13. Foreword Gtenn D. Lowry

15. Acknowledgments Jay A. Levenson and Sarah Lookofsky

18. Introduction: About This Book Anneko Lenssen, Sorah Rogers, Nada Shabout

28. Essay: The Making and Unmaking of the Amb World U s s a m a Makdis i

36. DEFINING PAINTING

36. Taswir, Wntun?, Painting (c. 1882) Butrus a!-Bustani

37. ON THE BENEFITS OF ART

37. The Fine Arts (1887) Ahmed Fahmi

42. Images and Statues, Their Benefits and Legality (1904) Muhammad Abduh

45. ARAB ROMANTlCS

45. Something about Art (1912) May Ziadeh

47. Letter to May Ziadeh (1920) Amin Rihani

49. Letter to May Ziadeh (1920) Kahlil Gibran

51. Drclft essay (1920s) Kahlil Gibran

53. Renewal (1927) Amin Rihani

55. IN FOCUS Arab Romanticism Stephen Sheehi

57. LETTER FROM ALGIERS TO PARIS

57. Letter to the Director of the Exhibition of indigenous Art from the French Colonies (1923) Omar Racim

58. SCULPTURE AND THE PUBLIC IN EGYPT

58. The Sphinx and Mokhtar's Statue (1928) lbrahim Abd al-Qadir al-Mazini

63. The Response of Sculptor Mokhtar t o Mr. al-Mazini (1928) Mahmaud Mokhtar

68. IN OEFENSE OF EGYPTIAN POPULAR ART

68. The Popular Arts in Egypt (1928) Mohamed Naghi

72. IN FOCUS Cdro's School of Rne Arts and the Pedagogical Imperative Dino Ramadan

73. LETTER FROM MARRAKESH TO ALGIERS

73. Letter t o Jean Alazard, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Algiers (1929) Azouaou Mammeri

74. ON THE FORMATION OF A MODERN SPIRIT

74. Modernism or Tradition? (1929) IrPne KGram6

76. IN FOCUS Cultivation Discourses in the Arab East Kirsten Scheid

77. VIEWING THE EXHIBITION

78. Guest book entries for Zulfa al-Sa'di (1933)

79. Guest book entries for Moustafa Farroukh (1933)

80. QUERYING ART AND RELIGION

80. Art and Religion (1936) Moustafa Farroukh

82. The Greatest Art (1938) Mikhail Naimy

86. THE NEO-ORIENTALISTS/Cairo

86. Manifesto of the Neo-Orientalists (1937) Kamel Telmisany

EGYPTIAN ART AND FREEDOM DEBATES

The Objective of the Contemporary Artist (1938) RamsPs Younan

Long Live Degenerate Art! (1938)

The Art and Liberty Group (1939) Anwar Kamel

Studies in Art: Ar t and Freedom (1939) Aziz Ahmad Fahmi

On Degenerate Art: A Final Word (1939) Nasri Atallah Susa

On Degenerate Art (1939) Kamel Telmisany

Art and Dictatorship (1940) Mohamed Naghi

106. SHAPING THE FATE OF THE NATION

107. The Painter (1943) Cesar Gemayel

109. IRAQ'S WARTIME TRANSFORMATION

109. Diary entry (1944) Jewad Selim

110. ON AGONY AND BEAUTY

110. Thoughts on Art (1944) Hatem el Mekki

112. Thoughts on Art (1945) AIy Ben Salem

112. Thoughts on Art (1945) Omar Racim

113. Thoughts on Art= Man and His Agony(1945) Mahmoud Messadi

113. CONTEMPORARY ART GROUP/Cairo

114. Contemporary Ar t Gmup, First Declaration (1946) Husayn Yusuf Arnin. Abdel Hadi el-Gazzar, Mahmoud Khalil, lbrahim Massouda, Mogli (Salem el-Habshi), Harned Nada, Maher Raef, Samir Rafi, Kamal Youssef

