Ahmed Mater, Evolution of Man, 2010. The work was lent by a private collector
In a previous blogpost, I explored a less-known museum called Exit Art. The museum struck me as unconventional because of its strong emphasis on art as a medium for social change. Tonight, I came across an article in the Art Newspaper titled “Saudi Artist Targeted Over Jerusalem Show.” The article reveals a different ramification that art has the power to produce.
The article explains how Saudi Arabian artist Ahmed Mater is now the subject of an intense online campaign against him, petitioning the Saudi government to censure his artwork from the public. After a private collector displayed Mater’s unusual piece Evolution of Man, 2010 at Jerusalem’s Museum on the Seam, Mater’s Facebook page was bombarded with comments from fellow Saudis. Although some were supportive, majority were not, including one woman who posted, “This is treason at the highest level. He [Mater] should be made an example of.”
In late August, a petition was formed, and is to be presented to “the Saudi minister of the interior, the minister of foreign affairs, the Association of Fine Arts and ultimately King Abdullah.” The article explains that the petition “describes Mater’s participation… as tantamount to the ‘normalisation’ of relations with Israel. This is in spite of the fact that the Museum on the Seam receives no funding from the Israeli government.”
The museum is of the same nature as Exit Art in that its purpose is to display socio-political contemporary art “dedicated to improving intercultural understanding.” The museums’s artistic director, Raphie Etgar, supports Mater, saying, “I’m standing right behind Ahmed Mater and other artists like him. They are doing all they can to create a better world for tomorrow, and it’s amazing that people are trying to stop him from doing this.”
Art has the capacity to impact society in an extremely powerful way. It has the ability to educate the public, draw attention to often overlooked issues, and propel humanity to better the world around them. However, when artists’ voices are stifled as a result of their art, a question arises: Can art do more harm than good?
What do you think?
Ahmed Mater’s “Evolution of Man” reminds me of other controversial pieces I’ve previously discussed such as Serrano’s “Piss Christ” and Yossi’s blog post about the Dutch design for a new skyscraper in South Korea which resembles the twin towers as they were collapsing. This introduces the claim that art is always culturally sensitive.
However, I strongly believe and I cannot stress this enough, that the people who are trying to stifle artists and their controversial pieces are ignorant and have evil motives. Art, especially art that has a strong message, aims to educate through emotion. Art has the power to touch people in the way that no newspaper or textbook can. It teaches us about what is going on in the world by invoking the unheard voices and translating them to canvas or whatever the medium may be for the world to view.
That having been said, I think it is pathetic for people to say that Mater’s work is harmful and “should be made an example of”. I don’t think his artwork is harming anyone, but instead, I believe his piece aims to educate instead. It promotes “intercultural understanding” and he is trying to send out a message to people who have been ignorant to the atrocities due to oil wars and corrupt governments allowing lobbying to occur. No institution ever has the right to stifle an artist and his creative vision because then we allow ourselves to live in a world where there is no free will. We will be controlled and always be told that the good art is the kind that colors inside the lines…This is a fallacy. And it always will be.