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This publication is created to review, document and reflect on the artworks presented in ‘The Pick4’, which occured at the Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art in June 28-July22-2009.

Written by: Mariam EliasTranslation To Arabic: Ramez FaragGraphic Design: Eiriny KhalefPhoto Credit: Nikki Columbus and Dalia Abd El Aziz.

Special thanks for the insightful advice & support of: Amy Arif, Kareem Lotfy, May Hany, May Hawas, Ramez Farag and Ramy Hanna.

Copyright © 2010 by the author, the designer and translator.

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Chicko_85CHATS WITH YOUNG EGYPTIAN ARTISTS

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Aliaa Abo Ouf Amr AliAhmed El AzmaAhmed Fathy (Wensh)Abdallah Sabry Aya TarekAsmaa El kolalyDalia Abdel AzizDalia El MahdyEsraa El Feky

Hind El kolalyMai HamdyMohamed AlaaMohamed Keshk Norhan MohamedRamy AbdoSara HamdyShereen LotfeyWalaa El SayedWessam Quresh

The Pick is a bi-annual exhibition initiated by The Townhouse Gallery to promote and support young artists and aims to“introduce the latest generation of artists in Egypt”.

Entitled The Photograph, The construct, The self, The Pick 2 was curated by Hala El Koussy in July 2004 and featured six emerging artists who used the medium of photography to reflect cultural and social codes of image making.

The Pick 3 occurred in June 2007 and was curated by Shady El Noshokaty and Brain Curling. The two academic professors were asked to choose selected works by art students and recent graduates to highlight the work produced by different art colleges in Cairo, such as the Faculty of Art Education at Helwan University and The American University in Cairo.

The fourth edition of The Pick which occurred in June 2009 and featured 20 young artists from different art schools in Egypt.

History of The Pick:

The Pick 4 Artists:

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PREFACE

The Pick of A Generation: An Overview

Chatrooms:Interviews

CONTENTS:

Chatroom One

Chatroom Two

Chatroom Three

Chatroom Four

Chatroom Five

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This book is not a novel. This is not a fictional story. This is not a biography. This is not a suddenly revealed memoir. This is not a self help book. This is not an art history book. This is not an anthropological research. This is not a political reference. This is not an illustrated retrospective. This is not a NewYork Time’s best selling book. This is not a socio-sarcastic book on Egypt. This is not an exhibition catalogue.This is not a comic story. This is not a film’s script .This is not a theatrical play. This is not an artist’s book.This is not an educational textbook. This is not a publication from teens to teens. This is not a manual. This is not an encyclopedic archive. This is not a travel guide. This is not a yellow pages directory. This is not an introduction of a certain topic for dummies. This is not a ‘how to be’ or ‘how to do’ series. This is not a periodical. This is not an avant-garde statement of a new movement. This is not a manifesto with a naïve faith in a radical new beginning.

However, this book is like a chat room, a discussion board or a roundtable in the form of a printed publication. It is a space for The Pick 4’s artists to share opinions, testimonials or comment on several issues such as: art education in Egypt, the effect of media and popular culture on their work, how they perceive their role in the contemporary society, the art institution as a financer and exhibi-tor, their connection with the local art history or the current scene and the concept of a “generation” in general. For that several views might be conflicting, as answers can be driven by logic, emotions or personal experiences. At the end, it is an opportunity to see how different people see things and why.

PREFACE

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Actually, the fourth edition of the Pick 4 and this book were the yield of a group of emerging Egyptian artists, who are the progeny of the 1980’s. By using such a coincidence, the book starts by looking at the idea of a “generation” within the context of arts and culture and examines whether any group of individuals/artists living at the same time form a “generation”. It wonders whether they would have similar ideas, concerns with a specific conceptual or aesthetical perspective. It also inspects the local socio-political and cultural context of the 1980’s and 1990’s to find out if a common collective memory would result in a similar or a certain visual language in the arts.

By analyzing the work of each featured artist, the book aims to find out common places of interest, repeated themes and tendencies within this generation. It draws the reader’s attention on how some prevalent practices by the artists might have social or cultural roots from the past.

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The Pick of A GenerationAn Overview

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Some people do believe in the idea of “generation”. Others even take it further and spend time in an anthropological study to dissect different age groups and classify them upon their common social behaviors. Generally speaking, each society has a tendency to sort itself according to certain demographics, social classes ethnic groups, religious beliefs, generations or even into supports of different football teams. Actually, sometimes it is fun to categorize, group and assort people. It makes us more secure to belong to a certain category and help us to identify and position ourselves. At the end, whether “cultural generation” was a mere concept, anabstract term or a scientific fact, it is a tricky word that holds a lot of factual ideas within it.

This word that you are taking for granted can easily spice up your talk or text giving it simultaneous meanings. Usually, if it is attributed to something or somebody, there is a subliminal promise for novelty, radicalism, uniqueness and a flowery newstart. For example, there is a big difference between saying “Youth” or “The Youth Generation” (Geil Al Shabab), or between saying “youngsters” or “The Future Generations” (Agial Al Mustakbel)Even if the word is used for refering to earlier times, like “The Old Generation” (El Giel Al Adeem) or “The Generation of the Old Times” (Geil Beta3 Zaman), it directly raises nostalgic emotions with a deep feeling of sorrow for an unrepeated past. It can be used in an appellation as a synonym for the “greatest” or the “chosen one”, such as the case of Mohamed Abd Al Wahab or “Mousiqar Al Agyal” (The Musician of all Generations) and Tamer Hosny “The King of Generation”.

The Pick of A GenerationAn Overview

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Try also using it in your chats. It will directly illustrate your intellectualism, profound enlightenment and attentiveness to socio-political traits of each stratum, class and age group in your society. Note also, that if you feel any kind of generational gap, this is usually because you are either too progressed or too refined and authentic. Technological inventions like cell- phones, video games and engines played it well too, as they also come in generations to make you feel that your old gadget has become obsolete.

Lastly, it is advisable that you start writing a socio-sarcastic book or a youthful film (Film Shababy) that speak about your generation, expressing”the problems of today’s youth” ( mashakel el shabab beto3 al youmen dol) and their suppressed desires. Reading through this, you should have started asking yourself the following questions:

Do you belong to a generation?Did you speak about your generation?Do you exemplify your generation? Are you proud of your generation? Do you love your generation?

These questions become even more flagrant, each time one encounters a text or a poster about an art exhibition for artists at the beginning of their career. Most of them assert the same: “to provide a glimpse into an emerging generation of young artists”,” to introduce the latest generation” or “to encourage a new generation of artists”. Although these statements might offer

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anaccurate branding for their shows, it indirectly makes the issue of generations even more perplexing. Especially, for the fact that up until now it seems that the anatomy of modern Egyptian art history has been chaptered around consecutive generations rather than schools, movements and isms.

But then how is a “Generation” formed in the context of arts and culture? Does any group of individuals/artists with the same age bracket form a “generation”? Should they have similar ideas, concerns with a specific conceptual and aesthetic perspective? To what extent would they share a collective memory that might result in a common visual language? How are they going to integrate or detach themselves from the current cultural system?

Playfully fresh as its title implies, the fourth edition of The Pick not only offered a constellation of new innovative artists from various educational backgrounds, it was also a chance to review whatever happened in the past decade and reassess change. Since a lot has happened lately in the context of arts and culture, The Pick 4 with all its pros and cons, proposes the yield of smart initiatives, some misjudgments but obviously a much active local art scene.

The latest and fourth edition of “The Pick”, came at the end of this decade and was the outgrowth of a group of youth all born in the 1980’s, a “generation” that received many titles such as: the Millennials, Generation Y, MTV Generation, I Generation, The satellite & The Internet Generation (Geil Al Dish Wa Al Internet) or even The Shamydan Generation (1). They were even named after several famous TV presenters like Mama Nagwa’s Generation or Mama Samia’s Generation(2). Obviously, these people were usually named after their consuming behaviors, as they were the first users of several mind-blowing inventions and several sporadic transitions. While on the local level, they were torn between several conflicting

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ideological climates with a desire to be part of the global change and a fear from the preeminence of globalization.

This might have been reflected in their artwork, choice of themes and aesthetic conceptions, yet any judgment on their norms of production would be still uncertain. But it is also undeniable that there are several common practices that have been already manifested. Several experiments show that there are some enthusiasts who want to break free of the yoke and lose their grips from nostalgic and nationalistic burdens.

Also, diversity of mediums seemed to be a common manifested factor in most recent exhibitions that featured young Egyptian artists. The Pick 4, for example, brought up diverse profiles of artists who were moving impeccably across mediums, forms and subjects. Self expression, exuberance and humor were the raison d’être of the artworks in the show. Without holding tightly to fashionable concepts or forcing radicalism, the presented artists chose their stimulus from their personal experiences, particularized concerns, obsessive habits, contemplative beliefs or private amusements.