114. Contemporary Ar t Group, Second Declaration (1948)

117. PLATES l ( 1-25 1

133. SURREALIST SENSITIVITIES

133. From an Old Diary (1947) Khaldun Sati al-Husry

135. Notes from Surreal (1947) Urkhan Muyassar

138. PETITION FOR THE 1 PERCENT LAW/Tunis

138. Letter t o the Resident General in Tunis (1948) Pierre Boucherle and Yahia Turki

139. AN EARLY DECLARATION O F HUROUNYAH

139. Arabic Calligraphy: An Inspiring Element in Abstract Art (1949-50) Modiha Umor

142. IN FOCUS Huroufiyah: The Arabic Letter asVisual Form Nada Shabout

144. IMAGINING AN IMMORTAL ARAB ART

144. Speech delivered a t Damascus's Maydan High School (1951) Adham Isma'il

345. TOWARD A MATERIAL MODERNISM

145. How the Arab UnderstoodVisual A r t (1951) Saloua Raoudo Choucair

150. BAGHDAD GROUP FOR MODERN ART

150. Manifesto (1951) Baghdad Group for Modern Art

152. The Renewal of Art (1951) Jewad Selim

155. THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF EXHIBITIONS

155. Letter t o the Department of Interior and Ene Arts (1952) Yohia Bahrned

156. On the Presentation of a Collective Exhibition (1953) Jean SQnac

157. Exhibition c% a Palestinian Artist (1953) Horun Hashim Rashid

158. About the Third Exhibition at the British Cultural Council (1953) Shokir Hasson AI Said

161. IN FOCUS The Nukba and Arab Culture Nasser Rabbot

163. ALGERIAN GROUP OF THE LETTRIST INTERNATIONAL/Algiers

163. Manifesto (1953) Cheikh Ben Dhine, Mohamed Dahou, lsmail Ait Djafer

164. A CALL TO HUMAN HERITAGE

164. The Meaning of Painting (1953) Adonis

167. CONSIDERING ARAB ART AND ARTISTS

167. Artists' Questionnaire: "Art and Arab Life" (1956)

176. The Question o f Form: Between National Realism and the Psychological Moment (1956) Zakariya al-Hijjawi

181. REVIEWING THE IRAQI REVOLUTION

181. At The Exhibition of the Revolution (1958) Jaleel Kamal al-Din

186. PROCLAIMING ARAB UNITY

186. The Freedom of Art (1958) Hamed Said

189. Text for the United Arab Republic Pavilion,Venice Biennale (1960) Salah Kamel

191. IN FOCUS Biennials and Arab Representation Anneka Lenssen

192. CAIRO: LIMITS ON FREEDOM

193. Recollections of Imprisonment (1959-63) lnji Efflatoun

196. MATERIALS FOR A NEW ALGERIAN ART

196. Painting (1960) M'hamed lssiakhem

198. PLASTIC ART S MOVEMENT/Damascus

198. Manifesto of the Plastic Arts Movement in Syria (1962) Abdul Aziz Alloun, Mahmoud Daadouch, Fateh al-Moudarres

200. Letter t o Salman Qataya (1962) Abdul Aziz Alloun

202. You9re Entitled toyour Opinion (1962) Adnan Ibn Dhurayl

204. INFOCUS Art and Political Patronage during the Cold War Sarah Rogers

206. MAKING SPACES IN BEIRUT

206. Opening o f Gallery One: A First Ar t Institution of i ts Kind (1963)

208. Remarks on the Autumn Exhibirtion: I Am Uncultured! (1964) Jalal Khoury

209. Toward a New Space: The Perspective of the Abstract (1964) Stblio Scamanga

211. PERSONAL REFLECTION Three Years of Teaching Art in Khartoum, 1962-65 Amir Nour

a3. PLATES 11 (26-491

229. ART AFTER THE ALGERIAN REVOLUTION

229. Painting and the People (1963)

231. Presentation a t Gallery 54 (1964) Jean SPnac

232. Elements for a New Art (1964) Mohamed Khadda

235. Elements for a New Art (1964) Choukri Mesli

237. Elements for a New Art (1964) Abdallah Benanteur

239. Art and the Algerian Revolution (1964) Henri Krka

240. EXPLORATORY ABSTRACTION

