The purposes, motivations, intentions, and inspirations behind the art are endless.

Being one of the most creative ways of expressing human experience, we have used art as a means of telling stories.

May it be the story of a single person, of a community, or of a nation, art has in many ways contributed to the beautiful way these stories are told.

We’ve put together a list of 25 functions of art based on the viewpoints from renowned artists and philosophers for you to reflect upon

1. Art as an Expression

Art is a human activity, consisting in this, that one person consciously, by certain external signs, conveys to others feelings he has experienced, and other people are affected by these feelings and live them over in themselves.” – Tolstoy

Tolstoy’s famous “Expression Theory” centered on the idea that art elicits and provokes emotion in the viewer.

Out of many styles of expression, Abstract Expressionism is one great example where artists are empowered with the liberty to convey attitudes and emotions through nontraditional and usually nonrepresentational means.

The prominent function of art always drawn toward the expression theory.

Artists like Jackson Pollock believed that it was the viewer (and not the artist) who defines and interprets the meaning of the abstract expressionist artwork thus, there is no relevance on what the artist thinks or conveys while producing the work.

Convergence by Jackson Pollock is one of the initial art pieces of abstract expressionism and considered as the bravest action paintings ever made

The modern artist is working with space and time, and expressing his feelings rather than illustrating” – Jackson Pollock

2. Art empowers our faith in the nobility of man (Humanism)

“Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand” – Pablo Picasso 

One of the most powerful shifts resulted from the Renaissance period is that the Church was never a responsible source for their behavior and beliefs towards God and fellow men and that they themselves are responsible for the actions. One of the key aspects of what makes us human is revolving around our faith in religion, art, and culture

The School of Athens by Raphael remains one of the powerful representation of this shift in human history and also embodies the classical spirit of Renaissance

3. The creation of beauty is art

What is beauty in art? – Beauty is what we see as characteristic and harmonious.

Whatever different reactions art will about inside you, it is clear that the explanation is complicated and definitive.

Every piece of art, whether a painting, a vase or a statue, will have different colors, lines, and textures that will appeal to your soul and heart.

4. Know Thyself

“Creative without strategy is called ‘art.’ Creative with strategy is called advertising” – Jef Richards, educator

Art is a form of expressing oneself

Consciously or unconsciously artists are following Socrates’ command – Know thyself.

During this process, artists are exploring their subject, medium, and material, rebalancing the spiritual value of those elements, thereby experiencing the subtle preciousness of their awareness.

This interaction is beautiful which in fact leads to the inevitable desire for outward expression.

Art is born here.

5. Art is freedom in every sense

“Art is meant to disturb. Science reassures” – Georges Braque, painter

One decides to express the imagination is brave. The value of freedom in our creative expression cannot be overstated.

What about aestheticizing violence? What about creating art in gigantic forms?

What about choosing topics that are controversial? Different expressive media have a tendency to attract different personalities.

Phillipe Perrin, known for his huge artworks revolving around the subjects of evil and crime, chooses subjects that have the power to instill immediate shock and presents them in a bold way that ensures they do.

One of Perrin’s famous works, Bloodymary, blends the line between theatre, sculpture, and performance art through the lens of murder.

The artist uses unconventional medium and subject to place the viewer face to face with images inexorably tied to modern violence, subtly aestheticizing the violence in art.

The true meaning of art can be multifarious, but the purpose of art is met when such artists like Perrin uses art in innovative and unconventional ways.

6. Art sends strong messages from the sidewalk to the world at large

 “Speak softly, but carry a big can of paint” – Bansky 

Street art has proven itself to be a truly expressive art form.

It is not an inferior form of political outcry nor is it the indifferent rebellion of disaffected youth.

Street art thinks, feels, and evokes thoughts and emotions in the people that view it with an open mind.

Using iconic imagery that is often recognizable regardless of language, the street artist is able to speak his opinions and solutions to a global audience, making this a rapidly advancing form of art the world over.

7.  Art is the most intense mode of individualism

“Art is either plagiarism or revolution” – Paul Gauguin, painter

Famous artist Paul Gauguin once written – “One must always feel the plane, the wall; tapestries need no perspective”

Paul Gauguin’s art, style, and legacy reflected strongly in his artworks and often dismantled the traditional perspectives of art.

