23 min
The Battle of Karbala was a military engagement that took place on 10 Muharram, 61 AH (October 10 th , 680) in Karbala, situated in present day Iraq, when Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad, was killed. This battle is central to Shia Muslim belief in which Hussein’s martyrdom is commemorated each year, in a celebration called Ashura which symbolises the birth of Muslim division still at issue today between the Shia and Sunni. During Ashura , the artist worked in close collaboration with the people of Zeynebiye (referring to Hussein’s courageous sister, Zeyneb), documenting their preparations for the ceremonies, which involve a mass theatre performance and the isolated, weeping ritual at the end of the Ashura day. What in other countries is celebrated through a collective performance of blood and pain is experienced here through a highly theatrical and emotional day, presenting Islam as the practice of a culture rather than politics. Ergun attempts to question the cultural importance of religions against a “radical secularism” that has ruled Turkey until now.
Born in Istanbul, in 1976, Köken Ergun studied acting and worked with the American theatre director Robert Wilson. He then became interested in contemporary art, especially video and performance. Ergun’s preoccupations are based on forms of contemporary rituals and celebrations, religious or secular, through events such as national holidays, beauty contests or Olympic games. Ergun also collaborates with ethnologists, extending his practice to academia.
The Best Cookbooks of 2023, According to NPR Staffers | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer Arts & Culture A Buffet of 2023 Cookbooks for the Food Lovers on Your List Beth Novey Dec 18 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Facebook Share-FB Twitter Share-Twitter Email Share-Email Copy Link Copy Link Book covers of: ‘Asada,’ ‘The Cookie That Changed My Life,’ ‘Ed Mitchell's Barbeque,’ ‘The Global Pantry Cookbook,’ ‘Invitation to a Banquet,’ ‘The Secret of Cooking,’ ‘A Splash of Soy,’ ‘Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook,’ ‘Tenderheart,’ ‘The World Central Kitchen Cookbook.’ (NPR) There are a lot of cooks at NPR...
$4 thrift-store vase sells for $107,100 at auction Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Art market news $4 thrift-store vase sells for $107,100 at auction It turns out the glass vessel is a rare example of a 1940s Venini piece designed by the architect Carlo Scarpa Theo Belci 14 December 2023 Share Venini vase designed by Carlo Scarpa (around 1947) Courtesy Wright Auction House An Italian glass vase, purchased for $4 at a thrift store in Richmond, Virginia, fetched $107,100 (including buyer’s fee) on 13 December at Wright Auction House...
Shot in Oliveto Lucano, a village in the south of Italy, AUTOTROFIA (meaning self-eating) by artist Anton Vidokle is a cinéma vérité style film that slides fictive characters into real situations, and vice-versa, to draw a prolonged meditation on the cycle of life, seasonal renewal, and ecological awareness...
Searching for We’wha is composed of five photographic triptychs combining photographs from the American West (New Mexico and Arizona) with excerpts from American Indian poetry in an attempt to reconstruct imaginary aspects of the life of We’Wha, a famous member of the Zuni tribe, who was born male but who lived a feminine gender expression...
In this film is the story of two neighboring yet philosophically opposing nations: Russia and Norway...
One Day in the Mountain is a bilingual calligraphic performance piece written in ink superimposed with food leftover from a meal...
Gozo Yoshimasu’s double-sided work on paper Fire Embroidery explores his response to the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami...
Flag (Thames) 2016 depicts a small section of the Thames River—one that is adjacent to the Palace of Westminster in London—as an algorithmic representation on an LED panel...