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Historiography, the Global Contemporary, and Street Arts of the Egyptian Revolution

Hammond, Katherine E
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1534170611388269

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Interdisciplinary Arts (Fine Arts).
Street art exploded in Cairo during the Egyptian revolution in 2011. Graffiti, films, and murals were created in and around Tahrir Square as powerful tools of protest. The artworks supported and advanced the protesters’ quest for “bread, freedom and social justice,” and communicated with local, regional and international audiences. They narrated and documented the unfolding of the revolutions’ events, countering those propagated by state-sponsored and international media outlets. Through the media of paint and film, the artists claimed the agency and authority of creating historiographic work, and provided a voice for the protesting masses. This dissertation offers an analysis of seven primary artworks created in Cairo between 2011 and 2013. They include paintings and murals on Mohamed Mahmoud Street by Ammar Abo Bakr and Alaa Awad; three films produced by the Mosireen collective; and the documentary film Crop, co-directed by Marouan Omara and Johanna Domke. The examination of artworks in various media broadens the understanding of “street art” and highlights the diversity of global, contemporary art. Drawing from the work of Hayden White and Fran Lloyd, the artworks are posited as `historiographic objects,’ a term coined here to describe visually representative accounts of history. Like other forms of verbal and written historiographies, they embody creative processes of storytelling that shape understandings of the past and lend to various practices of remembering and memorialization. The artworks document events and human loss, re-imagine and re-contextualize historical figures and iconographies, form memorialization projects, and confront the agendas, hierarchies and meta-narratives of established historical discourses. This dissertation contributes to the field of art history by positioning Egyptian art as both global and contemporary. It pays particular attention to local and regional specificity, while also considering the ways in which the artworks are produced, distributed, and consumed across international contexts. The focus on Egyptian art as an active, current body of work balances the prolific amount of scholarship on art from the country’s ancient, pharaonic past. In addition, this dissertation promotes the goals of the Egyptian revolution and provides solidarity to those still working to instill a just and fair system of government.
Charles Buchanan, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Erin Schlumpf, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Andrea Frohne, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Ziad Abu-Rish, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
275 p.
Art History; Film Studies; Fine Arts; Middle Eastern Studies
art history; interdisciplinary arts; film studies; Egyptian art; contemporary art; Arab Spring; graffiti; street art; documentary film; historiography

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hammond, K. E. (2018). Historiography, the Global Contemporary, and Street Arts of the Egyptian Revolution [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1534170611388269

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hammond, Katherine. Historiography, the Global Contemporary, and Street Arts of the Egyptian Revolution. 2018. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1534170611388269.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hammond, Katherine. "Historiography, the Global Contemporary, and Street Arts of the Egyptian Revolution." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1534170611388269

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1534170611388269
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.