THE VEIL

The walls of the Fine Arts Gallery unveiled
The Arkansas Traveler Online Edition
Anna Nguyen
Issue date: 9/17/08 Section: Life & Style
http://media.www.thetraveleronline.com/media/storage/paper688/news/2008/09/17/LifeStyle/The-Walls.Of.The.Fine.Arts.Gallery.Unveiled-3435019.shtml

Media Credit: Veronica Pucci
The Fine Arts Center Gallery "The Veil: Visible and Invisible Spaces," is a traveling exhibit that examines the significance of the veil beyond its function as a garment.

Different interpretations and manifestations of the veil have occupied the walls of the Fine Arts Center Gallery. "The Veil: Visible and Invisible Spaces" is a traveling exhibition of about 35 works of art, each of which ponders the meaning of the veil.

The veil has always been momentous, said exhibit curator Jennifer Heath, from Boulder, Colo. "[It is] a symbol of mystery, of nature, of the divine, of many things."

As much as the veil is a fabric or a garment, it is also a concept, according to a press release about the exhibit. The title of the exhibit comes from the hidden and veiled aspects everyone has "within our families, in our cultures and spiritual practices," Heath said.

The veil, however, has become significant among non-Muslims, particularly Westerners, "as a symbol of Islam, of political dissension, of oppression. It's very big stuff and highly misinterpreted," she said.

"[It] means much more than the political stereotypes we ascribe to it today," she said. "It is ancient and deeply meaningful."

The exhibit is a visual companion to Heath's edited volume, "The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics," which was published this summer. The volume explores and examines the cultures, politics and histories of veiling. Twenty-one writers and scholars, who all represent a wide range of societies, religions, ages and races, contribute to the volume. Additionally, author and UA English professor Mohja Kahf contributed to the first chapter, Heath said.

Similar to the exhibit, the essays are arranged in three parts: the veil as an expression of the sacred; the veil in relation to the emotional and the sensual; and the veil in its sociopolitical aspects, Heath said.

"Today, veiling is a globally polarizing issue, a locus for the struggle between Islam and the West and between contemporary and traditional interpretations of Islam," she said. "But veiling was a practice long before Islam and still extends far beyond the Middle East.

"The volume brings together a multiplicity of thought and experience, much of it personal, to make readily accessible a difficult and controversial subject," she said.

Heath said she worked on the volume for two years. Halfway though writing the book, she "realized that I not only wanted to hear what writers [and] scholars have to say about the veil, but that it was important to know what visual artists are thinking, too."

She gathered a group of artists, some of whom she knew personally or by reputation, to formulate "The Veil" exhibit, which took about a year to culminate.

"I have been working on the book and the show for about three years, but I suspect I've been thinking about this for much of my life," Heath said.

The artists involved include Americans, Americans of Middle East origins and Europeans, she said.

A painting titled "Solitude" by UA art student Golsa Yaghoobi reappears in the fine arts gallery. During the beginning of the semester, Yaghoobi displayed her master's of fine arts thesis exhibit, "Veiled Presence," which also scrutinized the role of the veil and its effects on women.

Yaghoobi remembers seeing the CD sample for the current exhibit a year ago when Heath applied to display "The Veil" at the UA.

"I was working on my sketches at the time, and it was interesting to know there are some people out there who are like you," she said.

"When I entered the gallery the first time that the whole show was up, I had goosebumps. It's like they know me, it's like they are me," Yaghoobi said. "I knew a couple of the artists who are Iranian and are [featured] in the show, and seeing their work made me think how great it is that my generation is alive."

"The Veil: Visible and Invisible Spaces" is a special exhibit that will be on display for about two months in the Fine Arts Center Gallery. Special programs related to the exhibit will also take place in the gallery. Visiting artist Sara Rahbar will give a lecture and presentation Oct. 7; art educator Themina Kader will present a lecture on the topic of contemporary Islamic artists Oct. 9; and Kahf will give a reading in the gallery Oct. 15, according to a press release.