01 Work, The Art of War, Sliman Mansour's Prison, with footnotes

Sliman Mansour

Prison, c. 1982

Oil on canvas

71 x 60 cm

Contemporary Art Platform, Kuwait

Prison (1982) depicts five men, their hands cuffed behind their back and their heads covered so they cannot see. They are huddled together, back to back, confined within the walls of a prison. Most likely Palestinian and although faceless, the men appear strong, youthful and resilient in their stance. Yet melancholy undertones run throughout, as the future for this generation appears desolate and bleak. The oppression has caused for a fractured identity. More on this painting

Sliman Mansour ( born 1947), is a Palestinian painter, considered an important figure among contemporary Palestinian artists. Mansour is considered an artist of intifada whose work captures to the cultural concept of sumud. Palestinian artist and scholar Samia Halaby has identified Mansour as part of the Liberation Art Movement and cites his important work as an artist and cultural practitioner before and after the Intifada.

During the Intifada, Mansour was part of the "New Visions" group of Palestinian artists that included Tayseer Barakat, Vera Tamari, and Nabil Anani. This collective turned to earthworks and mixed media and assemblage using materials derived from the Palestinian environment in order to boycott Israeli art supplies in protest of the ongoing occupation. In 1988 he made a series of four paintings on destroyed Palestinian villages, the four villages being Yibna, Yalo, Imwas and Bayt Dajan.

He is a co-author of Both Sides of Peace: Israeli and Palestinian Political Poster Art, published in 1998 by the Contemporary Art Museum with University of Washington Press. More on Sliman Mansour

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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01 Work, The Art of War, Sliman Mansour's crowd, with footnotes

MANSOUR Soleiman (Birzeit, 1947)

The crowd, c. 1985

Oil on canvas

H. 115 cm, w. 100 cm

Museum of the Institute of the Arab World

Mansour is a committed Palestinian artist. Here he paints a compact crowd, seized with fear and hampered by the barbed wire of the occupation. Beyond the Palestinian question, this image has, thirty years after its execution, a more universal scope: we see the people confronted with conflicts and the migrations which are their consequence. More on this painting

Sliman Mansour ( born 1947), is a Palestinian painter, considered an important figure among contemporary Palestinian artists. Mansour is considered an artist of intifada whose work captures to the cultural concept of sumud. Palestinian artist and scholar Samia Halaby has identified Mansour as part of the Liberation Art Movement and cites his important work as an artist and cultural practitioner before and after the Intifada.

During the Intifada, Mansour was part of the "New Visions" group of Palestinian artists that included Tayseer Barakat, Vera Tamari, and Nabil Anani. This collective turned to earthworks and mixed media and assemblage using materials derived from the Palestinian environment in order to boycott Israeli art supplies in protest of the ongoing occupation. In 1988 he made a series of four paintings on destroyed Palestinian villages, the four villages being Yibna, Yalo, Imwas and Bayt Dajan.

He is a co-author of Both Sides of Peace: Israeli and Palestinian Political Poster Art, published in 1998 by the Contemporary Art Museum with University of Washington Press. More on Sliman Mansour

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.

01 Work, The Art of War, Ismail Shammout's Crucifixion, with footnotes

Ismail Shammout , 1930-2006, Palestinian

Crucifixion, c. 1972

Oil on canvas

92 by 72cm. 36 1/4 by 28 1/4 in.

Private collection

Sold for 113,400 GBP in October 2020

Crucifixion is without question, a striking work. It is gripping and daunting, but in its abstraction, it is softened by form and a nuanced use of imagery. Shammout handles clear symbols of sacrifice and loss with a delicate sensitivity that makes what can be deeply uncomfortable and sensitive subject matter, beautifully poignant. That is the genius of this exceptional work. Through his interpretation of Jesus on the cross, with a woman and child superimposed in balanced abstraction, we can see the history of the 1948 Nakba overlaid upon it – of the particular suffering of children and women as they were driven out of their homeland. More on this painting

Ismail Shammout (1930 – 2006) was a Palestinian artist and art historian.

Shammout was born in 1930 in Lydda. On July 12, 1948, he and his family were amongst 25,000 residents of Lydda expelled from their homes by Israeli occupation. The Shammout family moved to the Gaza refugee camp of Khan-Younes. In 1950 Shammout went to Cairo and enrolled in the College of Fine Arts. After returning to Gaza in 1953, he held his first exhibition, which was a success.

Shammout and Palestinian artist Tamam al Akhal participated in the Palestine Exhibition of 1954 in Cairo. The exhibition was inaugurated by then Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser. Later in 1954, he moved to Italy and enrolled at the Academia De Belle Arti in Rome. He married al Akhal in 1959. Their work has been exhibited in several countries.

Shammout became a part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the Director of Arts and National Culture in 1965. He also held the position of Secretary General of the Union of Palestinian Artists. He became Secretary General of the Union of Arab artists in 1969. In 1992 he and his wife, al Akhal, moved to Germany due to the Gulf War. After Germany, they settled in Jordan.

He and Al Akhal, returned to Lydda in 1997.

He died on July 1, 2006, at the age of seventy-six. More on Ismail Shammout

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

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Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.

01 Painting, MODERN & CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE EASTERN ART, With Footnotes - 2q

Laila Shawa (Palestine, born 1940)

Red Table, c. 2009

Digital print and mixed media on canvas

100 x 148cm (39 3/8 x 58 1/4in).
Private collection

Laila Shawa (Born Gaza 1940) is a Palestinian artist. Her work has been described as reflecting a view of the politics of her country highlighting perceived injustices and persecution. Often her work uses photographs that are used as the base for silkscreen printing. Her work has been internationally exhibited and has work on display in many public (e.g. The British Museum) and private collections.

In 2012 to go alongside the AKA Peace Exhibition at the ICA  Art Below showcased selected works from the AKA Peace series on the London Underground including Shawa's. "AKA Peace" originally conceived by photographer Bran Symondson and now curated by artist Jake Chapman, is an exhibition of new works made specially for The Peace One Day Project 2012, bringing together a group of Contemporary Artists, all of whom agreed to transform a decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle, refashioning into artworks. More on Laila Shawa

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, And visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.