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Art and Conflicts in Central Asia
Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University
13th and Clybourn Street, Milwaukee
Through January 21, 2007
It has been suggested by critics, such as Fredric
Jameson and Hal Foster, that much of the art that has
come out of the Post-Modern Era has reflected
humanity’s increased anxiety, internal conflict, and
experience with isolation. In our post 9-11 world,
binary divisions have become exaggerated; we
interpret phenomena as good/evil, rich/poor,
Christian/Muslim, rather than recognizing the
gradations that often exist amongst extremes.
Additionally, the lack of cohesion between the self and
the other has increased exponentially, as societies
continue to subordinate groups they feel do not meld
seamlessly into their idealized worldviews. The
current exhibit, Art and Conflicts in Central Asia, at the
Haggerty Museum of Art is no exception.
Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University
13th and Clybourn Street, Milwaukee
Through January 21, 2007
It has been suggested by critics, such as Fredric
Jameson and Hal Foster, that much of the art that has
come out of the Post-Modern Era has reflected
humanity’s increased anxiety, internal conflict, and
experience with isolation. In our post 9-11 world,
binary divisions have become exaggerated; we
interpret phenomena as good/evil, rich/poor,
Christian/Muslim, rather than recognizing the
gradations that often exist amongst extremes.
Additionally, the lack of cohesion between the self and
the other has increased exponentially, as societies
continue to subordinate groups they feel do not meld
seamlessly into their idealized worldviews. The
current exhibit, Art and Conflicts in Central Asia, at the
Haggerty Museum of Art is no exception.
| Installation view. |
Highly edgy and inflammatory, this contemporary work comes out of five countries; Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan, which have emerged in what was formally known as the Soviet
Union. Thirteen artists from these regions, which historically have found themselves under siege, reveal
the ways in which the hostility and aggression in their daily experience has effected the psychology within
their communities. The level of difficulty present in mediating between old and the new in these cultures is
poignantly evident in these works.
The work consists of photographs, video, installation, and sculpture. Upon entering the gallery space,
Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djoumalieu’s Shadows (2001) immediately confronts the viewer. This
narrative, consisting of seven immense photographs which have been printed on aluminum with a slight
green cast, flanks both walls of the gallery space. The images engulf and haunt the viewer. The initial
image depicts three men from just below the knee down, that appear to hover in space. Upon closer
examination, their shadows cast on the ground below reveal that they have been hung. We are presented
Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan, which have emerged in what was formally known as the Soviet
Union. Thirteen artists from these regions, which historically have found themselves under siege, reveal
the ways in which the hostility and aggression in their daily experience has effected the psychology within
their communities. The level of difficulty present in mediating between old and the new in these cultures is
poignantly evident in these works.
The work consists of photographs, video, installation, and sculpture. Upon entering the gallery space,
Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djoumalieu’s Shadows (2001) immediately confronts the viewer. This
narrative, consisting of seven immense photographs which have been printed on aluminum with a slight
green cast, flanks both walls of the gallery space. The images engulf and haunt the viewer. The initial
image depicts three men from just below the knee down, that appear to hover in space. Upon closer
examination, their shadows cast on the ground below reveal that they have been hung. We are presented
with three white sheets that lay upon the ground,
which in subsequent photographs will contain their
bodies. By the end of the series the men have been
bundled and tied in their cotton cocoons. It is not
merely the overt imagery that speaks of pervasive
oppression and political unrest, by also the way in
which the horizon consistently appears skewed and
the sky is always overcast. This act of isolating and
containing that Kasmalieva and Djoumalieu presents
us with, alludes to intimidation and the confinement of
the human spirit; as much as it addresses the death
of the corporeal.
Erbossy Meldibekov’s piece Oriental Hospitality (2002)
is an installation in which 11 ceramic platters hang in
front of a large traditional looking cloth. A small table,
also adorned with a similar cloth in which garish
images of semi-automatic rifles have been
transferred, sits in front of the wall panel. To the left, is
a video. The plates, although embellished in a
traditional and careful manner, feature images of
camels and other domestic animals with weapons of
war strapped on their backs. Pastan, the
accompanying video, presents the viewer with a
faceless hand relentlessly berating and repeatedly
striking a man. The man, who dons an ethnic looking
hat, perhaps indicating his identity in a specific clan,
makes no attempt to leave or defend himself, in fact
he does not make eye contact with us, nor does his
facial expression change. No doubt Meldibekov’s
piece reflects the centuries of war and conflict endured
by his countrymen, as well as their sense of
powerlessness within this conflict.