Gauguin was once of a few ordinary men that were able to leave mundane life to realize and fulfill a dream – to become an artist.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? by Paul Gauguin is a great example of individualism where Gauguin said to read from right to left instead of from left to right – which in fact provides an entirely different perspective to the reader, which itself shows the true power and meaning of art

8. Art shifts realism into reality

“Pop Art looks out into the world. It doesn’t look like a painting of something; it looks like the thing itself.” – Roy Lichtenstein

We’re living in a time where our beliefs and messages must be braver and rendered more boldly than ever before.

Popular culture was shrouding everything in the 1950’s and 60’s in America, and maintaining the status quo became more important than ever.

The power of pop art has been emerging since then and continuously breaking all conformist perspectives and definitions of art

Whereas abstract artists sought to let the medium control the image, such as in Pollock’s drops of paint.

Pop Artists went beyond realism into reality.

9. Great art tells meaningful stories

“Art does not reproduce what is visible; it makes things visible.” Paul Klee, artist

The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau – One of the most perceptible modern pieces of art, currently resides in MoMA Newyork,  has been considered as one of the many inspiring works by poets and musicians and also frequently parodied.

In this masterpiece, both, lion and woman display a calm demeanor on this artwork, but actually, both are on the alert warning that the trust between two worlds may get violated anytime.

10. Art validates our sorrows

“Art grows from joy and sorrow, but mostly from sorrow. It grows from human lives” – Edvard Munch

Art helps us see that sorrow can be beautiful and noble and still be one aspect of a good life.

Art also helps us to suffer alone without the input of society so that we can show a dignified face to the world in our public sorrow.

The true meaning of art lies in the emotion, considering sorrow is one prominent expression that we embody, art always validates our sorrows. “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t.

I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.” said Frida Kahlo, a great artist who infused her canvas with her native Mexican birthright and the historical epochs of her life.

11. Art is a personal act of courage

“Art is a personal act of courage” – Seth Godin

Courage is more important than creativity. Great art comes from the heart, doesn’t come from doing what you’re told. The mesmerizing charm of a great work of art doesn’t come from what is painted on the canvas. Rather, it comes from what was in the artist’s heart while he was painting. Franz Krueger’s The Parade auf Opernplatzis a great example of that. Krueger shows us that true art can be created only through courage, the strength of character, and determination. The meaning of art implies a personal and open proliferation of your thoughts.

12. Art is the signature of civilizations

“Art is the Queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Humanity advances on the great foundations built by ancestors. We transform the heritage of the past, learn the social aspects, identify new opportunities and invent new ways of life. In this journey, the past lives remain as a reference point as a subtle guide to build great things in this modern world.

At Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, you will be amazed by the galleries of  “The art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia” section, where you will experience some of the finest masterpieces from the Islamic world, moreover enables you to understand the artistic and scientific heritage of an entire civilization. Rightly said by Roger Seruton, the culture of civilization is the art and literature through which it rises to the consciousness of itself and defines the vision of the world – after all the definition of culture derives from greater civilizations

13. Art embodies power and of color

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment” – Claude Monet

Colors are powerful. Doesn’t matter what you might be creating now – a painting, or a powerpoint presentation, or an illustration –  your eyes must be straying over a palette, splashed with many colors, choosing the right one to add to your work.  To a sensitive soul, the impact of a perfect color combination is deeper and intensely moving.

Visual art always played an important role for artists to convey the life, lustre, and power of life through colors

14. Art is Attitude

“Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics”- Victor Pinchuk

Art has taken a different dimension to think, feel and evoke thoughts in the people that view it with an open mind. Art represents the attitude either of an artist or of a belief system. Street art is often considered as vandalism, but it is executed with purpose, design, technique and intention. Street art heightens our experience of the visual landscape outside museum walls.

15. Art is the highest form of hope

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” Elbert Hubbard, artist

Art can move us to tears. Beautiful art can bring tears of joy when we see a painting, sculpture or photograph of people or creatures experiencing things we want to experience. Experiencing such heart-warming feelings about it encourages us to hope for the same thing for ourselves.

Mutiny of Colours, A Project of Love, Peace, and Unity by Iranian Street Artists is one great example. The powerful messages of peace, love, and hope in a country torn apart by internal conflicts are represented by Iranian street artists through their art, and mostly these works grow in all endless direction, both metaphorically, conceptually and physically.

16. Art is about two things – Life and Death

“The goal of all life is death” – Sigmund Freud

Many artists have used death as a theme for art.

