MaJor Musings

This week, Maria speaks to Jordan and the listeners about the practice of Alia Ali, a Yemeni-Bosnian-US artist who has spent her life traveling all over the world. As a result of her travels, Ali is vehemently committed to reflecting themes of interconnectedness in her work, without the barriers of language or cultural exclusivity limiting the breadth of her practice. Maria also references the writing of her friend from UChicago, Jad Dahshan, who wrote their MA thesis using Ali’s FLOW Series as a case study.

In this episode, Jordan explains a past paper she wrote for an Islamic art seminar and how it changed her understanding of the contemporary American artist James Turrell. Using light as an artistic material, Turrell activates the viewers' sensorial experiences within his installations, asking them to consider their ability to perceive the world around them and how to interact with the natural and constructed environment. Maria and Jordan also recount a similar perceptual experience with a work they saw in Denmark. 

This week, Maria shares her research with Jordan and the listeners about the life and practice of Baya, an Algerian artist who rose to fame in France in the 1940s when she was only 16 years old. Her story has historically been overshadowed by artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, who are rumored to have taken inspiration from her art. This brings up several questions — namely how appropriate this inspiration is given their hyper-sexualized and orientalist nature.

In this episode, Jordan details the story of applying for funding to travel, her research trip over the summer to Denmark, as well as her preliminary thoughts on Per Kirkeby's art and her thesis. 

Welcome back to Major Musings! After a year-long hiatus during their year of graduate school, Maria and Jordan are back for season 2. In this episode, they discuss their experiences in their respective MA programs and talk about the future, as well.