"Art will die in Iraq"

I'm largely hesitant to post (or use) much of what's published in daily newspapers or websites like CNN or BBC -- it's generally too "current" to provide much in the way of long-sighted analysis. Besides, much of the West's reporting from abroad (not just Iraq) conforms to a model of a reporter deciding what story they want to tell, and then looking for the evidence to illustrate that story, ignoring the question of whether everything on the ground actually conforms to the predetermined story.

Every now and then, though, I'll pass something on that seems unique, interesting or useful to me. This article is a pretty good profile of the state of high culture in Iraq -- painters, specifically.