The Anthem Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran and Turkey series publishes scholarly biographies of art works from the region. Each publication traces the historical trajectory of an individual art work, from the circumstances of production (including artist’s biography and socio-cultural context of place) through its exhibition history with collectors and museums. This series is published in collaboration with The Association for Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran and Turkey (AMCA).

Series Editor
Sarah Rogers – AMCA & Independent Scholar, USA
Nada Shabout – AMCA & University of North Texas, USA

PROPOSALS
We welcome submissions of proposals for challenging and original works from emerging and established scholars that meet the criteria of our series. We make prompt editorial decisions. Our titles are published in print and e-book editions and are subject to peer review by recognized authorities in the field. Should you wish to send in a proposal, please contact us at: proposal@anthempress.com.

Proposal Guidelines

Absence and Ruin In Hanaa Malallah’s ‘The God Marduk’

Absence and Ruin In Hanaa Malallah’s ‘The God Marduk’ by Tiffany Floyd. (Paperback, 100 Pages. ISBN:9781839991042. March 2025. £20.99, $24.95).

Conceived as an object biography, this book contextualizes Iraqi artist Hanaa Malallah’s art book The God Marduk (2008) and investigates her use of the ancient past as a conduit for aesthetic and emotive expression offering an in-depth analysis through the methodology of phenomenology.

Tiffany Floyd received her PhD in Art History from Columbia University with a dissertation centered on modern and contemporary art in Iraq. She is currently an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Art History at the University of North Texas.

This book offers an in-depth analysis and contextualization of Hanaa Malallah’s art book The God Marduk, published in 2008. Currently housed in storage at the British Museum, Malallah’s art book is not only a poignant manifestation of the artist’s signature ‘Ruins Technique’ but also a document that responds to a critical contextual moment wherein Iraqi artists looked back upon and continued to grapple with the cultural ruins of their nation. The artbook itself is a complex configuration of materials, narratives and formal arrangements that speak of both meticulous construction and expressive release. Bound on both sides, the book is constructed with a non-linear, multidirectional rhythm holding folios of various sizes, cuts, patterns, texts and images. Extra materials are placed into pockets multiplying the modes of interface while several pages are punctured and torn to allow one page to meld into the next.

Absence and Ruin In Hanaa Malallah’s ‘The God Marduk’ is available for purchase here.

Lebanon and the Split of Life Bearing Witness through the Art of Nabil Kanso

Lebanon and the Split of Life Bearing Witness through the Art of Nabil Kanso by Meriam Soltan. (Paperback, 100 Pages. ISBN:9781839989636. May 2024. £20.99, $24.99).

This scholarly biography explores the act of bearing witness through the politically charged, mural-scale art of Lebanese-Americanactivist and neo-expressionist, Nabil Kanso.

Meriam Soltan is a writer and editor interested in the design of fictions and how they are manifested in various contexts politically, culturally, and otherwise.

This scholarly biography traces the life and art of Lebanese-American neo-expressionist, Nabil Kanso (1940–2019). It explores key moments across the artist’s transnational career by foregrounding his longest-running, internationally toured exhibition, the Journey of Art for Peace (1985–1993). More specifically, it traces the historical trajectory of his 10 × 28 mural-scale painting, Lebanon, from the circumstances of its production at the height of the Lebanese Civil War in 1983, through its short-lived exhibition history with the Split of Life series in the few years that followed. The book scaffolds an understanding of the artist as an activist and works toward offering distinctly spatial readings of his painterly practice, of which the act of bearing witness is highlighted as permeating the entirety of his oeuvre. It concludes with a contemporary recontextualization of Lebanon in the country’s current social, political, and cultural climate, and emphasizes the artist’s work as essential to the theorization of larger traditions of political and protest art.

Lebanon and the Split of Life Bearing Witness through the Art of Nabil Kanso is available for purchase here.

Commitment in the Artistic Practice of Aref El-Rayess: The Changing of Horses

AMCA is delighted to announce the publication of the first book in its new series with Anthem Press, Commitment in the Artistic Practice of Aref El-Rayess: The Changing of Horses by Natasha Gasparian. (Paperback, 250 Pages. ISBN:9781785274626. November 2020. £35.00, $59.95)

“Starting from the micro-context (Aref El-Rayess’ 1967 painting “The Changing of Horses”), Gasparian retraces the big picture, in an original and brilliant way, using the artist’s metaphoric work in order to illustrate the new intellectual context that the 1967 defeat created.” — Silvia Naef, Professor, Department of Mediterranean, Slavonic and Oriental Languages, University of Geneva

“Gasparian’s in-depth exploration of El-Rayess’s seminal painting “The Changing of Horses” is a brilliant study in the correlation between artistic practice and political engagement. It provides a distinct entry point into some lesser explored aspects of one of Lebanon’s leading modernist artists, set against a comprehensive archival backdrop that weaves together cultural and political histories alike. A timely contribution to the literature on modernism and its various manifestations across the Arab World, and Lebanon in particular.” — Dr. Sam Bardaouil, Founder and Director at Art Reoriented, Munich and New York

Natasha Gasparian is an art historian and critic. She has collaborated on writing, research, and curatorial projects with numerous institutions in Beirut, Lebanon, including Agial, Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut Art Center, and the Saradar Collection.

Commitment in the Artistic Practice of Aref el-Rayess: The Changing of Horses, is available for purchase here.

The Anthem Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran and Turkey series publishes scholarly biographies for artwork in the region. Each publication traces the historical trajectory of an individual art work, from the circumstances of production (including artist’s biography and socio-cultural context of place) through its exhibition history with collectors and museums. This series is published in collaboration with The Association for Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World, Iran and Turkey (AMCA). Proposal guidelines are available at https://amcainternational.org/anthem-press/.