Despite the imagination we have for the past, time moves along. Every single moment creates individual value for itself, yet somehow brings the regret and nostalgia of the past to our present.
After the Renaissance and Modernism, Europe conceived the impression that Greek and other older civilizations were more prosperous. The apex of this thinking was the eternal return to decadence in art discussed in German neoclassicism, Winckermann’s art theory, and Nietzsche’s philosophy. Later, Heidegger challenged contemporary art decadence in Der Uesprung des Kunstwerkes, contending that post-modernism is part of the response to the excitement of Modernism after the Renaissance.
Nietzsche, the father of spiritual theoretical post-modernism, insisted the new is not necessarily the modern – incidentally what is disconnected from its own time is the modern. This is what Heidegger called the new beginning of history in the moment. Context of this discussion in art itself and not in theory was the beginning of the regeneration and return to new processes of creating art works. These movements continued in content and form, and despite new artistic expressions, the serious question “what is contemporary?” arose. This was a mutual question to both fine art and applied art, so in this regard there was no difference between graphic design and painting. With this introduction Iman Raad’s designs can be discussed and analyzed.
At first glance, Raad’s work has two holistic characteristics: first, it possesses distinguishable properties from others’ work, and second, it has a rather Iranian quiddity.
Several formal characteristics employed by Raad make his work easily distinguishable – for example, his emphasis on combination – be it text as form, radicalized text forms juxtaposed with other forms, handmade elements, or attention to detail. His work is archaic and mysterious, with deep content. Moreover, his work is desirable. It is limited to applied art, yet possesses the quality of perfect art works.
Symmetrical layout (especially in posters) concentrated on the page axis is another common characteristic. We see that curvilinear forms, solid lines, and preliminary outlines are placed around a center or axis. Raad does not reduce symmetrical and axial combinations to simple geometrical patterns, nor does his work naively obey simple combinations. Rather, components intelligently cooperate and exist in harmony.
Another unique characteristic employed by Raad is the use of either a single colour or no colour at all. This point is important because it provides us difference from our day-to-day and routine understanding. We see the world in colour, we have colour television broadcasting; our attention to colour is lowered due to the presence of numerous products that use colour to draw our attention. In a world that is intensively colour addicted, we are familiar and saturated with colour. We need a rest – a short pause, and we need distance from this daily understanding. Most of Raad’s work has clearly taken distance from colour, and therefore can be easily recognized.
The second holistic identifier to Iman Raad’s work is its Iranian quiddity. The reason many of his designs appear Iranian is due to his inclination towards identity, and more importantly, his insistence on Ibsen’s interpretation “the changeable past and at the same time the active present time.” If we believe that art is conceived from the artist’s life, Iman Raad creates designs that are derived from Iranian life; a non-Iranian cannot see everything that he is able to see. Heidegger believed it essential that a local artist should remain local, but the work should be universally interpreted. Raad utilizes the lines and patterns common in a region from India to Egypt, but makes an individual and singular connection with his Iranian background that adds a special quality to his work.
Of course it should be taken into account that the presence of “Iranian identity” in Raad’s design is definitely a characteristic, and not necessarily a “must” for an Iranian artist. It is possible that a non-Iranian artist may utilize elements from a so-called Iranian atmosphere, just as an Iranian artist may benefit from utilizing Western or non-Iranian elements. Raad’s candid work is extracted deep from within, and emcompasses the world he has been brought up in and the environment he lives in. But the more essential point of “being Iranian” in Raad’s work which makes it recognizable is the active presence of the past – in other words, not being trapped and captured by modernity.
In fact, Raad’s posters, sewing and other designs are at first modern, because they give us a new perspective of ourselves and a new understanding of our time. Today, a lot of work may appear modern, but does not have anything new to offer, and, as Heidegger interprets, can’t take us to the other world.
In Raad’s Dog Silence poster, two monsters with ram horns on either side of a screen are a simple performance that moves away from symbolism and approaches the archeological images of myth. It reminds us of magic, old movie posters, and the ornamental calligraphy of sacred Islamic places. This poster is modern because it demonstrates the artist’s world, and shares all things that have been experienced by the artist through the centuries, as one’s unconscious is not merely affected by what happened in one’s lifetime, but also by tradition that penetrates the spirit and mind through environment and education. Iman Raad’s designs allow us to confront our own new story as well as reconsider our own past.
* “The past is never dead. It’s not even past”. - William Faulkner