1-The Shamydan is an Egyptian wafer that was very popular in the eighties and early nineties. It had the slogan of “The Shamydan as you love it, it loves you more and more”. Besides, being a local product with reasonable price, it had the most interactive marketing campaign, as it was famous for its gifts and giveaways that were given with the collection of coupons or several empty packaging. The Shamydan generation is coined to refer to a generation who grew up during that time and used this Egyptian wafer. It is usually used to describe them as futile and fragile like a wafer. It is a way to mock this generation and accuse it of having no aim or vision, unlike for example, the generation of the revolution or the generation of October’s victory.

2-Mama Nagwa and Mama Samia, were two famous T.V presenters who hosted two popular shows for children. Both Nagwa Ibrahim and Samia Sheraby were named Mama (mother) and had a famous puppet in their show like Boklz with Mama Nagwa and Koronba with Mama Samia in her show “Arosty” (My Doll). Actually, most popular figures of that time who presented shows for kids, were called with a cozy recognizable titles such as ‘Gedo Abdo’ ( Grandpa Abdo) referring to Abdel Moneim Madbouly, ’Amo Fouad’ (Uncle Fouad) referring to Fouad El-Mohandes or ‘Mama Suzan’ referring to the First Lady.

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Walking through the show, one encounters an assorted platter of videos, drawings, graffiti, mixed media, digital painting, photography, fashion installation and new media art. This miscellaneous multitude of forms is not only an indication of the varied interests of the generation but is also a sign of the experimental condition of the artists themselves, most of which have jumped between different styles in a very short time. Unlike the fuss about painting, drawing was never declared dead(3). What these young artists have presented recently is an example that these traditional mediums still have contemporaneity and even future potential. For example, Ramy Abdo draws, but his drawings are illustrations of nothingness.

In other words, they are drawings about everything. His organic and geometric shapes might compose a narrative or a certain notion, but at the end he describes his work and its process as a “form of communication with the creator and his creation”.

It is indistinguishable whether these pieces are doodles and scribbles or a thought-out artwork, since drawing for Abdo has become an uncontrollable obsession and an illustration of the mental process of thinking. His room and studio are filled with A4 white papers and ink. In each piece there is a new relationship between the line, the form, the surface space and the movement of organic or geometric shapes in it. There is also an examination of the practice of drawing as a means for creation and design. Clearly, Abdo is fascinated with the mystical nature of drawing. For him, lines, dots and spaces are the product of a “metaphysical mental image” or a “God given vision”.

3- “From Today Painting is Dead” was a quote by the French painter Paul Delaroche, responding to the advent of photography that he believed will replace the representational function of painting. This later became a debate used by conceptual art and post conceptual art.

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Ramy Abdo, Untitled, Pen On Paper, Pick 4.

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Moreover, to draw your state of mind might not be easy and can lead to a clustered disarray. “I think a lot and I draw what I am thinking of. This ends up with closed mazes that take the form of a visual illusion,” said Norhan Ahmed, a graduate from Faculty of Art Education College. It was not surprising that the result became a series of chaotically clustered buildings, as Ahmed finds drawing a way of expressing her psychological state. “The concept or the message was not my concern as it would automatically appear,” she explained

Besides, Ahmed and Abdo, there are quite few artists who are using draing as their tool of expression. For these artists drawing comes with a new narrative and a personalized approach. It has other functions rather than a mere nice composition, a still life or a portrait. For others, this urge to draw comes out of a thirst for romanticism and illustrating one’s own imagination, rather than being burdened with a cause or an ideological concept.

Because of the intimate and immediate nature of drawing, it is the initial way in creating an image and finding one’s own graphic line and personal voice. It is a pragmatic way of creating an artwork without the need for funds, curators or specific installation.

Norhan Ahmed, Mazescapes, Drawing, Pick 4.

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However, drawing didn’t have a proper status in the Egyptian art arena. Usually, if exhibited it was considered substandard or better placed as a complementary to another work in a show. In fact, the success of international artists like Kara Walker, Dan Perjovschi and Daniel Zeller showed how the longing to break away from some stagnant old molds that dominated the Egyptian art scene for long time, made many lose appetite for traditional mediums and be attracted to anything digital regardless of its content.

As abstract as it can be, drawing is also representational, vividly illustrative and an easy way to show off your skills. It is no wonder then that sequential art is highly welcomed among the new generation as an art form and not just a comical product. “Some people might see comic art as a commercial genre or an amusement for children or teenagers, but it is also a form of art that highly fits with the pace of our time,” explained Abdullah Sabry who graduated from Faculty of Art Education and works now as a photographer. “I personally believe that comic art can be twisted in various ways, my comic art work as an example, is also inspired by Surrealism and Dada,” he continued. A few days before the opening, Sabry took his pencil and paint to start drawing his mural. His spontaneous act turned out to be a graphically enchanting piece.

Back in the 1980’s, pulp magazines and comics were every boy’s venue to worldly values, exploitations and norms. Several local and international prints used to be sold in libraries or street pavements such as Mickey, Samir, Maged, Superman, Tin-Tin, The Five Adventurers (Al Mo3’amoron Al Khames), The Thirteen Devils (Al Shyateen Al Taltasher), Flash , Cocktail 2000, Fares Al Andalous, Ma Wara Al Tabee’ya and the series of Ragol Al Mostaheel (Adham Sabry).“Comics for any boy were his fantasy world that visualized all his dreams about heroes and supernatural powers.

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Until today, my bedroom and bathroom are full of comic magazines,” commented Sabry. The adaptation produced in Hollywood of these storyboards and illustrations doubled the fascination about them. Twodimensional characters were transformed to three-dimensional characters with vivid action and sound. “It was extremely hard for any boy not to be impressed or influenced with this world, it is even more inspiring to the imagination than cinema, which spoon feds all the data in front of you, without you needing to think,” commented Sabry. “There are even schools in comics like the French Tin-Tin, the Japanese Manga and the American Virus, yet there are still some that consider it just a form of caricature or entertainment”, he continued.

Also inspired by sequential art, Aya Tarek chose to paint her story on canvas, rather than the pulp paper. Despite her young age, Tarek has quite an impressive portfolio, a sharp vision for her work and

Abdallah Sabry, Tell Me Darkness, Mural, Pick 4.

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has limitless dreams for it. While studying for her BA in Fine Arts at Alexandria University, she is also working as a graphic designer, typographer, illustrator and street artist.Tarek’s work is not only neat and precise but it is also daring and blunt. She aims to break taboos that prevent the discussion about religion, gender and politics.

As a resident of her grandfather’s art studio who was an illustrator for Egyptian film posters, Tareq’s sequential strip “Am Hassan” was inspired with his place and craft. In her comic noir, Tarek used an extract from an imaginary storyline of a graphic novel to highlight iconic taboos in the Egyptian underground culture. In four panels, she created a raw world of stereotype, deception, dirty language and the local “Stella” beer.

On one side, this genre has proven to have a specific impact in our culture, as it can find its place in exhibition halls and be accessible to audiences outside the art world at the same time. Yet still, some artists who choose comic art as an inspiration would be still trapped in a juvenile artform, creating pieces that are mere flat visual entertainment.

Now, with the interplay of genres and forms of art, comics are no more this vigor sequential strip found in newspaper’s kiosks and street pavements, but an artwork that can exist in galleries, literature books and feature film. Unfortunately, still there isn’t much space of freedom for this genre to evolve. An exemplar of that is Magdy El Shafee’s political satire Metro. The graphic novel which holds direct sarcasm to the government was confiscated from all stores, its publisher was arrested and both the author and the publisher were accused of offending public morality (4).

4-Ahmed Nage, Trans. Humphrey Davis, “Metro-Cairo in Black And White”, BIDOUN, Fall 08.

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Aya Tarek, Am Hassan, Comic-noir, Pick 4.

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In a consumer society like Egypt, kitsch can easily become the most predominate aspect of taste. Actually, Egypt is a country known for its crafts and artifacts that are the result of the tourist industry, monuments parody, historical and cultural relics, and a prevalent taste for ornamentation, cheap synthetic objects and Made in China imports. Wensh mixes pop, kitsch, familiar and found objects producing mishmash banal picturesque images which he paints onto various facades in Alexandria. “I choose elements that are stored in my memory from previous experiences and incidents,” commented Wensh.

“What I care about in my work is its specificity to the place and district of its exhibit. I take inspiration from the traits and daily routine of the people living there,” he continued. It was then great to see how Wensh created two different dialogues between him and the audience. Inside the gallery space he displayed different incongruent items. Yet, their banality was quite provocative to proper art gallery goers and stiff viewers. He then filled the walls, the trees and the streets outside the gallery with various sizes of enormous photos of babies. Interestingly, images of cute foreign babies are very common artsy and decorative icon in the under-ground kitsch world of Egypt, as they abound in gift shops, as valen-tine presents, on mugs, greeting cards and T-shirts.

Wensh, Untitled, Graffiti on walls inside the Townhouse gallery space, Pick 4.

