Garnik Der Hacopian
Audio of the Entire Interview
Interview Transcript
Part 01
Interview with Garnik Darhakopian (Part I)
Childhood until the end of Kamal-ol-Molk school of art
(Living in Azerbaijan, immigration to Tehran, studying at the art school)
I was born in 1944 in Maragheh, Azerbaijan.
Until that time I was about three to four (3-4) years old.
Since I was too young, I do not remember anything about what was happening.
Because we were a “minority” and the most important thing to a child is playing
Because we were a “minority” and the most important thing to a child is playing
therefore we were mostly involved in playing…
therefore we were mostly involved in playing…
There was a center near to the church which was in the form of a Boarding school
But there was also a kindergarten at the center.
Which we spent our kindergartens there.
They have been giving us painting and handiwork, there
And I got attracted to them, especially to Alvan papers (colored papers)
We cut the white paper in the form of narrow strips
and then by using an object which was like a “prong”
we passed the colored paper from each other
just like texture, the fabrics they were weaving.
In fact, by using different colors, different shapes were formed on that texture.
It was fascinating to me, and thereafter
I gradually began painting and continuing this works.
Time passed until we went to the first grade. It was a public school.
I was not very good at the theoretical lessons,
but I was very interested in painting, and especially in music.
So that I had to change the school. Because I was failed in this school.
When I went to Khaje Naseer School, it was such a great transition for me, there…
There was a great training for me in these schools.
Teachers had several problems with coming to school,
for example, they had to ride their bikes for coming to school,
to arrive at school and not let the students be “…..”.
We traveled to the maternal gardens of the “Mirza Rasul-Miandoab”
in summer to spend the so-called three months of summer.
What I remember from my childhood and was very interesting for me is
My grandmother had a house in the city of Miandoab,
in which there was a caravan behind it.
Interesting events were happening in this caravan at night.
(Very beautiful scenes were happening)
Especially around villages in which people were coming
with camels for delivery and exchange of goods
People were staying at the caravan, making a fire and dancing around it.
In that darkness, the flames and women’s clothes made some memories for me
It really gave me some very great memories that I never forget,
and I still use them in my works
(Zarrine River- Miandoab)
The river that flows there and splits into two parts.
One part of it was used for watering the gardens,
and the other part, which had a clay ground.
Almost once or twice a week, they used it for their lands and gardens,
then closed it, to let it go to different cities.
When the existed clay on that path was being watered, after a few days (two days)
the surface of the clay began to exfoliate and crack
We were collecting those flakes, bringing them home
and then making dolls, sculptures, and houses with them.
Still, I use them
Until we came to Ferdowsi school. I studied there until my third high school.
One of the guys who had a diploma from Maragheh came to Tehran
due to his acceptance at the entrance exam to continue his education in architecture.
In fact, I met this guy in Maragheh,
who was asking about our absence in Tehran
So that my sister said: It’s better now that I have got my diploma
go to Tehran and take the entrance exam in Tehran.
But before coming to Tehran from Maragheh, I have been painting at home
I had made a tripod and etc., and I was taking pictures, too
At that time, It was very hard to find colors and tools.
We were painting and making the paints ourselves
I brought my works with myself to Tehran
I came to Tehran and read the requirements for
entrance exam of the Fine Arts University of Tehran
related assignede for men in Kayhan newspaper
Before entering the School of Art, I decided to have a talk with a person
This person was Professor Ali Rasaz, one of the pioneers of Kamal al-Mulk’s painting
He was one of the so-called students of Kamal al-Mulk.
I went to him
The professor showed me his work,
and a series of the works was very attractive and touched my heart (impressed me)
He has worked very much with the fine stones which are very common in Italy
But he has used much smaller rocks, not 1 cm ones.
All walls of the house were full of his works and paintings,
and he had hung all of his paintings on the walls.
