The pleasures of Arabic Fine Art

Arabic Pleasures, Breeding Fine Art

Resident mockery;
Give us an hour for magic
We of the purple glove
We of the starling flight
and velvet hour
We of the
Arabic pleasure’s breed
We of the sun-dome
and the night

Give us greed
to believe
A night of Lust
Give us trust
in the Night
Give of color
hundred hues
a rich mandala
for me and you

and your silky
pillowed house, a head
wisdom and a bed…

My Arabic roots, the origins of fine art

My mother is Iraqi. In her childhood, some 60 years ago she knew a man named Chthurri. He was a close friend of my mom’s father, my grandfather. My mom remembered him vaguely and probably had to particular reason to try and refresh that memory since more than 50 years had passed since she last saw him and they were never close to each other. Even though, when my mom first saw this artwork, she got so excited and said to me that the man depicted in it looks exactly like Chthurri, and she told me this story. She said he also had good eyes like that kind man in the artwork. She urged me to name the artwork after him or at least mention him in some way, to pay respects to him because this cannot be a coincidence, she said. I believe that she is right. There are no coincidences…