Phantom Punch: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia (Senior College in the Community)

A mosque made out of chain link fencing. A gasoline pump that morphs into a man committing suicide. A jet fighter emerging threateningly from the roof of a beautiful mosque. Works like these demonstrate the wonderful creativity of Saudi conceptual artists and reveal fascinating insights into a country known primarily for its fundamentalist form of Islam and its oppression of women.

Loring Danforth is a retired professor of anthropology at Bates College. In 2012 he spent a month in Saudi Arabia with a group of Bates students, an experience chronicled in his book Crossing the Kingdom: Portraits of Saudi Arabia. In 2016 he co-curated an exhibition of contemporary Saudi art at the Bates College Museum of Art.

Those who wish to attend will have the option of doing so in person, in the Androscoggin Community Room, or virtually.   For more information or to register (requested if attending in person, required if attending via Zoom), visit https://laseniorcollege.org/.  Everyone who registers will receive a link to Zoom in their email on the morning of the class and may attend either in person or by Zoom if desired.

This presentation is part of a speaker series entitled Senior College in the Community offered through a partnership with Lewiston Auburn Senior College.  Lewiston Auburn Senior College has a long-standing relationship with community partners.  In addition to this program, Senior College offers in-person, Zoom, and hybrid enrichment classes.  For more information about Senior College, visit https://laseniorcollege.org/.