Iraqi peace song
By: Laurie Alpert
Contributors: Mutanabbī, Abū al-Ṭayyib Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn, 915 or 916-965; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition; Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Artists' Books Collection (Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library)
Publisher: [publisher not identified]
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Brookline, Mass.]
Language: ara
Subjects: Violence; Pictorial works; Booksellers and bookselling; Bombings; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Protest movements; Books and reading in art; Intellectual life; Social conditions; Censorship; Terrorism in art; In art; War and civilization; Vehicle bombs; Visual literature; Specimens; Artists' books; Al-Mutanabbi Street Coalition
Description: This collection supports and promotes awareness to the important mission and framework of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition's focus on the lasting power of the written word and the arts in support of the free expression of ideas, the preservation of shared cultural spaces, and the importance of responding to attacks, both overt and subtle, on artists, writers, and academics working under oppressive regimes or in zones of conflict, despite the destruction of that literary/cultural content.

"Laurie Alpert is a printmaker and book artist from Brookline, Massachusetts. She has her BFA in Painting from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her MFA in Painting from Massachusetts College of Art. She is a Professor in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts. Alpert's professional affiliations include membership at the Bromfield Gallery in Boston's South End and EES Arts, a professional printmaking cooperative in Hyde Park. She is also a member of Boston Printmakers, the Monotype Guild of New England, and the New York Center for Book Arts"--Centre for Fine Print Research website.
Notes: Polyester plate lithograph on vellum, scroll, issued in a box.

"Spirituality and religion never entered into my work until, in 2007, I saw the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. I was immediately drawn to their beauty and found them visually seductive. I was drawn to the shapes of the fragments, as well as the beauty of the decayed sheets of leather on which they were written. Although much has been discovered about the content of the scrolls, there is still a great deal of mystery surrounding them: when exactly were they written, who originally hid them in the caves and what do they reveal? What intrigued me about the content of the scrolls was the fact that the text is both biblical and cultural. The manuscripts give us insight into behavior, military regulations, customs, political persecution and spiritual life, something that has always fascinated me. I was also struck by the complexity of the political situation there. While visiting the Golan Heights, I photographed a sculpture of a kneeling soldier pointing a gun. This image has become a haunting motif in my work and creates a political edge to the otherwise unbiased nature of the work. I had no idea that this motif would be returning to my work as part of 'Iraqi peace song.' Another significant element in my work, at that time, was my mother's music. She was a professional violinist whose career had a great impact on my life. This represents my personal history; the scrolls represent my past history. The ancient Hebrew text coexists with the music while the music transcends language. When I began the Al-Mutanabbi Street artist's book project, my intent was to make traditionally bound books but, as the process evolved, it became clearer to me that the scroll form made sense in this particular context. The Arabic text is from the poetry of Al-Mutanabbi, considered one of the greatest poets of the Arabic language. I have included my mother's music as a symbol of beauty and hope amidst the ongoing violence and tension in that part of the world. While doing research, I discovered a piece of music called 'Iraqi peace song' by Lori Tennenhouse and Knut Reiersrud. This is a lullaby featuring cello and choir and is sung in both English and Arabic. It was apparent to me that this needed to be a part of the scrolls, as well. I hope that at some point in the near future, I will no longer feel compelled to include the kneeling soldier from the Golan Heights in my work"--The artist's personal website.

On March 5th, 2007, a car bomb exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. Al-Mutanabbi Street is located in a mixed Shia-Sunni area. More than 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Al-Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, holds bookstores and outdoor bookstalls, cafes, stationery shops, and even tea and tobacco shops. It has been the longstanding heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community for centuries. In response to the attack, a San Francisco poet and bookseller, Beau Beausoleil, rallied a community of international artists and writers to produce a collection of letterpress-printed broadsides (poster-like works on paper), artists' books (unique works of art in book form), and an anthology of writing, all focused on expressing solidarity with Iraqi booksellers, writers and readers. The coalition of contributing artists calls itself Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition.

Gift; Beau Beausoleil; 2019-2020.

In Arabic.