Allover his house was full of paintings
and for me that I had just come from a small city in
which I had not seen anything special it was very interesting
There, I had a talk the professor, and we talked about continuing my work and…
He introduced me to the Kamal Al-Mulk Art School and said that first of all
I need to go somewhere, practice and get to know more.
So I registered in that school. It was the year of 1960 to 1961
They gave us charcoal, and we began drawing in that day,
it seemed a little funny for me,
that it is possible to work with charcoal (to draw)
Finally, I was accepted in its entrance exam.
Severely I spent my time on drawing until noon
I have been returning home every afternoon
and after eating lunch, and a little rest I went back to the art school, again
I started to get to know some teachers such as Mr. Rafie Halati,
Professor Mahmoud Javadipur, and Vishkayi
The next year I took the entrance exam again
and I was accepted with a great rank, that is to say, the first rank.
Part 02
School of Fine Arts
• (Teachers and the Courses of School of Art,
Classmates, Holding the First Exhibition)
The first year I entered the School of Art,
I had been adapted in terms of the urban culture or rural-urban culture.
The problem was with the language
because the same book that we were reading should be translated into Turkish.
For example, when we would say: (I had to say
“Dad brought water” in Turkish (Baba Sou Verdi).
With the event of August 28th and the establishment of the fourth principle,
everything changed,
sanitation began to spray poison through all the villages
and tried to persuade us to speak Persian in schools instead of Turkish.
But the accent was the problem and it was still affecting our speaking.
I came to Tehran with the Turkish, Armenian, and Persian dialects,
and the teachers tried to work with me to improve my accent and Persian language.
Gradually (I forgot Turkish)
Mr. Halati would teach anatomy
and Mr. Hamidi was the teacher of Al-khas.
The teacher of Miniature course was Mr. Moghimi.
I also worked in the miniature course which was very great
and when Mr. Behzad saw my work,
said: “You will be my substitute.” I never forget what he said.
He said that you used a modern miniature in your work.
The first year passed, and in the second year,
Mr. Mohsen Moghadam came, that I consider myself to be very indebted to him.
I am indebted to him for everything that I have.
He helped me a lot. He put all the academic lessons aside
and started teaching me techniques and styles.
He was like a father for me,
in a way that every afternoon, he asked me to go home with him …
He did not let any stop in my work… to think of anything else.
We had a national documentary design course,
and weekly and on the regular basis we went for practice to
Dr. Golzzari who would teach the analytic documentary design
in the Agricultural College of Karaj Zoo.
So I started drawing seriously and drew more than one thousand works.
I would draw various states of a bird in the zoo,
after drawing about thirty to forty works,
I would put the colored mark with a pastel,
and I painted them very carefully at home.
In the College of Agriculture,
we also draw colorfully various types of plants.
Mr. Iskandani, taught me drawing of carpet, ceramic,
and all kinds of acrography that I use on cement now.
My classmates… whom if I remember their names …
Their names were Dariush Radpour, Parviz Naderi,
Ali Adeli and Rajab Habibolahi.
It was the second year, if I am not mistaken,
that Mr. Waziri was….. with the work of his students at Saba Gallery …
The exhibition was very successful
and Keyhan Newspaper wrote some articles in this field,
on the third year this process had continued
and the exhibition was held at Javan house and at the exhibition,
I, … I got the second rank. In which we were the guests of the oil company.
And we went to Ahvaz, Aghajari and Khark and … We held exhibitions there.
Part 03
The interview with Garnik Darhakopian (Part 3)
Decorative Arts Academy, Ghandriz Hall, Military Service
(Years of college experiences, the formation of the Hall Group of Iran,
working in the field of graphics,studying in military service, holding exhibitions)
I got my diploma in 1964 and came to the Decorative Arts Academy,
which was called Academy at the time of entrance exam
Although I did not know the importance of the theoretical lessons and general knowledge,
I got the first rank there, my program turned to be compact, and I had to do more work.
I started working out of the home, and do different things
from sculpture … to Fresco I did whatever was around,
and worked with the guys who had an atelier.
