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San Diego Museum Of Art Exhibition Explores Issues Surrounding Role Of Women In Arab Culture

Bullets Revisited # 8, chromogenic print, 2012
Lalla Essaydi/Courtesy Jenkins Johnson Gallery, San Francisco & Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York.
Bullets Revisited # 8, chromogenic print, 2012
San Diego Museum Of Art Exhibition Explores Issues Surrounding Role Of Women In Arab Culture
New Exhibition Explores Issues Surrounding Role Of Women In Arab Culture The show airs Monday, March 30. GUESTS: Lalla Essaydi, painter and photographer Marika Sardar, curator, San Diego Museum of Art

AN EXHIBIT OF PHOTOGRAPHS THAT OPENED LAST WEEKEND AT THE MUSEUM OF ART IN BALBOA PARK EXPLORES THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN ARAB CULTURE. KPBS ALLISON ST. JOHN SPOKE WITH MOROCCAN-BORN ARTIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER LALLA ESSAYDI ABOUT HER WORK. AND WITH MARIKA SARDAR ASSOCIATED CURATOR OF THE SOUTHERN ASIAN AND ISLAMIC ART AT THE SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART AND HERE IS THE INTERVIEW. LET'S TALK TO IF YOU WERE BORN IN MOROCCO AND YOU HAVE LIVED FOR 20 YEARS IN THIS COUNTRY. HOW HAS THE WAY THAT YOU HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP INFLUENCED YOUR ART ? MY WORK IS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL, SO MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IS THE MAIN INSPIRATION BEHIND MY WORK. LIVING IN MY CULTURE OR LIVING HERE, IT IS ALL INCLUDED, I THINK, IN MY WORK THAT IS PART OF THE LAYERING AND PART OF MY LIFE.. I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU WHAT IS THE MAIN THEME OF THIS EXHIBITION? WHAT DRIVES YOU ? WHAT DRIVES ME IS MY LIFE. TO UNDERSTAND WHERE I COME FROM AND TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN MY CULTURE. AND THAT IS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS THAT WHEN I STARTED INTO MY ARTISTIC CAREER -- CAREER, I HAD ALL THESE IDEAS AND WAS VERY INTERESTED IN LEARNING A LOT MORE ABOUT OTHER CULTURES, BUT I REALIZED AT A CERTAIN POINT THAT IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, I NEED TO UNDERSTAND MY OWN ROOTS AND THE INFLUENCE THAT THOSE SPACES IN MY CULTURE HAS ON ME. SO I STARTED GOING BACK TO THE SAME PLACES OF MY CHILDHOOD AND WORKING WITH WOMEN WHO HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCES AS I DID. ALL OF THE WOMEN, FIGURES OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS, THEY ARE FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS WHO HAD THE SAME ALMOST THE SAME EXPERIENCE AS I DID. I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT. BEFORE WE GO FURTHER, WOULD LIKE YOU TO DESCRIBE, THIS IS A PICTURE THAT IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF YOUR WORK OF A WOMAN LYING ON A COUCH. MY WORK IS A PERSONAL -- BASED ON PERSONAL EXPERIENCE BUT ALSO INSPIRED BY ORIENTALIST PAINTING'S. THEN IN SOME OF THEM, I APPROPRIATE IMAGERY DIRECTLY FROM THE PAINTING AND REPRODUCE IT, MAKE THEM -- MIMICKING THE POSE AND ADDING MY OWN IN A DIFFERENT SETTING, ADDING THE VOICE OF THE WOMEN. THE GAZE, WHICH USUALLY DO NOT SEE WITHIN THE ORIENTALIST