of all the glitzy artsy people i met at the first art dubai (2007- it was called the gulf art fair back then), one of the few who left a lasting impression was kaelen wilson-goldie a reporter then writing for the daily star who is now one of many must-reads regularly contributing to the national (already the middle east’s best english newspaper).

she recently visited saatchi’s unveiled [new art from the middle east] exhibition in london (customarily super-hyped as only saatchi can). she was unimpressed for a number of reasons.

first, it’s geographical groupings:

Geography makes for a miserable curatorial conceit.

i am rarely the one defending geography, but the topic is played out so often in emerging art worlds that i feel compelled. geography may be a false curatorial prism but so are most themes dreamed up by galleries and museums. furthermore geography has always formed a part of artistic discourse, and it’s often been a manner of artistic grouping. indeed, saatchi has often used geographical groupings (new york art now, young british artists, young americans etc). it’s been a highly successful tried and tested formula for him. so yes, of course geography is often a meaningless grouping but (as kaelen says later in the article) a sensitive curator can draw patterns and bring something new with the approach. the point being it’s a curatorial failing rather than a conceptual one.

which brings me on to saatchi and how to approach his exhibitions. saatchi is a shrewd art world operator. his brand is arguably as influential as the guggenheim’s and tate’s of the world. ultimately though he is a commercial gallerist which suggest a different critical approach. the fact that he is shedding light on middle east art this early in its development arc should surely be welcomed, though not uncritically of course.

what do the terms french film or egyptian literature really mean? these expansive generalizations must inherently be inaccurate but they aren’t disappearing anytime soon – they have their uses.

secondly, there’s the ‘orientalism’ sensitivity of middle east art discourse.

Perhaps by its very existence, or by its inclusion of several works that hinge on sarcasm and low-level sexual perversion, Unveiled will complicate some of the misconceptions that western viewers have of the Middle East as a region overwhelmed by violence. And a few of the artists included in the show – such as Rokni Haerizadeh and Tala Madani – are already poised to perform well in the art market, so Saatchi is likely to make good on his Middle East investment even if the rest are never seen or heard from again. As to whether or not Unveiled offers its audience a useful introduction, cross-section or representation of the contemporary art that is being made and shown in the region – well, it doesn’t.

One could argue that western curators and the institutions that back them continue to put on regional shows because they maintain a hierarchy – the West above the rest – and because they satisfy public interests without going through the hard work of reconfiguring the entire world in conceptual or theoretical terms.

arts people in the region have for years derided the lack of international interest in contemporary local culture. now, middle eastern art commentators are up in arms about the simplistic appropriating of middle east contemporary culture and the dangers of reinforcing foreign ideas. this is especially curious when reviewing a show at the saatchi gallery – not a space known for its sensitive, intellectual, rigorous curatorial aptitude (more usually attributed with sensationalism). as befits his marketeer roots, his knack is for creating art superstar brands and making a mint out of the process.
these cross-cultural transnational exhibitions should be looked at as an ongoing conversation rather than attempts at definitive representation.

Moreover, curating by geography exerts a great deal of pressure on artists who live and work in the Middle East. Of course they want their work to be shown, and to make a living from their art. But there are risks. What if artists realise that curators are looking for representative works – imagery related to conflict, for example, or the veil – and start changing their styles accordingly? What if curators and gallery directors start courting controversy to attract international attention?

kaelen has an obvious non-commercial art bias. but art often is a product and artists often are willing market participants.
professional artists have more choices than most. they can work within the frameworks of the commercial art markets where they will obviously react to market incentives (even if it’s to consciously not produce what the market is prodding for). alternatively they can choose to the non-commercial art world (supported by non-profits, academia etc and which is underrepresented in much of the middle east) where they will still react to ‘market’ incentives and data. the difference for the latter is that the ‘market info’ will be curatorial and museum trends rather than auction sales. no artist is an island.

kaelen’s article (which is excellent) is in fact a lot more balanced than my snippets imply, but these general themes that run through so much contemporary cultural discourse in the middle east need to evolve past the knee-jerking.

It is heartening that so many people have gone to see the Saatchi show, and that some 60 newspapers and magazines around the world have reviewed it. But it is dispiriting to read so many critics, particularly those in the British press, claim to have never encountered any art from the Middle East before – they are missing a great deal in their own backyard. And it is discomforting to think that anyone might take the exhibition seriously as a reflection of contemporary art from the Middle East – or, worse, of the region itself. It’s a big place, and Unveiled doesn’t quite get it – nor should it, and hopefully other institutions will stop trying to do the same.

by simply putting together unveiled, saatchi has done more for putting middle east art on the global map than the combined tireless (but prerequisite) efforts the pioneers (bidoun, the third line, townhouse, b21) have put into building the ground work.

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