Saken Nanykov’s sculpture, 20kg of Good and Evil,
also references the ubiquitous nature of tension and
struggle, long present in the history of his land. The
piece made of fur and rusty nails, which stick out ready
to injure, takes on the form of a mobius strip. The lack
of optimism Narykov has for the region’s future is very
overt in this work.
In the video series entitled Steppen Baroque, Almagul
Menlibayeva has mirrored footage of a group of
women in a barren landscape. Cloth and hair is used
alternately to cover, bind, and reveal the faces and
bodies of the women. The way in which the women
are grouped and mirrored, as well as the manner in
which the focus shifts in its level of clarity, presents
them intermittently as a single entity, sometimes with
grotesque facial features. The manner in which the
video editing process shifts the facial proportions
renders the women as docile and inviting at some
intervals, yet more animal-like and aggressive at
others. When bound individually in lengths of cloth, the
women appear to be without mobility or defense.
Finally they fall, struggle, and break free of their
physical obstructions, free again to interact with the
land. The references to nomadic life and traditions
involving the land, contrasted with the episodes of
physical confinement and isolation, are thought
provoking.
which in subsequent photographs will contain their
bodies. By the end of the series the men have been
bundled and tied in their cotton cocoons. It is not
merely the overt imagery that speaks of pervasive
oppression and political unrest, by also the way in
which the horizon consistently appears skewed and
the sky is always overcast. This act of isolating and
containing that Kasmalieva and Djoumalieu presents
us with, alludes to intimidation and the confinement of
the human spirit; as much as it addresses the death
of the corporeal.
Erbossy Meldibekov’s piece Oriental Hospitality (2002)
is an installation in which 11 ceramic platters hang in
front of a large traditional looking cloth. A small table,
also adorned with a similar cloth in which garish
images of semi-automatic rifles have been
transferred, sits in front of the wall panel. To the left, is
a video. The plates, although embellished in a
traditional and careful manner, feature images of
camels and other domestic animals with weapons of
war strapped on their backs. Pastan, the
accompanying video, presents the viewer with a
faceless hand relentlessly berating and repeatedly
striking a man. The man, who dons an ethnic looking
hat, perhaps indicating his identity in a specific clan,
makes no attempt to leave or defend himself, in fact
he does not make eye contact with us, nor does his
facial expression change. No doubt Meldibekov’s
piece reflects the centuries of war and conflict endured
by his countrymen, as well as their sense of
powerlessness within this conflict.
Saken Nanykov’s sculpture, 20kg of Good and Evil,
also references the ubiquitous nature of tension and
struggle, long present in the history of his land. The
piece made of fur and rusty nails, which stick out ready
to injure, takes on the form of a mobius strip. The lack
of optimism Narykov has for the region’s future is very
overt in this work.
In the video series entitled Steppen Baroque, Almagul
Menlibayeva has mirrored footage of a group of
women in a barren landscape. Cloth and hair is used
alternately to cover, bind, and reveal the faces and
bodies of the women. The way in which the women
are grouped and mirrored, as well as the manner in
which the focus shifts in its level of clarity, presents
them intermittently as a single entity, sometimes with
grotesque facial features. The manner in which the
video editing process shifts the facial proportions
renders the women as docile and inviting at some
intervals, yet more animal-like and aggressive at
others. When bound individually in lengths of cloth, the
women appear to be without mobility or defense.
Finally they fall, struggle, and break free of their
physical obstructions, free again to interact with the
land. The references to nomadic life and traditions
involving the land, contrasted with the episodes of
physical confinement and isolation, are thought
provoking.
The Haggerty is the sole venue in the United States for these works, which were initially exhibited in Italy.
It offers western viewers a chance to see the effects of political and religious upheaval from the eyes of
its inhabitants.
-Carrie Hoelzer
Carrie Hoelzer is a Graduate Student in the Department of Visual Arts and Women’s Studies at
UW-Milwaukee.
Comments?
Email comments@susceptibletoimages.com
It offers western viewers a chance to see the effects of political and religious upheaval from the eyes of
its inhabitants.
-Carrie Hoelzer
Carrie Hoelzer is a Graduate Student in the Department of Visual Arts and Women’s Studies at
UW-Milwaukee.
Comments?
Email comments@susceptibletoimages.com