At the heart of every graphic designer is a hard-core artist. But, within the Kingdom there are limitations to public art consumption as a visual experience. How then can inspiration manifest itself into an artist‘s renderings; whether that artist is in fine art, a photographer, an architect, graphic designer, or just a creative visionary?
Living in the desert Kingdom, we become accustomed to symbols and practices mainly prevalent here (although to some extent in other parts of the Islamic world)…the image of the veiled woman on the door indicating the women‘s washroom in public places, the shumagh and agal donned profile to indicate the men‘s, and the practice of scouring through foreign magazines, greedy eyes and eager fingers taking meticulous care to distort female images, conceal armpits and extend hemlines, all deemed unfit for public consumption; how does one apply for that job anyway?
Well, limit no more, Ikono Menasa TV, on Arabsat, „takes your eyes by the hand,“ on an HD virtual journey feasting your sensibilities on a wide range of art from the ancient world, to emerging and pioneering Middle Eastern and international artists and to innovations in architecture.
The owner, Elizabeth Markevitch,preliminarily broadcast Ikono TV for nine months, across her home city of Berlin, in July 2006, drawing in 100,000 viewers daily. „Nothing for TV,“ she admits, „but the equivalent of a year of visitors for an art gallery.“ From this initial success launched Ikono Menasa TV in 2010, and has acted as a bridge between galleries and consumers and between cultures. „Particularly interesting in the Middle East, [is] when you have the League of Arab States with a shared language, but different cultural history to understand,“ exclaimed Markevitch.
Art is about the visual experience, and with this experience, you take all your past experiences, prejudices and opinions to interpret whatever may be before you. But, often times, our experience is interfered by the noise of running commentary and influenced by the opinion of others, which we are told are very versed on the particular work, and we should then, therefore, digest their expert commentary and allow it to influence and shape our own; much like buying the latest issue of your favorite fashion magazine only to discover pages torn out, and images botched!
Now, introduce Ikono Menasa TV. Devoid of all ego and artistic commentary, Ikono Menasa TV is just art – plain and simple. In the privacy of your own home, the best and the controversial of the international art world: photography, paintings, installations, are shared with you, experienced by you and interpreted by you. You take control of your art experience, and gain access to the beauty and dimensions of the art world.
While the concept of Ikono Menasa may seem agreeable enough superficially, the satellite channel is not without its critics. On the one hand, there are many in the art world that have dedicated years in order to gain a profound expertise of art appreciation, and with the debut of Ikono Menasa TV are these experts therefore rendered somewhat redundant? Yet, while Ikono Menasa TV is far from forcing art commentary into extinction, (or putting an end to the local arbitrary practice of censoring our magazines!), the channel positively encourages uncensored art, whereby the viewer is empowered with the opportunity to genuinely form their own opinion of the artwork, think independently, and become immersed in the art experience. “Some of my colleagues object to the lack of commentary on the channel, and stress the importance of providing information - I simply do not agree,“ purports Markevitch.
„You can view the artwork for itself, and if it catches your interest, then you can read basic details that are displayed at the bottom of the screen, such as the artist’s name, and where the painting is exhibited. If you want to know more, you can access the channel‘s website, where we post detailed information about each work.“