In sixteenth-century Iran, Ishraqî thought and Sufi mysticism shared the goals of annihilation of self in the awareness of God. Ecstasy and fana'. Persian painting of this period reflects these ideals. Laura U. Marks suggests the seductive power of fana' exists in contemporary media as well. Islamic mysticism can offer us criteria for contemporary art. Even art that is not mystical in its aims.
Laura U. Marks is a writer and a curator of artists’ media. She is the author of The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the Senses (2000)], Touch: Sensuous Theory and Multisensory Media (2002), and the forthcoming Enfoldment and Infinity: An Islamic Genealogy of New Media Art (MIT Press, 2010). She has curated experimental media for festivals and art spaces worldwide. Dr. Marks is the Dena Wosk University Professor in Art and Culture Studies at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver.
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Tuesday July 13, 20.00. Entrance 3 euros. Mediamatic Bank, Vijzelstraat 68 Amsterdam. Please RSVP.
