COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

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World's Largest Quran

Afghan Calligrapher, Mohammed Sabir Khderi, spent the last 5 years making the world's largest Quran.

It is 90 by 61 inches. Made from cloth and paper with a leather cover made out 21 goat skins. It cost half a million dollars to create. He did have some help though, 9 of students helped him with the design.

It is now held at a cultural center in Kabul. The owner of this center, Naderi, says it was his father's dream to have the largest Quran. The artist wanted to prove that Afghanistan's cultural heritage has not been wrecked by war.

ربِ

كن فيكون

Hotel Wall Tattoos

What is a hotel wall tattoo?

During an episode of White Collar, one of the characters shares a hotel secret which is wall tattoos. I looked into it, and found out that they are real!

A hotel wall tattoo is hidden art behind the paintings on the walls of a hotel room.

It is credited to a guy names Joshua Homme. He created many hotel wall tattoos while he was touring with Queens of the Stone Age (I'm guessing that's a band).

I think it's really cool! I know the first thing I am going to do if I'm ever in a hotel room this summer is check behind the paintings. I hope I find some. Also, I  will try to do a wall tattoo myself (someday! I think I will, I've taken up drawing this summer so I know I'll be good at it. There's a little part of me that says I shouldn't and that I shouldn't vandalize hotel property... but you never know I may get the courage to do it!

I got the above images from a website documenting secret wall tattoos: http://www.secretwalltattoos.com/index.php

Enjoy!

Brave New World

Last Thursday, I attended the Brave New World: Senior Project Exhibition by AUD students at The Ara Gallery.

It wasn't an art exhibition. It was an exhibition of ideas presented through design. I enjoyed my time and the exhibition appealed to me a lot. As a communications person, I like to think of myself as someone from the ideas business rather than arts.

These are the projects I absolutely loved!

Abdul Azim Al Ghussein

This is a poster that represents the original project. If I'm not mistaken Abdul Azim is inspired by Neil Gaiman's work. So his project revolves around the letter D, representing Dubai, Dreams, D.... and other words that begin with the letter D. He created a book with all these different characters and he tells their stories through words and illustrations too. The book looked pretty amazing. I wish I could show it to you guys, but he only had one copy.

Sally Alzaza

Sally's project is part of an initiative by an NGO she worked for in Damascus (her hometown.). The NGO's initiative promoted individuals giving back to society, and then the NGO would give something back to these individuals. It is sort of like a pay-it forwards kind of thing. What I loved the most was the tree that is inspired by Avatar's  tree of life. You get colored leaves where you write down what you wish for the world or what you are planning on giving back. Here's my leaf:

Reem Akre

This project is a campaign that promotes self-worth in the face of exploitive advertising. The campaign's message tells consumers that they don't have to buy stuff to be confident or happy. The campaign is called "Brand Me". 

Maya El Chammas

 Maya's project is campaign that proposes a solution to the negativity within us that hinders us from doing what we are capable of doing. The first image is of trash can. You acknowledge you're negative thoughts, you write them down, and then dispose them in this special bin where the paper is recycled afterwards. "I Hate Their Faces" is an example of a negative thought. I think its pretty creative and a lot of people can relate to it.

Mashal Khan

This project consists of a book, but it is also a campaign to promote the creation of parks in Dubai. It is an environmental campaign. You can only see the poster here, but the book was amazing! It was very innovative in terms of design and style. I also liked the promotional items (bottom-right), there's this bookmark-like thing, you put it up in front of your eyes and its supposed to reduce stress. Then there's the postcard, which you fill in and then send to Dubai Municipality to request the creation of parks in Dubai. 

For more info visit The Ara Gallery's website: thearagallery.ae

A Trip to The Farjam Collection

Today my Islamic Art and Architecture class, went on a trip to visit The Farjam Collection which is an art gallery at DIFC.

DIFC is such an amazing place buzzing with energy. Hopefully that's where my first job will be located!

Anyways!

I was in awe of all the art pieces there. They exhibition the art gallery is currently running is called "Nujoom: Constellations of Arab Art from The Farjam Collection."

Here's my favorites out of the collection (the pictures don't do the  art any justice!):

Adam Henein - Om Kalthoum



Mona Hatoum - Over My Dead Body



Ahmed Moustafa - The Limitlessness of God's Continents

Hassan Hajjaj - Odaldalisque

 I think the green cans give the photo an undefinable edge.

Youssef Nabil - Maelema-Fifi Abdo

 Homage to old Egyptain Cinema.

Lalla Essaydi - Silence of the Thought

 Something about this makes me want to stare at it all day!

Chant Avedissian - Forever Om.

Abdulnasser Gharem - The Path

 I love the symbolic use of the word Serat (path) here.

Lara Baladi - Kaleidoscope

 This is actually a lot bigger and made out of glass. The colors are breathtaking!

Abdul Qader Al Raes - Untitled



Ayman Baalbaki - Destination X

This was the most fun! It was outside so it was the only one I had time to take a real picture of.



DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these images. The pictures belong to The Farjam Collection, the artists, their estates, and the organizations/institutes they belong to.

If you want to see other art pieces included in this exhibition, or you want to know more about the gallery, visit The Farjam Collection's website.