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Even with his playful interventions, Wensh has a specific artistic persona, as he manages each time to transform public urban spaces into a visual bewilderment. Refusing to conform to the rules of the art bureaucracy, Wensh and his friend Amr Ali took, street art as a venue to tackle social and everyday customs, pop icons or nonsense to trigger reactions from street passengers and droopy apathetic public. Anonymously they fool around and mess with an authoritative stagnate culture. “I believe that a street artist is just an activist and it’s not necessary that he makes himself recognizable. In some cases if the work is iconic he automatically becomes a well known figure such as Banksy or Blek le Rat,” said Wensh.

What’s really significant about Ali and Wensh’s initiative is that they did not stop after a couple of times or treated it as just a fleeting idea for passing time, rather they developed their experimentations into a regular act of art production. Without waiting for funds, a curator or an empty hall, the two artists did several satirical street interventions in hidden or exposed locations.

A couple of years ago, there were also some gestures of street art by Cairene artists which were erased by state’s authorities. What is really paradoxical is how the government had painted over the graffiti of those Cairene artists, but would initiate a huge mural in Giza or even offer a graffiti workshop in Mahmoud Moukhtar museum. Ironically, the outcome of the workshop was painted on canvas and hanged temporarily on the fence of the museum.

Though graffiti was a common practice in the local streets of Cairo, it was mainly used to advertise a certain product or service, declare a certain possession of a land, promote religion or express affection. Yet, graffiti as a rebellious form of art has only lately started to appear in Egypt and by artists of approximately the same age. This might be the influence of some famed international street

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Wensh, Untitled, Street Graffiti outside the Townhouse gallery space, Pick 4.

artists. Yet, perhaps it is the effect of initiatives like the political movement kefaya (Enough) that helped in stirring up change, pushing Egyptians to become bolder and gain more courage to demonstrate, strike, protest or even do graffiti in the streets(5). Obviously, many of the upcoming Egyptian artists are more concerned with public awareness and wish not to be exclusive or isolated in exhibition halls.

5- Manar El Shorbagy, “Understanding kefaya: The New Politics in Egypt”, The Free Library, Jan 07, <http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Understanding+Kefaya:+the+new+politics+in+Egypt-a0162883567’

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Aside from their public art, Ali and Wensh play with various other mediums creating satirical art pieces on paper, wood, canvas or murals. In his first solo exhibition at Mashrabia Gallery, Ali’s show was a colorful flair of mixed media and paint on canvas. His nine-squared piece of mixed media that he presented in the 20th Youth Salon was one of the most talked about art works. Each one comprises a portrait of one of his friends, himself or the popular YouTube love star “ArAr & Sandoud”. Interestingly, he used the background to reflect the persona of the presented character, by having a psychiatrist prescription, a packaging paper for a bakery, fashion magazines or the “Made in China” tag.

Also at The Pick 4, his huge digital collage won many admirers. There is something of an anomaly about Ali’s work that makes it attractively shocking for the viewer, probably because of how he challenges to “break the stillness” of the 2D Image and finds his subjects form pop culture. Impulsively, Ali’s work looks like the out

Collaborative work between Amr Ali, Wensh and Aya Tarek, Sheikh Sharwy, Graffiti, Alexandria.

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come of someone having fun in his spare-time who then decided to turn his amusement into an artwork. That’s why a lot of people can easily relate to it.

Amr Ali, Untitled, Mixed Media.

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Amr Ali, Untitled, Digital Collage, Pick 4.

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“Who said Cairo is hideous or chaos is spiteful,” asks Dalia Abd Aziz. “Why everyone is suddenly talking about Cairo’s charm in the past. It’s all imaginary or may be they are nostalgic for a dream, as Cairo that we have experienced has always been the same,” she continued. Rather than having a snooty observation or looking at the city from a superior anthropological lens, Al Aziz conforms with the haphazardness and values it. So instead of manipulating and forcing order in slum areas, Al Aziz imitates the random design and coloring of the buildings and confuses hers with the original. She then affirms that over-population, randomness and arbitrary urban design have left space for individuality and a particular aesthetical reality. Decisive playfulness and spontaneity have always marked Al Aziz’s artwork. At the American University in Cairo, where she graduated with a B.A in Visual Art, Al Aziz built a maze in the courtyard of the campus.She then created a teasing, fun and original way for exhibiting her artwork, rather than displaying it in a proper white cube gallery.

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Dalia Abd Al Aziz, I Watch the City, Digital Painting, Pick 4.

At The Pick4, both Ali and Al Aziz preferred digital manipulation and computer graphics in their artwork, creating two major highlights of the show. Generally speaking, digital art and computer generated artworks is a major preference for visual creators of this generation. In that, Walter Benjamin’s idea about how mechanical reproduction implicates the loss of aura would be out of discussion for those artists(6). Thus, it seems that local critics, museum curators and Egyptian art collectors have not passed such a phase yet. Several might treat a digital art piece as a cool flaky idea or a good design, others would have a debate about its originality and many would exaggerate in their admiration without any analytical judgment, accepting works that lack any artistic value.

6-Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, Marxism And Art, ed. Maynard Solomon (Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1974) P.550.

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Touching upon feminist issues has always been a fraught area that accompanies a baggage of taboos, especially when tackling the issue of the body. Although the body as a theme has been a widely discussed issue, Dalia El Mahdy chose to explore notions related to gender perception connecting it with an everyday conflict. Vocal and physical harassment were her concern, using fashion as a close passion to women to express her ideas.

“In my work, I like to mix all kinds of art and design with daily social problems. The issue of harassment, for example, is a basic and imperative topic that is becoming really complex,” said El Mahdy. “This uncivilized act makes me wonder about the reasons behind it, while our parents had much more freedom,” she continued explaining the reasons behind choosing costume and fashion as medium of expression. In the ‘Fashion and Identity’ workshop at Goethe Institute, El Mahdy designed a costume with fake eyes and leather for the final fashion show. For her piece in The Pick 4, the barcode was turned to a dress and an installation to show how the female body has turned to a commodity.

Dalia Al Mahdy, A Product, Fashion Installation, Pick 4.

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The case of El Mahdy evokes the question of whether women shall speak about women’s issues and reintroduces the idea of whether feminist art is still prevalent. On one hand, Aya Tarek chose to expose the idea of the differences between genders in her street art, making provocative pieces to challenge fixed mindsets. Yet, Wessam Quresh believed that classifications of issues in art might lead to flat stereotyping.

Asmaa and Hind El Koley, on the other hand, believed it is imperative, yet still a misleading area that should be tackled with caution. “These ideas are always very welcomed, especially from Arab women who are expected to show oppression and inequality,” said Hind El Kolaly.“ If we are going to discuss veil, we want to say that we like it and we conform with it, without being categorized into the clichéd views that are always associated with the status of women in the Arab world,” continued Asmaa El Kolaly.

Aya Tarek,Self- portrait, Digital Illustration.

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One of the best achievements of the latest independent workshops is introducing Egyptian art students to new technologies and equipments that are not accessible to them in their curriculum. Sara Hamdy and Walaa El Sayed are great examples of this, where they developed an interest in sound art and personalized it to fit other personal interests.

Coincidently, both are interested in writing and text. Hamdy is a poet who is interested in new forms of Arabic poetry. She created a blog to show her creations and finished recently her B.A in Fine Arts from Helwan University. El Sayed has also worked as a journalist for arts and culture and is currently doing her M.A in Art History and Criticism at the Faculty of Art Education at Helwan University.

Sara Hamdy,portrait, painting.

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Walaa El Sayed, Discontinuance, Sound Interactive, Pick 4.

Hamdy’s piece is an exploration in sound, not as a mere mechanical phenomenon of wave transmission, but as a sensory and sensible experience. In her piece, she used the human voice to experiment with the act of listening to a subliminal mental or emotional state. On the other hand, El Sayed created an interactive sound installation and presented it through the traditional medium of a rotary dial phone to express her longing to connect with the past. In her piece, one can hear or talk with her Nubian grandfather, yet the communication panel seems to have some hinders because of the difference of language and dialect, volume of voice, or even conceptual matters that El Sayed purposely installed. While El Sayed uses technology to connect to her roots, Hamdy wanted to find a human depth in advanced technology. Both found sensible personalized alternatives in these new mediums without being trapped in sophisticated technicality.

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All through the past decade, there has always been a tendency to veer toward certain representational themes to an extent that turns them to clichés or thematic molds. Taboos were usually kept as is and several issues remained untouched, surely with several exceptions. In her mixed media collage, Alia Abo Ouf brought an innovative and imperative topic to the table. Since money is a major global problem that is the center of our daily routine, Abo Ouf thought of dissecting the Egyptian pound to discover places of tension and value.

In her research, Abo Ouf found out how the iconography of the Egyptian banknote contains subliminal messages of power, autocracy, ancient history and religion and by incising and combing these she aimed to discover other areas of its usage and possibilities for new visions. “I wanted to choose a subject that faces me daily and I was always confused about how money was always there to create problems or even make situations easier,” said Abo Ouf. “That is why, I started to look at it with a different perspective and dealt with it in an emotional and careless way,” she continued.

In an experimental manner, May Hamdy’s work is varied as she likes to experiment and hates to be stuck in a specific form and concept.Sometimes, it can be an exploration of rituals and beliefs that are rooted in our multilayered culture or a capture of a particular placeand moment in our day to day life. She is concerned with paradigms

Alia Abou Ouf, Untitled, Mixed Media, Pick 4.

