May 7, 2007
Between East and West
With East and West clashing today, it’s easy to forget that global confrontations aren’t fated to end in muddles. Traditionally, artists have played the role of inquisitive intermediaries, wandering over borders imposed by less enlightened politicos. In one famous instance, Gentile Bellini, the famed Venetian Early Renaissance painter, went to Turkey as a cultural ambassador and returned with jewel-like depictions of Islamic culture, cherished to this day.
At present, some artists are assuming an ambassadorial role worthy of Bellini. Born in Pakistan, the New York-based artist Shahzia Sikander has been named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, part of a select group of individuals from the world over whose collective vision may yet positively inform the future. (More…)
