar: Reconstructing the Construction of Contemporary Islamic Identity
CSU 201
Through analyzing three artists from the exhibitions Beyond East and West: Seven Transnational Artists and Threads of Vision: Toward a New Feminine Poetics, I have found a commonality of duality amongst contemporary artists Ghada Amer, Jananne Al-Ani and Fatima Tuggar. These three women create innovative artwork that aids the audience in understanding the construction of contemporary identity of women in and/or from Islamic regions. All three perspectives challenge and deconstruct stereotypes, connotations, and misunderstandings, in relation to identity. Their goals are not to find and point the audience to specific answers, but to go beyond strict dichotomies and contradictions between the East and the West. Because of their individual experiences with diaspora (a term used to describe a migration from homeland, generally for reasons related to religion) all three artists are able to go beyond cultural and geographical borders in order to question the construction of Islamic identity, specifically in regards to women. I will analyze the layered relationships between the work of Amer, Al-Ani, and Tuggar. Issues that arise involve figure representation, gender, identity, and the role of tradition in each artist's work. By taking these issues into consideration, the art of these women helps viewers understand the complex construction of identity as it pertains to our contemporary, multi-cultural situations, and specifically Muslim women.
Recommended Citation
Hunt, Gina. "Amer, AI-Ani, and Tuggar: Reconstructing the Construction of Contemporary Islamic Identity." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 21, 2008.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2008/oral-session-01/4