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of thought and habitual patterns that are knotted in our society.

In the 20th Youth Salon, Hamdy created an installation with aged paper and wire as a refutation of the blockages of freedom on thought and availability of knowledge. “My interest in book art came after a workshop with Shady El Noshkaty because of myinterest in literature,” explained Hamdy. “I generally hate obstacles or hinders and in our country there is like a safety belt on everything especially on people’s opinion and thought,” she continued.

In the ‘Fashion and Identity’ festival held at the Goethe institute, Hamdy designed a costume that is inspired from the Mahgoub(fortune teller) that is common in Egyptian Moulids. “It provoked me because it acts as a medium between God and people, like so many fetishized things in our culture that are thought to have supernatural powers,” explained Hamdy.

In The Pick 4, for example, she presented a photomontage of a room in a hospital. The vividness of the static image created a strong narrative touching on specific personal experiences and provoking several conflicting emotions.

Mai Hamdy, A Room In One Of The Hospitals, Photography, Pick 4.

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Introspectively, both Abo Ouf and Hamdy were able to genuinely put forward their ideas and tackle issues of everyday reality.

Some might consider it a flamboyant trend, but it is quite ajustified one, as there are several reasons for this constant use of video as a medium within the Egyptian art context. Moving images and short clips are by now the most popular form of communication. Locally, music videos came to prominence between 1980’s and 1990s as an independent genre aired separately. Then luckily there were T.V programs that aired assortments of international video clips such as: Al Alam Yoghany (The World Sings ), Panorama Ferenseya (French Panorama) and Ekhtarna Lak (We Have Chosen For You).

As channels like MTV, Dream TV and Melody TV went on air, theaddiction and fascination with moving images became at its peak. Not only on the individual level, but currently most cafes, restaurants, clubs and even dental clinics have a 24/7 screening of video clips. Motion pictures, cartoons, videogames and advertisements have also played a palpable role in making us accustomed to any form of pictorial culture and welcome it as art. In fact, it is really tempting not to choose video as a medium for expression, yet experimenting with it in the beginning can lead to shoddy places, such as drifting towards rowdy and gaudy pictorial language to shock the viewer or following certain clichés that isregularly consumed by mainstream media.

However, the most significant breakthrough was because of the technological advancement in handheld video cameras, computer editing programs and storage media and their availability in affordable, easy to use and commercially available versions. Note also that some pioneer artists first used Video in late 1990’s who later started to give lectures and organize workshops, teaching the medium in theory and practice.

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Assma & Hind El kolaly, The Princess, video still, Pick 4.

Asmaa and Hind El Kolaly were among the first graduates of these workshops that were held at the Faculty of Art Education of Helwan University. Their imagery is exacting, blunt and sometimes aching, allowing for multiple interpretations. Tackling on prevailingissues, they toured around locally and internationally as they work individually or as a duet, while cultural imperialism, collective identity and societal collective perspectives are among their concerns.

Previously, Asmaa El Kolaly created a video art called In The Fridge where she split the screen into two iconic images. One of which was for a person stuffing different types of food inside his nose, while in the other the Star of David was being sewed on an Islamic prayer’s hat.

Though their work might be highly controversial and charged with political and religious connotations, they refused to categorize their work as geo-politically or ethnically thematic. “The problem is that political art can easily be a commercial genre or a way to market oneself. Besides, fake anthological representations are always attractive, especially to the West,”they continued, explaining that their work is more about personal apprehensions that affect the society at large.

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In 100Live Electronic Music Festival, Hend El Kolaly presented live video projections, where she used a video camera to intervene in the inner workings of the television, displaying the movement of electron beams and analog signals that are inside the screen. Further along came their video The Princess, which was presented at The Pick 4, where they explored the concept of sacrifice by showing the slaughtering of a cow juxtaposed with the projection of a text from a classic Arabic fiction.

Like both El Kolaly sisters, Shereen Lotfy has also alluded to literature in her video work ‘A Letter to a Lover’ as she repetitively reads from the classic novel Robinson Crusoe “And immediately I started to load the guns and rifles with gunpowder and Friday helped in that”. The repeated narration was a substitute for any sound or music, adding vibrancy and daze to the image. Equally savage, the sole protagonist is an adolescent chubby boy who wickedly takes a black paint and sprays it over cars, billboards, telephone cabinets and placards. Wittily, the boy’s playful act looked heroic and gallant.

As he anxiously runs so as not to be caught or seen, he was also being followed by Lotfy’s camera which has recorded all his acts.Provoked by the destructive acts of some who would ruin, spay and mess up with public property, ‘A Letter to a Lover’ became a recording of a performative act or an illustration of a social behavior. It might even be an exemplar of the voyeuristic gaze of the camera or an inquiry about the authoritative surveillance in the Egyptian streets.

Though it was one of Lotfy’s first experimentations, she has competently created an aspiring art piece. “As soon as I was introduced to video art, it became my favorite. As it has the ability to influence the viewer through various ways by what he sees, hears and experiences,” explained Lotfy.

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Shereen Lotfy,Letter To A Lover, video stills, Pick 4.

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Also in a performative manner, Mohamed Keshk, created his shocking video art piece “Intro”. Bluntly, he zoomed in on an open heart operation and put it adjacent to a recording of a performance by him in a carpentry workshop. “I am actually curious to know the inside of things and the mechanism of the unseen bodies. Even if it is agonizing, it is the reality at the end,”explained keshk. Beside the vulgarity of his picture, Keshk chooses to perform himself in order to live the state or condition of the film and turn it into a true experience.

Similarly, Tabya by Esraa El Fekky is composed of two circular split screens for two images, zoomed inside a kitchen’s mixer. Although the image with the sound was sharp and aching at the beginning, it soon turned into a colorful palette of torn out dolls and juice.El Fekky then made a provocative transition between image and meaning to state a political message about power and control.

Mohamed Keshk, Intro, Video Still,Pick 4.

Esraa El Fekky, Tabya, video still, Pick 4.

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At the Graduating Art Students’ Exhibition, held at the Sharjah Art Gallery at the American University in Cairo, Ahmed Al Azma‘s video work “Pov-tv” stood out amongst the incompetent work of most of the students. Projected on two split screens of a 90 degree angle, the left screen had a portrait for a girl aimlessly watching the television. On the other side, the television screen transmitted nothing, but was juxtaposed with several projections in the background from the local mass media.

Trained by established artists and filmmakers, Al Azma knows well how to keep track with the pictorial aesthetics and experiment with medium. In The Pick 4, Al Azma presented ‘A Night’, a video work that runs like a visual diary or a surreal personal confrontation within a metropolis. With a precise eye in editing and composing, Al Azma created a melancholic, hysterical train of mental imagery and kept the sound muted. “I shot the video over the span of two days and after editing it I found the images visually powerful that I felt the accompanying sound should be very minimal or non-existent at all,”said Al Azma, explaining that it is also a gesture for the viewer to listen to a sound of his own.

Inspired with the cinematic frame, Wessam Quresh’s Graph is staged inside the bathroom. Taking the line of a story

Ahmed Al Azma,Pov-TV, video still.

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Ahmed Al Azma, A Night, video still, Pick 4.

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Wessam Quresh, Graph, video stills, Pick 4.

but without a proper plot, the two characters of the story are trapped in loneliness as they isolate themselves inside a private space of their own.

“I usually work on a general topic that can be specific and private at the same time,”she said. “For example, in my video I am talking about alienation and deprivation in the relationship between two couples, but at the same time, I spend a lot of time in the bathroom and all my ideas come there,” she continued.

With a single location that is inspired from a daily activity, Quresh came close to a realistic feature about people’s peculiar acts that become habitual.”I am used to watching cinema and television and dissecting them in a compositional way. This has changed my perspective on things and made me see how feature film, documentary and video art can intersect,” she explained.

Mohamed Alaa is the sole protagonist of his own Under-siege, a black-and-white video sequence of images reflecting his mental state that is also his studio. With an educational background that is patched from the free section at the Fine Arts College, photography workshops and directing at the High Cinema Institute, Alaa’s work interweaves between all of these.

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In Under-siege, Alaa preferred to create an artwork which resonates his state of mind using a strong and a bizarre mise-en scene. He thus became the performer and the image of the video that is rendered with an intersected resonated sound and a black and white replicated footage to create an inner self-portrait. Like the early experimentations in film, Under-siege has a low-key black and white visual style and a repetitive pattern of pictures where Alaa is both the performer and the image. Artists are usually known for their experimentations with emerging technologies and ongoing research in various fields of life.

Especially, in the age of visual information and media domination,many wish to have a platform or a say and a lot would like to express their thoughts and emotions in a way or another. And with the availability of accessible mediums, tools or even platforms, a lot of experimentations will appear. But to what extent will the production of these creative specks would run its course into a comprehensive narrative, create a new pictorial language and have an impact on the overall cultural setting?

Mohamed Alaa, Under-siege, video still, Pick 4.

