Doha: Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art hosted Mathaf Talk: Open Questions, with Ranjit Hoskote on ‘How are Canons Formed?’, an online discussion about the processes of canon-formation in Indian modernism, on February 27.
The discussion examined the historical role of the canon as a paradigm of value in the arts. The speaker explored the canon as a spectrum of forms and practices that include naturalised axioms of taste and dominant criteria by which art is assessed and works of art that have come to be regarded as classics of perennial relevance.
The etymology of 'canon' holds the sense of the measuring rod, which is the meaning of the word kanon in Greek, as used in the Alexandrian Library, which descends into Arabic as al-Qanun, 'rule', along a transmission line traceable through the influence of Ibn Sina on Renaissance and post-Renaissance Europe, into the Western worldview.
Abdellah Karroum, Director of Mathaf, said: “Mathaf plays an important role in facilitating informal education between academia, socialization space and media. It is with this awareness that Museum is offering the Mathaf Talk Open Questions series.
The encyclopedic approach of curator Ranjit Hoskote and his genuine sense of audience engagement make this high-profile program accessible to all. It was a pleasure to welcome participants to an illuminating discussion on Indian modernism that expanded to canon-formation in art scenes of the Global South.”
The talk aimed to demonstrate how a canon does not bear an objective and eternal truth, but rather is the product of historical processes related to power, consumption, material interest, and patronage, which often embody conservative tendencies.
As institutions, the museum and the academy must look critically at the canon and develop discursive and curatorial techniques to expand our sense of artistic production beyond the canon.
Mathaf Talk: Open Questions is a series of monthly online presentations, dialogues, and debates.
