11th October~ The Lure of the East; Exhibition Making and Orientalism

Text: Staging The Lure of the East. Exhibition Making and Orientalism

Author: Christine Riding

The exhibition The Lure of the East, held at the Tate’s Britain was the first large-scale survey of British Orientalism painting. It was not the first one to address Orientalism in the visual arts. And, according to Tate Britain, the exhibition was fitting and singular, as the only other exhibition of this level had been held twenty-three years before. According to the text, some decisions made during the development of the exhibition project are common to all exhibitions, as all curators have to work considering the gallery space and budget while developing a quality content. The Lure of the East was organised in categories (portraiture, religious subjects, interior and harem subjects, etc.). This decision was made to achieve the original idea of the exhibition as an exploration of the work of painters and watercolourists reimagining settled conventions to new subjects and environments. Riding relates that some painting that were key pieces in the curators’ “wish list” owned by the Qatar Museums Authority could not be collected in time, not being included in the exhibition nor in the catalogue.

The text focus in the “broader context and reception of Orientalist art”, specifically in London in 2008. The author narrates what was like working in an art-gallery in a period of political tension between the East and the West and her perception of the west as an ignorant to the Islam and Muslims. She also reports two episodes in which Tate Britain’s was involved in the “insensitive perception of Islam and Muslim”. She explains that these episodes had influenced in how The Lure of the East developed in to a project that, she states, “must be understood within this rather tangled political, social and cultural landscape.” (Riding, 2001) Riding mentions the exhibition catalogue introduction about Orientalism points diplomatically “that ‘the political dimension of our subject-and indeed of each object within it-is never far from the surface’ and that the exhibition tour coincided ‘with a moment when European and American political relations with the Middle East have been particularly difficult.” (Riding, 2011) In addition, the author notes that this introduction was the longest and most complex she had ever personally read until the present moment.

The text reports the importance of the exhibition catalogue, which is how the curators can explain key points and contexts of the exhibition to the uninformed visitors of the gallery. She explains that due to the limited number of words the curators can fit in the catalogue, they have to be more careful with what they write, as the information could generate misunderstandings. She also points out that all the information given to the visitors is from an academic opinion of the curators only, excluding the viewpoints of academics from the East. For this reason, the layouts had to be thought carefully, especially considering the religious settings and, as a creative result, the curators decided to bring “other ‘voices’ (that is alternative readings and opinions)” from international commenters, some of whom were based in Jerusalem, Baghdad, Istanbul, etc.

Riding narrates a little of the marketing process to invite visitors for the exhibition. She  explains that, for her, there are two types of visitors. The first being genuinely interested visitors that are curious and seek for knowledge about the theme.  The second type is, in her words, “everybody else”, the general visitor, which is the public that Tate Britain decided to target. She comments about the paintings chosen to be used in the marketing campaign for The Lure of the East, Hhareem Life and Leila. She emphasises that the paintings portray a “gender stereotyped”, in which women are objectified. Riding explains that a majority of advertisings, almost ninety percent, uses sexualised women to sell products.