Barbara Walters chats with Forward Syria
Swaying between art and seduction
Discussing monetary policy with the man in charge
Where the earth screams in horror
11/11/2010 - Issue 45
The chair man of arts
by Hamzeh Abu-Fakher
Usually they form a prop to the main subject, but Waleed al-Masri has succeeded in turning chairs into the centerpieces.
Though he received much criticism over his repetitive theme, al-Masri insist the chair theme provokes new and thoughtful questions each time, relating a simple objects to the whole human existence.
In his basement atelier in Jaramana, al-Masri - friendly, affable and charming - talked about his latest creations, as well as his thoughts on the Syrian modern art scene.
Lately, al-Masri has introduced a new element – mosaic – to his chairs and is also experimenting with new color play, composition, balance and opposites. Through a combination of science and experimentation, he says, he has reached optimal equilibriums in greys; mixing oranges and blues, white and black.
So why mosaics?
“I’ve always wanted to draw mosaics as I worked with them almost a decade ago,” al-Masri explains.
Mosaics are ancient forms of documentation, al-Masri explains, relics of the elements and lifestyles from centuries ago.
Formerly a talented mosaic craftsman, al-Masri attempted, initially unsuccessfully to translate the craft to two-dimensional forms through drawings.
After repeated frustrations, he had a revelation:
“You need to meditate on an idea to reach it clearly. Sometimes you try to forcefully penetrate it but that will not get you anywhere, as you only impose your preconceptions on it.
“After you harmonize with the idea through meditation you reach a state of revelation, where everything comes together and the room lights up with relaxation. This process evolves your psyche –fitting the pieces in life.”
The Syrian contemporary art scene
Having experienced life as an artist abroad and his fair share of home-grown criticism, al-Masri is understandably outspoken about the Syrian art scene.
“Unfortunately there isn’t a real interactive contemporary art scene in Syria yet, exhibitions are mostly visited by acquaintances of the artists and gallery owners not by real art enthusiasts,” he said.
“Abroad, visitors are knowledgeable about arts and talk to you about it breaking down the technique into details; the dialogue is always about art and its inspirations.”
"Some may blame commercialism, though for ages commercial and original were present side by side; they never canceled each other. Style and substance of works are exchangeable; people are free to do whatever they want – there are no absolute values in art; no black and white, only different perspectives."
“It is all about how you see it; everything has a value to someone. But as long as you paint with your own style nobody will judge you because it is your character reflected not anyone else’s.”
What we find lacking in Syria is a diversity in trends; many people follow a certain trend because they don’t know another, they don’t have many choices to pick from.
“Accumulating our knowledge about art from books and internet is important but that can never match watching the real works. We need museums and different sorts of art institutions,” al-Masri said.
“Critics are also important; they are essential to the art scene. They are the ones that connect and explain artists to the majority; the majority has a consumerist mind so they cannot really understand artists.
“Throughout history artists always relied on critics; some of them are so knowledgeable and present you with analysis of your work better than you could come up with, helping you define your character in a more tangible way.”
What about teachers?
Teaching art is like therapy, al-Masri said and students need to be understood and helped to know themselves.
"Professors err when they try to impart students with their own style," al-Masri explains.
"Usually understanding an artwork completely is a state of euphoria, where you connect with the character of the artist and completely absorb it. First impressions are the most important in the process of understanding art; nobody gets a second chance to leave a first impression. "
When asked about how he measures his success, al-Masri is candid: “Personally, I measure my success by my ability to lock myself up in my atelier in indulge my art and paint.”
