March 25 through May 7, 2015

Closed April 15 & 16

Featuring 19th century paintings and contemporary photography, ReOrientations examines the ways in which Middle Eastern cultures have been portrayed historically, and further explores how contemporary artists appropriate and/or disrupt these depictions. The exhibition begins with a selection of nine 19^th century French “Orientalist” paintings and works on paper from the collection of the Dahesh Museum. Through these images, visitors may explore the social, political, and aesthetic aspects of 19^th century French representations of the Middle East, and begin to understand how these images have informed perceptions of Middle Eastern cultures within the West. The second half of the exhibition focuses on responses to Orientalist themes by contemporary artists Lalla Essaydi and Ibi Ibrahim. Their works recognize—and in some cases disrupt – the ways in which historical images of the Middle East affect contemporary social and political responses to the region.

An extensive exhibition catalog will accompany the exhibition with essays by Colorado College faculty from a variety of disciplines. Professor of Art History Gale Murray’s featured essay provides the foundation for an understanding 19^th century Orientalist art.   Short contributions by Claire Oberon Garcia (English, Race & Ethnic Studies), Ruth Kolarik (Art History), Robert Lee (Political Science), Jane Murphy (History) and Michael O’Riely (French, Italian, and Arabic) offer multiple perspectives on Orientalism and its legacies.A series of IDEA Cabaret presentations, offered free to the public, will further explore the ideas presented within the exhibition.

Featured Artists

From the Dahesh Museum of Art, NYC

Alphonse-Étiénne Dinet (1861-1929)
Eugène Alexis Girardet (1853-1907)
Jean Raymond Hippolyte Lazerges  (1817-1887)
Émile-Jean-Horace Vernet (1789-1863)
Alexandre-Marie Colin, (1798-1873)
Eugène Fromentin (1820-1876)                                                             
Charles-Théodore Frère (1814-1888)

 

 

Lalla Essaydi grew up in Morocco and now lives in the USA. She received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/TUFTS University in May 2003. Her work has been exhibited in many major international venues, including Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, Texas, Buffalo, Colorado, New York, Syria, Ireland, England, France, The Netherlands,Sharjah, U.A.E., and Japan. Essaydi’s work is featured in the permanent collections of many international institutions, including: The Louvre Museum, Paris; The Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Art Institute of Chicago; The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; The Smithsonian Museum of African Arts, Washington DC; and The Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual artist and filmmaker Ibi Ibrahim was born in the United States in 1987. He was raised throughout the Middle East, living in Yemen, Libya, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates. Exhibitions include “Light, Leaves, and Yemeni Coffee,” JAMM Art Gallery, Dubai (2015); “It’s Really Expensive,” Nouvel Organon, Paris (2014); “Paintings and Photographs,” European Union Office, Sana’a (2013); “Black and White: Absence of Color,” Minneapolis Photography Center, Minneapolis (2012); and “Gender Matters/Matters of Gender,” Freedman Gallery, Reading (2012). Films include “Sounds of Oud” (2011). Ibrahim’s work is included in a number of prominent private collections including the Barjeel Art Foundation. In 2014, Ibrahim became the first Yemeni artist to participate in the Cité Internationale des Arts residency program in Paris. He is currently an artist in residence at GlogauAIR in Berlin.

 

Exhibition funding is provided through the generous sponsorships of: The Colorado College Cultural Attractions Fund; The Art Department/Stillman Fund for Exhibitions; The Office of the President; and The History Department.