Iran Hall… Two people were left, Mr. Jodet and Mr. Roein Pakbaz
In the school of art, Bahram Rouhani introduced me to Mr. Jodet and…
Mr. Pakbaz and it was planned to arrange an exhibition from the works
of guys of the school of art in the Hall. However, a group was gathered.
Mr. Shahloupour and Farshid Maleki came and gradually more people were coming
A group was formed in the hall and
We held an exhibition there … Which was my first abstraction exhibition there
My atelier… But rarely did I think about having an atelier for myself,
because even I did not have time to go there.
I tried to go to the hall, and work in the time that the exhibition was closed.
Since the gallery was in front of the university,
when someone came out of the university,
came straightly to the gallery as seeing its board.
Because of making the living… In terms of life …
I was asked to go to the Ministry of Culture.
Mr. Berriani was in charge of the graphics section
I went there to make posters for their celebrations, and did some other stuff in this field
I would go there in the morning and went to Ferdowsi Square at 2 p.m
I worked in the field of so-called ornamentation, decoration and shop windows decoration
At 4:30 a.m., I would go to the Graphic Organization
where Mr. Jodet and Mr. Ruinpakbaz were there
and worked until 10:00 p.m
and since it would get late I could not go to the college anymore.
Mr. Kazemi and Kamran Katouzian were in charge of the college
Unfortunately, I could meet Mr. Katouziyan only once
and I did not see Mr. Kazemi at all, so, however, I did some work out of the home,
and brought them for the judgment.
In 1969, I went to get my degree to and go to military service so that I could go abroad.
I went to Shiraz… I had to pass my military service at there
Fortunately, it was on Moalem Street, in front of the nomadic school where
there was another nomadic girls’ school, too.
It was wonderful when I was staying there and watching the girls with nomadic clothes
it seemed as if they were walking on air
they were in colored, varied and living colors … It was not possible to see their shoes
The so much color that I use in my work, is inspired by those things (nomadic clothes)
So I spent my military service there
I just studied there and no one knew that I was studying at all
The most of the talks there, revolved around the national identity,
the identity of the Iranian artists, and what is the role of the Iranian artist?
In the first periods, we were influenced by the transformations of the Western art.
We tried to adapt ourselves to them,
but then I thought that is enough
and we had to scrutinize ourselves and see what was…
When I finished the military service in 1971-1972, I started individual exhibitions
and held an individual exhibition at the Seyhoon Gallery, which was very active.
One day when I came to Tehran, I began to put things together
and started the work courses and I saw…
What I have done. When I looked at things, I saw that I am an Iranian painter,
so what is my role in this country and society?
What should I do?
Let’s get back to our traditions…
We can do everything, but we cannot neglect our traditions
and look at them
In the time of school, we were visiting the museums, working, and studying and…
But I have to make it more updated over the time.
Not by dressing up modern clothes, but by giving the originalit
and nobility to the art of my country
Even I got a glimpse into the art of China, Japan, and India
Because the influence of Iranian art was present in art, too.
The interference of cultures exists
As we want to bring the Western culture to Iran now
we need to know the Eastern art well and know what’s going on the East.
I began this study. The material that I used was a cement
and, unlike the Western art, I did not try to fill the whole work
but I tried to preserve the same Iranian-Easter origin.
I mean, I was filling one part of the work, while the other part was empty.
Just like the spaces of Japan … The spaces were (Chinese paintings).
Part 04
• Travel to different countries,
the beginning of the architectural activity
(Teaching in a graduate school,
traveling to India, Greece, Italy, France,
Germany and the United Kingdom)
• Doing architectural projects,
closing Iran Hall,
the division of the company
and the end of the architectural activities
In the year 1973, there was a graduate school that mostly trained the technician,
I was the teacher of graphic design there,
and I saw that most of the people were coming only for the sake of certificate.
There were very few people who were really interested in studying.
In the year 1974 , I traveled for the purpose of religions cognition
and the emergence of religions to India in which four cities were surrounding it.