241. Meaninglessness Within and Without (1964) Fouad Kamel

243. THE CHALLENGE OF ART

243. A Trailing Zero: Damascus Letter (1965) Muhornmad a\-Maghout

248. Letter t o Famuq 01-Buqayli (1966) Mahmoud Hammad

252. CONTEMPLATIVE ART/Baghdad

252. Man'ifksto (1966) Shokir Hassan Al Said

256. PRESENTING NEW TUNISIAN PAINTING

256. A True Language of Forms: Interview with Nja Mahdaoui (1966) Moncef S. Baddoy

258. A Language i n His Land's Dimensions: Interview with Naceur Ben Cheikh (1966) Moncef S. Badday

260. Against Neocolonialism in Painting: Interview with Najib Belkhodja (1966) Ferid Boughedir

263. MOROCCO'S CASABLANCA SCHOOL DIALOGUES

263. On the Concept of Painting and the Plastic Language (1966) Mohammed Chebao

266. The Situation of the Moroccan Painter (1967) Toni Maraini

269. Responses to the Sorrffles Artists' Questionnaire (1967) Far id Bel kahia. Mohammed Chebaa, Mohammed Homidi, Jilali Gharbaoui, Mohammed Melehi

279. DEBATING NORTH AFRtCAN ART AT HOME AND AWAY

279. Six North African Painters Speak Out: Painting in North Africa, an Alarming Situation (1967) Abdallah Benonteur, Ahmed Cherkaoui, And& Elbaz, Abdel Koder Guermaz, Edgard Naccache, Mahmoud Sehili

283. Internationalism Passes through Nationalism (1967) Zubeir Turki

289. Art Must Reach the Universal and Must Not Become a National Crafts Industry: Interview with Andre Elbaz (1967) Zakya Daoud

292. AOUCHEM GROUP/Algiers and Blida

292. Manifesto (1967) Hamid Abdoun, Mustafa Adane, Baya (Fatma Haddad-Mahieddine), Mohamed Ben Baghdad, Mahfoud Dahmani, Denis Martinez, Choukri Mesli, Said Saidani, Arezki Zerarti

294. ClRCULlSM AND KINETICS IN KUWAIT

294. Kinetic Art: A Movement that Represents the New Man (1966)

296. Interview with the Artist Khalifa Qattan (1967) Sulayman al-Shatti

301. INFOCUS Experiments in Modern Arabic Typography Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares

303. ACCOUNTING FOR THE JUNE 1967 WAR

303. (,.) (1968) Hassan Soliman

306. Manifesto: Towards a New Vision (1969) Dia al-Azzawi, lsmail Fattah, Saleh al-Jumaie, Muharnmad Muhraddin, Rafa al-Nasiri, Hashem Samarji

310. You, the Arab Artist Who Rejects the West, What Is Your East?: Interview with Adel Saghir, Stelio Scamanga, Mounir Najm (1969) Samir Sayegh

315. AI-Tali'a Symposium Roundtable (1969)

322. PERSONAL REFLECTION From Dreams t o Achievements: A Jordanian Artist in the Era of 1968 Mona Saudi

323. EXHIBITION AT DJEMA AL FNA/Marrakesh

323. Statement (1969) Mohammed Ataallah, Farid Belkahia, Mohammed Chebaa, Mustapha Hafid, Mohammed Hamidi. Mohammed Melehi

324. TRANSFORMING THE ARTS OF THE REVOLUTION

325. On Art and Combat (197o)Tahar Ben Jelloun

325. Art in the Time of the Palestinian Revolution (1971) Kamal Boullata

329. Drawing in Three Dimensions (197l)Vladimir Tamari

333. INFOCUS Revolutionary Film: The Palestine Film Unit Mohanod Yaqubi

335. ARAB ART I N FEDERATION

335. Statement of the Founding Committee of the Union of Arab Plastic Artists ( 1 9 ~ )

338. Arab Art. . . and Its Position i n Relation t o the World's Art (1971) Mahmoud Harnmad

341. The Arab Artist's Rights and His Obligations (1971) Fateh al-Moudarres

343. EXHIBITION ARTICULATIONS I N IRAQ

343. Presence in the Object and the Object's Presence in Transformation, the Becoming o f Consciousness (1971) Yohya ol -Sheikh