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Chat-RoomsInterviews

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Chat Room 1

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“The Pick” is a biannual exhibition that is initiated to present the new generation of artists.Do you believe that you

are a generation who shares common interest,

collective memory and has a specific conceptual and visual

interest? Do you think a generation is a mere concept or a sociological and scientific fact

that can be applied in the context of arts and culture?

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Mohamed Alaa:“A generation is formed when certain group of people witnesses the same events. However, each person has his own storage that has been shaped within his environment. For example, I live in Helwan and I listen to Shabbi (popular) music and that shaped me in a certain way. On the other hand, I am totally against the idea of differentiating between generations in the arts. Personally, I was lucky enough to exhibit with older generation which added a lot to my vision and experience”.

Wensh:“I believe our generation had a lot of stuff in common that has shaped our way of thinking. To cut it short it was the television! The television made several things common between us then later each of us developed a personal interest. There are certain things that are stored in our memory from childhood such as Captain Maged,Grandizer, in addition to Good Morning Egypt and Mama Samia with the robot that used to give gifts to the kids when they say “ 3arosty”(My Doll). All this has been eating up our minds since childhood and would be reflected on us and our artworks now ”.

Alia Abo Ouf:“I see that our generation acquired

common memories from simple things like a children’s song or a cartoon series that we all used to watch in our childhood. When we listen to it now we all feel the same feeling, as it make us feel we are close and have something in common”.

Shereen lotfy:“We are defiantly a generation, no matter how strong or large are we, or whether we will continue like other generations or will be scattered. And even if our works might not have gained the acceptance and admiration of everybody, we still form a new generation. And we are not a small number and many of us have actually succeeded in reaching a large number of audience. This generation has similarly been affected by several political and social circumstances. It had the chance to learn outside the educational institute by the previous 70’s generation and what they have introduced to them through their works, discussions, lectures or workshops. I also see that our generation had several better chanes as they were lucky to benefit from the same mediums of the previous generation, aswell as their experiences. In fact, they paved the way to us and made things easier and more available. It was also easier for us to teach ourselves because of the availability of the information that was made easier

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through the internet or other sources. This has created quite a large and highly competitive generation”.

Ramy Abdo:“Yes we are a generation and a very strong one and I feel the next stage will be a turning point that will structure things for the coming days. We are discovering new paths that will lessen stagnation and make new things happen. I love new things and I believe that we are a generation with a strong structure”.

Norhan Ahmed:“Anything and everything can have an unconscious influence on the person. For that, I believe as a generation we all have the same memory card. What has been screened on the television has been viewed by all of us. We share the same culture and were affected by the same events. That has also created a gap between older generations and us. Technology alone is enough to create such a difference. This applies to artist and art practitioners too. I even experience this gap between us and the younger generation because of the wider exposure they had. It is amazing how they know everything and lack the innocence of their young age”.

Aya Tarek:

“In my opinion , our orientation towards computer and technological advancement has created a difference between older generations and ourselves. Since my grandfather was an illustrator for film posters and now I am using his studio, I am always comparing my situation to his. Although it seems that computer technologies have made things easier, it has actually made it more complex. For example, today’s illustrator does not need to learn fonts as there is a library of fonts in the software he is using. Everything has become ‘copy and paste’ and this has made the machine control the designer/artist and has minimized his space for invention”.

Mohamed Kishk:“Personally, I like to be connected with older generations and learn from them. I actually look up to several Egyptian artists from the previous generation and I get inspired with international ones like Henry Moore. I like to see their works and know their way of thinking, so as to develop mine later. We don’t want to start things from scratch, but we wish to collaborate with each other to complete the scene. Generally, I like how older people think and I trust them when they direct me. I also believe that our generation has much better chances. Now, we have a lot of workshops, more places to exhibit, as well as an older

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generation of artists who were exposed to the international scene and gave us what they received. What they did back then was hard, but they had created a route to us and opened several closed areas”.

Abdallah Sabry:“I personally object on some practices of older generations of artists, some are trapped in national representations and attached to folkloric themes. Yes, I am an Egyptian artist but I want to create my own character too. Not because I am Egyptian, then I should talk about Egypt. Actually, this way of thinking makes things more complicated and meaningless. I live in Cairo and I experience chaos and tension everyday, but then I am not obliged to talk about that everyday in my art”.

Dalia El Mahdy:“I don’t think that in the arts there is a difference between a generation and another. In general, artists have a special way of thinking and a different perspective. That is why, I believe that a collaborative relationship between different generations will be highly beneficial”.

Dalia Abd Al Aziz: “Thinking about my friends, I see that our generation can be categorized into two groups. One group has been brought up

in the Gulf or abroad and came to Egypt at an older age, while the other has lived and stayed in Egypt. When I compare, I find that the first group doesn’t have any common emotions or memories. They are more goal-oriented and only seek financial security. As for the other group, they are usually less self centered, more patriotic, emotional and even more confused. So yes we do have a common collective memory. However, in the arts and culture context, I believe a collaborative mix should take place between the older and younger generations”.

Sarah Hamdy:“Inevitably we are a generation. We are exposed to the same stuff whether it was because of what has been transmitted through the media or because of the social and political events. We have the same spirit and we even have the same social habits. This was even clear in The Pick 4, which was so important for us in order to appear and know more about each other. And because we are talking here about works of art,personal and subjective differences will always be clearly shown. Having a group exhibition for us, would show the attributes of each one of us and what was common between us. Later, we can see the development of each artist and after a period of time, similarities and differences

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among us as a generation would be more obvious”.

May Hamdy:“I think it is hard to predict if this particular group or another has the potential of becoming a generation in the future that influences that art scene or not. As the title says this group is the pick of a generation that might continue or stop. Definitely, this is just a pick and from here some might continue and some might stop. Generally speaking, I believe that chances are more available for emerging artists than before. The previous generation had received the whole shock, but now people are more open minded and receptive to change”.

Aya Tarek:“Actually, one of the good things about Pick 4 is that it is not restricted to a certain background and there are different representatives from different universi-ties and various backgrounds. This was not the case in the first and second Pick which featured mainly AUC graduates. The scene back then was much closed on itself and we had to do an effort to know about contemporary arts and get exposed. But now things have started to open up”.

Walaa El Sayed:“We might be a generation, unless we

continue. And these are usually very few”.

Esraa El Fekky:“I think we do form one generation and surely we have things in common and share the same ideas and perspectives. That is the meaning of being a generation”.

Asmaa El Kolaly:“As a group of artists with the same age bracket, we have definitely been influenced by the same stuff. But usually, a “generation”of artists is used to refer to an assemblage or a group forming a movement. Yet, I am not sure about the effectiveness of this at this period of time. On the other hand, many of us do work in groups to produce combined projects in video or music. I also believe that a group does not necessarily have to have the same style or a particular idea. The most effective form of it would be a group having the same vision but each has his own direction of work. For example, my duet with my sister Hind has been successful but then each one of us has her own dreams for different artworks”.

Wessam Quresh:“I think a lot of us work in groups but not inthe correct form. I always think why visual artists do not work in teams. In theatre, for example, things can be more productive

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because they have of a fixed troupe that works on several projects. When one of the projects ends, they would be able to do another project. I have thought of combing a team to produce our video art on a DVD that we can sell and distribute, but it did not succeed because of conflicting opinions”.

Assma El Kolaly: “Still in my opinion, none of us know what he or she wants exactly. Most of us work sporadically, if an idea comes to his head”.

Hind El Kolaly:“I think that the independent workshops were essential in making this generation exists. It helped many to find their route and share ideas with other artists of their age. Yet, we are all totally different, as each has his own taste. So far, I don’t think we form a generation of the same track, but we do have several separate groups”.

Wessam Quresh:“I lately discovered that if I have an idea of an art project, I should work on it immediately. (Yesterday would be better than now) .Our ideas as a generation are so repetitive, common and similar. This is probably because we see the same things and number of artists is larger and the have developed similar interests. Now, the competition has increased that if there are

thirty artists who want to exhibit, only two might have the chance”.

Amr Ali:“I think it is hard to know the traits of a certain generation until a period of time and probably another generation notices it. Up till now, for instance, we discover different traits about the Seventies and Eighties that were not noticeable for them. Also, I believe that the way we were brought up makes even the things that attract us different, so that even if we are exposed to the same thing, we digest and execute it differently. If for example, two of my friends and I were attracted to the same shoe, each would be attracted to a different part and aspect of it. I also find it a problem how some older artists’ become trapped in a certain style and form for the rest of their career. I think it is quite imperative to keep breaking the technique you are used to and experiment with different approaches so that you won’t stand still and be able to upgrade yourself. If everything around us is changing too quickly, then art should at least follow. For example, after I did my solo exhibition in Mashrabia gallery, I felt that I won’t repeat this kind of work again. It was a stage that I don’t wish to return to”.

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Chat Room 2

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Artists usually have a stance towards art history and the

different movements within it. Some take it as a source of

inspiration, some might neglect it and others would rebel on it.

How do you define your relationship with the local art history whether it is ancient,

modern or contemporary?

