The McMullen Student Ambassadors are pleased to present Art in Focus, featuring an informal discussion between professors from various academic departments at Boston College. With each new episode, we aim to uncover a unique perspective on the works on display, informed by research and methodologies in areas of study across the University. Each conversation will bring the exhibition’s works “into focus” to highlight art’s expansive reach and interdisciplinary nature.
The following podcast is the third installment in the Art in Focus series, where we explore different themes and artwork from the “Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s” exhibition. For this episode, we have invited Associate Professor Peter Krause and Professor Ali Banuazizi of the Political Science Department to discuss how artwork within the exhibition relates to nationalist movements and cultural identity.
Abdallah Benanteur (Mostaganem, Algeria, 1931–Ivry-sur-Seine, France, 2017), To Monet, Giverny, 1983, oil on canvas, 47¼ × 47¼ in. Courtesy the Barjeel Art Foundation.
Kamal Boullata (Jerusalem, Palestine, 1942–Berlin, Germany, 2019), Fi-I Bid Kan-al-Kalima (In the Beginning Was the Word), 1983, silkscreen, 35¼ × 28⅜ × 1¼ in. Courtesy the Barjeel Art Foundation.
If you did not have the chance to catch our trailer for this podcast on social media, you can watch it here!