Buhmann on Art, Week of July 31, 2014

Bouchra Khalili’s “The Mapping Journey Project” (2008-2011, eight videos, color/sound). At the New Museum, through Sept. 28. Photo by Benoit Pailley, courtesy New Museum, NY

BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN (stephaniebuhmann.com) | HERE AND ELSEWHERE

In the past decade, contemporary art from across North Africa and the Middle East has increasingly gathered international attention. Some of the most comprehensive and most important recent international exhibitions in Europe — such as Documenta in Kassel (2012) and the La Biennale di Venezia (2013) — have made a point of including artists from these regions.

In New York, however, it is still somewhat hard to come by works heralding from Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Dubai, Doha, Marrakesh, Ramallah or Sharjah. Therefore, it is a special treat to visit “Here and Elsewhere” — the first museum-wide exhibition in New York to bring together more than 40 artists from over 12 countries in the Arab world, many of whom live and work internationally. It is organized by the New Museum’s curatorial department, led by Massimiliano Gioni, who also curated La Biennale in 2013.

Installation view of the Lobby Gallery, including (at left) Hassan Sharif’s “Suspended Objects” (2011, mixed mediums, 137 3/4 [h] x 63 [d] in; 350 [h] x 160 [d] cm approx.). At the New Museum, through Sept. 28. Photo by Benoit Pailley, courtesy New Museum, NY

The title is borrowed from “Ici et ailleurs” [Here and Elsewhere], a 1976 work by French directors Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin, and Anne-Marie Miéville. Conceived as a pro-Palestinian documentary, it manifested as a faceted contemplation of the representation and the status of images as political instruments. In this spirit, the exhibition embraces different methodologies with a focus on personal reportage. It particularly examines the role of artists in the face of historical events and how they are vested with the responsibility of revising dominant historical narratives.

While several of the artists experiment with archival material, rewriting personal and collective traumas, others employ traditional mediums (painting, drawing, sculpture) to record subtle and intimate shifts in awareness sparked by current events. By including both under-recognized and established mid-career artists, “Here and Elsewhere” works against the notion of the Arab world as a homogenous or cohesive entity.

Installation view of the Fourth Floor gallery, featuring photographs by Yto Barrada. Part of “Here and Elsewhere” (New Museum, through Sept. 28). Photo by Benoit Pailley, courtesy New Museum, NY

Through Sept. 28, at the New Museum (235 Bowery, btw. Stanton & Rivington Sts.). Hours: Wed., Fri.–Sun., 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Thurs. 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Admission: $16 ($14 for seniors, $10 for students). Pay-what-you-wish Thurs., 7–9 p.m. (suggested donation, $2). Call 212-219-1222 or visit newmuseum.org.