I HAVE WORKED ON AN AREA DISTANT FROM OTHERS

An Interview with the Iraqi plastic artist Thamer Dawood



Thamer Dawood born 1966 is one of the new generations of Iraqi plastic artists, and has collective global partnerships. Thamer Dawood resides and works in Jordan and has local personal exhibitions of arts. Currently, he is involved with four other Iraqi artists: Serwan Baran 1968, Usama Hasan 1957, Fadhel Al-Dabbagh 1974, Goran Alzandi 1973 and five other American artists in a joint exhibition in Delaware, USA, from November 11, 2007 to December 15 2007. In relevance to the exhibition, I had this interview with him.

AB. Can you talk to us about your collective exhibition “Bridge of Hope” from its title through every detail and ending with a definition for Iraq’s plastic art?

TD. Bridge of hope is a meeting place where Iraqi and American artists get together to introduce the Iraqi art and its artists. In a statement “Bridge of Hope” leaders who organized this exhibition said: “So far we have not done enough to stop the war in this beautiful country, we want to prove to the American people that the Iraqi people have great love for life and what is happening to them is a great injustice that must be stopped. We want to bring Iraq and its people in the heart and mind of every American to help.
It is an important opportunity to communicate with other nations through a beautiful way and make our voice heard, therefore the title “Bridge of Hope”. Many important artists are participating in this show. Each and every one has his own merits and can be an ambassador of his nation and his fellow Iraqi artists. A timetable should be put so that each artist is able to give a lecture of the Iraqi plastic art and his personal experience and also presenting slides of some of his work and his fellow Iraqi artists.

AB. You are participating in this exhibition with two large paintings on canvas with acrylic materials. Can you talk about the circumstances of the development and stages of completing those two paintings?

TD. There is a ritual that I like to follow before embarking on a new painting. First, I stretch the canvas to the maximum. Then I cover the surface with a base that prepares the canvas to take the paint. I do everything myself in order to achieve the surface that will bear all my thoughts and emotions to get the best result. After that, I prepare my brushes and paint tubes with the letters and numbers that I will use in addition to the engraving tools to begin the construction of the painting reaching the highest degree of pleasure. Every work is of great importance to me and occupies much of my daily life.

AB. In your work, we see geometrical shapes such as circles and rectangles, also warm colors. To what extent does light and, in particular, the Iraqi light affect you in your choice of colors and shapes.

TD. They are symbols of life artistically intertwined. We live with them to form, as a result, images and shapes suggesting an idea or purpose at a certain time in a certain place. That is why you see them appear here and there.

AB. The world today is going through a radical change with the advent of the Internet and the appearance of new modes of expression such as the video and the digital picture. Some say that painting is a thing of the past. What do you say?

TD Not at all! The art of painting is not a thing of the past. It still has its presence to the observer and can still affect his feelings like a book and its reader. The pleasure of reading will always be there despite the advent of other technology. A good artist can adapt and follow the development of the technology and come to a crucible of thoughts and feelings to present a painting that matches the speed of development and the modern concepts.

AB. There are rumors that in the plastic art circle there is an emergence of a large number of young Iraqi plastic artists in Iraq and abroad since the 1990’s till today who are practicing similar style where it became difficult to tell one from the other. Where do you find yourself among this large group?

TD To me, color represents a subject by itself, if not sometimes the painting itself. My love for coloring made my work become symbols with vibrant colors and sad content that contains the sufferings of life and its miseries and its effects on us that we carry together every day. I have worked in an area far from others so that I don’t fall in the trap of “Imitators” (as Salah Abbas says), but the closeness among the artists and having similar worries find us using often-similar elements and symbols from our roots. Nevertheless, every experience goes from infancy, developing to maturity ridding itself from influences with time, experience and interaction to reach a deeper vision and better understanding far from others.

AB. You were born I think, in Southern Iraq and you finished your art studies in Baghdad in 1986. You now reside and work in Jordan. Do you see a difference in culture and art between the two countries?

