Mohammad Hossein Emad
Audio of the Entire Interview
Interview Transcript
Part 01
I was born in decade, historiacal urban texture of Arak in 1957.
I used to draw and paint
I used to use perspective a lot
Then I got a book about perspective
I loved depth and dimension
They did exist in my artworks
I used to draw sharp shadows
Unconsciously
Lights and shadows and perspective
I used to even copy
some artworks of great artists like Maurits Escher
One of his artworks
Is a division of space with cubes
I used to add or reduce things from the copies.
I added colours to the copies
It was so fascinating to me
….
……
I used to watch works in Grand Bazaar of Arak
In Charsoo there was coppersmiths Bazaar
At the end of the lane ironsmiths were working
They were fascinating
Even now they are fascinating to me that they reshape iron by making it hot
They impressed me
I was copying a tableau
It was a horse
A stampeded one
I wanted to bring
It’s hoofs out of tableau
I added Papier macher
And brought them out
Eventually it became a
volume
That occupied outer space
papeier macher
Kleenex and wood glue
Made a figure
I met a friend
Who was a luthier
He gave me a piece of wood
I scraped it with very simple tools
I found it very charming
Thought I could go for better works
I got a giant piece of wood
I worked on it
I was great at my techniques
I became an expert
Very dominant
I made 22-23 sculptures afterwards
My Sculptures were surrealistic
Because at some point
About 1980/1981 I stoped copying
One of my sisters was living in France
She sent me Daly’s book
By reading this book
This surrealism method
Gave me capability of doing anything
I knew freedom within art
I could do anything
Even if I don’t want it to be representation
Of nature
And environment
I could draw anything
And change its place
Or change its time
It was charming for me
I started to paint
They were not very good paintings
But it was a great experience
Which I used in my sclupture
No one had seen my artwork till
1993
I came to Tehran
With Seihoun Gallery
And
Afrand gallery
Ms. Mashouf
She staged an exhibition
of my artwork
Artworks were surrealistic
And the concept was influenced
By Sepehri’s poems at that point
I was reading his poems a lot
Nature was so present in my works
Meanwhile I rented a studio
It was a small basement in AmirAbad
I stayed there for 15 years
I staged 4 or 5 exhibitions
I worked with lots of galleries
The latest exhibitions were with
Asar Gallery
……..
…..
I knew conceps eventually
I didn’t have a master
I didn’t study art
At first drawing
And portraiture
Was so attracrive
Then
I got some books about
Sculpture and relief
Written By belated ArabAli Sherveh
I started to experience techniques
Of these books
Meanwhile
When I used to travel to Tehran
I used to visit the museum every time
(Tehran Museum of Contemporary art)
Because I didn’t know
Much about Philosophy of art
Mostly
I’ve read Books about sculpture techniques
Or drawing etc.
When I felt like I need to use a concept
Or I had used it in my artworks
This word used to attract me
And It made me buy books
Then
Eventually
I went through those books
I got to know other books
……
…….
I can say
I didn’t have a master
I wasn’t trained
About 1992 or 1993
I took one of my artworks to University of Tehran
Dr Victor Darash allocated an hour to visit me and my artwork.
He spoke to me
I thought about all the things he said
I got a friend
His sculptures are in
Mellat Park
Mr. Gharehgozloo
He was a friend and
I learnt a lot from him
In 1982 I started working in
“Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults”.
I was a painting teacher.
Eventually I stopped the classes and started to make sculptures for the Institute.
I made sculpture for children.
I stopped teaching.
Teaching reshaped during the years for me.
In 2003 or 2004 I used to consult the sculpture students who used to come to the institute.
I used to teach them how to make sculptire for children.
Great works have been done in this era.
Part 02
My very first exhibition staged in
Afrand Art Gallery in 1993.
Anyways i wasn’t trained
At that point
In Tehran’s artistic invoronment
I felt like my knowledge is not enough
After 2 or 3 exhibitions that I staged
I still was filled with my previous artworks
Then I roamed around art galleries
And watched others artworks
Suddenly I came out of my space
My artworks became very cold
Very simple forms
And geometrical
It was apparently a failure
My artworks were not
very attractive anymore
In 1995 and 1996 there were not too many visitors in the art gallery and
It was not attractive
And eventually I felt there is shortage of something
Because I didn’t know history and all things about form
Then
I started to visit exhibitions
and read these kinds of books
Till 1998 and 1999
I thought I don’t believe in myself
By any means
I didn’t stage any exhibitions
For 2 or 3 years
In my small studio in Amir Abad
I just practiced form
I used to make small scultures
With styrofoam and armature
Covered by stockings
I played alot with them
Later on I made large
version of some of them
……
……
Here
This studio
My friend
Mr. Gharegozlou used to work here
Styrofoam was so attractive for him
He used to collect styrofoams
Here was filled with styrofoams
I used to visit him
And i was influenced
By this environment
It was amazing to me
How we encounter with
a ready made object
Styrofoam is a ready made object
They put a product inside it
Send it to us
We open it
montage it
and use it
How can we use
Styrofoam in making sculpture?
I thought
It’s hilarious for me sometimes
We put things with odd shape in a package
That is supposed to be a consumers goods.
It’s a taunt to the consuming technological system
We recieve object to
consume constantly
Odd objects that reduce
the simplicity of our lives
Makes it more complicated
It was such a taunt…
….
……
In 1994 I designed a theater stage , masks and puppets for a puppet show.
I made them all with cardboards
It had no covers at all
It was just cardboard
Stuck together in different ways
I did it in theater center of the institute.
Cardboards have very small pores
These pores were fascinating for me
For example
I was seeing a connection
between my empty scupltures
When I evacuate them
It caused me to make some artwork
With cardboards
Which I exhibited them
In Aan art gallery
I staged a solo exhibition in Aan art gallery named ” Querrel with insomnia”
I happened
And It was attractive for too many
It was a large volume
After awhile I found
the same in plastic
Like cartonplast
For two years I played with cartonplast
I Made different shapes out of it
Till I get to know it eventually
I made some sculptures that
I didn’t like them.
I laid them aside
Because
I realized it’s discovery of a texture
This texture was not important
It was not the thing I would
Like to exhibit in my solo exhibition
The texture should be there
For a purpose
Then I did lots of work
And accidentally I let the light pass through them
And by this passing light
It gets variety of good senses
One of my sculptures
Was a Two meters tall volume in black
Totally black
When light passes through it
it seemes hanging
In fact it’s not hanging
I guess it’s the thing that
Sculpture was looking for it
Universal sculpture is looking for it
To lighten the volume
Without hanging it
Light has done this
Light passed through the object
And it seems that light is
beneath the sculpture
It seems a distance
between the ground
And the sculpture
In fact there was no distance
…..
…..
In 1995 and 1996
In iran they were
talking about Identity
I got involved with this
I cared about it
I used signs of Iranian
culture directly
Then I thought
They don’t matter
The thing that matters is
we, people that are
living here
If we remain who we are
If we don’t immitate
It would run through our work
If we use it deliberately
It’s not attractive to me
To show my identity off
In my work deliberately
Part 03
In 1997 I exhibited an exhibition
I researched about balance
And anthropology
I read alot about it
It was an exhibition
That was not attractive at all
Containig about fourty
reliefs and sculptures
The exhibition was not attractive
But I was deep in this matter
And it was enjoying
Concept of balance
Runs through my today’s artworks
In my recent years artworks
There’s a 7 meters long sculpture
Named “steelyard balance”
It’s a tool to measure weight
In old days
Containing an iron shaft
It was made in a smithy
They used to hang
a produce on one side
When the shaft stays horizontally
The exact weight could be measured
I made a wooden cone
It’s inside was void
It’s center of gravity
Stays between 1/3 and 2/3
Of two sided of the wood
It lies horizontally
It was my second
or 3rd hanging sculpture
I named it “Steelyard balance”
Cause it’s relevant with balance
And it’s inside is void
You could see a light
At the other end of this cone
And it’s rotating constantly
Cause it could be moved by a breeze
It’s equilibrium is a line balancing
It has no width
It’s in one direction and line
……
…….
I experience things unconsciously
due to Expand its width
Afterwards I got skilled in it
I made examples
To expand its width
Some of them are here
expansion of width
Requires a quadrilateral balance
It means
Not only you should measure
Center of gravity of the length
But also you need to measure
Center of gravity of width
I moved forward
I had an unsuccessful experience
I tryed hard
But I couldn’t keep it hanging
Cause it had length and width
A plate
based on physics
Theoritically
Maybe
Reaches
center of gravity
And claims that it can
Be hung horizontal
But it can’t be hung practically
If we hang the tray
from that point
It won’t be hung
I tried other ways
What if I add an appendix
To the backside
It can be balanced
I made three of this sculpture
I made them larger and larger
The last one is 2 meters length
The name of My first
artwork with quadrilateral balance
Is “Sartas”
Later when I expanded the width
The shape made me feel like
It wants to devour
Devoure the space
I named it ” Avidity”
Look
This method of working
Gives you cognition
Self cognition and
Environment cognition
And relation between
Balace and avidity
Like
When we are hungry
If we eat with avidity
We lose the balance
…..
……
A part of my work’s been balance
And the other part’s been about
Relationships that exist in the society
And in the world
Relationship between the two genders
An other part has been more free
I made them based on
My mood at that point
It’s obvious in my artworks titles
Title of some part of
my artworks are chosen in pairs
One of them is called ” Pair”
In different eras
Goings-on
Around the world
Relationahip between the two genders
How couples are
How they get along
During this era
…..
