The Department of Art History
Subject: Cultural Spaces: Perceptions of Space in Contemporary Moroccan Art.
Advisor: Dr. Noam Gal.
Abstract: Morocco’s geographical location, as a place that contains long-standing visual traditions and at the same serves as a pivotal connecting point between Africa and Europe, also plays a key role in shaping their newly emerging visual culture. As the most western Muslim country, Morocco negotiates a complex identity in its relation to the world. The Contemporary Moroccan art scene has significantly grown ever since the political shifts of the past twenty years have reshaped the country’s economic, social, and cultural conditions. Therefore, this research aims to investigate those shifts through the perception of space and the ways in which it is being presented or being used in Moroccan art from the past thirty years, from 1990-2020.
The starting points of my research are three main concepts that impact the idea or notion of space in Morocco's contemporary art: 'identity', 'belonging', and 'Aesthetics'. The research assumes that identities are not always a known component that accompanies a person by his very existence in a certain space and time but are also reliant on external and internal perceptions of belonging. Alongside these, 'Aesthetics' refers to the engagement with the traditional, local culture and visuality, but at the same time to the dialog with the outside world and trends. It seems that these concepts are relevant to the analysis of contemporary Moroccan works of art, and their use can allow a deeper understanding of the concepts of space that exist in this art. This research aims to move beyond the dichotomies between space/time to discuss the ways in which contemporary Moroccan artists embrace their comprehension of local and traditional Moroccan aesthetics and uses them as if to say something about their own identity.
In this research, I will explore perceptions of space in contemporary Moroccan art from three different standpoints: (1) Landscape – perception of nature and uncivilized spaces;(2) Architecture – mosques, the city, the relationship between the city architectural complexes, and its inhabitants; (3) Studio – privet and personal spaces as if there were the artist studio, his home, his room, or his own body.
President Scholarship 2021/22