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Dalia Abd Al Aziz:“Actually, there isn’t any story for the history of modern art in Egypt, for it to be written about or documented. Most state art-practitioners and public audiences are still not convinced with contemporary art or young artists and for them there hasn’t been any generation of artists after the Sixties and Seventies. We don’t exist! Open today’s newspaper for example and read the arts and culture page (which normally doesn’t exist), there is an article entitled “An Invitation to Save Fine Arts”, claiming that Egyptian art is endangered(2). This might be normal for a developing country where ”modern art” has only existed a century ago. But cinema too is a newcomer. It is actually not explainable why art is still alienated in our country. Actually, as young artists this helps us to reinvent and start everything from scratch. Unlike, for example, Europe that has reached a stagnant stage. On the other hand, it makes us lost, as one can experiment in anything without knowing the results”.

2- Hanan El Nady,“ An Invitation To Save The Fine Arts In

The 28th Exhibition of El Orey Artists”, El Ahram Newspa-

per, 09 Jul 09, P.36.

Asmaa and Hind El Kolaly:“At college we were usually exposed to the four periods of heritage ( Pharonic, Islamic, Roman and Coptic) in the arts. Then, there wasn’t any information about the arts in periods afterwards. History of art was all about the European schools and movements that have shaped the basis for classic art and the only respectable form of it. Then, whatever happened in the modern and postmodern era in the Egyptian art context was rarely mentioned. The way the curriculum was outlined to highlight some stuff and hinder the rest cause us to be directed blindly. In a way, it would have really helped if the modern and contemporary Egyptian art history was divided into periods with references to some pivotal points, especially that it is doubtful that any pioneer Egyptian artist is used as a reference. But at the same time, this is a positive thing as it helps us to create our own path without relating to the past. The old is comprehensive and finalized and going back to it is sometimes dangerous. Definitely, art history is important to broaden your mind but it shouldn’t be restricting”.

Ramy Abdo: “I think this is politics and there is a reason why there is a haze around modern and contemporary art history in Egypt. The politics of this country is to keep its people

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ignorant and more involved in how to earn a living”.

Wessam Quresh:“For me, the connection with art history is quite imperative. It helps me to know which direction and line of thought I am following and whether my work is similar to a certain artist. With this knowledge I can build on my idea. It simply helps you where to start and what to do next. Art education in Egypt deals with art history as a secondary subject and the focus goes to the practical subjects. Even the MFA thesis and researches at the library seems to be copied and repetitive. I must admit, I am currently working on my master’s degree and most of my researches are done casually and without enough analysis or documentation”. Sara Hamdy:“Actually, we lack enough sources about whatever happened lately in the Egyptian art context. Generally, documentation for the arts is a means to connect generations. This happens usually in any form of art, each one of us normally finds himself/ herself connected to a certain school or era that he or she relates to and his work at the beginning might be influenced by. One might reproduce it, deconstruct or reconstruct its elements. All that at the end, helps in the progress of art production. So of

course, the documentation is important for us as young artists”.

Esraa El Fekky:“Yes of course, knowing about the works of previous generations is very important. Sure it’s very useful there’s no tree without seeds”.

Shereen Lotfy:“Note also that there isn’t any institute or publishing house that is concerned with documenting all the events and artworks. This is very important as it is an informational source for artists and audience and after a period of time, it becomes a history and a reference for other generations”.

Walaa El Sayed:“ I believe that it is impossible to draw or paint without understanding or knowing about art history. Art production needs practice but it needs also awareness and knowledge. My studies at the art history and criticism section helped me to understand art in more depth and made me become a frequent visitor to exhibitions. This has enriched my visual memory and storage. I also believe that education about art history is also a factor for this lack of public awareness and apathy for the arts. Also, Modern Egyptian art has been

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divided into sections according to the European schools and movements happening at this time. A lot have followed impressionism or surrealism. I feel , for example, that Ramses Yunnan used to imitate Salvador Dali in many of his paintings. Very few were able to breakthrough and create specific identity such as Abd Al Hady Al Gazar”.

Norhan Ahmed:“I actually find the knowledge about art history burdening. In Egypt we are so attached to our cultural heritage and we keep repeating the same things again and we can’t keep repeating history without giving space to anything new. This is a wrong way of making art and we will be always repeating the same art with its forms and topics”. Mohamed Kishk: “Yes, the lack of documentation has led to the lack of awareness about the contemporary arts. Not only for the general public, but also even for art audience. I even have university art professors or art students that are unaware to the extent that they know nothing about video or performance art and would even refuse it. Even the college curriculum is not structured to include theory or practice of contemporary arts. We take a lot of subjects

that are mere crafts or handworks rather than art. A lot also are still trapped in folkloric arts like al khayamia or anything traditional”.

Alia Abo Ouf:“The problem is lack of documentation and archiving of the works of most Egyptian artists. I can’t even google names of pioneer Egyptian artists, like Abd Al Hady El Gazar and others. This lack of database, surely affects any art student or researcher to know and understand about the subject and thus leads to the loss of a clear identity of the modern Egyptian art”.

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Chat Room 3

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In a diverse culture like Egypt, it is not scarce to find something to gaze at, but in fact one can easily get elated and distracted

with the multiple sounds, visuals, bizarre objects and absurd incident. Actually,

popular culture has a strong hegemonic position that affect

audience’s perception on multiple levels. How can the local popular visual culture

influence or inspire your artwork?

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Shereen Lotfy:“Everything we see around is part of our visual culture. The colors of the buildings or the way our streets are clustered with advertisements and billboards and how it is exhibited shape our visual memory and taste. The problem is that it is insanelyclustered around and dominated by the commercial products and culture that only cares about nothing except profit making and our eyes and taste have grown up on wrong principles. Unfortunately, visual arts might not have the ability to reach everyone like cinema and mainstream media, though its content is very important”.

Dalia Abd Al Aziz:“ Surely, Mass Media has a great effect on the general taste, to the extent that, there is a certain patterned wall paper that has become popular because of a certain sit-com series in Ramadan. Also, the Turkish Soap Opera ‘Noor’ has gripped the whole region and many started to imitate their lifestyle, taste and even travel to their house and use it for weddings and events. Mass media in our culture is really influential and can change the general tast out any planning that it is hard sometimes to pinpoint its effect”.

Wensh:“Note also that Mass Media and popular

culture are more available to everyone and are widespread in several places. For example, cinema might not be a product but can become a one by producing several viewing copies of the film. Also, with 10 pounds you can see the film and you can obtain it afterwards. I believe art also will be part of our culture if it could become an item of possession. On the other hand , popular media and the common culture can be inspiring for artists but not for an average person and one can’t depend on it to feed his mind. Its biggest problem is that it is like the moquette carpet, it overspreads and becomes the basis of everything that after a while you get used to it and surrender”.

Ahmed El Azma: “The problem is mainstream media like cinema and video clips are more profit-oriented with lack of artistry. Personal expression should be encouraged and a radical change should be geared towards experimental film and video art in general”.

Sarah Hamdy:“In my opinion, songs and music generally, are the most popular and widespread form of arts in our culture, that’s because we still like amusing and obvious things”.

Dalia Abd Al Aziz : “We should be aware that Art is not part

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of the lives of the Egyptians. For many, it has no additive value. But then where are we going ! A country with no imagination has no future. I think young artists should work like a moving circus, jumping between independent and state venues or move to the streets and public areas. The Arts should be more interactive and engaging”.

May Hamdy:“For sure, the art is on one side and the society is on another. Yet, it is not necessary that all the public knows and follows the updates, but at least the circle should increase a bit. In my opinion, people who are inside the circle are not ready to open up or widen their audience, they are satisfied like this. For that, you find that a lot of viewers feel disoriented in art shows asking things like “ what does this artwork illustrate? ” or “ why is this art ?”. This is because in the past art had a certain function and has lost it now, such as the religious significance or an aesthetic function. Now it has no specific function and the public will always search for a reason to see art and attend exhibitions”.

Asmaa El Kolely:“For example, still for a lot an artist is someone who knows how to draw or paint”.

Aya Tarek:“From my experience with exhibiting in

galleries and doing graffiti in the street, I found that there is no differencebetween the two audience and both are critical in a way. In the gallery, for example, the art viewer would be expecting to see a thorough concept and might disguise direct symbolism. In the streets, people are obsessed with media and television, anything you draw about religion or pop icons directly penetrates. I found that the public viewer would allow you to do whatever you want, least you respect religion and certain taboos”.

Wensh:“But I think, there is a certain code to reach the interest of the public. Take street art as an example, there is a difference from doing that in a quite place like Switzerland or doing it in Cairo. In Switzerland you would be doing that to stir up silence, while Cairo is crowded and visually clustered and there are already many people doing graffiti for other causes like advertisement or writing religious messages. That’s why it is important that I create a visual illusion to grab his attention. As a street artist I discovered that people’s reactions are always different, depending on their initial interest in things. Usually, people are attracted to familiar things that would be around them and I have found that artworks that are relative to the place and specified

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to its people are really catchy” .

