MES 12.16 Post-War Art from the Middle East: The Case of the Lebanese Civil War
What is the function of art after a long and devastating conflict like the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990)? When cities are destroyed and people are displaced, radical ruptures occur at the physical level but also at the level of people’s understanding of their own history and identity. Much like Adorno’s questioning of the possibility of poetry after Auschwitz, Lina Majdalani and Rabih Mroue have put in question what art could represent after the catastrophic event. These two artists investigate through their art the work of memory, the representation of the body, and the possibility of dialogue through image and performance.
Cross Listed Courses
ARTH 42.02