Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Ahmed Nadalian, an artist with a unique perspective


By Ershad Kamol - The Daily Star - Bangladesh
Thursday, March 16, 2006

Exhibiting at the 12th Asian Art Biennial is an 'interactive multimedia' display, titled Paradise by Iranian artist Ahmed Nadalian. Artist, art critic, teacher, philosopher -- Nadalian's career makes fascinating reading.
After representing his country Iran in the last Venice biennial, he rose to fame. Since then, through his work Nadalian has communicated themes that he believes are fundamental for humanity: respect for the environment, new technologies and freedom of expression, blending of tradition and contemporary art forms, natural disasters, the vulnerability of humankind and the global issue of terrorism.

In his work Paradise, a viewer can visualise the composition of the flora and fauna of an imaginary heavenly atmosphere on digital system. To quote Nadalian, "Paradise presents the ideal state of the earth. I'm a believer of Sufism. I believe that the essence of Allah can be found in the beauty and harmony of man and nature. And my display represents the theme."

During his short visit to Dhaka, Nadalian has carved a few stones at Shilpakala Academy and later he has dropped them in a pond at Sonargaon, to preserve them in the midst of nature. Nadalian says, "Creative people incorporate elements from nature, while my approach is to enrich nature. This motivated me to carve stones and later hide or bury those in the midst of nature."

"I leave my contact numbers and website address (www.riverart.net) on these stones, yet have no inclination to disclose their exact whereabouts. What I intend is for the spectator searching for the artwork to perhaps discover something more valuable than my stones in nature. I consider myself a partner in the spectator's findings."

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Ahmed Nadalian, an artist with a unique perspective

By Ershad Kamol - The Daily Star - Bangladesh
Thursday, March 16, 2006

Exhibiting at the 12th Asian Art Biennial is an 'interactive multimedia' display, titled Paradise by Iranian artist Ahmed Nadalian. Artist, art critic, teacher, philosopher -- Nadalian's career makes fascinating reading.
After representing his country Iran in the last Venice biennial, he rose to fame. Since then, through his work Nadalian has communicated themes that he believes are fundamental for humanity: respect for the environment, new technologies and freedom of expression, blending of tradition and contemporary art forms, natural disasters, the vulnerability of humankind and the global issue of terrorism.

In his work Paradise, a viewer can visualise the composition of the flora and fauna of an imaginary heavenly atmosphere on digital system. To quote Nadalian, "Paradise presents the ideal state of the earth. I'm a believer of Sufism. I believe that the essence of Allah can be found in the beauty and harmony of man and nature. And my display represents the theme."

During his short visit to Dhaka, Nadalian has carved a few stones at Shilpakala Academy and later he has dropped them in a pond at Sonargaon, to preserve them in the midst of nature. Nadalian says, "Creative people incorporate elements from nature, while my approach is to enrich nature. This motivated me to carve stones and later hide or bury those in the midst of nature."

"I leave my contact numbers and website address (www.riverart.net) on these stones, yet have no inclination to disclose their exact whereabouts. What I intend is for the spectator searching for the artwork to perhaps discover something more valuable than my stones in nature. I consider myself a partner in the spectator's findings."

No comments: