I wrote this article based on work done in a design studio here in Beirut called "Mediating the Real World". We chose as a project advocating for the boycott of the London Olympics. Based on our research, and what I've found in other Olympic cities, I am surprised at the lack of critical analysis of what role the Olympic Games had in the most recent London riots which, as we are seeing now, are allowing the government to complete their plan to destroy low-income parts of the city in the ...
Last summer I had the great pleasure of presenting on a panel with both Jesus Barraza and Melanie Cervantes at the Socialism Conference in Oakland, and then again with Jesus at the ICON6 Illustration Conference in Pasadena. Our panels were presenting art as resistance. What I appreciate most about their work is inherent to artists' collectives historically speaking: Most of the work is hands-on, and based in a craft tradition; the artists are active within the community they are addressing; the ...
One of the events marking Israeli Apartheid Week: Beirut was the presence of visiting artist Juan Fuentes. Under the auspices of our artists' collective along with the IAW committee, some students and I brought Juan to the Bourj Al-Barajneh Palestinian camp. Juan's work stretching back these past decades is well known for its activist nature, and the Palestinian cause was often a theme of his work. I will be honest and say that there was a lot of tension upon our arrival. I knew where ...
I was doing research on the Taller de Grafica Popular for the class I teach on illustration and came across the work of Elizabeth Catlett, a black American who in 1946 moved permanently to Mexico and to this day works from there. Her career is amazing and her work is prolific; she works in sculpture, painting, and linoleum cut. I was particularly taken by her printmaking, which reflects the lives and work of various historical groups such as sharecroppers, as well as tackling issues such as racism, ...
On May 15, 2011, during the Day of Return to Palestine, Israeli occupation forces opened fire on unarmed civilians protesting legally within the border of Lebanon and other countries neighboring Palestine. Men, women, and children from all walks of life had come to show their determination to resist occupation peacefully and were met with sniper bullets. This poster was designed to commemorate those fallen, as well as to show the determination of those ...
Updated 07-26-2011 at 02:11 AM by Daniel Ibn Zayd ([Addition of image])
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