The maqam al-'iraqi is considered the most noble and perfect form of the maqam. As the name implies, it is native to Iraq; it has been known for approximately four hundred years in Baghdad, Mosul, and Kirkuk. The maqam al-'iraqi has been passed on orally through the Iraqi masters of the maqam, who cultivate the form especially in Baghdad. The maqam is performed by a singer (qari') and three instrumentalists playing santur (box zither), juzah (spike fiddle), and tablah or dunbak (goblet drum).
posted by Trurl
on Sep 11, 2011 -
5 comments
The Modern Art Iraq Archive (MAIA) is a resource to trace, share, and enable community enrichment of the modern art heritage of Iraq. Explore the works by artist, browse through related textual materials, or add your own images or stories to the archive.
posted by sciurus
on Mar 2, 2011 -
2 comments
"My name is Captain Doug MacNair, I coordinate the media embedding program from a desk here in Ottawa... I have embedded more than 250 journalists in our program, and no embed has given me more personal satisfaction than yours... Thanks for being
handy with a pencil and a piece of paper. Thanks for
writing so well about the things that are hard to draw. Thanks for leaving your family to do an important job. I know how that feels and it’s never easy. Most of all Richard, thanks for risking your life while you do all those things."
Q&A with Richard Johnson.
Via.
posted by The Loch Ness Monster
on Feb 19, 2008 -
14 comments
“Iraq War Memorial: Death of Prince Harry" features the
in fact hale and hearty royal scion "laid out before the Union Jack with pennies placed over his eyes and head rested on the Bible...Prone with his unfired gun still holstered, Prince Harry is represented clutching a bloodied flag of Wales, and holding to his heart a cameo locket of his late mother, Princess Diana, while a desert vulture perches on his boot...a bronze casting of Prince Harry’s 'severed ears' also set for display at the Trafalgar Hotel will be offered on eBay."
Via.
posted by Abiezer
on Oct 11, 2007 -
50 comments
Born to War is a series of paintings of American women killed in Iraq. The combination of the increasing role of women in the American military and the blurring of lines between combat and non-combat roles in Iraq have made this the first war in which female US soldiers have died in direct combat. The focus on a smaller number of women provides a more approachable view of casualties than more general sites like
Iraq Body Count and raises some interesting questions about the role of women in the US military.
posted by scottreynen
on Feb 23, 2007 -
13 comments
A Dweller in Mesopotamia. Donald Maxwell was Official Artist to the Admiralty during World War I, and the end of the war found him in what was then called Mesopotamia (now Iraq); he compiled the sketches and paintings he did there into a book which Project Gutenberg has put online. I'm posting it for the frequently beautiful images, but the text is interesting too. He says Baghdad and Basra don't live up to the Westerner's romantic preconceptions ("The first general impression of Basra is that of an unending series of quays along a river not unlike the Thames at Tilbury"), but he also describes age-old scenes that are now gone for good. (Via
wood s lot, one of the few sites I visit every day.)
posted by languagehat
on Mar 24, 2006 -
9 comments
At least one commander told him, "Follow the soldiers' instructions, because they'll put their lives at risk to save you." But no one tried to censor his drawings or discourage him from going out on missions. -- Steve Mumford is a New York painter who was embedded as a "combat artist" in Iraq. The archives of his
Baghdad Journal make for fascinating reading. He has recently published a large
book of the art he created on this voyage.
posted by Gator
on Dec 18, 2005 -
9 comments
"Hi. My name is Tony Kushner, I'm a playwright ...
Ladies and Gentlemen and Supporters of
MoveOn: the first lady of the United States,
Laura Welch Bush".
About a year and a half ago
Kushner, the
Pulitzer-prize winning author of
Angels in America, published the first act of a new play,
Only We Who Guard The Mystery Shall Be Unhappy (full text). In it, Laura Bush
reads Dostoyevsky to a classroom full of ghosts of dead Iraqi children. Now,
(in Salon, I know, I know) the first lady metacriticizes Kushner's play.
(more inside)
posted by matteo
on Aug 4, 2004 -
11 comments
Prosser High School teacher sees 15 year old student's war artwork depicting President Bush as a devil and another decapitated. Captions include calling an end to the war, and support for Ralph Nadar. Teacher hands artwork over to school administrators, who in turn bring in the Secret Service.
Because that's what you do when you've handed out an assignment to kids "to keep a notebook of drawings depicting the war in Iraq".
posted by Feisty
on Apr 26, 2004 -
58 comments
Friday Thursday Flash Fun Art. Suspended Gardens 2 allows you to plant virtual flowers in Iraq. You can customize your flower and include a message. As Metafilterarians like to state their opinions, do not miss this opportunity. [more inside]
posted by MzB
on Mar 27, 2003 -
3 comments
