Arts & Culture
Arts & Culture
Fair Observer's exploration of human creativity in all forms including literature, theater, film, opera, art, sculpture, music, dance, cuisine and travel.
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360° Analysis / Anders Amador / Bianca Nandzik / Christina Wenderoth / earth art / land art / United States / Europe / Arts & CultureArtist Bianca Nandzik looks at the progression of land art from monumental works cut into the earth’s landscape towards a quieter, more ephemeral art form. [View the photo feature, Rethinking "Land Art".] In the late 1960s, a group of artists protested against the conventional market-driven art world. They turned their back on museums and galleries and began to explore nature as their canvas. A new art form was born, which became known as “earth art” or “land art". Their works demonstrate how the artists dealt with technological, social and political conditions. The pioneers of land art put momentous construction efforts in their projects. Using...
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360° Analysis / Arab Hip-Hop / Arab Spring / Fly Over Egypt / Hip-Hop / Iraq / Iraqi-Canadian / Lowkey / Megan Bénéat-Donald / Music / Omar Offendum / PHATWA / Shadia Mansour / The Narcicyst / Arts & Culture / Middle EastMegan Bénéat-Donald in conversation with Iraqi-Canadian musician, The Narcicyst. This is the last of a two part series. Read part one. Bénéat-Donald: Your multilayered identity as an Iraqi/Arab/Canadian musician makes your perspective unique in contrast to those of other artists in the mainstream hip-hop industry. How would you say you differ from other similar artists in this respect? The Narcicyst: I think not being from America is one thing that differentiates me. As much as Canada and the US are similar, I am able to look down (pun intended) and see the realities that we share, as well as the injustices projected eastwards from this side of the world. I am...
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360° Analysis / Albus Cavus / Graffiti / Peter Krsko / Street Art / United States / urban art / urban improvement / Washington DC / Washington DC art scene / Arts & CultureBy Peter KrskoPeter Krsko, founder of Albus Cavus urban art collective from Washington DC, talks about the importance of art in developing local communities. The development of healthy communities in urban centers depends on active involvement of their members. One of the most effective ways to educate and encourage the young generation to be responsible and motivated citizens, is to provide them with creative resources that are relevant to positive civic life. Albus Cavus, a collective of artists, scientists and educators, has been practicing this community-focused creative approach for building healthy and robust urban neighborhoods. In the last decade, the group has established and maintained a...
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Buddhism / Buddhist-Islam Conflict / Chipamong Chowdhury / Monastic Politics / Monks / Politics / Religious Intolerance / Sri Lanka / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / AsiaThe ever stronger monastic politics in Sri Lanka is fast changing the rules of power in the tiny island nation. Given the categorical departure of religion and politics, Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka maintains its apolitical entity and separation from the political sphere. Since the early 20th century, however, it has become impossible for scholars to ignore the intimate relationship between Buddhism and politics and the gradual politicization of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist monks’ active involvement in social politics presents different spectrums of modernized Buddhism and has puzzled observers and political analysts. In the mainstream media today, we see monks...
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360° Analysis / Arab Hip-Hop / Arab Spring / Fly Over Egypt / Hip-Hop / Iraq / Iraqi-Canadian / Lowkey / Megan Bénéat-Donald / Music / Omar Offendum / PHATWA / Shadia Mansour / The Narcicyst / Arts & Culture / Middle EastMegan Bénéat-Donald in conversation with Iraqi-Canadian musician, The Narcicyst. This is the first of a two part series. Iraq is the bomb – or so thinks the Iraqi-Canadian musician, The Narcicyst. While this ironic play on words well illustrates his unique brand of politically-conscious dark humour, behind the witty façade lies an artist with heavy emotional baggage. Since an early age, his life has been spent in exile, first in the UAE, and later in Canada. These experiences of displacement and migration clearly shaped the direction of his music, and as a child of the Iraqi diaspora, he forged his identity with the spirit of a visionary, tracing a hitherto...
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360° Analysis / Bidzina Ivanishvili / Free Press / Freedom House / Katherin Machalek / Media Censorship. Georgia / Micheil Saakashvilli / Politics / Press Freedom / Tbilisi / Transparency International Georgia / Europe / Arts & CultureDespite the recent change in leadership, Georgian media seems unlikely to develop non-partisan reporting in the near future, argues Freedom House analyst Katherin Machalek. Amid great fanfare, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili appeared at a rally in Tbilisi on April 19 in support of his United National Movement (UNM), which had ruled the country from 2003 until it lost the October 2012 parliamentary elections. Since then, the party has suffered a serious decline in popularity, which it desperately hopes to recover before presidential elections in October 2013. This desperation was captured in news coverage of the April event: pro-UNM media featured members of the party claiming as many...
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Argentina / Bogota / Catholic / Colombia / Dylan Herrera / Gay Marriage / Gay Rights / Heterosexuality / Homosexuality / Latin America / Peru / Politics / Roman Catholic Church / Spain / Venezuela / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / AmericasA campaign against discrimination has been launched by gay activists in Colombia. Denying civil rights to a specific group in society, resembles the struggle against anti-Semitism and the African-American civil rights movement. In 2005, the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Spain approved gay marriage. The big question was whether the approval was going to be the small landslide that would cause the avalanche in Latin America, the stronghold of the Catholic Church. December 2009 saw Mexico City become the first city in Latin America to approve gay marriage; although, this approval does not apply for all states in the country. The leading step taken by Mexico City...
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Al Nasser FC / Arab Spring / Dissent / Nasrawi Revolution / Politics / Prince Faisal / Prince Nawaf / Revolution / Saudi Arabia / Saudi Football Federation / Shia Minority / Soccer / Wahhabism / Women's Soccer / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / Middle EastSaudi Arabia is seeing an emergence of political dissent from soccer fans. The country may be on the verge of licensing women’s soccer clubs that currently operate in a legal nether land. Soccer, alongside minority Shiite Muslims and relatives of imprisoned government critics, is emerging as a focal point of dissent in Saudi Arabia; an oil-rich kingdom that, despite banning demonstrations by law, is struggling to fend off the waves of change sweeping the Middle East and North Africa. Nasrawi Revolution Fan pressure is evolving as a potent tool in the absence of the right to protest. It follows intermittent demonstrations, and at times deadly clashes with security forces, in the...
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360° Analysis / April 6th / Arab Spring / Cairo Art / Egyptian Revolution / Egyptian Uprising / Essam Hanafi / Hosni Mubarak / Makhlouf / Marie-Jeanne Berger / Arts & Culture / Middle East / AfricaMarie-Jeanne Berger looks at the (post)revolutionary art scene rising from the streets of downtown Cairo. I’ll Die Anyways “I feel lucky that I as an artist haven’t been persecuted during the time of Mubarak,” says Egyptian cartoonist Makhlouf. “Not like [assassinated Palestinian cartoonist] Naji al-Ali, or [imprisoned and released illustrator] Essam Hanafi. But I also think that if it happened, it means you are stronger than them. I’ll die anyways. If I die and am influential in society, that’s okay.” Makhlouf, who uses only his first name, is the co-founder of Tok Tok, an illustrated magazine. The publication is one of many local initiatives...