But in fact my goal was (Ceylon), I went there (Ceylon),
and investigated each point of it and all the villages in terms of economy,
policy, and society, it was both spectacular and extraordinary in terms of obtaining information.
When I see it closely it was very clear and obvious. “
Then when I came back, I sat a plan with my wife for going to Greece,
we investigated that country and then we went to Italy,
and investigated the Florence and the Milan universities,
but again we went to the villages which I had investigated 20 days earlier in Italy,
it can be said that in those villages,
the traditions were more common and the museums could be felt more.
From there I went to Germany, France and, United Kingdom.
University faculties… I walked there and I saw that no change was made,
and it was just a waste of time.
Can you give a summary, about what did you get?
Recognition is the first thing to know,
how does a society attract to something that is unknown to it?
Following something blindly will result in lose of life.
It was very important to me.
In the year 1974, I went to obtain the counselor license
to be a consultant in planning organization
Also, some people should have come for ranking,
they came and another company came and joined us, too.
Both companies (our company and the other company) were successful in ranking.
And we got the licenses.
In the year 1975, we got a house in Bukharast Street,
we built it and then took the downstairs for the office
and the Iran Hall was moved there, too.
Due to the revolution and crowds,
the gallery activity was reduced and we closed the gallery,
then I started doing the architectural project.
A series of work was carried out at the Industrial Park of Semnan,
the PVC factory (trust role) and spinning factories.
The issue of the comprehensive plan of cities emerged,
in which Yazd was the first city to give us the role of counselor
and consequently Bushehr and Tabriz did, too.
Unfortunately, in the year 1984,
it was a trend that all members should be a partner
and this issue resulted in the division of the company into two parts.
Mr. Pakbaz and Mr. Joodat were separated and we sold the upstairs.
When we and the company separated.
Two people became responsible for all the works.
In a way that I had to run the newspaper office,
do all the supervisors, as well as doing the painting.
It was year 1988 , Kidney stone disease was so annoying that we went to the hospital
and various diseases emerged one after the other,
there was no computer, so I had to draw many lines of a millimeter
and then did an Eye surgery.
I worked almost for 5 years in the company,
but after the eye surgery, I started drawing at home.
Part 05
The interview with Garnik Darhakopian (part 5)
I entered the School of Art in 1961, where more attention was
paid to sketching and then painting …
Like the professors who would say what should we draw?
And how to draw, I thought like them
and thought about what to choose from nature
What is appropriate and useful and
we have to choose, and what is not suitable and we have to discard.
Choosing the things that do not hurt our work, and organizing the work.
After a period, I learned the Pastel (Pastel technique).
One of the guys who was coming to Kamal-ol-Molk
for learning sketch was working with the man on Pastel
I went to Mr. Talaei and worked there, too.
This is the Pastel, which I used from the elements of line and color
This is the Pastel, which I used from the elements of line and color
Because nature is made of lines and colors.
Because nature is made of lines and colors.
The Composition is an old work which
I have used from a triangular composition in its work plan.
The surfaces that exist behind the image have divided these elements.
Similar to Impressionism, light has been used in this work, too
When Mr. Mohsen Vaziri started his work,
or perspective about painting changed completely.
Our perspective about painting was only the lifeless nature.
The lifeless nature was put in the atelier and we worked on it
and they talked about what is the line, the surface, and the color?
The effects of Western art on our works was like the effects of Mondrian.
How did he start from the tree and what did he achieve? (Mondrian)
The use of flat elements, shapes of square
and rectangles, several color elements
and the chiaroscuro for the rotational movement is not the point anymore
And it’s like the work of our miniatures. The gray colors are used more.
The element of line is the most apparent thing in his work.
In three years of school of art, we did these things.
Also in these 3 years, there were some exhibitions that …
This (this collection: refers to geometric works with cool gray colors),
which I held an exhibition from it in Saba (Saba gallery).
In the same school of art, I started the Cubist painting
and spend most of my time on drawing the lifeless nature.
