Photographing the Arab city in the 19th Century
Thursday, Jan 30, 20146:33 PM — Monday, May 26, 20145:33 AMEDT
| CCA Montreal, Canada
Related
Emile Béchard, photographer. General view of the Tombs of the Caliphs, Cairo. Plate 14 from the portfolio L’Égypte et la Nubie : Grand Album Monumental, Historique, Architectural. Published 1887. Collotype, 37.5 x 27.8 cm. CCA Collection. PH1979:0613:014
On view at the CCA from 30 January to 25 May 2014, Photographing the Arab city in the 19th Century explores the beginnings of photography in the Middle East and North Africa as photographers, whether amateurs, pilgrims, parts of scientific missions or commercial photographers, sailed to the region bringing home impressions of their travels. Curated by Jorge Correia, Associate Professor at the School of Architecture, University of Minho (Escola de Arquitectura da Universidade do Minho – EAUM) in Portugal, the exhibition interprets the ways in which the traditional Islamic city was represented by several European photographers (Francis Frith, Emile Béchard, Félix Bonfils and Maxime Du Camp, among others). The curatorial approach revisits the widespread and often negative imagery which fashioned visions of the Oriental world, implying chaos and disorder, insalubrity and a lack of self-governance. Through a contemporary reading of panoramic views, streets and monuments, the exhibition offers a shift in focus towards a morphological understanding of the planning of the traditional Arab city. The exhibition opens with an introductory section entitled Imagining the Orient and explores different interpretative themes under the label Looking beyond the veil. More than 50 photographs from the CCA’s Collection are presented and displayed as single photographs, detached plates, albums and portfolios, all of which represented major Arab cities of the 19th century such as Cairo and Damascus. They are examples of the first photographic printing and dissemination processes, such as salted prints, albumen prints, photo-mechanical prints, lantern slides and stereocards. These images constitute part of an important body of work on the Middle East held at the CCA. Their acquisition dates to the first years of the formation of the CCA Collection (in the 70s and 80s), demonstrating their value and significance for the institution. The selection of photographs depicts the urban reality and the city’s organization from a century and a half ago, highlighting the clear distinction between the public territory– halal, what is allowed or profane –and the haram – the private, forbidden or sacred sphere. As Correia explains, “This dichotomy is present at all levels of Islamic culture and, thus, the city’s organization, including boundaries, routes and buildings”. THE CURATOR Jorge Manuel Simão Alves Correia is a professor, a prolific author and a researcher who holds a PhD in Architecture (History of Architecture and Urbanism) from the Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto (FAUP). Since 2011, he has been Associate Professor at the School of Architecture - University of Minho (Escola de Arquitectura da Universidade do Minho - EAUM) and teaches courses on History of Architecture, including: Portuguese Expansion: architecture and urbanism, and Islamic City. Since 2009, he has been a member of the School, Scientific and Pedagogical councils of EAUM. Correia joined CCA’s 2012-2013 Visiting Scholar Program and presented a lecture entitled Hidden perceptions of the “Islamic” city in early photography at the CCA last year. GRAPHIC AND EXHIBITION DESIGN The CCA curatorial team developed the design of the exhibition. Graphic design was created by Montréal designer Tamzyn Berman of Atelier Pastille Rose. RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMS A free public lecture by curator Jorge Correia – and moderated by Fabrizio Gallanti, CCA Associate Director of Public Programs – will take place the day of the opening on Thursday 30 January at 6 pm. The vernissage will follow from 7 pm to 9:30 pm, and will feature musical selections by Zac DeCam, a talented Montreal-based recording engineer, musician, and DJ, whose band Geneseo is nominated for a 2014 GRAMMY award. http://www.cca.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/2315-photographing-the-arab-city-in-the-19th-century
Share
0 Comments
Comment as :