James Casebere

I started work on what might be regarded as the “Moorish” images when I shot “Tunnel ”, which was based on a picture I saw in The Guardian of a tunnel in Mazar I Sharif, Afganistan. The original picture was filled with Taliban prisoners. I built a tunnel that looked very much like the news photo, but of course, it had no prisoners. Pretty much the way, as I recall, that about 3000 Taliban prisoners disappeared in steel shipping containers at the time.

So, I built models, reflecting my attention to current events. I shot “Tunnel ” at the time of the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the second, in what now looks like a series, called “Spanish Bath”, at the time of the US invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

I became interested in the Middle Ages in Andalusia because of the way Jews, Christians, and Muslims co-operated and co-existed until 1492. There is something we can all learn from this period in history. Islamic culture made great contributions to the Renaissance in Western Europe in what we think of as the Dark Ages. Principally, we need to credit them with creating an open climate of cultural exchange. Greek culture was transmitted through the translation of the classics first into Arabic in Baghdad, then into Hebrew, Latin and eventually into what were then considered the vernacular languages of Catalan, French, and English etc. The scientific, and mathematic knowledge of Arabic countries was coveted by Western Europe in the 15th century, and the Arabic language made enormous contributions to the creation of a tradition of romantic poetry and literature. The libraries, and Madrases created in Spain were great centers of learning.

I have tried to create images, which suggest sacred space, but don’t neatly fit into categories of Christian, Muslim, or Jewish.

At the same time I point to the origins of Modernism in ancient experiences of space, light, movement, ritual etc. Globalization (International Style?) can be like an alienating cookie-cutter force. We can counter this by picking and choosing positive values and principles embodied by local traditions. I like hybrid forms of culture.

James Casebere, March 2005

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James Casebere