'Punk Orientalism' looks at Russia’s complex relationship with Arab world through art
Author Sara Raza explores in her new book the relationship of art between the former Soviet Union and the Arab world through the eyes of several artists.
It is fascinating when worlds that seem to be light-years away from each other suddenly come together, materializing unexpected commonalities. Take the term “Orientalism,” a concept established by Palestinian-American author Edward Said to describe the West's commonly contemptuous portrayal of the East. Would you ever associate it with punk counterculture?
Probably not, but that’s what curator, writer and academic Sara Raza did with her new book, titled “Punk Orientalism: The Art of Rebellion.” The book explores the spaces and places associated with the former Soviet Union, focusing on the artists and ideas hailing from Central Asia and the Caucasus, which were long perceived as an extension, or “client” states, of the USSR.
Raza coined the term “Punk Orientalism” more than a decade ago, coupling the idea of punk with a critical study of Orientalism and its historical association with imperialism. “I think now the themes and DIY aesthetic of punk are more relevant than ever,” Raza told Al-Monitor. “Punk was by nature always decentralized.”
In the book, the author expands Said's Orientalism in reference to the Arab world, to elaborate on its association with this territory to explore former Soviet possessions in Central Asia and the Caucasus. But the book also looks at the USSR’s complex relationship with the Arab world, Iran and Turkey, and what has become of it nowadays, all through the eyes of the artists.
