Culture: "Here And Elsewhere" - Contemporary Art From And About The Arab World @ New Museum New York

(Drivebycuriosity) - The Middle East has been a violence stricken area for many decades. Can art grow in a permanent climate of war & terror? The New Museum in Manhattan`s Lower East Side tries to answer the question (newmuseum). Their curators are presenting an exhibition with the name: “Here and Elsewhere”. They call the show "a major exhibition of contemporary art from and about the Arab world".

Maybe so. But you won´t find there an Arabian Jeff Koons, a Gerhard Richter or an Andy Warhol. The exhibited pieces are very rough, many drawings reminded me of works we did in my school days. Apparently, the participating artists didn´t have the opportunity to visit fancy art schools and universities. Apparently, they didn`t enjoy much artistic education and guidance.

The show @ the New Museum is more like a collection of political statements than a traditional art show. Many pictures and videos report about the daily terror, the war and the threat by islamic fundamentalists.

There is a table with a  collections of sheets, which deal mostly with the repression of women by islamic fundamentalists.

The exhibition runs through September 28, 2014.