Wessam Quresh:“ Surely, availability is a main reason for the public’s ignorance about the arts. Put in consideration the lack of documentation which is quite imperative for public awareness and the knowledge of later genera tions. This lack of knowledge makes art production only exclusive to a certain group of people. At some point, I feel we are watching each other and it is all about family greetings. On the other hand, some works are complicated and not accessible for everyone”.

Esraa El Fekky: “I hate it that art goers in Egypt are very limited and that Egyptians are not aware with the arts at all”.

Abdullah Sabry: “As for me, I don’t care about the number of viewers. What is important for me is to express myself, unleash my inner energy and be satisfied. I am not expecting that everyone appreciates because the people’s sense towards art and beauty is weak”.

Ramy Abdo:“It is important for the arts to be widespread and there should be an art institution in each governorate all over Egypt. This didn’t

happen because of money and lack of funds but also most people are only concerned with their commitments, duties and their in-come at the end of the month. This in return hinders the production of ideas especially that the system is still clumsy and everything is left for chances. Note also that everyone has a particular idea of what is art which would probably be a painting, a statue or a ceramic. By that, there isn’t a singular home in Egypt that is not decorated with these ob-jects no matter how poor it is”.

Walaa El Sayed:“Don’t forget also that there is no mention for the arts in the local media at all. I have worked for a while as a reporter and journalist in an Arabic newspaper, for them art means cinema and news about Ahmed El Sakka or Mona Zaki. There is no mention at all for literature, theatre or fine arts and I tried to push it somewhere else so that it’s not all about cinema and stars. I couldn’t actually, so I left the job after a short while and decided to start my M.A in art history and criticism at the faculty of art education. Actually, I didn’t know any Egyptian artist except until my masters. Moreover, I believe that even tourism should play a role here. Why we don’t organize trips for the modern Egyptian art museum or Mahmoud Khalil. Even Egyptian artifacts are neglected and tour guides usually don’t explain them

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as art. I am against the idea that art is for the elite. It should become part of the habits of every family as they will find it a great relief to their daily problems, especially that it is even cheaper than the cinema”.

Aya Tarek:“The global openness, the satellite and the internet have made most of the people really lost and very few cares about the quality of their lives. This openness has surprisingly made some more conservative and the rest confused”.

Mohamed Kishk:“Contemporary art, in general, is the least acknowledged form of arts in our society and it doesn’t directly affect people. That’s because we were grown up to be apathetic about expressing our opinions or having a point of view and the concern of most Egyptians is to be financially secure. Also art has no means of attraction for it to be known and thus influentially dominate. Whenever I go to exhibition, I get surprised that the public are the same every time. I feel we exhibit for each other , even if the audience are wider after the publicity through the Internet, still people come the first day to attend the gathering and rarely show up the rest of the period, treating it as a wedding or a drinking party. On the other hand, there are zillions of channels that publicize about

the cinema. I believe there must be a widening for the circle of art audience, through independent institutions which would aim to publicize about the arts and give adequate finances to the artists”.

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Chat Room 4

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There has been always an argument about whether art could be taught or if it is a mere talent that either you have or not. Where and how did you study art? How your education

about the arts helped you to understand your tendencies and

gave you an adequate comprehension about the

contemporary arts?

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Dalia Abd Al Aziz:“To start off, most schools used to follow the system and curriculum of the ministry. The drawing class was a routine that should be followed and it wasn’t at all influential. In high school, I enrolled in an American system school and there I used to learn art in an experimental way, using any kind of material or any form. I wasn’t then used to the idea of drawing based upon an assigned topic, so I failed in the examination text and couldn’t join Fine Art College. I then joined the AUC majoring in Arts, which made me more frustrated. This type of liberal Arts education might help to broaden your knowledge but it makes you lose focus and not specialized in anything. A lot of the professors weren’t qualified enough and art history courses were based on memorization. Even the career advising office didn’t know how to guide us as they didn’t understand what we are supposed to be or do. Very few classes were practical and helped me to have an insight to an artist’s career. One of them was a class about contemporary Egyptian art (offered only for one semester), in which we had several artists’ visits. This was my only connection to the real world as I felt part of a community and not trying to connect with some pictures in a book”.

Ahmed El Azma:

“I have studied Fine Arts at the AUC. I am interested in media, film, animation and sound. I also minored in film at the AUC. My degree in Fine Arts did not present me with the tools required for my interests in media, however, I took it upon myself to acquire the skills individually and through my interactions with other artists. I highly benefited from drawing and art history classes. Mainly the styles and progressions in thought from one art period to the other. From the drawing classes, I understood the basic concepts of contrast, lighting, perspective, framing and how to see art as a way of thinking. It is also imperative to know the transitions between art periods to understand how various artists created concepts, be it in sculpture, painting, drawing, film or sound. As for art education in general in Egypt, I find it hard to find film and video workshops that offer contemporary or experimental production. Also, I feel that young artists are somehow disconnected from the scene”.

Mohamed Alaa:“I have studied in different educational institutes, which gave me an insight to what they offer here. Initially, I studied information system and later studied in the free studies section at the Fine Arts College, followed by a year at the High Cinema Institute. I might have learned some

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drawing skills and had the chance to produce a short film. However, the systems in these institutes are regressed. They are only concerned with rules giving little space for experimentation. I think workshops have contributed a lot to the revival of the scene, although there should be more of them in the coming years”.

May Hamdy:“There are three public educational systems in Egypt (Fine Art College, Applied Arts, Faculty of Art Education, these are the only official venues. At the Faculty of Art Education we had the chance to learn about everything and several types of work. Still, it needed to be more developed and updated, so that when we graduate we can face what is happening around”.

Amr Ali:“The art educational system in Egypt is insane. For example, I studied at the Fine Arts College in Alexandria University. The first year I was ranked the 3rd of my class, the next year I failed in two subjects and then I failed the following year and had to study its courses for a second time. The level of freedom is really limited and you have to follow what the tutor is saying. Most students are concerned with their final grade and not their development as artists. They are always afraid to try new things and

want their painting to be as perfect as Van Gogh’s. At the end, art is not about painting with a brush anymore”.

Shereen Lotfy:“Actually, the educational institute in itself is a non artistic organization. Whether it was the school or the university, most educators don’t work on developing the creative and artistic abilities of the students; they rather focus on few talented students and disregard the others”.

Asmaa and Hind El Kolely:“At the beginning we chose the Faculty of Art Education because we like to draw. Later, we joined several independent workshops and knew about video art andother mediums. The information, ideas and knowledge about art were very new to us and totally different from what we have been exposed to at our college. We were lucky to be preceded with an older generation of artists who were exposed to the international scene and came to share it with us”.

Mohamed Kishk: “At our college we learn everything, such as pottery, sculpture, mosaic, textile making and folk art. But this is good in making me a technician or a worker but not an artist. Supposedly, an art institution should teach

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you how to create and not only give you a strong technical basis”.

Dalia El Mahdy:“Actually, what I have liked the most about the Faculty of Art Education is that we have learned and used a lot of materials”.

Norhan Ahmed:“In Egypt, most art students bail out the idea of being an artist. In one graduating class less than 10 percent continue as practicing artists. This is mainly because of the lack of interest and knowledge about art among the public in general, in addition to lack of funds. On the other hand, a lot of our professors don’t give us a space or freedom for creation. Several of them feel that you are still young and immature. They take your talent for granted and feel that you are certainly not better than him / her as his / her opinion or style are the absolute right. Any trial from us is looked upon as pretentiousness. There are a lot of psychological complexes and very few have actually taught us”.

Wessam Quresh: “For me, the educational institution was important for the certificate only, yet the free workshops and courses were the most useful”.

Sara Hamdy:“I actually like what I have studied at the College of Fine Art of Helwan University. When I joined I didn’t know how to draw and didn’t have any knowledge about Fine Arts. Five years is also a short period for a student to know his line or find his path as an artist. Actually, the professors of my department gave me the space and freedom of expression and eventually it offers an academic form of learning. But at the same time, I like the initiative of workshops and how it introduced art students to digital and new media. Personally, after being been exposed to sound art, I found that both the classic medium of painting and the digital mediums are attractive and I would like to experiment in both”.

Dalia El Mahdy:“Actually, what I have liked the most about the Faculty of Art Education is that we have learned and used a lot of materials”.

Norhan Ahmed:“In Egypt, most art students bail out the idea of being an artist. In one graduating class less than 10 percent continue as practicing artists. This is mainly because of the lack of interest and knowledge about art among the public in general, in addition to

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classic medium of painting and the digital mediums are attractive and I would like to experiment in both”.

Walaa El Sayed:“We must admit that school curricula were very boring. If the art class was taken, students were told to draw some trivial topics in their sketchbook, like drawing the pyramids, the sphinx or Cairo tower. Some good teachers would open the book and let the students memorize the names of couple of artists. I was later exposed to other mediums at the Faculty of Art Education like sculpture and mosaic, that I wonder why we didn’t learn them at school. I am also against the idea that anyone can teach art, they should be art educators who know how to deal with children and youngsters. Up till now, most art colleges lack computer program courses and if they are offered in private centers, they are usually available in unaffordable prices”. Aya Tarek:“The problem about art education in Egypt is that it is completely isolated from the language of contemporary arts or the international art scene. The ministry is still attached to the 60’s generation and even the workshops that are given by the ministry of culture are very futile”.

lack of funds. On the other hand, a lot of our professors don’t give us a space or freedom for creation. Several of them feel that you are still young and immature. They take your talent for granted and feel that you are certainly not better than him / her as his /her opinion or style are the absolute right. Any trial from us is looked upon as pretentiousness. There are a lot of psychological complexes and very few have actually taught us”.

