Photographic Image and Its Application in the Works of Contemporary Arab Artists

Abstract

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the artistic features of the artworks which used the photograph and to identify the main techniques used in these artworks of contemporary Arab painters through analysis of the oeuvres of a set of contemporary painters who used the photograph as a means to express their artistic visions, philosophies, and ideologies. The researchers used the Descriptive analytical approach to answer the questions of the study and achieve its aims. The sample of the study included a number of paintings produced by ten contemporary Arab painters from various Arab countries.  The results of the study showed the great variety techniques and materials used in the production of the paintings, which employed the photograph. The results showed also that several Arab painters were influenced by the pioneering Western painters such as Gerhardt Richter and Luc Tuymans among others.  Based on the results of the study, the researchers provided several recommendations, which included conducting additional studies about the distinguished Arab art experiences, in which photographs were employed, in comparison with the pioneering experiences in the West, in order to identify the influences, they exerted on those experiences.