345. Circulism: Why Circulism? What Is Circulism? (1971) Qutaiba al-Sheikh Nouri

347. Quantum Realism-An Ar t o f Processes (1971) Mahmoud Sabri

351. PERSONAL REFLECTION Notes on Contact Art Gallery, 1972-75 Waddah Faris

352. A TRANSREGIONAL CRITICAL TERRAIN

352. A Note on the Culligraphic Sign (1973) Abdelkebir Khatibi

355. Light: The Ultimate Material for A r t (1973) Etel Adnan

357. ART AND THE LETTER

357. The Philosophical, Technical, and Expressive Aspects of the One Dimension (1973) Shakir Hassan AI Said

359. TheCivilizational Qualityof the One Dimension (1973) Qutoiba al-Sheikh Nouri

361. About the Letter.. . A Response (1973) Jamil Hamoudi

362. THE DIASPORIC DIVIDE

363. An Arab Artist between Damascus and Berlin (1973) Na'im Isma'il

367. NEW REALlSM/Baghdad

367. Manifesto o f New Realism (1973) Abdal-Razzoq Ali Jawdat, Muhammad Arif, Shams +Din Foris. lbrahim al-Kamali

369. RESPONSE TO T H E OCTOBER 1973 WAR

369. Letter t o the Editor of MondayMorning (1973) Aref El Rayess

370. PERSONAL REFLECTION Graphic Design and the Visual Arts in Iraq Dia at-Azzawi

372. lNFOCUS Graphic Ar t i n t he Arab World May Muzaffar

374. ARAB BIENNIAL INITIATIVES AND CRlTlQUES

374. Art Inspired by the People, the Struggle, and Liberation in the ~ r i l o g y of Heritage, the Present, ond Contemporaneity (1973)

376. Discussion Forum fmm the First Arab Biennial (1974)

384. Mon*&sto of the Moroccan Association of Plastic Arts (1974)

386. Exploding Artistic and Cukuml Handkops (1974) Dio 01-Auawi

387. LIFE AS A PALESTINIAN ARTIST

387. The Palestinian People's Consciousness and Aesthetic Expression (1975) Mustafa al-Hallaj

393. KHARTOUM DIALOGUES

393. The Crystalist Manifesto (1976) Hassan Abdallah, Hashirn Ibrahim, Karnala lbrahirn Ishaq, Muharnmad Hamid Shaddad, Naiyla AI Tayib

401. Commentary (1976) Abdallah Bola

405. Commentary(i976) Maharned Abusabib

407. Exhibition Statement (1980) Muhamrnad Harnid Shaddad

408. SECOND ARAB BIENNIAL I N RABAT

408. Manifesto o f the Association o f Moroccan Plastic Artists (1976)

410. Interview with Fouad Bellamine (1978)

412. ON THE DESERT STYLE I N SAUDI ARABIA

413. A Word for the Sake o f A r t (1976) Mohammed AI-Saleem

414. Exhibition Statement (1976) Mohammed AI-Saleem

415. THINKING THROUGH CULTURE DURING THE LEBANESE CIVIL WARS

415. Proposal for a Cultural Policy(1977) Janine Rubeiz

419. ENVIRONMENTAL ART AT ASILAH

419. Statements f rom Participants o f the First International Cultural Moussem (1978)

424. IN FOCUS Yemen's Free Atelier: History and Context i n the Arabian Peninsula Anahi Alviso-Marino

426. THE CLOSURE OF GALLERY 79/Ramallah

426. Statement (1980)

427. DEBATING COMMITMENT I N A NEW EGYPT

427. From The Artist's Freedom (1980) Hassan Soliman

436. The Axis Continues (1982) The Axis Group: Farghali Abdel Hafiz, Abd al-Rahrnan al-Nashar, Ahmed Nawar, Mostafa El Razzaz

437. Statement against "Artistic Racism" (1984) Mukhtar el-Attar, Mahmoud Baqshish, lnji Effiatoun, Kamal al-Juweili, Salah Abdel Kerim, Saad El-Mansouri, Ezzedine Naguib, Subhi al-Sharuni, Abbas Shohdi

438. Spotlight on a Spotlight (1984) Mostafa El Razzaz

443. CONTEMPORARY MODES IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

443. To Contemplate Is to Lay a Foundotion (1985) Al-Toshkeel Culturol Committee: Abdul Jolil Jawad. Abdulraheem Salim. Hassan Sharif, Abdul Latif AI Smoudt

445. On W d e n Columns (1986) Ahmed Rashid

446. PERSONAL REFLECTlON Along New Paths: The New Visions Art Collectlve in Occupied Palestine Vera Tarnari

449. lndex

464. Trustees of The Museum of Modern Art