PAINTING'S. THIS IS ONE OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS WHERE ACTUALLY THE PHOTO IS MIMICKING THE ORIGINAL PAINTING. AND BUT IT IS A PART OF A TEAM THAT IS WITHIN THE SERIES, MY WORK NEEDS TO READ IT AS A WHOLE SERIES RATHER THAN ONE PIECE ON ITS OWN. TO START REALLY MAKING SENSE FOR WOMEN. FOR THE VIEWER TO SEE WHAT I AM TRYING TO DO.. COVERED IN WRITING IT LOOKS LIKE ? YES. ABSOLUTELY. THE WRITING IS DIRECTLY IN HER SKIN AND ON THE CLOTHING BEFORE I TAKE THE PICTURE. THEN THE TEXT HAS A STORY. IT IS MY STORY AND THE STORY OF THE WOMEN ALSO. AND THE ROLE OF THE ARAB WOMEN WITHIN THAT SPECIFIC PAIN THING. SO IT HAS A SIGNIFICANCE BUT IT IS AT THE SAME TIME ORIGINALLY IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE VIEWER, EVEN IF YOU ARE ABLE TO READ ARABIC, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO READ IT BECAUSE I WANT THE VIEWER TO ENJOY IT AS A VISUAL LANGUAGE THE SAME WAY THAT YOU WOULD ENJOY THE FIGURE OR THE BIRD IN THIS PARTICULAR IMAGE. SO MARIKA, YOU BECAME AWARE OF MY LOTS WORK IN NEW YORK. WHAT MADE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WANTED TO BRING HER TO SAN DIEGO ? FOR ME WAS A CHANCE TO JUMP INTO THE WORLD OF CONTEMPORARY ART WHICH IS NOT USUALLY WHERE I WORK. I WORK IN THE 16 AND 17th CENTURIES BUT COMING TO THEM YOU NEED -- MUSEUM THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE AND IT ALSO ALLOWED ME TO ENGAGE WITH MY STUDY OF ARTISTRY, NOT ONLY THE FRENCH PAINTINGS THAT THESE REFER TO, BUT ALSO TO THE TRADITIONS WITHIN ISLAMIC ART THAT I STUDY, CALLIGRAPHY, USE OF PATTERNING, BUT IT IS SO DIFFERENT. THE OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT HOW WOMEN ARE DEPICTED WAS NEW AND INTERESTING FOR ME. IT IS AMAZING THE CALLIGRAPHY. THE DETAIL, LEVEL OF DETAIL IN THESE PHOTOGRAPHS. TELL US WHAT IT TAKES TO SET THIS UP, LALLA, LOOKS LIKE IT WOULD TAKE A LONG TIME. LET ME SAY SOMETHING. I DIDN'T HAVE THE TRAINING AND CALLIGRAPHY ITSELF. I LEARNED IT JUST THE WRITING, ANY SKILLS ACQUIRING LIKE FOR DRAWING OR SOMETHING. SO I WOULD NOT THINK OF IT AS THE CALLIGRAPHY. IT IS MY INTAKE ON CALLIGRAPHY. BUT IT TAKES A LONG TIME. THE WAY I WORK IS I WOULD TAKE MONTHS OF DOING ALL THE WRITING ENOUGH FABRIC TO COVER A SPACE WHERE I AM GOING TO DO THE PHOTOGRAPH. THESE ARE FULL OF FABRIC AND THE WOMEN ARE WEARING FABRIC. ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. SO THERE IS THAT AND THEY TAKE SOME TIME'S UP TO SIX MONTHS AND I GET WITH THESE WOMEN IN THAT SPACE AND WE SPEND TIME TOGETHER BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME, I KNOW I AM GOING TO SHOOT PHOTOGRAPHY BUT NOT SURE HOW I'M GOING TO EXPRESS THAT FEELING ABOUT THAT SPECIFIC PAINTING. AND THAT COMES TO ME WHEN I MEET WITH THE WOMEN AND WE ARE IN THE SPACE FOR LONG TIME AND IT IS A COLLABORATION. THEY ALSO HAVE THEIR INPUT IN THE WAY THEY WANT TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED.. BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE VERY POWERFUL. SOMEWHERE JUST THE EYES ARE SHOWING WHICH IS TYPICAL WHEN YOU ARE WEARING THESE VEILS. THERE ARE DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS IN THE PAINTINGS WHICH IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH REALLY -- I WAS WONDERING WHETHER A FACTOR SET THEM UP LIKE OLD MASTERS OR DO YOU REALLY DOES DO A DYNAMICALLY AS YOU ARE POSING SUBJECTS ? IT IS ACTUALLY EVERY SINGLE THING IS PANNED -- PLANNED IN EVERY PHOTOGRAPH AND FOR THE SIMPLE REASON I'M WORKING WITH LARGE FORMAT AND IT INVOLVES A LOT OF EQUIPMENT AND LIGHTING AND ALL OF THAT DIRECTING THE IMAGE AND GETTING THE DRESSES. THEY ARE NOT DRESSES. THEY ARE JUST CLOTHING THAT I WOULD WRITE AND THE MAKING OF THE DRESS WOULD BE THE SAME DAY I AM GOING TO PHOTOGRAPH HER. JUST A FEW MINUTES BEFORE I TRY TO. IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH SHE'S WEARING GLOVES FROM THE -- GAUZE FROM THE HOSPITAL. SO EVERYTHING IN THE IMAGE HAS A SIGNIFICANCE. SO IT'S ALL PLANNED AND STAGED IN A WAY. UNDERSTAND AND THE WAY YOU'VE CURATED IT, MURRAY, BECAUSE SOME OF IT IS INTEGRATED INTO OTHER ASPECTS OF THE EXHIBITS. HOW WILL THAT HELP THE VIEWER TO UNDERSTAND THE THINKING ? WELL, I THINK THERE IS SO MUCH TO THESE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT IN ORDER TO BRING OUT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE TRADITIONS AND THE STEREOTYPES AND OUR VIEWS OF ARAB CULTURE, THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO SHOW THE PHOTOGRAPHS IN DIFFERENT CONTEXT, SO YOU WILL FIND LALLA IMAGES IN OUR GALLERIES FOR 19TH-CENTURY EUROPEAN ART, WHICH ARE THE MAIN IMPETUS FOR THE START OF THE USE SERIES. BUT ALSO IN OUR GALLERIES FOR MORE OF AN ART WHERE YOU SEE HOW PHOTOGRAPHERS -- FOCUS -- PHOTOGRAPHY HAD JOINED THE FINE ARTS WORLD OF THE COURSE OF THE 20th CENTURY AND OUR GALLERY FOR PERSIAN ART WHERE YOU WILL SEE HOW CALLIGRAPHY IS USED AND IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD. AND IN A GALLERY ON ITS OWN. SO YOU UNDERSTAND HER WORK AS A BODY AND HER VOICE AS A CONTEMPORARY ARTIST. HAVE CRITICS SEEING THIS AS PERPETUATING STEREOTYPES ? WELL, NOT CRITICS. THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE CONCERNED ABOUT ME USING THE FEMALE FORM IN MY WORK, ESPECIALLY FROM MY OWN COUNTRY BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT -- WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SHOW THE WOMEN. THE WOMAN IS COVERED. THAT IS OUR RELIGION. THAT IS OUR TRADITION. BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE WHEN THEY THINK THAT WAY, IS THEY DO NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND. I'M USING STEREOTYPE TO CRITICIZE THE PAINTING THAT IS USING. AUTOMATICALLY, I HAVE TO USE CERTAIN VISUAL VOCABULARY FROM THESE PAINTINGS TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE THAT WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. SO THERE IS A WAY OF THINKING MAY BE BECAUSE I'M USING WOMEN'S FORM, BUT THE -- THEY OVERLOOK THE WRITING, WHICH IS HER VOICE. THEY WERE LOOK THE GAZE, WHICH SHE IS ENGAGING THE VIEWER AND SHE IS CHOOSING THE WAY SHE WANTS TO BE SEEN THE XO SHE IS IN TOTAL CONTROL AS OPPOSED TO THE ORIGINAL PAINTINGS I'M WORKING FROM. WHICH IS THE VOYEURISTIC, THEY ARE ALL SEXUAL FANTASIES OF WESTERN MALE ARTISTS PROJECTED IN ANOTHER CULTURE THAT IS NOT THEIRS. SO THEREFORE, IN MY WORK, I AM A MOROCCAN WOMAN AND ARAB WOMAN WORKING WITH WOMEN. SO THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE AND THERE IS NO WAY THAT IN MY MIND THAT I AM ACTUALLY --. PERPETUATING STEREOTYPES. ABSOLUTELY . YOU THINK A MOROCCAN WOMAN WOULD LOOK AT THESE PAINTINGS AND THINK SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT A SAN DIEGO WOMAN MIGHT SEE ? SHE MIGHT BECAUSE IF A CHAISE MOROCCAN WOMEN AND IS NOT -- THIS IS NOT THE SOLUTION. THIS IS ART. SO SHE WOULD LOOK AT IT AND WE DO NOT RIDE ON THE SKIN. WE DO NOT WEAR THIS KIND OF CLOTHING. BUT THIS IS MAKING ART FOR ME. IT HAS TO HAVE A METAPHOR. IT HAS TO HAVE -- POETRY IN MARK -- ARC IS A BEAUTY AND CONTENT AND IT IS ALL OF THESE THINGS TOGETHER. OTHERWISE, IT IS BECOME -- IF THERE IS NO BEAUTY, AT LEAST FOR ME, AND IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE ALL OF THESE ORIENTALIST PAINTING, THEY ARE EXQUISITELY DONE. AND THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL THAT ACTUALLY IT ALLOWS THE PEOPLE TO LOOK AT THE PAINTINGS AND ENJOY THEM EVEN THOUGH THESE PAINTINGS ARE SHOWING WOMEN BEING SOLD LIKE ANIMALS IN PUBLIC PLACES. SO WHAT THESE ARTISTS, WHEN THEY LOOK AT OUR CULTURE, THEY SEE THIS BEAUTY IN ARCHITECTURE AND CODING, BUT IN A WAY I'M RECLAIMING THE BEAUTY BUT IT IS VERY DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS BECAUSE THAT IS THE BEAUTY IN THESE PAINTINGS THAT ALLOW PEOPLE TO ACCEPT THE SITUATION. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD SAY POLITICAL IN THESE PAINTINGS? HAVE YOU HAD ANY FEEDBACK THAT MIGHT LEAD YOU TO FEAR THAT PERHAPS THEY WERE DISTURBING TO SOME PEOPLE ? IT MIGHT BE DISTURBING. I'M NOT A MILITANT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I THINK THAT EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS POLITICS. THIS TOUCHES RELIGION AT A CERTAIN LEVEL. IT TOUCHES THE SITUATION OF WOMEN THEY ARE POSITIONED IN ANOTHER CULTURE. SO IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS ALWAYS A CERTAIN EDGE TO THE ART AND YOU WOULD ALWAYS FIND SOMEONE WHO WOULD CRITICIZE BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE FEARING THINGS THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND. ONE OF THE THREE SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS IS ABOUT A HAREM, RIGHT ? YES. DO YOU HAVE -- ARE YOU TAKING THIS FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE OF PAINTING OR FROM REAL EXPERIENCES OF PARENTS IN MOROCCO? THE FIRST OF ALL, THOSE THINGS ARE INTERMINGLED. MY WORK IS INSPIRED BY MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE GROWING UP IN ONE OF THE HAREMS. AND I'M PUTTING IT INTO QUOTE BECAUSE THE HAREM ITSELF MEANS JUST A PLACE WHERE WOMEN, THE QUARTER FOR WOMEN'S HOUSEHOLD. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO ABOUT THE SEXUAL FANTASY PROJECTED IN THOSE PAINTINGS AND I GREW UP IN ONE OF THESE HOMES BECAUSE MY FATHER WAS MARRIED WITH FOUR WOMEN. WE WERE 11 SIBLINGS. BUT IT WAS JUST A LARGE HOUSEHOLD. BUT IT WAS A CONCENTRATED ESSENCE OF OTHER WOMEN THERE THAT MADE IT WHAT IT WAS ? EXACTLY BUT THERE WAS NO SEXUALITY IN THAT SETTING. IT WAS JUST MOTHERS WITH THEIR KIDS DOING CHORES IN THEIR HOMES, CHILDREN GOING TO SCHOOL. IT IS NOT WHAT IS IN THAT PAINTING AT ALL. ARE THERE ANY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS THAT YOU WOULD SAY REALLY EPITOMIZE THE MESSAGE THAT YOU ARE ONE TO GET ACROSS ? THAT IS INTERESTING BECAUSE I THINK MY WORK, EACH IMAGE CAN SPEAK FOR ITSELF, BUT MY WORK CAN BE BEST READ BY ACTUALLY SEEING PROBABLY ALL OF THE SERIES BECAUSE THE WHOLE WORK IS IN THE FORM OF A TRIPTYCH AND I WORK NOT ONE PIECE AT A TIME BUT RATHER BY SERIES BY SERIES. SO IN ORDER TO READ IT, REALLY PROPERLY, ONE HAS TO NEED MY HISTORY A LITTLE BIT AND UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE WORK, THE WHOLE BODY OF WORK. BEAUTIFUL. I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW WHETHER ALL THAT WRITING ON THE SKIN OF YOUR MODELS, DOES THAT COME OFF? OR DO THEY CONTINUE ON WITH IT? ATTEND A. -- IT IS HANNAH. IT MAKES A POWDER TO DECORATE HANSEN FEET IN OUR CULTURE. FOR MARRIAGES, FOR WHEN A WOMAN HAS HER FIRST CHILD, ALL OF THESE CELEBRATIONS. AND IT IS CONSIDERED A WOMAN'S CRAFT. SO WE USED IT TO WRITE AND TO WRITE IN A POETIC WAY WHICH IS POETRY CONSIDERED HIGH ART IN THE ISLAMIC ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE SO FOR ME IT WAS -- I WAS A -- I WAS ABLE TO LEARNED IN SCHOOL. NOT WHEN I WAS GROWING UP OF MY BROTHERS HAD THE CHANCE TO DO. SO FOR ME IT ALWAYS REPRESENTED A MAIL ART. SO I AM APPROPRIATING A MAIL ART AND USING WOMEN'S CRAFT TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT HAS NO GENDER. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN. THE EXHIBITION IS ON THROUGH AUGUST THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN. THE EXHIBITION IS ON THROUGH AUGUST 1 AT THE MUSEUM OF ART IN BALBOA PARK. I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT, JUST THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU LEFT WITH AFTER LOOKING AT THESE PHOTOGRAPHS LEAVES SPECIFIC FEELING WITH YOU. THANK YOU. THAT WAS LALLA ESSAYDI. APPRECIATE YOU COMING IN AND MARIKA SARDAR WHO IS THE ASSOCIATE CURATOR OF SOUTHERN ASIAN AND ISLAMIC ART AT THE SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART. THANK YOU.

Moroccan-born photographer Lalla Essaydi is bringing her work to San Diego in a new exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art.

The exhibition features 10 large-scale contemporary photographs of women from three different series by the artist, based on 19th century Orientalist paintings. (Orientalist painting is a term used by art historians for 19th century art depicting the Middle East.)

Essaydi is known for drawing on her upbringing in Morocco and Saudi Arabia for inspiration. Her work often challenges Muslim and gender stereotypes.

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In this exhibition the artist "explores issues surrounding the role of women in Arab culture and their representation in the western European artistic tradition."

The exhibition opens this weekend and runs through Aug. 1.

Essaydi will discuss the techniques behind the photographs on display during an artist talk Saturday at the Museum of Art.

Another exhibition titled, Divine Desire: Printmaking, Mythology and the Birth of the Baroque is also opening Saturday.

San Diego Museum Of Art Exhibition Explores Issues Surrounding Role Of Women In Arab Culture