The Monument

Art and Vulgarity in Saddam Hussein's Iraq

Kanan Makiya

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Paperback

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English

I.B. Tauris
18 December 2013

The Arts: General & Reference; Memorials, monuments; Cultural studies; Political structures: totalitarianism & dictatorship; Propaganda

"In Baghdad, an enormous monument nearly twice the size of the Arc de Triomphe towers over the city. Two huge forearms emerge from the ground, clutching two swords that clash overhead. Those arms are enlarged casts of those of Saddam Hussein, showing every bump and follicle. The ""Victory Arch"" celebrates a victory over Iran (in their eight-year-long war) that never happened. This text is a study of the interplay between art and politics - of how culture, normally an unquestioned good, can play into the hands of a power with devastating effects. Kanan Makiya uses the culture invented by Saddam Hussein as a window into the nature of totalitarianism and shows how art can become the weapon of dictatorship. Under Saddam Hussein, culture connived in his evil - this text explains how. It should be useful reading for anyone concerned with the power of culture and the culture of power."

By: Kanan Makiya
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 148mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 229g
ISBN: 9781860649660
ISBN 10: 1860649661
Pages: 176
Publication Date: 18 December 2013
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Kanan Makiya is one of Iraq's leading dissidents. He is the author of the highly acclaimed 'Republic of Fear,' ' Cruelty and Silence' and 'The Rock.' He directs the Iraq Research and Documentation Project at Harvard University, and is a Professor at Brandeis.

Reviews for The Monument: Art and Vulgarity in Saddam Hussein's Iraq

Brilliant and moving. The kind of totalitarian propaganda discussed by Makiya is relevant not only to explain the grip of power of Saddam Hussein but to other Arab countries. -Peter Partner, The New York Review of Books ...elegantly savage critique of Saddam Hussein's architectural follies... His book deserves to rank with the classic analyses of Nazi and Stalinist art: superb, as a study of kitsch, a study of tyranny - and an account of why the latter always loves the former. -Boyd Tonkin, The Independent The Monument provides an unusual and groundbreaking examination of the cultural control that Saddam Hussein exercised on his people, and the importance of his so-called artistic legacy... shows how art can become the weapon of dictatorship. -Fred Rhodes, The Middle East Magazine Makiya writes stridently, but he is also capable of patient rational analysis unravelling what the Monument teaches about the abuse of art for political purposes. -Robert Hillenbrand, Times Literary Supplement