I did lots of things in this period.
These cubist effects continued in the next periods.
In 1965, I entered the Faculty of Decorative Arts.
In this period,… Some exhibitions held … Cooperation with Ghandriz started.
During this period, I began painting abstraction
and worked in this field for eight (8) years.
When we came to the college, the issue of college changed.
Most of my activity was outside because I was freer.
I worked on graphics in the field of architecture.
Also, the works of the Constructivist period,
which I chose from the material was from the Aluminum Material.
which I chose from the material was from the Aluminum Material.
In this field… I worked on the relief and statue.
In this field… I worked on the relief and statue.
The studies which were done in this field are such as…
The Eiffel Tower of French (the volume built with metal, there)
and the Pyramid issue.
When we look at the pyramids …
I built a pyramid with cardboard,
that when I halved the pyramid from the middle, it became a rhombus.
In the Constructivism, most of the work deal with the volume of the work
and the characteristics that exist more in the materia
is the issue of reflection and light,
and how they change to the color. These are the issues.
When I was moving these… The so-called “movement”
from each side resulted in different surfaces and shapes on each side.
These hollow and Anaglyph surfaces resulted in shadows that were Ajimi…
Creates beautiful volumes.
I started this work with different exercises … I started building.
To a point that I’ve built small volumes with aluminum …
Until I started building the large volumes
Most of these shapes are concentric forms
in which I added color in the middle of these shapes (volumes).
These colored surfaces are the same aluminum which
I painted to give more contrast to the work
Along with the color and the contrast created
by the light reflection of the aluminumon the same colored surface
and the color reflection on the aluminum, more shapes were created.
I blurred the background of the text
To not let the background of the work be annoying,
and also make the glossy surfaces next to blurred ones more apparent
I took a form and spread it on different surfaces.
I came in next periods…
I continued working on the same metal in the next periods.
Also, I added brass in my work.
I used organic forms along with the elements of line.
One of the elements…
I used a rabbet form in the element. (In the form of a circle)
The circle element has the organic form.
Unlike the painting of (Yin and Yang)
(Chinese and Japanese woman), the issue was the effects of those works.
The dynamic period of the line
and its effects on the painting was in the years of (1965) and (1968)
and it had a fundamental role.
It was the period of the formalism,
in which I began to work with varnish and various methods.
In the year (1967-1968), I did some work on deformation.
Before going to military service…
The travels that I went and the existed effects were related to that period.
Things that were quite traditional.
What have been the traditional elements of culture?
I have used these elements in these works.
This the crayon that I used oil painting on it.
The things that a public and rural culture use.
I tried to determine the status of art.
Something that would be easier for me.
Be closer to me.
What is passed in the painting of West
is that their own painters work very much in that field,
and wherever you go this fact exists.
But what is dominant for me, is that what is my role in this country?
What is my role?
came to study the traditional, national,
and native forms that were dominant in the country.
In the years (1964-1967), again I reviewed the past regarding
the primitive in which the harmony was dominant
and I did some works with the crayon in this period again
In the year 1979, Unification
(Unification) and the effects of prehistory was dominant.
The perfect unity that existed in that period
and the role of technology which was created in the society
and has separated the human from that moral and human aspect
was related to the same issue of unification…
Again I came back and did it, too.
Also, there is a series of issues (the issue of inside complexity)
that I have done some works in this area, too.
Part 06
After I finished my military service, most of my works are on cement.
When I was a child… It was freezing cold in Azerbaijan, you know.
It was extremely cold there, too cold in winter time…
When it was too cold out there, and warm in the room,
the windows frosted and we children scratched the frost by our nails.
Naturally you could see variety of colors between these lines.
I loved doing this, and it was too attractive to me.
I loved… I really loved winter.
I was always sitting by the window;
and when I woke up I rushed to see if the window had frosted or not,
and if I could do this.
After a while I noticed my mother’s crotches on the table…
I liked them and I used to put them on each other.
When I put them on each other and moved them some forms (patterns) were created.