By giving death as a central theme, artists force us to confront the reality of birth and death within the same frame. Hope II by Gustav Klimt is one great art – represents a pregnant woman and the weight of hope the protagonist carried in her womb. The function of art lies around the diverse perspectives of life and death

Birth and death exist side-by-side, suspended in equilibrium, collaborators in the appetite of living.

17. Art rebalances our life

“Art is like soup. There will be some vegetables you don’t like but as long as you get some soup down you it doesn’t matter.” George Wyllie, Sculptor

Viewing art that depicts situations and feelings outside of what we normally experience on a daily basis helps us attain balance in our emotions by filling those voids.

We gain balance through art by taking a moment to observe, judge, and appreciate things we don’t normally see and our responses to them.

18. Art can be surreal

“Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos” – Stephen Sondheim

Surrealism – a philosophical and artistic movement that explored the unconscious mind – reveals human emotions and desires in an irrational, powerful, poetic and revolutionary way. The concept has a greater relevance considering it brought out the repressed inner worlds of sexuality, violence, dream, and desire.

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali shows us a few seemingly soft or melted pocket watches lying about in open land.  Dali’s message was to show that time and space are relative and that we, in fact, live in a universe of complete disorder.

“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

19. Art is You

“Art is anything you can get away with”- Andy Warhol

Art helps us to complete our own unformed thoughts and ideas. We have an ‘aha’ moment when we see a piece of art that perfectly captures a feeling or thought we have had that we couldn’t express. When this happens, we have gained a piece of new knowledge through the art that we can now communicate to ourselves and to others.

This why the best possible function of art operates via YOU.

20. Art is discovery and exploration

“Art is a discovery and development of elementary principles of nature into beautiful forms suitable for human use”- Frank Lloyd Wright

Is it not more remarkable when a natural talent emerges from nothingness to produce a work of art with an organic honesty that might have been wiped out by years of training in established structures, conventions, and accepted wisdom?

One such unlikely place was a tax collector’s office in Paris, and its unlikely talent came in the form of a Laval­born son of a plumber named Henri Rousseau. The majority of Rousseau’s life is somewhat cloudy, and with good reason—it is wholly unexceptional.

The Snake Charmer by Henri Rousseau is a dream­like depiction of mysterious human and animal forms in a jungle scene. This work is a testament to the attention Rousseau received from prominent artists during his time.

21. Art empowers the heart of people

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

When activists are showing images of children suffering from poverty or oppression in their campaigns, this is the art pulling the heartstrings of society’s elite and powerful to make changes. Such moments – using art to raise awareness – truly validate the existence and definition of art

When photographers publish the photos of war-torn areas, it catches the attention of masses whose hearts reach out for those who need help. When the artist creates great music and movies, it entertains people around the world. This is art, making a difference in society.

22. Culture is a great friend of art

“Art speaks the soul of its culture” – Abby Willowroot

Art is also a remarkable mode of depicting culture from all over the world, art and culture complement each other very well.

When you see a Zen garden in Sydney or San Francisco, you know that it’s a practice that originated from China. When you see paper swans swarming a beautiful wedding ceremony, you know that this is origami, an art that came from Japan. When you see films featuring Bollywood music and dancing, you know that it’s a movie from India.

Destinations like Newyork, Berlin, Prague, Sao Paulo, UAE, etc. are on a helm of cultural revolution to uplift their cities with art, design, and imagination – after all culture is the collective term for human behaviors

23. Art is activism

“Art resides in the quality of doing, the process is not magic.” – Charles Eames

Art has been used many times to represent the isolation, claustrophobia, and anxiety of our society due to the tough political times that we’re living at present. Tetsuya Ishida, a Japanese artist, portrayed the Japanese life about the social, economic and academic educational structures. Many of his works exposed the Japanese people’s trials in trying to acclimate to the changes involving social and technological contemporary life. Read – Tetsuya Ishida – Saving the World With A Brushstroke

Similarly, a lot of street art has an obvious, or sometimes very subtle, anti-establishment hint in it. The very mediums it uses, owned by states or corporations, are protected by law from the artist but are used without regard or in spite of it. That illegality is often a part of the message

24. Art is harmony

“Art is harmony” – George Seaurat

The power of art lies neither in the image nor the emotions it arouses in the viewer, rather its greatness is derived from understanding the creative forces which inspired the masterpiece.  Harmony is a subjective concept, rather it emerges within a context that many factors come together. Goya’s black paintings series is a great example that proves this theory. Today, although we are exposed to images of gore, misery, and grief, much of it is sanitized and censored. Goya, on the other hand, unabashedly captures human trauma and sorrow in the paint.

