Art, truth
Cinematography

By Mohammad H. Salemy

-A look into
Mohammad's past
and present helps
us to decide our
future as we

_ struggle to co-exist
with images

We never had paintings hung in our
living room. Neither my grandparents
did. Art to me started almost when I
learned to read and write. Fairy tales and
children’s poems were the biggest source
of imagery for this seven year old boy
who'd prefer to sit in the corner of a little
junior school library instead of going out to
the playgrounds. I never even liked to
doodle on the corner of a textbook. Books
had a sense of holiness that never allowed
me to drawin them. Maybe I can consider
this as one of the reasons why I never
practised drawing in the early stages of
my life. I used to read books before going
to bed and then later in the dark imagined
them in full colour and continued their
story as if was the hero or the writer.

Visual arts as we know it in its Western
definition started for me at the age of ten
when one of my aunts came back from
Italy with a suitcase full of High Renais-
sance copies and postcards. I still remem-
ber my feelings after looking at the image
of Pieta in a glossy full colour book. I stole
that particular book from my aunt and it
is still sitting in my homelibrary in Tehran
with layers of dust on it. At that time to
me art meant Michelangelo, Leonardo and
whatever came after them and this strong
opinion still dominates my feelings to-
ward pre-Renaissance art.

I picked up the photographic camera at
the age of fourteen, in the middle of the
Persian Revolution, which not only shook
the foundations of political structure in
[ran, but also ruined what Persians had
considered the meaning of life for centu-
ries. I used to take my cheap plastic
camera with me to all the demonstrations
and play the part of journalist, trying to
register the biggest moments in my coun-
try’s history. The results were hundreds
of blurry colour pictures of thousands of
people screaming and holding their fists
up in the sky. My purchase of a heavy
Russian reflex camera was the first sign of
a professionalism in my photographic arts.
I learned how to use a light meter during
a two hour lesson in Tehran’s Central
Park with a friend who had bought the
same kind of camera a few weeks before
me. It was a basic lesson that I still con-
sider to be the foundation for of all my
photographic knowledge.

Creating visual arts for me at that time
was reproducing the sorts of images that
might have appeared in foreign or local
magazines. I would feel so artistic when I
produced a photograph that looked ex-
actly like a landscape shown on the T.V.
When the revolution began to go back-
wards, I was trying to find my answers in
“Materialist Dialectics for the Begin-
ners’(1). Art at that time was to me some-
thing that should bear the message and
awaken the masses; the artist was the
biggest antagonist who would lead this
conflict to a complete victory.

I owe thanks to Molavi(2) and Hafiz(3)
who saved my life by opening up the win-
dow of Sufism to me and in effect closing
the door on Stalinist Dogmatism(4). For
the second time since having been exposed
to Renaissance art I was hit by something
so strong and heavy, something that I felt
was going to profoundly change the way I
looked at the world. The message was
clear: in the beginning, you are what you
see and for the rest you see what you are.
Sufism questions the life that the partici-
pants are so certain about living; almost
everybody will play their lives until the
last day according to what they have in
their minds as their goals and their means
to reach to those goals. In Sufism you are
asked to doubt almost all the elements of
your life and rethink everything individu-
ally from the very beginning. The doubts
can even include questions like ‘why do I
have to eat my lunch at twelve o'clock” or
‘why Ihave tolove my mother?(5). Sufism’s
solutions may seem difficult and depress-
ing but they promise humans a higher
degree of understanding and intelligence.
Sufism asks people to separate their soul
from their bodies and observe the world
from an angle that would include them as
a part of the universe, not as the center of
it.

Coming from an aristo-beauracratic mid-
dle- class family, it wasn’t easy for me to
accept “the other ways” any more than it
would be for me to accept different kinds of
thought entertainment. It took me two
years of army service- which was a series

an

of personal discoveries, observations and
abandonment in the heart of the deserts
around the Persian gulf- to rethink my-
self. Trough these trials I came to accept
the other ways as possibly practical ways
of observing and responding to the world
around me.

