“Our nation is Art nation” that is our motto at “The New Eastern Politics” where boundaries have no limits with our Art and Culture contributor, Christiane Waked who spoke with the Iranian sculptor Mojtaba Ramzi about art, life and the meaning of the being.
C.W: Allow me to welcome you in Beirut as I want you to tell me what are your plans in here while introducing yourself to our readers.
M.R: Thank you, Christiane. I am in Beirut for 5 weeks as I am preparing for my exhibition at the Artlab and 392remil393 in Gemmayze that will open its door on the 6th of July.
I am an Iranian sculptor who graduated with a Graphic Design degree from the High school. I have a BA diploma in Fine Arts and a Master in Directing of Animation from the Tarbiat Modarres University in Tehran.
Although I studied to be a painter, now my work is only centered on sculpture and I have my own atelier in Tehran.
C.W: Why you switched from painting to sculpting?
M.R: To be honest with you, the reason is purely financial because at that time I needed money and I had more offers as a sculptor rather than as a painter.
I started sculpting from scratch and had to learn everything about it as I didn’t have any training in that field from my academic background.
I never studied to become a sculptor; my only teacher was the nature and a lot of practice. Now it has been 20 years for me as a sculptor and I never regretted my choice as I love what I am doing and feel more interaction from the public. You know when you paint, people see your art with their eyes but when you sculpt the public can also touch your art and react directly towards it.
C.W: As an artist in Iran are you able to express yourself freely without forcing censorship on your art?
M.R: Wherever you live, you have to abide by the rules and respect the laws of the country. So I may have some limitations but I respect the rules of my country and always manage to show myself and my art to the public even in these limitations. An artist always finds a solution to express his inner thoughts.
C.W: Among the numerous sculptors who influences you the most?
M.R: I don’t like to be influenced by anyone. I am a free spirit and nature is my only teacher. Also, I am a hardcore activist for the environment, I believe firmly in preserving wildlife and nature.
Drawing animals was the main reason why I wanted to become an artist. I love to travel the world and discover new landscapes for this is where mainly my inspiration comes from.
C.W: How much pain or joy your art holds?
M.R: I never suffered as an artist. Making a sculpture is a very joyful experience for me. I am the kind of person who believes in fate, and my fate is to be an artist.
It is true that life can be at sometimes very harsh but it also holds some powerful and joyful moments.
The essence of life is to surpass the agony of the existence but it is a beautiful torture, this is how I see it, I must be a masochist (laughs).
You see Christiane from morning till evenings, we are bombarded on TV and everywhere by bad news, there are wars, news about the destruction of the environment, homicides etc. but Art makes this world more beautiful. Art gives meaning to our lives but mostly it helps us tolerate the harshness of life. As artists we have to lobby in order to help humans live better, this is the only aim of art, to help people in their existence. I think a triangle rules the world and by triangle I mean “Power, money and sex” but Art is supremacy, it is above everything, it is the healer of this world.
Each one of us has a dark side, I accept my darkness because I am realistic. As an artist, I am not living in the clouds, both of my feet are grounded, the earth is not an easy place to live but I believe that God gave us, the artists, the gift to express ourselves to all humankind in the most beautiful way. It is a privilege that all artists have
C.W: Tell us about your experience in Lebanon, how are the streets of Beirut inspiring you?
M.R: I am staying in Gemayzé, a Christian neighborhood. It is a place full of pubs and restaurants. People come here to enjoy themselves, to have fun.
As I have an exhibition and work to do, I spend my time going back and forth from the workshop to my room to rest.
Despite that, I try to feel the atmosphere of the city. Details are not important to me, what is important is to feel the energy of the place and the people. I have a good feeling about old Beirut, I didn’t feel homesick these past two weeks because I am in love with the place. I feel like I have lived here in a previous life.
You know both Lebanese and Iranian come from a very old culture. Phoenicians were a great nation; they mastered the sea and the alphabet.’
At that time, Iranians had a great empire that promoted dialogue and human rights. I am far from politics but I feel the existence of the nation in the matter of history. The energy of nations never dies but it changes and takes different shapes.
Between Baalbek and Persepolis, it is all about energy.
You know before I visited Paris, I was in Romania, I had a workshop in Transylvania and I was in a complete synergy with the nature that when I visited Paris I had no interest in visiting the museums nor I felt the vibrant and authentic energy of the people from Romania.
C.W: Besides museums and galleries, is there any place you like to exhibit your sculptures?
As I told you before, I am an environmental activist, I am in love with nature and this is where I like to exhibit my art mostly.
In 2016, I was in a residency in Romania, I lived for 20 days in Transylvania and I was so close to nature that I felt all the souls of the ancestors of this wonderful place.
(C.W: Interrupting, so you must have felt the soul of Vlad the Impaler aka Count Dracula)
(Laughs) Yes I did feel him but to be honest I didn’t dare visit his castle
I am also looking forward to my next trip to South Korea as I am going to display my art in a village that is surrounded by nature.
C.W: What are you expecting from the Lebanese public regarding your exhibition?
M.R: My main concern during an exhibition is to have a good contact with the public. I love to share my work with real people and art lovers. I want to communicate with them, see the expressions on their faces while they try to understand through my sculptures my ideas and expectations.
C.W: Mojtaba, you and I live in a world where hatred is constantly being fuelled up, any last words in that regard?
M.R: Humanity should understand that in order to live in harmony, it must start to treat other creatures’ right. We should start to respect our mother nature that gave us life and treat animals right in order to respect each other.
During the 70s and communism tendencies, two Persian poets were debating, one was telling a poem about a pigeon drinking water, the other poet was offended and asked his colleague how he can talk about a pigeon while humanity is suffering. The poet replied that if we cannot feel compassion towards this small and weak pigeon who seeks water, how can we feel any empathy towards each other?
Christiane Waked is a former Press Attaché of the French Embassy to the UAE (2010-2015) also worked as linguist and analyst in the French Interior Ministry (2005-2008)