25. Art as Therapy

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”- Thomas Merton

In the famous book Art as Therapy, the authors have outlined seven functions of art and explain how art helps us grow and evolve in our understanding of ourselves, each other, and the world we live in. Taking your time to mindfully observe artwork can be of true value to your emotional well-being.

Conclusion: The functions of art remain incomprehensible

‘What is art?’— one question continuously steers educators, performers, practitioners, and philosophers to engage in deep analysis. But no matter what the function of art may be, the experience it delivers finally matters, and probably one reason it has been around us for as long as humans have existed. Whether or not we are aware of it, we allow art to affect our lives one way or another.

You may not know it, but your daily existence can be much more colorful with the presence and influence of art, and it only gets better once you allow your own creativity and imagination to take a turn for good.

So go ahead and open yourself up to art. It will be worth the change.

The post 25 Functions of Art That Make Us Better Human Beings appeared first on The Artist.

The Card Players

The Card Players is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne between 1894 and 1895. From 1890 and 1895, five other painting with similar titles were created by the French painter. This painting can be viewed at Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Curtain, Jug and Fruit Bowl

Curtain, Jug and Fruit Bowl is a painting produced by Paul Cézanne in 1894. This painting was sold to Sotheby’s New York in 1999 for $60.5m. This painting can be viewed at Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? is a painting produced by Paul Gauguin between 1897 and 1898. French title of this painting was D’où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous. This painting can be viewed at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Boy in Red Vest

Boy in Red Vest is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne between 1889 and 1890. This painting is also known as The Boy in the Red Waistcoat. This painting can be viewed at Foundation E.G. Bührle, Zurich, Switzerland.

The Basket of Apples

The Basket of Apples is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1895. There are many unbalaced parts in this painting like the titled bottle, cookies shortened lines, inclined basket. This painting can be viewed at Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.

The Bathers

The Bathers is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne between 1898 and 1905. This is one of large series paintings and often called as Big Bathers or Large Bathers. This painting can be viewed at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, United States.

Mont Sainte-Victoire seen from Bellevue

Mont Sainte-Victoire seen from Bellevue is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1886. This is a landscape painting and the scene depicted is of Montagne Sainte-Victoire in Provence in southern France. This painting can be viewed at Barnes Foundation, Pennsylvania.

Portrait of Madame Cézanne with Loosened Hair

Portrait of Madame Cézanne with Loosened Hair is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne around 1870s or early 1890s. It is also known by the name Madame Cézanne with Unbound Hair. This painting can be viewed at Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine

Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1887. The french artist spend a lot of time with this landscape building a strong relationship with the scene. This painting can be viewed at Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

Pyramid of Skulls

Pyramid of Skulls is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1901. In this painting, the french artist depicts four human skulls stacked in a pyramidal configuration. The dimensions of this painting are 37 cm × 45.5 cm.

Portrait of Gustave Geffroy

Portrait of Gustave Geffroy is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1895. The Italian artist depicts Gustave Geffroy who was a French novelist and art critic noted as one of the earliest historians of Impressionism. This painting can be viewed at Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

The Sainte-Victoire Mountains

The Sainte-Victoire Mountains is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne between 1904 and 1906. The work of Cezanne depicts a massive limestone in the valley near Aix-en-Provence. The painting can be viewed at Kunsthaus , Zurich.

Still Life with Apples

Still Life with Apples is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1895. This painting seems that the edges of the fruit in the bowl are undefined and appear to shift without giving an illusion. The dimensions of this painting are 68.6 x 92.7 cm.

Château Noir

Château Noir is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne between 1903 and 1904. It is believed that Cézanne ventured daily into the surrounding Provencal landscape in search of subjects to paint. The dimensions of this painting are 73.6 x 93.2 cm.

The Gulf of Marseilles Seen from L’Estaque

The Gulf of Marseilles Seen from L’Estaque is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1885. Historians believed that this painting is like a playing card, red roofs over the blue sea. The dimensions of this painting are 73 x 100.3 cm.

The Blue Vase

The Blue Vase is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne between 1885 and 1887. This painting is surprisingly simple and sober but was not exhibited until 1904. This painting can be viewed at Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France.

