canvas magazine

8/6/2019 Canvas Magazine

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mad

men TALA MADANI



114

T h is a wndul cham and intxicating aua abut

Tala Madani’s canvass as thy ad lik incidnts m

a shisticatd cmic sti. Th aint sts n th suac lik indulgnt scs ic-cam

smad nt th cunt a wll-stablishd dlicatssn. Thugh all thi visual wamth,

Madani’s wks allud t a vilnc and authitaianism that is as much dmstic as it is uni-

vsal. Th aint’s chaacts a childlik, layul vn, in thi cmsitinal xssins, as

thy aa nt nly t wstl with n anth but with thi at as gus in aint. Giv-

n t xlaining h wk, Madani bgins by dclaing hsl “a aint and nt an atist”. F

h, sh says, “th atist has an g v th matial whil a aint is much m subsvi-

nt t thi matials.” Sh gs n t uth xlain h aintings “as m acting un thcanvas”. Sh dns that “th u cns a canvas cat an abstact sac wh I can

cmmit my actins.”

F Madani, h aintings a clisd nly by h animatins, which w tuch un whn

discussing th dictin h wk. Incisiv in h sht lms, Madani dclas th is a “gat

ctivnss” in what yu can d – “Animatin is m shaabl, tabl vn.” Immdiatly th

is a sns that ainting and animatin hav a hiachical sitin as th tls h tad and

Madani admittd “t ainting bing m dicult, whil my animatins hav achd a gat

numb l”. Sh adds that “it is s much t d with u ducatin systms and dvl-

mnts visual cultus glbally, that animatins and mving imags a m accssibl.”

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Amd with qual amunts humu and aths,

Rajesh Punj unavls aint Tala Madani’s ccuatinwith a univsal cultu vanilla ic-cam and vilnc.

Opening spread: Red Stripes with Stain.2008. Oil on canvas. 195 x 210 cm.

Above: (Detail) Cells II . 2010. Spray paintand oil on canvas. 203.2 x 203.2 cm.



“It wasn’t a conscious choice o men overwomen, it was a process o elimination.”



116

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FeMMe FATALeMadani was bn in Than in 1981 and nw

livs btwn Amstdam and Nw Yk. rad-

ing litical scinc and visual at at ogn

Stat, sh was awadd th Univsity psi-

dnt’s Awad excllnc in At. Gaduating

m Yal Univsity with a Mast’s in painting

in 2006, sh civd th Visual Ats Fllwshi

m Th Fin Ats Wk Cnt, pvinctwn in

2006 and th Ks Vwy Fllwshi in 2007.

Sh has shwn in a numb gu xhibi-

tins, including Saatchi’s Unveiled: New Art rom

the Middle East, and will b aticiating in th

Vnic Binnal’s Dutch pavilin this ya.

As a sidnt bth eu and th USA,

Madani is inuncd by tty much vything

th is and scically ncs catn-

ist rbt Cumb, th ‘Chicag Imagists’ wh

haild m th 1960s and 70s and th wk

Amican aint Alic Nl. That, lm, illus-

tatin and Jaans ints a th buzz wds

Madani as it bcms lss and lss ssibl

t dn h actic t a aticula mmnt

mvmnt. rcalling h aly wks, th un-

nving guing mn in canvass lik In Line

(2006) suggsts smthing th shackling

isns at Guantanam Bay.

Holy Light (2006) is anth imulsiv wk

that aas t hav bn vilatd by slick

thads aint that hav disclud th ma-

jity th canvas. This might snt light as

it us uncmniusly v anth gu

blagud mn whs hands a clasd

bhind thi backs. Is this dictd mmnt a

cus t divin cstasy th -mtivmassac mn? Might ths b th sct -

lic th Libyan dictat, egyt’s allid gnals

acting ut thi dsis bhind clsd ds

a thy Syia’s sct intlligntsia, indulging in

ivat lasu? A w ivy t such dtail

a u tntativ ugs th idntity ths

hal-nakd mn indulging thmslvs util?

This unctainty is smthing th stngth

Madani’s aintings, as thy manag with incd-

ibl gust t challng u undstanding th

Middl east and w-stuctus in gnal.

Th atist wishs, btwn eu and th USA,

t citiqu th statu all mn by stiing

thm thi masculin aaatus and lac-

ing it with th lish tls idits.

I vilnc aas at th c all Madani’s

wks, thn it is imativ t ask why. pvca-

tivly h, vilnc as it xists in h wk is nt

ncssaily th abhnt act – It is th gula-

ity it amng mn, th asnablnss and th

clbaty ai abut it that aals t h. Quit

ssibly, th mann in which vilnc has c-

tivly inltatd u imaginatin, as it bcms a

dmstic actin as wll as an intnatinal cim.

Madani suggsts that within h aintings, ths

gus a allwd th dm t clbat vi-

lnc as it xists at that mmnt.

Madani [alludes to] a moment that constitutesmany moments o violence the world over.

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Facing page: Holy Light. 2006.Marker and oil on canvas.121.9 x 121.9 cm.

Below: (Detail) Tower Refection. 2006. Oil on canvas.182.9 x 396.2 cm.



118

The mix-up o cake and confict isthe abrasive energy that illuminatesTala Madani’s work time and again.



Facing page: Spraying Strip2008. Oil on linen. 60.5 x 7

Above: (Detail) Table Troub2008. Oil on wood. 24.5 x 3



120

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A HISTorY oF VIoLeNCeWhn ncing h aly wks, In Line and

Holy Light m 2006, Madani dns h int

st in “th masss”, hw “ths lina mti

mn, mvd btwn abstactin, dtail and

thn ctivly tund t abstactin”. And

aat m th act that thy aa cast und

th sam sll, Madani dns h aly dc

sin t aint mn – “it wasn’t a cnscius chic

mn v wmn, it was a css limi

natin bcaus I didn’t want t catnis th

mal gu with xaggatd basts tc.”

M tubling a wks lik Tower Refec

tion 2006, a u-mt lng canvas atd

gstual stks that a dictd as gus

all us, as Madani suggsts th labu mn

is subsvint t a clandstin systm civ

bdinc. Th hyntic cham this wk i

in its us washd-ut d achs, cudl

atd v th canvas against Madani’s un

canny us sctiv, as ach h gu

a dissminatd by cass gid attns. With

slight hand, ths abstactins ast bcm

cnguatins ms as th achs, dcatd

as gus, st n all us, aaing isd

by thi duty t n anth; ach ti mn

cls t dath dm. Th atinal such a cnguatin mn is what is s uz

zling abut this wk, bcaus it can nly sug

gst n tw things: dtains’ subjctin t

utin acts vilnc th ndlss histy

vilnc as it is subjctd un a cmmunity

mn; Th Gundhg Day ct, as Madani

s t it. In such canvass, sh aas t hav

atinalisd th iatinal, givn m t th

cicumstancs man’s inhumanity t man.

Below: Elastic Pink. 2008. Oil oncanvas. 250 x 195 cm.

Facing page: BHaus. 2009. Oilon canvas. 40 x 40 cm.



When pressed, Madani appears to havemoments o unsolicited rustration.

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