I was raised up in a different way; a way that I think made me gave me power. I was raised as a Bedouin; I learned the principles and the values of the culture, and they are the reasons I became who I am today, a creative artist crawling the top. The general image of the culture is rather stereotyped and surfaced. The most common perspective people have is, a passion for camels, desert as a land and also falcons. Its shameful that we are the ones responsible, we don’t do justice to our culture. As a growing artist, I would like to use art as a weapon to educate and introduce my Bedouin culture to the community. My originality is my culture. As I owe my culture so much, I should give back to it. ‘That’s what I’m here for, to demolish the rules but to keep the tradition.’ (McQueen, 2006)
Looking into what has already been done towards this issue, specifically in the Art field; I have found out that the only artist who is producing artifacts relative to the principles, values and what is the inside of a culture. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal is a well-known artist in the region, he writes down poems as a ‘Sketch’ and then paint what the words say. They all are metaphors inspired by his culture. ‘I move my brush with every word I write, I move my brush with the rhythm of the word’s meanings’ (Al-Faisal, 2001)
The issue is rather worldwide than personal; during my research and with the help of my professor; I have found that other parts of the world suffer from the same issue. The ‘Aboriginal Canadians’ the culture of the people who are also known as ‘The first people of Canada’ is with no doubt fascinating. The Aboriginal Canadians have their own language, their own characteristics and their own community. However, the culture is underestimated and not well presented through arts. However, there are some artists trying to convey a message about their culture through contemporary art. A beautiful painting titled ‘United’ created by two Aboriginal artists named Alfie J. Fishgap and Todd Jamieson. Even though the artifact shows a little over-generalization of what the culture is, it is preserving the culture and its beauty through modern art. Both the artists tried to acknowledge the fact that all Aboriginal people in Canada are united. They wanted to present their principle of unity across the country.
Art to me is the most powerful tool; it is the easy way out of an issue. Anything can be solved with Art. However, Art comes in different forms. It could be anything as long as you have the right eye to see it. As a Bedouin, my knowledge of art is poetry. Poetry is the way Bedouins chose to exit their issues; they paint a picture in each other’s mind using just words. This combination of both, the art of poetry in my culture, and the modern forms of art I am being exposed to in my years of education, are my solution to the problem.
My role as an art student, is to present my culture in a modern way, because its existing representations lack both; Modernity and truth. I have to show the community how beautiful the inside of the culture is. How much the values I have learned changed my perspective to life. How proud I am of being a Bedouin. My role is to preserve the characteristics and values I have been learning, to ensure that the future generations learn them. I have to spread the word and the education to correct and restructure the wrong perspective of people. In bot, our local community and the art community in my university.
As for my plan into achieving the goal, I chose mix media posters to be my art tool, simply because I believe in their power. I believe that artifacts are capable of changing people’s perspectives. I have written a couple of essays before about how being a Bedouin gave me power and added originality to my personality. I also made a story using a series of photographs based on a famous Bedouin legacy. I don’t have limits to how far I’m willing to go with presenting my culture; it is my long-term goal. My main role in a nutshell, to be the change I want to see.
Time line:
1- April 10th: Photo shoot in several places where Bedouins lived. (Laawinah-Alkharsah-etc)
2- April 12th: Paint and print artifacts using the values and principles of the culture.
3- April 20th: Photo shoot the work produced.
4- May-June: Present the artwork produced and seek an internship or a job in QMA for further collaboration.
From previous experience, I have noticed that people are interested to know the truth. The deep and true meaning behind the stereotyped pictures and artifacts. I made a short film documenting the place where he grew up and learned all about being a Bedouin. The film was my first attempt to present the culture differently, although I think I know better now and I can come with a better film now. The film I made helped with my acceptance to art school, I also submitted a personal message about my plan of wanting to make a change, the change I want to see as a Bedouin in the community. When I got my acceptance alongside the feedback, I have noticed that the community were interested and happy with the idea presented in my portfolio. I hope that the work I’m trying to produce will get the same reaction form the art community.
Works Cited
1-Al-Faisal, Khalid. “Samrt.” Web log post. Adab. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. <http://adab.com/>.
2-“Aboriginal Peoples in Canada.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_peoples_in_Canada>.
3- “Artists Create Special Gift to Honour Lieutenant Governor.” Turtleisland. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. http://www.turtleisland.org/
4-“Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty – About the Exhibition.” V&A. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://vam.ac.uk>.