I finished my army service with the
intention of training myself in a manner
which would direct me to express my expe-
riences in life in any possible way. The last
thing I thought about, or the first thing I
never thought about, was becoming a visual
artist. I specifically want to use the term
“visual” because in my culture the term
“artist” is applied to a bigger group of
people which includes writers, poets, mu-
sicians, singers and actors. In fact, Islam
sees the visual representation of the world
of human as an attempt to compete with
Allah in creation. This puts the visual
artist at the bottom of the the list of artist
in Islamic cultures(6).

I left my country with no idea of what I
was going to do in my life. I knew that I
didn’t want to study science but I was
almost sure that I needed the sort of edu-
cation that would expand my knowledge
about the world and enable me to pay my
share in dealing with the problems that
we all face on this planet. Two years of
close observation of Western styles of liv-
ing and my own complete exploitation by
almost all the people that I was employed
by reduced my optimism about the capi-
talist way of dealing with the world. In my
pre-art school life I could see that there
was something basically wrong that I
wasn’t even able to identify, let alone
change. Also, seeing my ethnic commu-
nity in its transformation from a purely
idealistic culture into an overly material-
istic culture trained me to look at the
world simultaneously from two points of
views.

I entered ECCAD with many expecta-
tions. To begin with, I took for granted
that by studying art I would be able to deal

with my questions and problems ina direct
and succinct way. I used to think that art
in general was completely capable of solv-
ing all the problems and answering all the
questions. A simple definition of art to me
was a form bearing a meaning or a letter
carrying a message. I think I was still
licking my ideological wounds froma short
working class life as a dishwasher or a
coffee shop cashier.

It is astonishing how a sudden slowdown
in pace can change one’s linear approach to
life. Life as an art student can be consid-
ered the fifth step in the transformation of
my ideas and life, a step that by now has
not been the biggest, but the most progres-
sive and helpful one. The ability to sit back

Art, truth
cinematography

By Mohammad H, Salemy

-Allook into
Mohammad's past
and present helps
us to decide our
future as we
struggle to co-exist
with images

We never had paintings hung in our
living room. Neither my grandparents
did. Art to me started almost. when I
learned to read and write. Fairy talesand
children’s poems were the biggest source
of imagery for this seven year old boy
‘who'd prefer to sit in the corner of little
junior school library instead ofgoing out to
the playgrounds. I never even liked to
doodle on the corner ofa textbook. Books
hada sense of holiness that never allowed
metodraw in them, Maybe I can consider
this as one of the reasons why I never
practised drawing in the early stages of
my life. I used to read books before going
tobed and then laterin the dark imagined
them in full colour and continued their
story as if was the hero or the writer.

Visual arts as we know it in its Western
definition started for me at the age often
when one of my aunts eame back from
Italy with a suitease fll of High Renais-
sance copies and postcards. [still remem-
ber my feelings after looking at the image
of Pieta ina glossy fll colour book. Istole
that particular book from my aunt and it
isstillsittingin myhomelibraryin Tehran
with layers of dust on it. At that time to
‘meartmeant Michelangelo, Leonardo and
whatever cameafter them and this strong
opinion still dominates my feelings to:
ward pre-Renaissance art.

picked up the photographie camera at
the age of fourteen, in the middle of the
Persian Revolution, which notonly shook
the foundations of political structure in
Iran, but also ruined what Persians had
considered the meaning of life for centu-

ries. I used to take my cheap plastic
camera with mettoall the demonstrations
and play the part of journalist, trying to
register the biggest moments in my coun

try’shistory. The results were hundreds
of blurry colour pictures of thousands of
people sereaming and holding their ists
up in the sky. My purchase of a heavy
Russian reflex camera was the first sign of
aprofessionalismin my photographicarts
Tlearned how to use a light meter during
1 two hour lesson in Tehran's Central
Park with a friend who had bought the
same kind of camera a few weeks before
‘me, It was a basic lesson that I still con-
sider to be the foundation for ofall my
photographie knowledge.

