Roamings of a Leo: Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

My friend Tim and I roamed through the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art on Tuesday and enjoyed their interesting exhibits. The first two we visited are entitled Post commodity - the interdisciplinary American Indian arts collective's "Promoting a More Just Verdant and Harmonious Resolution," 2011 and "Pollination," 2015. The brochure states that together, these artworks question common national narratives and the commodification of nature, history and culture. In the first exhibit we walked up a ramp and into an octagon shaped room with changing films of beautiful nature and children. Periodically were were assaulted with a loud noise of a rock band. The second exhibit had small rooms to set in, a token to insert into a slot that would open a screen to a peep show of a beautiful garden.

The next exhibit was of Afghan War Rugs: The Modern Art of Central Asia. The brochure describes the exhibit as offering a glimpse into the culture of modern day Afghanistan with images of tanks, soldiers, helicopters, world maps and political portraits.

Here are some photos of the hand woven rugs"

"Portrait Rug (Amanullah Khan)," Woven in Afghanistan, not dated, acquired in Peshawar, Pakistan, 1985. Amanullah Khan (1882-1960) ruled Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929 and is highly regarded for establishing Afghanistan's independence from the political influences of the British and Russian empires. He created a modernist constitution promoting equal rights and individual freedoms, established new schools for both boys and girls and challenged traditions, including strict dress codes for women.

War Rug with Map of Afghanistan and Portrait of Najibullah, woven in Pakistan refugee camp, not dated, acquired in Peshawar, Pakistan, 2012. Najibullah (1947-1996) was president of Afghanistan from 1987-1992 and killed in 1996 by the Taliban.