Wessam Quresh:“For me, the educational institution was important for the certificate only, yet the free workshops and courses were the most useful”.

Sara Hamdy:“I actually like what I have studied at the College of Fine Art of Helwan University. When I joined I didn’t know how to draw and didn’t have any knowledge about Fine Arts. Five years is also a short period for a student to know his line or find his path as an artist. Actually, the professors of my department gave me the space and freedom of expression and eventually it offers an academic form of learning. But at the same time, I like the initiative of workshops and how it introduced art students to digital and new media. Personally, after being been exposed to sound art, I found that both the

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Chat Room 5

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The art institution is a central aspect for any artist. In-fact, the exhibit space is needed and

artists would always be dependent on the art

institution in a way or another for financing, announcing,

exhibiting, selling, marketing and archiving their ideas and artworks. How do you define

your relationship with the institution and to what extent did it help you to recognize your projects and step in the field?

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Aya Tarek:“I have exhibited and worked with severalkinds of institutions such as galleries, biennials, public streets or even as a freelance. Actually, the best thing in street art is that you don’t need to edit your work or provide an explanatory text. As for me, I suffered a lot with the exhibit space and for a while I didn’t know how to reach there. Several galleries deal only with well-known prominent artists and are not willing to change, it’s very hard to reach them. A lot would evaluate you upon your age and not on your seriousness. Some curators still look down at art students from the Fine Arts College or any state college. We are not second degree artists and it’s our right to make mistakes, experiment and learn to become more familiar with the contemporary language. Besides, galleries are either stuck in the praise for the 60’s generation or are looking for contemporary forms without providing enough workshops to teach or educate us more about the contemporary paradigm”.

Wensh:“Every exhibit place has it politics, even the street has its own rules. For example, we faced some hinders while doing our artworks in the streets because usually graffiti is used as an advertisement or to

write political and religious statement”. While working on our street art works, everyone gets curious and wants to understand what the art piece symbolizes. Several policemen would interfere but then they become very surprised when they know that you are just playing around without any political goal”.

Amr Ali:“I have lately exhibited in several venues that varied from the commercial, the state run and the independent. My experience with the Ministry of Culture was really unsuccessful, they treated the issue as if it was a competition and I don’t believe there should be challenges or competitions in the arts. This makes artists only concerned with how to shock people and by that the issue becomes dishonest and fake”.

Wensh:“Even their approach with public art is strange. When the government displays a statue in the street or any object that they consider an artwork they do it for the sake of urban beautification or just to fill in the space and sometimes it would have been much better if they didn’t do it. I wish that public art would be more interactive so instead of a statue by Mahmoud Moukhtar, there would be something such as a video game or an interactive installation”.

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Abdullah Sabry:“ I think that now it is much easier to exhibit with all these venues and galleries”.

Sara Hamdy:“I haven’t received any refusal from the institution yet, that’s because I don’t do any uncertain step and each time I have exhibited was through workshops or in an academic context. Also, I think that the internet has really helped us in exhibiting our work. For example, I have previously created a blog and it was great, people commented on my work and there is freedom to exhibit what you want without shame. But at the end both the real physical exhibition and the Internet are targeted to a specific audience with special education and interest and none of them can substitute the other”.

Norhan Ahmed: “Anyone who wants to exhibit can do that tomorrow! Things are much easier nowadays”.

Mohamed Alaa:“In my opinion, the way exhibitions and shows are currently run, is fabricated and pretentious. I am not convinced, for example, with exhibitions that are based on one theme or concept. That’s a new trend here! Sometimes I work with a concept, but

generally speaking I like to do what I feel to enjoy what I am doing. My work is based on personal experiences and inner feelings that are projected in my video. At the end, people believe and enjoy the work if it is honest”.

Shereen Lotfy:“I believe that concepts and themes limit and hinder the artists. Several emerging artists would do work that fit the requirements of a certain venue, exhibition or taste. This is beside certain repetitive and clichéd concepts like the “other”. I still believe that it is important that artists would have the freedom to do what they like. Artists sometimes are forced to do artworks in a certain way or under a specific concept.This is not out of weakness in their artistic abilities, but because they should follow the institution or the people in charge, as some tend to direct the artists in a way or another to certain themes in a certain way to fit the curated exhibition or competition”.

May Hamdy: “I don’t think that there is a one formula for creating exhibitions and shows that would be the only suitable way for the art system in the upcoming days. For example, theme-based exhibitions help the audience see a certain topic with the perspective of each artist. At the same time, it is important

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that each artist should have the chance to produce and talk about what he wants freely in specific personal issues”.

Wessam Quresh:“In my opinion, financial support is what is really missing and a major hinder in art production. For me, I can’t keep searching for sponsors and funds that if found, they would be given for one project only. I understand that it is usually harder to support an artist because he works individually, unlike theatre troupes for example, but there should be institutions that support the artists”.

Aya Tarek:“Yes, in order to start my career in art I did a huge effort to teach myself how to market my work and find funds for it. I was doing the whole process of funding, documenting and then publishing my work. I then found it very hard to depend on external funds and decided to work in design and typography to be able to finance myself and do the art I like later. I think it is really hard to start when you lack any guidance about where and how to get money and what kind of work that will fit in which gallery”.

Mohamed Alaa:“I have to say that I worked as an employee and wore a formal suit, in order to finance

myself. Then, I found that this is not what I want and it is very hard to produce art in such a systematic routine. So I decided to find ways to finance myself through my art. My background in marketing and advertising helped me to “market myself”, and now I am finding ways to sell my videos and my art. Yet still, the art market in Egypt is inactive”.

Dalia Abd Aziz:“This issue of art market and funds should be solved, but I don’t know how. Young artists should have more support from the local community. Institutions, businessmen, banks and several organizations should understand the importance of financing local arts”.

Abdullah Sabry:“I believe, you shouldn’t do art for money. If I want money I should work in MassMedia, advertising, graphic design or drawing trompe-l’oeil That’s why I choose to work as a photographer so that I can bring money to do the art I want. I believe that you should do what you want and bring money from another place”.

Mohamed Kishk: “The problem is that not all art institutions are well equipped for all forms of exhibitionlike the installation or video. A lot don’t

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accept changing the color of the wall or the space to display your work and most spaces have poor lighting. All this besides that most of these lack budget and rarely do they give finances or support the artists. All that makes you at the end want to bail on the idea of becoming an artist”.

Wessam Quresh:“Note also that art institutions in other governorates are not equipped at all or even don’t exist. I come from Upper Egypt and there is no existence for contemporary arts in any of the governorates or the suburbs. May be a little bit in Alexandria, but Upper Egypt is completely empty from any activity. If I decided to be an artist, I can’t continue practicing art back where I come from. I willbe completely alone! I have dreams to return to Upper Egypt and start certain projects but after I obtain some training that I could use there”.

Walaa El Sayed: “I think that the life style of Upper Egypt is totally different from that of Cairo and thus the production of art will not be the same. In Upper Egypt , children don’t have the same amount of sports and social clubs like here. The case is similar in Sinai, Nubian and rural areas, as they all lack proper art institutions that teach art or display their work. Actually, this centralization of art made it alienated.

Even in Cairo most galleries are located in downtown or Zamalek and there are several halls that are not well equipped, as they lack a proper lighting and display system. Other galleries are exclusive and only show works by big names. I think art practitioners, professors and businessmen should support art more and especially the emerging artists”.

Aya Tarek: “Also, in Alexandria there aren’t any facilities or enough chances and the art scene is really limited. Surely, I want things to be more active in Alexandria and that’s why I chose to work here and not to move to Cairo. The problem is that all the funds and services go to Cairo, because it is a more active and guaranteed place”.

Wensh: “Cairo is defiantly livelier than Alexandria, so that if art is active with 30 percent in Cairo, it is inactive at all in Alexandria. I, actually, don’t have any answer for the reasons of that nor solutions to solve it, but things happen rarely in Alexandria”.

Alia Abo Ouf: “In my opinion, the curatorial process should be a fair collaboration between the artist and the curator for sharing what’s been collected and brought on display to the

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public. It’s not only about finding a concept or fund raising. Curators should have an affecting role in documentation of the current art movement because of their daily friction with the art scene. In my opinion also, the reason of the scattered goals of the various institutions is their obsessive need to control, manipulate and get the credit alone. There is ignorance about teamwork and fair management in most institution, as there is always an urge to receive the acknowledgment solely. I believe that understanding group work is a science that should be learned and followed. Not until, all the institutions collaborate, then we can have an active and influential art scene”.

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