Modern Egyptian Art: 1910-2003 Hardcover – April 1, 2005

I was pleasanty surprized to find a collection of some of the greatest Egyptian modern artists all in one book. To my knowledge, Liliane Karnouk's book is the only book published documeting the work of some of the outstanding modern Egyptian artists.Her chapter about sculpturer, Mahmoud Mokhtar, including his famous "Egyptian Awakening" statue (inspired by Ancient Egyptian monuments) is simply marvellous. The collection of bronze sculptures by Adam Henein is exquisite.The art work by modern painters such as the late Kamal Khalifa and Inji Aflatoon, among others, depicts their brilliant art work despite personal suffering, as described in the biographies of each artist Liliane Karnouk included in this book.Although it is impossible to encompass all modern Egyptian artists in one book, particularly as Egypt is continuously delivering new and evolving talents, but unfortunately Liliane Karnouk omitted many important artists, e.g. young brilliant sculpturer Mokles Michael, or some of the established artists, such as Ahmed El Rashidi, Adel Thabet, Youssef Raafat, just to mention a few.Last note: Liliane Karnouk's previous book "Contemporary Egyptian Art" is included fully in her new book. So, if you plan to acquire one of her 2 books, this is the one!

Modern Egyptian Art is an indispensable survey of 100 years in which Egyptian artists began to develop a vibrant synthesis of traditional aesthetics and the new strains of modernism developing in Europe, with a fantastic variety of results. This book is not only for people interested in the arts of the Arab world, but for anyone who wants to understand how modernism was a global movement that was always articulated locally (a notion Karnouk addresses in the chapter title "Premodernism or postmodernism?)-and how artists now are giving Egyptian inflections to the international movements of conceptual, performance, and video art. It is a gorgeous, superbly illustrated book, with exquisite color photographs that really give a sense of the artist's hand at work. Liliane Karnouk tells the history of many different creative movements, as Egyptian artists responded to the political changes of a century, from the opening to the West to the 1952 revolution to contemporary internationalism, and also to stylistic and thematic concerns from neo-pharaonism to realism, Islamic revival to the body, abstraction to environmentalism. Obviously much of this writing draws from primary research, including many interviews with artists, searches of the archive, and oral histories. What pulls it all together is Karnouk's acute analyses of works of art that bring them alive in their context and for contemporary readers.

Modern Egyptian Art, besides being visually stimulating with its many color reproductions, is thought provoking. This well annotated art history, the first of its kind on contemporary Egyptian art, introduced me to artists and their work, bringing them to life in the context of their socio-political environment. Ms. Karnouk's insightful analysis of how history and the world scene has impacted Egypt and its artistic evolution at any given time, left me with a better understanding of contemporary Egypt and the influences of art in society and society on art.I highly recommend it for anyone interested in artistic expression and for readers wanting to better understand contemporary Egypt.

Excellent experience!