Madam Cézanne in a Red Armchair

Madam Cézanne in a Red Armchair is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1887. The Italian artist was a great Post-Impressionist artist. This painting can be viewed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Turning Road at Montgeroult

Turning Road at Montgeroult is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1898. This painting was considered as one of the greatest canvases in history. This painting can be viewed at Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The Kiss of the Muse

The Kiss of the Muse is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne in 1860. This painting is also known by the name as Dream of the Poet. This painting can be viewed at Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France.

The Bathers

The Bathers is a painting produced by Paul Cezanne between 1890 and 1891. This is one of the best paintings over two hundred paintings, sketches or drawings on the theme of bathers. The painting can be viewed at Museum of the Hermitage , St. Petersburg.

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It’s probably Salvador Dali. He’s so prominent; his name has become synonymous with the movement. If you’re not thinking of Dali, the name of Rene Magritte probably comes to mind. Despite the fact that surrealism is most often associated with these titans, there are actually some pretty talented female artists that manage to stand out in the male-dominated world movement

Let’s have a look at top female surrealists who have established a significant impact in the art world of surrealism

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) has often been classified as a surrealist, though she herself argue that she draws more “her reality, that her dreams”. A brilliant painter, she is most famous for her-portraits in which she paints herself in a surrealistic manner. Like many other artists, she was appreciated after her death and gained more popularity in the 80s.

The Suicide of Dorothy Hale was painted by Frida Kahlo in 1938. It’s exceptionally powerful, despite the fact that there are few elements that appear on the canvas. The painting depicts the suicide of the aspiring American actress Dorothy Hale. The building she jumped from is shrouded in clouds and so is the falling woman, possibly symbolizing the heights she had reached and her fall from there (in a metaphorical, not just literal sense). At the bottom, we see the actress’ lifeless body, allowing reality to set in. The painting combines the literal and metaphorical, the real and the surreal, showing every step of Hale’s suicide. Frida Kahlo did a marvellous job, though it wasn’t exactly the job she was commissioned to do.

This work of art brought lots of controversy, but it’s still one of the most influential and powerful paintings you can see. The symbolism, the fall, the feeling of hopeless, and the end of this young woman all speak volumes of the skills Frida Kahlo possessed.

Aside from The Suicide of Dorothy Hale, some of her other famous works include Congress of People of Peace, Flower of Life, and Girl with Death Mask.

Hiroko Sakai

Hiroko Sakai is one of the modern representatives of the movement. She was born in Japan but has lived in the US since 1999. Her art is filled with passion and has induced intense feelings in viewers over the years. She is a proponent of the idea that imagination is a powerful tool and always allows hers to run wild in order to produce great works of art.

Dorothea Tanning

Dorothea Tanning (1910-2012) is an American artist who brought her nightmares to life.

In her later period she also did some more erotic and violent works. Her art is beautiful but often induces a feeling of uneasiness. It’s difficult to look at her paintings and not feel an intense emotional response. Some of her more famous works include Insomnias, Some Roses, and Phantoms, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

Laurie Lipton

Laurie Lipton has quite a unique style. All her works are very detailed and one might say that in her art, surrealism meets photorealism.

The way she achieves this meticulous detail is by building up the tone with thousands of fine cross-hatching lines. She refers to her style as insane, yet she considers that the resulting detail and brilliance is worth all the effort, despite the fact that her drawings require a lot more time than a painting of equal size and detail would.

Carrie Ann Baade

Carrie Ann Baade is definitely an interesting surrealist. She’s an American painter whose work is highly influenced by spiritualism, literature, and art history. Her paintings are rich and colourful, always carrying a powerful emotional message. Some of her top works include Through the Parallax, Tales of Passion and Woe, Intemperance, and The Secret Lives of Portraits.

Shahla Rosa

Shahla Rosa is one of most respected modern surrealist, appreciated by critics as one of the most intense and greatest female surrealist.

She herself claims, “Each time I started a new painting, it’s like emerging in surrealist art as a spectator at the birth of the movement. In my paintings each character is the being that projects the greatest shadow or the greatest light into my dreams, or is the love as a means of creation and a source of revelation.” Her paintings are always intense and rich in detail.

Leonor Fini

Leonor Fini is often considered one of the most influential women artists of the mid-twentieth century. One of the main themes of Fini’s art is the complicated relationship between the sexes, primarily the interaction between the dominant female and the dominated male. She was always surrounded by controversy because of her art.

Méret Oppenheim

Like other artists we’ve had a look at so far, Méret Oppenheim (1913-1985) was always surrounded by debates because of the theme of her art.

