Militant Iraqi Art Show and the Connection Between Militancy and Art

Today's NY Times Front Page reported that "In Iraq, Militant Group Takes on a New Role: Patron of Arts."

According to the article, Sheik Mazin al-Saedi stated:

"The goal was 'to show the entire world that we are not as the media portrays us, a movement that believes only in bearing arms and knows no culture other than that of violence.'"

The militants titled the show "Beacons of Humanity." I hope that major U.S. Art institutions decide to bring the show to the U.S.

From my perspective, the world would be a lot better off in more spaces were open to militant movements' art. Al-Saedi is correct in his thinking that the media portrays militants as rash, violent thugs with little-to-no sense of culture, when in reality, militant movements often consist of the best read, most aesthetically advanced elements of society.

Perhaps this is why, so often, the greatest artists and intellectuals are also involved in militant struggle and ideas. Roque Dalton, Walt Whitman, Cherrie Moraga, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, and Mark Rothko are several classic examples.