……
It takes time
To get to know material
In sculpture
It’s not easy
Just to use a matetial
We should know all expressions
Of a material
I worked with different materials
Stone, wood, metal
fiberglass, papier mache
Things are used in sculpture
I tried Plaster and clay etc.
For example Welding
Welding used to hurt me
It hurt my eyes
I did it experimentally
I Stuck welding electrode to the iron
Too many times till I accomplish
Then
I worked on fiber
I made several sculptures
I wanted them to be special trasparent forms for open air
I used fabric and
glass wool on the surface
Their smell used to hurt me
I didn’t like dirt of fiberglass
I decided to work with wood
I was very good at working with wood
I eliminated other materials
Only wood left
If I wanted to blend other material
I just could smite an iron plate
Part 04
I don’t select my subjects
It’s something that
Crosses my mind
Or I draw
Then this drawing
Connects with a sculpture
That will be joyful to me
And I fall for it
It even doesn’t matter
What concept it would represent
I guess it would be
obtained by experiment
The one trusts
on his subconsciousness
It doesn’t matter if it dosen’t
have external significance
It contians a meaning definitely
It will be obtianed by experiment
When the one understanads
His own path to creativity
He follows the same path
To avoide repeatation
….
…..
When I decide to performe
a specific drawing
When I do
It will be spoiled
Spolied means
I can’t accept it
Why?
Because
Drawing has been
In the mind and paper
When it comes to execution
It reposes in a different condition
And I can’t not to consider
This new condition
It’s like I imagine
It would be good
If I put an object on this table
I imagine it
When I really put that object there
I see its ratio has
problem with the surrounding space
You see it live
At this point I can’t be
faithful to my drawing
And I must do as much as
Can to make changes
Only these changes matter
This events determin
Your Next sculptures
How did light emerge?
There was a light above my
Table
I was making the sculpture
Accidetally I saw a reflection
Of the light
It fascinated me
It became pillar of my next sculptures
Execution reshapes the idea
…..
……
My scultures are not abstract
If you mean
it refers to nothing
No!
It’s not like that
It refers to figure
At some point
It refers to figure
Just like this picture
One of Its pillars refer to a leg
And the rest is just mind
This is exact sculpture
Means it’s a form that you
stretch or balace it
Also
Some refer to iranian construction
Amongst my new light sculptures
There is one
that refers to Cypress
I don’t push myself
It’s not compulsory to refer
…….
…….
A part of my work is balance
The way of instalation of a volume in circumference
I don’t say in space
I say in circumference
Should be posed on the ground?
Should be posed on a stand?
Should it be hanging?
I was dealing with it
Human is made of body and spirit
If the two are not balanced
If they are not fulfilled
Balance would be lost
If they go beyond limits
Balance would be lost
Balance belongs to a
Very normal and healthy lifstyle
Feet on the ground
Head up high
You got spirituality
And also
You use god-given things
……
……..
An other thing in my artwoek
Is to empty
A scupture made of
a solid and not hollow material
doesn’t charm me as a sculpture
For example At some ponit Barbara Hepwoeth
And Henry Moore applied hole on a volume
Imagine
When a human stands
infront of a wall
He is uncomfortable
He needs a hole to see
behind the wall
It’s the same in sculpture
It’s sculpture instead of the wall
We set our worldview on a small volume
We could penetrate into this volume
And apply the hole on it
Eyes must pass
All this belongs to 70/80 to 100 years ago
What’s the issue with form right now?
And now this heavy solid form
it’s nothing but imposing
its physicality to us
There must be a thing
To lighten form for us
Lightness is so attractive
To us, humanbeings
It’s in our poems and literature
Even our bodies
are too heavy for us to bear
Sometimes
What did I do?
I found a solution for my volumes
I emptied the wood
To lighten this on one hand
And draw a concept
out of this emptiness
on the other hand
That empty part looks
Like a distortion to me
There is a wooden volume there
And we just see a pellicle
It’s so attractive for me
I guess audience feel the same
…..