In the Conservatory I repeated this experience by letraset.
I tool letraset from different trams, including lines and dots.
When I put them together and moved them various forms of colors, states,
and various elements were created, which was so pleasant.
I had some stucco works from Seljuk Era.
I put them on the wall and enjoyed looking at them; and thought it was better to enjoy them.
I started working on cement material by scratching and carving the cement surface.
I still use the same cement material and the same scratching method in my work.
I started sketching in 1974 and I still do it
To me, sketching is a kind of revelation.
When I make a sketch, many things come to me.
As you draw the lines… your mind is attracted to other things.
Lines are just something to hang on. What you are doing is just something to hang on.
(Sketching before I draw lines… I never draw lines before I start working.
I just move my hands… this is nothing.
It is like a dream.
When I design, many things have been embedded into my mind.
When I watch TV… I see the things happening, I hear the news.
When I make the motions (I move my hand), all these come to my mind.
This is the revelation I spoke of.
I have two goals.
The first one is to make the audience happy,
and the second one is to frighten them.
What relies in my realistic goal…
When we go beyond this, we approach the illusions,
we get closer to illusions and the so called fantasies…
illusions and fantasies surround us.
In 1975, to show influence of lines on my works,
I made some efforts to develop lines by ropes, yarns, and various materials.
In 1983, considering the effects and contradictions that exist in this word,
and their influence on the modern art, I made a number of works…
most of these works are drawn by crayon, pastel, watercolor, and gouache.
This is the icon I used to convey my message.
It is an animal-human hybrid.
It is the modern man.
It conveys a sense of dichotomy.
Today we speak of the circumstances our society is facing.
The people face drugs and trafficking, and try to free themselves.
The more the man loses its human characteristics and wisdom,
the more detached it becomes.
Besides the fear that dominates this picture a kind of burden is felt.
This is the cause of our mental and spiritual problems, besides the fear we are facing.
Indeed, it wears a mask when dealing with this fear.
About this work, I must say there was a period
when the religious minorities rushed to migrate and leave the country.
This had distressed the families and they did not know what will happen.
But the families did not know what will happen.
In 1986 I did some works in the field of flat figures.
In 1987 the circumstances we live with today emerged.
I returned to watercolor, gouache, and crayon.
In 1987-88 my concerns were line, space, and surface.
These works are drawn on cement in form of negative and positive color images.
In 1987-1989 I worked on still life painting and created some works in this field.
In 1992, because of my trips to cities and villages, I worked in the field of architecture.
I painted the tradition texture of Bushehr.
This is the traditional architectural texture of Bushehr.
The soil of Bushehr is a unique material and creates a fantastic effect.
In 1995 I returned to modern miniature.
In the same period I started Abstraction again.
In the same period I was influences by the abstract and figurative arts.
Another state was developed in my works in this period.
In 1995 most of my works are about detachment of the objects.
which resembles the same detachment of forms and objects.
I worked only with the two main colors of Iranian tile work.
Turquoise blue and lapis lazuli were the major colors.
Other colors such as gold and green appeared in my works.
In 2010 I used a free combination of colors.
This composition created a mythical sense on the cement.
Most of my works in 1986-2000 were full of secrets illustrated on cement.
In 1988-2015 I had my usual concerns. These are my last work that I am showing.
My other works, known as reticulated works are related to 1988-2015.
Dimension, space, and motion are highlighted in these works.
The designs are reticulated. I still use this method.
We want to see to which style an object belong.
It is wrong to look for a style. Do not limit yourself.
You must act freely, as if you are hiding behind someone,
and look at the things and changes that happen around you.
Part 07
An Interview with Garnic Derhakupian
(Chapter 7)
Works Specifications
(Finding Subjects, Work Procedure, Various Materials, Cement Works)
<i>• How do you find subjects of your paintings?</i>
Actually, when I work I have no subjects
I just imagine that I am working with reticulated elements
That is all; i.e. what I shall illustrate is no more in my control.
