Adam and Eve (2008) - Syrian Artist AMMAR AL BEIK[Imagine you have just read a sensationalized and r
Adam and Eve (2008) - Syrian Artist AMMAR AL BEIK[Imagine you have just read a sensationalized and romanticized paragraph here about the beauty and captivating nature of black and white photography]. In this larger series of photographs titled “A Small Wedding”, the artist seeks to provoke the viewers to think about two main themes; the first theme is how gender has often been framed, and the other is the relation between past and present. With regards to gender, the artist chose to simply identify each figure with the opposite gender symbol, invoking the viewers to think of gender in non-binary and non-static forms, but rather as fluid and does not necessarily fit within prescribed representations of masculinity and femininity that has dominated the public discourse; which is particularly seen in the photograph on the right in which the artist seeks to deconstruct that ‘machismo’ image that is often associated with objects such as the military uniform and weapons. Beik most clearly questions the immutability of gender in his portraits of “Adam” and “Eve.” Though the first is mired in fearsome masculinity and the second is doe-eyed and softly feminine, each is demarcated by the wrong gender symbol (x)As for the second theme, each of those symbols is made of images of ancient statues that the artist has collected and created into this mini-collage, guiding the reader to think of the relationship that might exist between those photographs and the previous theme on gender, in relation to time and how it might affect our reception of this series. -- source link
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