TD.I was born in Baghdad but originally my family came from the south (Alamara to be precise). I finished my studies at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad in 1986 and the Academy of Art in Baghdad in 2000. I had to stop in between because it was difficult to continue due to the war. Now, I am in Jordan.
There is a big difference between the two countries. Iraq is a country full of life, art and culture. Its citizens have a great awareness which enables them to reach high level of culture and art and lets them keep up with the external world and reach attractive results which makes the Iraqi artist distinctive in the plastic art.

AB. Many of Iraqi, Arab and western plastic artists have used numbers and letters as an aesthetic phenomenon or to question a famous riddle. How does the observer read those numbers and letters in your work?

TD At the speed things are running around us, numbers play a big role in our lives so that the human being, himself, became a number and treated as such. Because of the beauty of the Arabic characters, they represent an important part in the creation of a painting. That’s why it often attracts us. In the old alleys of Baghdad, the graffiti on the walls, the scribbling of the children, and the writing of numbers that a person left to commemorate the winning of his team, or the memory of a gathering of the youngsters of the community.

AB. Your exhibition is running under the title “Bridge of Hope” with American artists and in the US. As you know the United States plays a role of a global police and tries to impose its culture all over the world. Do you believe in involving art with politics? Is there an ideology for art or does it rely on sense and intuition?

TD. The invitation to participate in this show did not come from an official or political source. We received it from American artists who have great love for the man wherever he comes from. Actually, from the moment we received the invitation until now we have not heard one word or a hint that is not related to the show, the paintings, and plastic art in particular. This encouraged us to prepare a great show worthy of the Iraqi plastic art and its history, with a selection of the best collection that will make art and, the Iraqi art in particular, proud.
No matter how powerful politics can be, I do not believe that it can influence the true artist and his senses. The artist is always close to the ordinary people, close to those dreaming of hope, and wanting to make everybody happy. The effect of injustice on people is always on his mind. Therefore, it is impossible for politics to restrain the Artist. Here, I would like to mention an amusing story: during the past regime, the Iraqi minister of culture met with a group of Iraqi artists at a “ Party” exhibition. He said: “how can you have a show about the “Party” without one painting relating to the Party?” At that time, we all were going through very hard times. The Iraqi artist kept his humanitarian way in search of beauty, close to the problems of his community and environment and competing with time to leave a seed for future generations.

AB. Sometimes, among plastic artists and maybe artists from different eras, the same ideas and visions get into a crucible of classification and sorting such as abstract and academic. This means that the artist is influenced by others since he is the keeper of images and ideas with different perspectives. Which plastic artist whether Iraqi, Arab or foreign has influenced you and to which school do you belong? Do you think that plastic art is overdone?

TD Nothing comes from a vacuum. There is a perpetual dialogue between civilizations .The difference is in the application. The obsession to learn serves humanity and pushes us forward to reach knowledge and sophistication. The famous artist Pablo Picasso said that the African masks were a great influence in his creative journey. This cultural exchange builds a bridge between people, art, and the influences that appear in the technique and style of work in every field. This is the reason why we see schools of different methods and directions either imitating or in parallel to the developments which changed the world and History. I could not classify myself with any school or direction. I will leave this to the experts. I keep busy working looking for the good and developing my performance trying to reach the highest degree of expression and communication.
I long to see and read about the Giants: Fayeq Hassan and Jawad Salim and the legacy that they left to us.

AB. You incorporate graphics in your work represented by few colors and the distribution of shapes. Do you have any graphic experience and how do you see graphics in general after the revolution of the computer graphics?

TD I have a considerable and beautiful experience in graphics. I have worked in a distinct and new method from which, I have achieved great results that contributed a lot to the graphics field in Iraq. This experience has an impact on the painting in terms of distribution of masses, engraving and etching. The latest additions have worked in favor of my artistic work going in parallel with the advent of the computer where I am working on the latest and most important programs through my daily work in painting and design to help in graphics development. I dedicate that to serve working by hand to help Graphic arts develop. I have constant search for the new in manual printing to advance it and keep its special charm.

AB. What are your projects for the future?

TD God willing, after this exhibition, there is another show of Iraqi art in Japan. Some of the best Iraqi artists are participating in it. Afterwards, I am preparing a beautiful work for a solo show that represents a move forward. There are many dreams and wishes that keep me going.

Ahmad Bechay
Sweden