Al-Senan, M., Al-Isa, F., Al-Sultan, B. (2018). Symbolic Manifestation of Saudi Women. International Design Journal, 8(4), 173-186. doi: 10.21608/idj.2018.84695
Maha A. Al-Senan; Fatimah Rashed Al-Isa; Blqees M. Al-Sultan. "Symbolic Manifestation of Saudi Women". International Design Journal, 8, 4, 2018, 173-186. doi: 10.21608/idj.2018.84695
Al-Senan, M., Al-Isa, F., Al-Sultan, B. (2018). 'Symbolic Manifestation of Saudi Women', International Design Journal, 8(4), pp. 173-186. doi: 10.21608/idj.2018.84695
Al-Senan, M., Al-Isa, F., Al-Sultan, B. Symbolic Manifestation of Saudi Women. International Design Journal, 2018; 8(4): 173-186. doi: 10.21608/idj.2018.84695
1Associate Professor of History of Art, Department of Visual Arts, College of Arts and Design, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2Assistant Professor of Painting, Department of Visual Arts, College of Arts and Design, Princess
3Department of Visual Arts, College of Arts and Design, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
The use of symbols in visual art is a technique which has been handed down over generations. In contemporary art, it has had a particular resonance, particularly in societies where limits are imposed on a particular demographic, within legal regimes which do not guarantee the right to free expression, or under censorship. But the political and social movements, indeed, the changes which have taken place in the religious sphere with regard to women in Saudi Arabia over the last ten years, have made their struggle itself into a symbol, and its artistic expression through symbols into a rich source for analytic readings. The current study discusses the use of symbols in Saudi art in general through examples of Saudi women artists who depict either directly or through symbols the Saudi women’s issues, either as individuals in the community or through personal expression within social, familial or even personal restrictions. It focuses on the experiences of the Saudi artist Manal al-Dowayan and two young artists who graduated from the Visual Arts Department at the College of Art and Design at Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University, one of the largest women’s universities in the world, whose work was prepared under the supervision of the arts program at the university. The pieces move beyond the artistic monotony of two-dimensional work to multi-dimensional work making use of a range of materials and techniques, which discuss social issues or issues relating to women in particular without fear of educational, social or political censorship through the use of symbolism. They cast light on the importance of the use of symbols as an artistic means of expression in societies subject to limitations on freedom of that expression, or for artists with anti-social characters, and on the role of symbolic style in extending the freedom of artists to be creative through symbols instead of being trapped intellectually within social limits.
1.Al-Senan, Maha, “Considerations on Society Through Saudi Women's Art,” International Journal of Development Research. May 2015. Volume 5, Issue 5.
2.Al-Rasees, Muhammad. The History of Fine Art in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Ministry of Media and Culture, 2010.
3.Al-Rasees, Muhammad. The History of Fine Art in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Ministry of Media and Culture, 2010. 16.
4.Nayeem, Mohammed Abdul, The Rock Art of Arabia, Hyderabad, 2000
5.Al-Senan, Maha. Metal Art in the Village of Faw: An Analytical Artistic Study, Unpublished PhD dissertation, Riyadh, 2009
6.Hilden, Joy Totah, Bedouin Weaving of Saudi Arabia, Arabian Publishing, London, 2010
7.Al-Mansour, Hend, “Green in the Market, Red in Mother’s Hand: The Shift in Henna Art in Al-Hasa,” Unpublished Masters, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2013
8.Al Saud, Norah, Abha Bilad Asir, 1989.
9.Khan, Majeed and Abdulrahman al-Zahrawi. Tattoos, Tribal Symbols in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Antiquities and Museums Authority, 2000
10.Al-Rasees, Muhammad. The History of Fine Art in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Ministry of Media and Culture, 2010. 30-40.
11.Bin Baz, 2017
12.Lacroix, Stéphane. Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in Contemporary Saudi Arabia (Harvard University Press, 2011)
13.Al-Rasees, Muhammad. The History of Fine Art in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Ministry of Media and Culture, 2010
14.Al-Suleiman, Abdulrahman. The Story of Saudi Fine Art, Ministry of Media and Culture, Riyadh, 2012
15.Al-Senan, Maha. Artistic Styles in Modern Saudi Fine Art, Riyadh, 2007
16.Al-Rasees, Muhammad. The History of Fine Art in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Ministry of Media and Culture, 2010
17.Al-Suleiman, Abdulrahman. The Story of Saudi Fine Art, Ministry of Media and Culture, Riyadh, 2012
23.Note that a proclamation allowing women to drive was issued in 2017 which will enter into force June 2018.
24.Bouaissa, Malikka, “Manal Al Dowayan: women’s rights in art,” al.arte.magazine, 2013 http://www.alartemag.be/en/en-art/manal-al-dowayan-womens-rights-in-art/
26.Ayad, Myrna; Blackburn, Virginia, Contemporary Kingdom, the Saudi art scene now, canvas Central, Dubai, 2014
27.Bouaissa, Malikka, “Manal Al Dowayan: women’s rights in art,” al.arte.magazine, 2013 http://www.alartemag.be/en/en-art/manal-al-dowayan-womens-rights-in-art/
28.Aldowayan, Manal, If I Forget You, Don’t Forget Me, Exhibition Catalogue, Cuadro publications, 2012
30.Bouaissa, Malikka, “Manal Al Dowayan: women’s rights in art,” al.arte.magazine, 2013 http://www.alartemag.be/en/en-art/manal-al-dowayan-womens-rights-in-art/
31.Al Jazeera Plus, a multilingual news site and part of the al Jazeera network.
33.Bouaissa, Malikka, “Manal Al Dowayan: women’s rights in art,” al.arte.magazine, 2013 http://www.alartemag.be/en/en-art/manal-al-dowayan-womens-rights-in-art/
View on SCiNiTO
Top