The work dictates what I must do
It is true even about my still life paintings
I do not layout the objects to work on them; they are my imaginations
When I work, light and color are in my mind, and I just bring them to life.
What I create is too simple and ordinary
It is not engineered, otherwise it would not be painting anymore
it would be something like architecture or sculpture
Architecture and sculpture are predefined
Land or papers are there and you start working within the limits of land or paper.
Painting cannot be predicted; no way
When you work, frame is essentially important.
Formal elements and principle elements must be in
a proper composition in order to be perceived
How should be the movements?
Imagine you are plotting a design
It is important to know how to place the figure within the frame
and how the composition should be
For example the so called lines that we use…
Imagine we are placing a direct line next to a curved line
Where should we put the curved line, and where should we remove it?
It is the pen that tells us
After finishing the design, we wait a bit and let the work set
It takes a while for cement to set
After it sets a bit, we start engraving
After finishing engraving, we let it dry
Of course there is a procedure for this
and there are some works which must be done
which the cement is wet. Now, I work on it.
Many times I see that the work is over
Of course, at some point you feel that it is enough
but after a while, when you look at the work
you see that there are still some parts of it that you must work on
Now I show you this one. I worked on it four times
because it didn’t look like it should, and I had to change it.
It is of course very difficult to work on cement
When it is wet, it is flexible and you can work on it
but when it dries, it is very difficult to work on it
<i>• Has it ever happened that you stop working and do not know what to do?</i>
Yes… Unfortunately it has happened
It happens many times, and I destroy the work
By the way, for larger works, I leave the work as it is
because I feel I must not work on them anymore. (the red slide is screened)
<i>• How is variety of figures and their composition developed?</i>
The man is constantly changing under the conditions he lives in
The conditions that rule the time and circumstances keep changing
Here, like scratching the work, I have drawn a sketch on the paper
and another figure on transparent paper
I put them on each other and move them
When I move them a movement is created in the entire page;
like the movements in animation.
Figure is not an issue here. It is the matter of pluralism; the matter of change.
Here we have a model of change.
Here we have two states; embossed and engraved
(he explains about his work) (…) state is Latin (a French word).
Indeed the embossed and engraved states happen on a flat surface.
I have already explained about these effects
There was a river, and it happened that the water flew over the soil
When the soil was dried, cracks and gaps appeared on the soil
and some parts of the soil came up
These paintings are inspired from that memory of my childhood.
These movements of the lines are the same;
but regarding colors and shades…
Regarding direction of light,
I kept one side dark and one side lightened to embed the figure.
Here, the light is the main factor
but in another part of the work
I directed the light in a different way to show the embossed and engraved states.
Besides this, I have used colors
I used the same miniature which I had done before
I used carpet dies between the scratched surfaces.
I colored background of these surfaces,
and used decorative elements between the colors
The decorations dominate our culture and we cannot neglect them.
For example, I use decorative elements in my works
I use these decorative elements besides a series of flat surfaces
This brings the work into dynamism.
Other elements can be used besides these ornaments as well
<i>• Which artistic style or artist has inspired you?</i>
At the beginning I took lots of inspirations, especially from Picasso
When I read his (Picasso) biography, I noticed that he has worked from childhood
and has been such an active person
I compared him to Salvador Dali
Picasso did not stop working even during the war, and kept his studio working
What did Salvador Dali do? Unlike Picasso he was a fussy person
He liked to show off, and used to do bizarre things in the gatherings.
[Picasso drew Guernica; but Salvador Dali continued his own style.
Later, Spanish people sanctioned Salvador Dali, because he worked with Franco.]
Picasso however did his own job. He worked on newspapers
He has worked with envelope and colors remaining on the newspapers.]
Part 08
Life without art is meaningless. Basically, life is art.
In fact, art gives soul, vitality, happiness, and movement to our lives.
Without art, man is mortal.
We know why from the outset the primitive man has created some works
in the dark caves under those conditions.
