REPOST: London exhibit showcases rare Arab cinematic memorabilia, porn

A significant piece of Arab pop culture is currently in display at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Titled “Whose Gaze Is It Anyway?”, the collection features rare Arab film memorabilia taken from the cinematic works of the 1950s up to the contemporary period.

Described as “precious works from a golden age” on the ICA website, the display items span from the 1950s to contemporary works, providing a glimpse into the history of Arab popular culture. | Image source: alarabiya.net

“Whose Gaze Is It Anyway?”, is a new exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London, showcasing a collection of rare Arab film posters and other cinematic memorabilia for the first time in the UK.

Described as “precious works from a golden age” on the ICA website, the display items span from the 1950s to contemporary works, providing a glimpse into the history of Arab popular culture.

“Whose gaze is it anyway?” is an appropriately titled exhibition that attempts to challenge any preconceived notions or expectations of Arab culture through a Western lens and celebrates Arab cultural diversity.

The Londonist publication explains that the showcase of film posters and brochures “seems so far from what we’d expect to see from the Arabian Peninsula today; some of these films almost feel surreal.”

“Rather than trying to make any overt statement around liberalism versus conservatism, Whose Gaze Is It Anyway? is an insightful collection of memorabilia that also acts as a revealing historical record.”


Image source: alarabiya.net

The collection at the ICA, inspired from the vast historical archive of the prolific collector Abboudi Bou Jaoudeh, has been described by critics as “full of surprises.” Sourced from his “underground treasure trove” in Beirut, he is renowned for possessing one of the most sizeable collections of Arab film memorabilia such as rare Arab film posters to cultural magazines published from the 1930s to the present day.


Image source: alarabiya.net

Some of the images on display include couples kissing in bed from the 1960s and 1970s and other such imagery. The specially commissioned work by Sophia al-Maria of a promotional poster and sketchbook promoting her unmade film, Beretta, provides a shocking twist in the collection of iconographies on display at the exhibition.

The printed works of the film illustrates a woman in traditional Arab dress, armed with the berreta weapon.

As well as printed materials, the exhibition also features video footage including Maha Maamoun’s 2009 film Domestic Tourism II. The work makes use of historic film footage of Egyptian pyramids, showcasing their timelessness and examining how such images, that formed the images on tourist postcards, have been re-used and woven into the “complex political, social, and historical moment in urban narratives.” According to the description on the ICA website, the film shows how the pyramids acted as “a nostalgic symbol for a flawed modern country.”


Image source: alarabiya.net

“Whose Gaze Is It Anyway?” is in collaboration by the Arab British Centre and curated by Omar Kholeif. It enables viewers to explore the fascinating formation of the history of recent popular Arab culture. According to ICA: “these works raise pertinent points about how the popular gaze is constructed from within the Arab world.”

This multimedia exhibition is currently running until October 5 at the Fox Reading Room, ICA, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH. It forms the precursor to Safar: The Festival Of Popular Arab Cinema, which runs September 19 - 25.

My name is Frank McHugh. I am a film memorabilia entrepreneur and a loyal fan of classical Hollywood. Stay in touch by following me on Twitter.

A walking wink: Great performances of a Hollywood stalwart

Ever since I came to know he is my namesake, I began to be particularly interested with actor Frank McHugh and his performances. Classic film buffs would know him as the stalwart supporting actor who breathed life to comic, good-natured characters alongside big movie stars like Bing Crosby and James Cagney, among others.

Image Source: www.nypl.org

But there's more to McHugh than providing comic relief in Hollywood movies. During his lifetime, he had also proven himself to be a dependable actor in Broadway.

Born to a family running a theatrical troupe, there was no doubt McHugh would eventually be lured into the world of acting. After debuting in Broadway through "The Fall Guy," he would eventually make a name in plays like "Excess Baggage" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

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Describing the actor's flair for comedy, Walter Kerr of The New York Times wrote, in a review of the 1967 Broadway play "Finian's Rainbow": "McHugh's very face is a walking wink. That's a plus."

In Hollywood, McHugh is a tireless performer. In one year, he finished 14 movies, many of which he expertly played the funny pal or buddy.

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But one of his more admirable acts during his career was starring, along with stars like Olivia de Havilland, Groucho Marx and Bob Hope, in the Hollywood Victory Caravan, a star-studded tour travelling across the U.S. in 1942 to raise money for the Army and Navy Relief Fund. He was able to chronicle his experiences in a trove of letters, photos and publicity materials discovered in the New York Public Library.

 I am Frank McHugh, a namesake of one of Hollywood's legendary character actors. To keep his memory alive, I collect and sell photos, posters, letters, and other materials of him and his movies. Add me on Facebook to know more about the actor and his great performances.