Dimensions: image: 290 x 190 mm
Copyright: © Akram Zaatari, courtesy Hashem el Madani and Arab Image Foundation, Beirut | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This is "Anonymous. Studio Shehrazade, Saida, Lebanon, 1960" by Hashem el Madani, part of the Akram Zaatari collection. It's a photograph, roughly 29 by 19 centimeters. The subject is striking a pose reminiscent of the Wild West. Editor: My first thought is pastiche. The guns, the hat, even the slightly awkward stance... it all screams borrowed imagery, a performance of American ideals filtered through a Lebanese lens. Curator: Precisely. Consider the materiality: likely a mass-produced cowboy outfit purchased locally, set against a simple studio backdrop. It speaks to the globalization of culture, where even archetypes are commodified and readily available. The labor of producing this image, the photographer's skill, the subject's willingness to participate in this fantasy are all key. Editor: And the symbolism! The cowboy, traditionally a figure of rugged individualism and frontier justice, is transplanted to a completely different context. What does that signify? A longing for order? A fascination with American power? It's a potent image. Curator: It's a fascinating interplay of global influence and local interpretation. What was once considered distinctly American becomes a shared cultural symbol. Editor: It's certainly given me a lot to consider about cultural exchange. Thanks for the insight.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/zaatari-anonymous-studio-shehrazade-saida-lebanon-1960-hashem-el-madani-p79471
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This work is one of a series of black and white silver gelatin photographs of varying sizes that are collectively titled Objects of study/The archive of studio Shehrazade/Hashem el Madani/Studio Practices. All of the photographs were taken by the Lebanese commercial photographer Hashem el Madani between 1948 and 1982 and compiled into the present group, 117 of which are in Tate’s collection, by the Lebanese artist Akram Zaatari. All of the photographs include people, either alone, in pairs or in small groups, and most were taken in Madani’s studio, although some were shot outside and in his subjects’ homes. The series features men and women and covers a wide age range from babies to elderly people. Almost all of the sitters assume poses deliberately for the camera, sometimes accompanied by props or costumes, and most gaze directly towards the lens. Many of the pictures show subjects interacting in various ways, including embracing, kissing and acting out scenes, such as a mock wrestling match. The photographs are mostly tightly cropped, with the sitter or sitters filling most of the frame, although in some cases the figures are positioned further away from the camera, for instance when shown sitting at a table or standing behind a chair. The photographs tend to have sparse backgrounds, often dominated by a blank posterior wall. They are mounted on white paper, displayed in plain white frames and signed on the back by Madani. Many of them have been organised into categories by Zaatari – such as a group featuring men dressed as Syrian resistance fighters and a collection depicting newly married couples – while the rest are presented individually. Zaatari has stated that although he prefers these groups to be displayed together, this is not a requirement (Akram Zaatari, email to Rachel Taylor, 24 April 2008, Tate Acquisition file).
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