That is the condition of life. Time repeats itself.
The passage of time causes change. Prehistoric man had that condition,
and our condition is different.
What problems did we face at the beginning of this period?
Time and space constraints were very problematic.
I could not work very much because of my job.
I could only have limited works. For example,
when I was making aluminum, brass, and profile, I needed more space to do things.
I often installed things with nuts and bolts due to the space constraints
so that can they be re-opened and moved.
What is the most important advice that has been given to you as an artist?
I was working at the studio in 1964.
There was a master who had made so many efforts and he wasn’t wealthy.
He said: “Do not forget about Iranian art.”
The younger artists just watch other works on the Internet and use them for adaptation…
I wish they would go to the native art of Iran.
These days, the exhibitions are abundant, but how about Iranian art????!!!
the cultural backbone of Iran can help us achieve global recognition.
What do you learn from exhibitions?
Firstly, exhibitions are a history, a museum.
The works are all sorted by date and time at the Louvre Museum.
Seeing the works will make your mind more open.
You find something new in everything.
What do you want from the audience?
From 1965 to 1968,
usually more youthful and educated people participated in these exhibitions.
There was a really biased approach.
They opposed their thought. A person who criticizes a work,
by giving you a mental blow,
tells you that you should have more awareness.
Some painters say I work for myself. I do not accept it.
What is your opinion about criticism in the field of visual art?
As I said, the criticism is a very good thing. However,
the critic must have a very accurate knowledge of the painter.
He must know about the background of the work.
He must consider all aspects including aesthetics, sociology,
and economics and then judges the work.
What are you hoping for? And what are you disappointed with?
I’m hopeful about the society around me.
I wish prosperity and peace for my people.
It is disappointing when humans sacrifice each other.
An artist tries to reduce all sorrows by doing his work.
Do you have any questions you would like to ask yourself?
Yes, I have a question about my own nature, with knowledge and awareness.
What is your biggest wish?
I hope God gives me some years to live so that I can work more.
Part 09
Chapter 9: About art
From your point of view,
what are the qualities of a memorable and precious work of art?
An authentic work of art is an existential one
Although there have been so much criticism going on about the definition of art
and its different kinds through the history
art is something that has always existed within the human’s life from the start
When we consider the art in west
we can see that their art have been inspired
by the Far East countries (Japan) and also Iran
Because our vernacular art is really deep in meaning and has its roots in society.
Another example could be the Egyptian art which is inspired by the African art
Also, when we take a look at the Greek art
we can discover the dominance of the Egyptian art over it
That’s why these two never could be separated
what kind of differences do you think are between
the education system of our time and the former system?
a lot of the people who come to me to find jobs or for education
bring their diplomas or their BA’s with them
and I can see that there are good things and bad things about them at the same time
For example, one good thing is that they can get
or gather their documents easier than the old times
But in the time of our education (the former system), finding something
and effort which was surprisingly a fun task to do for all of us
But the bad thing about today’s education system
is that the students’ brains are filled with theoretical knowledge about art
but little they know its functions or how to use it
No matter if they are using computer for it or architecture and painting applications
designing and drawing has no place in their works of art.
They don’t even know how to hold the drawing pencils in their hands
as they always have used computer programs to do artworks
(like the Auto-Code program)
and they think it is all enough to become a “real” artist
But we should never forget the importance of using your ‘HANDS’ if you are an artist
Your hands are the only things that you should imagine doing “real” art with
not doing all those hatching and attaching automatically with your computers
I am also talking to their teachers who taught them to do art this way
Hands are important because they can touch!
In the youth generation now, there are lots of talented students
but unfortunately they are not educated the right way
Nowadays painting has no authenticity in our country because
they are only inspired by the western genres or by poems
In the ‘pure’ art of miniature, there should be no inscriptions
Because paintings in general don’t need words to convey their meanings
But the art of graphic does
For example, the ‘Graffiti’ art in west contains words or alphabets in it
but arts like this are way too different than old versions of paintings