19 August 2016
Sometimes, a blank canvas can be utterly intimidating to an artist. In response to viewing this void another void is created, and in it nothing may come to mind, the hand freezes, and time seems to stop. Calligrapher Seiran Chiba had this experience when her calligraphy master passed away and she was left for the first time with no guiding figure. For days she sat in front of a blank sheet...
05 August 2016
In 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt and though the military campaign ultimately ended in failure, his occupation proved to be an influential turning point in art. It created a genre that would eventually become known as Orientalism. European presence encouraged scholars and artists to visit Egypt, North Africa and eventually the Middle East to study and document different cultures, environment...
03 August 2016
In the late 1980s when videocassette recorders (VCRs) started making their way into Ghana, a small cottage industry developed called the ‘mobile cinema.’ The industry was composed of entrepreneurs who were armed with three tools – a TV, VCR and a gas powered portable generator. In the evening they would travel to remote villages or set up an itinerant theater in underserv...