About emptying…
In fact Emptying is
Adding to the sculpture form
Because form doesn’t
mean formalist anymore
But it has a special meaning for me
Imagine we got two cubes
One is wooden
One is metallic
They are solid
Wood and metal
Beside eachother
They are like nail and wood
“Contrast in Material, attraction in empty”
When we apply two holes on
one surface of metallic cube
And
On one surface of wooden cube
We see the only commonality
Between the two is a sphere
An empty sphere
It’s their commonality
Otherwise they are
two contrastive materials
They are totally different
Material contains pores
Material is filled with them
Emptiness is the commonality between all objects
They are seperated
So we can recognize
They got differences
We can recognize those differences
Anyways
They all got pores
That are all connected to eachother
we realize the matterial is suspended generally
Part 05
Since 2004 all the
exhibitions I stages has been great
Cause in that era
I was very much myself
And also I got to know
Much more about sculpture
And This emptying just was started
So all my exhibitions were very good
When I exhibit I am present there
I go there everyday
I like to talk to everybody there
It doesn’t matter wheter
they are experts Or not
It actually makes a difference
But I like to talk to
My Regular audience
about my artwork
The only thing between
me and audience is the artwork itself
I am not supposed to transfer
A very highly special purport
I exhibit my life experiences
That lies inside my artwork
And audience sees it
I understand some artworks
And sometimes just enjoy them
Maybe I don’t enjoy the ones that I underatand
Maybe
Cause I understood it
But maybe I don’t want to put it
in my environment
People wanna understand an artwork
When you enjoy an artwork
It contains understanding too
…….
……..
I am very obssessed
About my work
Maybe someone say it’s not good.
If his words are reasonable and make me think about it
I would definitely consider
And search for solutions
Once a friend said things agressively
I got upset at that point
But his words were so benifitial
You know
Getting upset means to doubt and start to think
This doub is awesome.
Cause whether it’s right
Or wrong
You review from another point of view
And analyze it
I thought about it for a while
Then I created new artwork
When awareness is not
source of artist’s creation and he creats by sense, criticism helps to his sensational domination.
For an artist
For audience it’s illustrative.
critic is someone between artwork and the audience
……
…….
A few years ago
a critic told me
You worked very well
With woods
you Went beyond
What now?
What do you can do afterwards?
It was a questionin that era
There are countless ways
Then I worked with plastic and
Mixture of plastic and wood
It’s enough to take a
good look around yourself
And concentrate of materials
Work with variety of materials
The doors will open
With hard work
And experiment
They show you the way
Work make your style
Style doesn’t make artwork
If we want to limit ourselves in style
It’s like we are limited with a concept
It’s different than making
an artwork Based on an order.
That’s totally different
It’s not art
Even if You order yourself
I decide to do this for me
I wanna do it
This is my order to myself
I don’t consider occurence
At execution you see many
Occurence that are very beautiful
Could it be skipped?
Or sometimes an artworks changes into something else
You can’t skip
So there are no boundries
……..
Part 06
I teach sculpture in
Fine art university temporarily.
There is general thing that has settled in
Teaching and artwork recently.
There is not a specific definition
It’s like
Mostly
Student says:
“I want to do this”
That’s it.
They mostly may don’t
believe in their masters
But I think
It must be like this
For four semesters
They should get to learn
Variety of techniques
Then they start to create
It’s not just like we got an
Idea and we got a concept
It must be executed right away
Everybody has ideas
What’s your language to talk to audience?
This language is interface
Between you and your audience
If I didn’t know this language
How could we communicate?
So there is a language
We need to know this language
Art is this language
this language must be recognized
……
…….
In any condition
We got possiblities
Best usage of this possiblity
Is creativity
Sometimes we got limited posibilities
Sometimes we got many
even with too many possibilities
You need more creativity
Plenty could be destructive too
You may got plenty of tools
But you don’t make artwork
When I used to start to work
If I needed a specific
tool I had to get it somehow
Even having a studio is not important
You need a studio anyway
But sometimes because
of the limitations you need more creativity
How to make your artwork
In a specific condition
It depends on you
How thirsty you are
to get your work done
……..
……….
Creation seems hard nowadays
Since form is over
Form means a volume
that could be reformed
It doesn’t seem attractive anymore
Cause everyone has reformed it already
What else could they do?
Some try to change this form somehow
by changing the material
Changing texture and material could cause attraction
Just like Anish Kapoor’s sculpture
He covers this giant volume with steel
Steel brings reflection of
the world in this form
You don’t see that heavy solid form anymore
A material could do this
Everybody’s looking for different ways
Light could do the same
It could diminish the heaviness of form
It’s not about form anymore
……..
………
Advise…
Actually…
If there is a sense of being an artist inside
I mean that they feel inspirations of being an artist
They should insist on
Thier personal belief and ideas and drawings and wishes not Imitation
They must listen to their masters
And just listen
Then they can decide what’s best for them
They shouldn’t give themselves fully
To their masters
You shouldn’t spoil yourself
And evanesce in the others
You must preserve yourself
And use the others experience
In my opinion the most important thing is
That a student Shouldn’t consult with masters after graduation
There are some exceptions.
But It’s sad if a student can’t find his personal creativity method during the education.
It seems he needs their grace.
But if he preserves his mind and learn techniques and mix them.
He could find himself in this mixture.