Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Beautiful Agitation is a much-needed contribution to the field of art history, but it is also a serious historical account of a volatile era from which the region is still suffering aftershocks. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in looking beyond the standard definitions of modern art and the traditions of art historical writing."
* caa.reviews *
"Beautiful Agitation operates as an essential act of recuperation, providing precious evidence that modernist narratives need not follow presumptions of originality, exclusive ownership, or authenticity. Certainly, it will prove invaluable to all art historians and art lovers who wish to go below the surface."
* H-Net *
"Throughout the book, the close attention to Arabic terms and concepts, the reappraisal of complex international webs of cultural actors, the close reading of the artworks, as well as the thorough historical inquiries of often fluid political situations, situate this study in an inclusive approach and a much-needed rethinking of modernist narratives in the Middle East, and more generally in the field of global art history." * Journal of Art History *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Notes on the Text
Introduction
1. Arab Romantics: Kahlil Gibran and the Awakening Storm
2. Colonial Syria: Finding Life within Culture
3. Popular Politics: Adham Ismail and the Aesthetics of Revival
4. National Excavation: Fateh al-Moudarres and the Unholy Image
Conclusion
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Illustrations
Index
