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Art Dubai confirms position as leading art fair in the Middle East with strong sales and record attendance - Art Dubai official sponsor of annual Rietveld Academy graduation show.
Banner, painted fabric.
dimension: 10 m. x 2.2 m.
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The choice of the Arabic text on the banner was primarily inspired by the tendency observed in Western countries and especially the hyper-manifestation that is lately becoming visible in the United Arab Emirates, to accumulate (Western) art as capital, where profit and record attendance are communicated as most important. Although banners in Western societies usually are associated with protest, they are also often used for (corporate) advertising. In the Middle East banners are often used to display quotations from the Koran. After 2001, many people in the Western world began to associate the Arabic language with fear. In the Netherlands, some politicians suggested a on elements associated with Arabic culture or religion in public space. Also, they suggested that Arabic language should no longer be used in (state) publications. The actual text on the banner addresses the political situation in the Netherlands at that time and makes a link to recent Western (art) history: an intervention by Joseph Beuys in 1972 during Documenta 5 where two placards with the words: "Dürer, I will personally lead Baader + Meinhof through Documenta 5' were placed.
During the exhibition, no direct translation was available and visitors had to find themselves Arabic speakers to help with the translation of the text on the banner.
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