Arts and Culture

What is the role of the poet during times of crisis? Yahia Lababidi, an Egyptian poet living in the United States, claims the role of the poet is to provide a "vision." That is, the poet (and all artists) can provide more insight into events rather than just mere sight. Touching on Kierkegaard and Kafka, Darwish and Mattawa, Lababidi reflects on the Arab Spring and its visionary poetics.

Documentary Video (51:35): In April 2011, eight writers from around the world visited the United States for a tour unlike any other. Rather than taking in the usual historic sites, this international coterie glimpsed some of the ugliest moments in American history, from the Civil War to the aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina. Sahar Sarshar traveled with the group and captured the reactions of the writers. Here she shares her resulting documentary: Writing in Motion: A Nation Divided.

New technologies afford us new ways to view the world. For the artist, these same technologies can be tools to depict real and perceived realities. In a digital age, are we to consider traditional art forms, such as painting, quaint? In this statement, artist Erik Sanner tackles this question and, in a twist, laments the disappearance of the short-lived pixel.

Recently the Instituto Cervantes in New York held an exhibition featuring the work of photojournalists on the frontlines of revolutionary movements in the Middle East and North Africa. In her review of Revolucion(es), Jika González notes that beyond composition and storytelling, the show was also a tribute to the men and women behind the lenses. A slideshow accompanies the essay.

Much of the Middle East, north Africa, and the American Midwest is beset by labor strife. In Suez, labor unions led the fight that eventually toppled the Mubarak regime. In Madison, Wisconsin, labor union protests have become a siren call for the American Left. A staging of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock couldn't be more appropriate. Anthony P. Johnson reviews the timely play.

Syria is home to some 1.5 million Iraqi refugees who have fled the violence of their home country. Artists are amongst those living in substandard conditions, but such settings do not deter them from following their passions. Shaun Randol reviews Artists in Exile: Forgotten Iraqi Refugees in Syria, an exhibition of (and fundraiser for) 27 Iraqi refugee painters who want nothing more than to paint ... and to return home. (A video accompanies the essay.)

Senegalese artist Viye Diba creates his abstract art using only local materials. From the paint to the canvas to embedded objects, everything is locally sourced or made in Dakar. Do these attributes combine to make for "African art"? What is African art? Is there even something to be called "African art"? Max Weintraub interviews Bill Karg, owner of the Contemporary African Art Gallery, to find out.

Poets and poetry are integral to Nigerian culture. Since the dawn of civilization, history and stories have been passed through generations in poetic form. In modern times, poets have been affected by colonialism, political and economic upheaval, and globalization. Odimegwu Onwumere gives us a brief history of the Nigerian poet, and looks ahead to tomorrow's leading voices.

An actor. A sculptor. Singer. Painter. Musician. Poet. In this stirring collection of twelve vignettes, artist, collagist, and Secretary of the Iraqi Cultural Council, Qasim Sabti pays tribute to the men, women, and artwork ruthlessly murdered and destroyed in the chaos following the American invasion of Iraq.

In the recent Philippine staging of Argentinean writer Griselda Gambaro’s Information for Foreigners, much of the specifics of Ms. Gambaro’s play have been replaced with Philippine equivalents, to chilling effect. The experiment of the play is to force the melding of the theaters of illusion and imagination, intensifying the eventual shock of recognition. Vicente Garcia Groyon reviews.