Her theme, whether we’re talking about her paintings or photographs, was female sexuality and the exploitation of women by men. She managed to deliver interesting and original, yet clear messages by using everyday objects in her art. Some of her top works include Breakfast in Fur, My Nurse, and Giacometti’s Ear.

Kay Sage

Kay Sage (June 25, 1898 – January 8, 1963) offers some of the most interesting pieces of surreal art you can find. Her paintings often speak of loneliness and discontent with society and the way the world is moving. The exclusion of human figures from her art, as well as the subdued colours speaks volumes about her isolation. Some of her top works include My Room Has Two Doors, On the Contrary, Unusual Thursday.

Sylvia Fein

Finally, we have Sylvia Fein, whose work is a bit more subtle, but just as interesting as the rest of the women we’ve had a look at. Her style is not pure surrealism, yet she manages to deliver the surreal elements in her art quite well. Some of her most famous works include The Lady with White Knight and The Lady in the Cage.

Actually, imagination is the most important aspect of surreal art. If you’re thinking about entering this field, you need to learn to let go of your rational thoughts and simply let your imagination run wild, where great art comes from.

All these women have managed to establish themselves and distinguish themselves in a predominantly male field. Their talent is undeniable, and the power of their imagination – obvious from the first glance.

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Part of Dubai Design Week is an annual series, Iconic Cities, which was dedicated this year to Beirut. A great experience is delivered in a powerful manner.

Brilliant Beirut, curated by Rana Salam, was one of the exhibition’s standout achievements. Her work documents the evolution of design in the Lebanese capital over the past seven decades, telling the story of Beirut as a continual canvas for innovative and talented designers.

Beirut is a diverse civilization rooted in the cultures of the great ancient artists and designers from the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Ottoman Turks, to even far-flung cultures like the French. Its complexity, conflicts, and glamorous glory all contribute to the beauty and vibrancy of Beirut’s modern Art and Culture scene.

Salam shows this to the viewer through an installation that mimics the feeling of walking down the streets of “The Paris of the East”. Though that is its nickname, through each designer’s contribution to this stunning city, it is made apparent that Beirut has its own unique beauty.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]Beirut does not imitate other cities. Beirut is not a replica. It is a special combination of people, lifestyles and architecture that result in an authentic city with a unique modern identity. Beirut is convinced it can be to be the most advanced, trendy and cutting edge city. Without copying any other city. Because Beirut is ambitious, says architect Karim Bekdache [/quote_colored]

Brilliant Beirut touches on almost every avenue of design, giving the viewer a look at the city’s contributions to architecture, interiors, graphics, and product design beginning in the 1950s and moving into the present. Salam also explores the processes by which this art is created, from education to implementation.

Brilliant Beirut touches on almost every avenue of design, giving the viewer a look at the city’s contributions to architecture, interiors, graphics, and product design beginning in the 1950s and moving into the present. Salam also explores the processes by which this art is created, from education to implementation.

The daughter of the renown architect Assem Salam, and a highly respected package and graphic designer herself, Rana has been passionate about Beirut’s evolution through design since childhood. The artist shares her experience of the city beginning with its masterful architecture, from the clean lines of Schayer’s Carlton Hotel, to the pop artesque circle-dot façade of Victor Bisharat’s Koujak-Jaber, into the 20^th century’s most futuristic nightclub feature, the BO18’s militaristic retracting roof designed by Bernard Khoury in 1998.

The exhibition moves into graphic design, showing special attention to how changes in the nation’s social, political, and wartime dynamics effected shifts in style. She does the same with fashion and product design, with the ultimate focus being the creation of a definition of Lebanese style. Examples included furniture, decorative and functional objects, interior innovation, product and business branding, lighting, and signage.

Salam does not end with the present, but has the viewer look into the future through advances in design education and by including modern works in progress, like the construction of the Ashti Foundation building by architect David Adjaye. This part of the show is captioned “Beirut Today: Evolution, not revolution.” Salams choice of capitalization in that caption captures the feeling of the installation.

Of this work the artist says, “There is a need to change the world’s perception of the Middle East, and to reflect it in a fresh and engagingly positive light,’ she says. ‘what better medium to use than the power of design?”

Not only is ‘Brilliant Beirut’ an example of thoughtful curation, it is also a testament to the talent and fresh perspective of one of the world’s great current designers. Salam herself is contributing to the boom in product and graphic design in Beirut while infusing the flavour and culture of her treasured city in international projects as well.

Thank you Dubai Design Week for featuring this amazing series of beauty and redemption!

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