Dimensions: object: 270 x 210 x 70 mm
Copyright: © Saloua Raouda Choucair Foundation | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Saloua Raouda Choucair’s "Poem of Nine Verses," a sculpture at the Tate Modern. It looks like stacked, interlocking forms – almost architectural. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Choucair, a pioneer, bravely merged modernist abstraction with Islamic aesthetics. The modularity here speaks to interconnectedness, a concept deeply rooted in Sufi philosophy. Editor: So, it’s not just abstract form, it's a statement? Curator: Precisely! Consider the lack of a firm date. This invites discourse about how non-Western artists are often excluded from art historical timelines. What do you think about the title? Editor: "Poem"... It feels like each verse is a layer, building upon the others to create a whole. Curator: Yes, and each 'verse' is slightly different, yet part of the same structure. It's a powerful metaphor for unity within diversity. I had never considered that. Editor: I see it now. Thanks! Curator: Likewise!
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tatemodern about 2 months ago
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/choucair-poem-of-nine-verses-t13647
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tatemodern about 2 months ago
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In the early 1960s, Choucair began creating what she called ‘sculptural poems’ using interlocking forms that can be rearranged in various formations. Poem of Nine Verses is influenced by Sufi poetry, Islamic and modernist architecture, and geometric abstraction. Each aluminium piece can stand alone, like a verse in a poem, but also forms a unified structure. In creating this work, the artist ‘wanted rhythm like the poetic meter, to be at once more independent and interlinked, and to have lines like meanings.’ Gallery label, March 2025
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