Mapping Sitting: On Portraiture and Photography

Edited by Karl Bassil, Zeina Maasri and Akram Zaatari in collaboration with Walid Raad

Edited by Karl Bassil, Zeina Maasri and Akram Zaatari, in collaboration with Walid Raad, Mapping Sitting is the book counterpart to the eponymous exhibition curated by Raad and Zaatari from the Arab Image Foundation. Featuring photographs taken between the 1920s and the 1970s, in Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine and Jordan, it raises questions about portraiture, performance, photography and identity in the Arab world. Both the exhibition and the book examine how the photographic portrait functioned as a commodity, a luxury item, an adornment; as a description of individuals and groups; and as the inscription of social identities. The authors proceed from the thesis that photographic practices are symptomatic of an evolving capitalist organization of labor and its products, and of established conventions of iconic representation. They also propose that these practices are not only reflective but are also productive of new notions of work, leisure, play, citizenship, community and individuality.

Published by the Arab Image Foundation and Mind the gap in 2005
ISBN: 
9953-0-0412

905 photographs: 77 color and 828 duotones. 284 pages, 15.8 x 20 x 2.6 cm.

First published by the Arab Image Foundation and Mind the gap in 2002 (ISBN 9953-0-0058-1)

 

Featured in “The Photo Book: A History - Volume 2” by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, published by Phaidon in 2006, and in “Book Design” by Andrew Haslam, published by Laurence King Publishing in 2006

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting 1

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting2

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting3

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting4

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting5

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting6

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting7

2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting8

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting9

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting10

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting11

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002

mtgpublication - Mapping Sitting12

Mapping Sitting
2005, first published in 2002
 

Design and communication agency

Mind the gap is a multidisciplinary design and communication agency based in Beirut and Doha, with thirty years’ practice in branding, packaging, publication, signage, exhibition, digital and information design, for local and international clients.

We work for a wide range of sectors, from institutional and governmental to corporate and commercial. Yet, our story is best told by our genuine interest and deep involvement in the arts and culture, design and architecture, and heritage sectors, which, over the course of three decades, has matured into a sharp expertise.

Eager to expand in scope and in sphere, we always welcome thought-provoking and meaningful projects commissioned by enthusiastic and purposeful people.

This beta version of our website is not yet optimized for smartphones and tablets. Please visit using a computer.

Back to top