Creating visual arts for me at that time
was reproducing the sorts of images that
might have appeared in. foreign or local
‘magazines. I would fee so artistic when |
produced a photograph that looked ex-
actly like « landscape shown on the T.V.
When the revolution began to go back-
‘wards, I was trying to find my answers in
“Materialist Dialecties for the Begin-
ners"(1). Artat that time was tome some-
thing that should bear the message and
awaken the masses; the artist was the
biggest antagonist who would lead this
conflict to a complete vietory.

owe thanks to Molavi(2) and Hafiz(3)
who saved my life by opening up the win.
dow of Sufism to me and in effect closing
the door on Stalinist Dogmatism(4). For
the second timessince havingbeen exposed
to Renaissance art I was hit by something
so strong and heavy, something that I felt
was going to profoundly change the way I
looked at the world. The message was
clear: in the beginning, you are what you
see and forthe rest you see what you are
Sufism questions the life that the partici-
pants are so certain about living; almost
everybody will play their lives until the
last day according to what they have in
theirmindsastheir goals nd heirmeans
toreach to those goals. In Sufism you are
asked to doubt almost all the elements of
‘your life and rethink everything individu-
ally from the very beginning. The doubts
‘ean even include questions like ‘why do I
have toeat my lunch at twelve lock?" or
‘why Thavetolovemy mother”(5). Sufism’s
solutions may seem diffcult and depress-
ing but they promise humans a higher
degree of understanding and intelligence.
Sufism asks people to separate their soul
from their bodies and observe the world
from an angle that would include them as
apart ofthe universe, not as the center of
it.

Coming froman aristo-beauracratiemid-
dle- class family, it wasn’t easy for me to
accept “the other ways” any more than it
‘would be for meto accept different kinds of
thought entertainment. It took me two
years ofarmy service- which was a series

an

of personal discoveries, observations and
abandonment in the heart of the deserts
‘around the Persian gulf- to rethink my-
self. Trough these trials I came to accept
the other ways as possibly practical ways
of observing and responding to the world
around me.

1 finished my army service with the
intention of training myself in a manner
‘which would direct me toexpress my expe-
riencesin lifein any possible way. Thelast
thing I thought about, or the first thing I
never thought about, wasbeeominga visual
artist. I specifically want to use the term
“visual” because in my eulture the term
“artist” is applied to a bigger group of
people which includes writers, poets, mu-
sicians, singers and actors. In fact, Islam
sees the visual representation ofthe world
of human as an attempt to compete with
Allah in creation. This puts the visual
artist at the bottom ofthe the list of artist
in Islamic cultures(6)

Tleft my country with no idea of what I
was going to do in my life. ! knew that I
didn't want to study science but I was
almost sure that I needed the sort of edu-
cation that would expand my knowledge
about the world and enable me to pay my
share in dealing with the problems that
we all face on this planet. Two years of
close observation of Western styles ofliv-
‘ng and my own complete exploitation by
almost all the people that I was employed
by reduced my optimism about the eapi-
talist way ofdealing with the world. In my
pre-art school life I could see that there
was something basically wrong that I
wasn't even able to identify, let alone
change. Also, seeing my ethnic commu-
nity in its transformation from a purely
idealistic culture into an overly material-
istie culture trained me to look at the
world simultaneously from two points of
views.

Tentered ECCAD with many expecta
tions. To begin with, I took for granted
thatby studying art would beabletodeal
with my questions and problemsin a direct
‘and succinct way. used to think that art
in general was completely capable of solv
ingaall the problems and answering all the
questions. A simple definition ofart to me
‘was a form bearing a meaning or a letter
carrying a message. I think I was still
Ticking my ideological wounds froma short
working class life as a dishwasher or @
coffee shop cashier

Itis astonishing how a sudden slowdown
in pacecan change one'slinearapproach to
life. Life as an art student can be consid
ered the fifth step in the transformation of
‘my ideas and life, a step that by now has,
not been the biggest, bt the most progres-
siveand helpful one. The ability to sit back