Virtually Islamic Blog

Gary R. Bunt

Kitsch

Scene Arabia, Everything Is Kitsch, and Egypt Is Leading the Way

"I was searching through Souq El Gomaa for traditional galabeyas I needed for a project, when I was astonished to find that no one actually sold traditional ‘oriental’ galabeyas anymore. The only thing I could find were ones filled with kitschy copies of high-end brand logos. What happened? My project turned from trying to feature the exquisite patterns of our tradition to finding out where they went. How and why did this process of ‘deculturation’ of our original aesthetic happen?"

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