In digital age, local artist’s display encourages traditional reading

November 12, 2013 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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Digital devices are claiming our constant attention, and, in this age of gadgets galore, technological burn-out is slowly but surely ensuing.

In his window display exhibit titled “WI-FI OUT OF ORDER,” local artist Driss Tijani has shaped figures inspired by and reminiscent of the life-sized plaster-cast sculptures created by George Segal, who often depicted average people in ordinary moments in time.  Similarly, with these readers, Tijani is paying homage to a very simple but time-honored activity, which he fears will soon become extinct.  

These impressionistic readers are part of a series of paper-made sculptures that politely but resolutely asks that we pause, silence all our demanding gadgetry, and contemplate the seemingly unassuming pursuit of reading in its purest form – still a marvel in its simplicity, yet its power to transform.

Tijani’s exhibit is being displayed at 165 Smith Street at Wyckoff Street (side window), and will be opened to the public until Nov. 20.   

WI-FI OUT OF ORDER is not meant to be an assault on technological advances but rather a simple appeal to relish the unencumbered pleasure of reading in the traditional way, which the artist fears might soon become extinct.

An artisan, art facilitator and lover of all things books, Tijani finds inspiration in the work of diverse artists across all disciplines.

Moroccan-born and educated at Pratt in Information Sciences, Tijani has worked extensively in the field of film and television, and currently indulges his eclectic interests with classes at artistic centers ranging from the Art Students League in Manhattan to the BRIC Media Arts Center in Brooklyn to The Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, incorporating elements from each in his work.

As an art facilitator, Tijani assists local artists, studios and gallery owners in achieving their creative visions by performing such necessary, behind-the-scenes tasks as transporting and mounting art, repairing and maintaining facilities.  In the process, he has handled artwork by such notable artists as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

 

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