Category: Podcast Archive

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.

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 Dana Sajdi of  Boston College’s History Department and colleague Professor Sahar Bazzaz of the College of Holy Cross’s History Department to discuss how artworks within the exhibition mirror moments in history.

Left: Professors Sahar Bazzaz and Dana Sajdi in London during the summer of 2015. Right: Portrait painted by Professor Bazzaz of Professor Sajdi based on the photograph to the left.  Oil on canvas, 18 x 23 in.

Kamal Boullata (Jerusalem, Palestine, 1942–Berlin, Germany, 2019) La Ana Illa Ana (There Is No “I” but “I”), 1983, silkscreen, 35¼ × 28⅜ × 1¼ in. Image courtesy the Barjeel Art Foundation.

Kamal Boullata (Jerusalem, Palestine, 1942–Berlin, Germany, 2019) Lam Alif, 1983, silkscreen, 35¼ × 28⅜ × 1¼ in. Image courtesy the Barjeel Art Foundation.

Omar ibn Said, The Life of Omar ben Saeed, called Morro, a Fullah Slave in Fayetteville, N.C. Owned by Governor Owen (1831). Images of manuscript courtesy the Library of Congress.  

Najat Makki (Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 1956–) Window, 1987, henna and acrylic on paper, 18⅞ × 12¼ in. Image courtesy the Barjeel Art Foundation.

Left: Utagawa Hiroshige (Edo, Japan, 1797–Japan, 1858) Plum Estate, Kameido (Kameido Umeyashiki), No. 30 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 11th month of 1857, woodblock print, sheet: 14 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (36 x 23.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris, 30.1478.30 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 30.1478.30_PS1.jpg). Right: Vincent van Gogh (Zundert, Netherlands, 1853–Auvers-sur-Oise, France, 1890), Flowering Plum Orchard (after Hiroshige), October-November 1887, oil on canvas, 55.6 cm x 46.8 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation).

Weltkarte des Idrisi vom Jahr, Charta Rogeriana. Originally drawn by Muhammad al-Idrisi, 1154. Facsimile by Konrad Miller, 1928. Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress.

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 second installment of a two-part interview 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, Student Ambassador Ata Chowdhry, class of ‘21, speaks with the Barjeel Art Foundation founder and Boston College visiting instructor in the Islamic Civilization & Societies Program Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi and curator Suheyla Takesh to discuss themes of gender, identity, and social activism within the exhibition.

Menhat Helmy (Helwan, Egypt, 1925–Cairo, Egypt, 2004), Space Exploration/Universe, 1973, oil on canvas, 38½ × 38½ in. Copyright/Courtesy of the Barjeel Art Foundation.