Review: Palestinian Art by Gannit Ankori
Al Jadid recently posted a review of Gannit Ankori's Palestinian Art, winner of a 2007 Polonsky Prize for creativity and originality in the humanistic disciplines. Doris Bittar writes, "Palestinian Art provides its readers a documentary-like and cinematic experience while teaching them about the history and culture of a troubled land."
Bittar credits Ankori for avoiding the pitfalls of previous scholarship on Palestinian art, "Ankori knows not to wear the cloak of the authoritative colonial scholar in this landscape. That alone is a refreshing change from the usual stance that Western critics and historians adopt."
Ankori traces the history and development of Palestinian art, from its roots in folk art and traditional Christian and Islamic painting to the predominance of nationalistic themes and diverse media used today. Drawing on over a decade of extensive research, studio visits, and interviews, Ankori explores the vast oeuvre of prominent contemporary Palestinian artists, navigating between the personal and biographical dimensions of specific artworks and the symbolic meanings embedded within them. She provides detailed interpretations of many works and considers the complex historical, geographical, political, and cultural contexts in which the art was created. Questions of gender, exile, colonialism, postcolonialism, and hybridity are integral to Ankori's investigation as she probes the influence and thematic dominance of issues such as rootedness and displacement in Palestinian art.