nucleus-magazin

Am vergangenen Montag konnte ich Frau Ahang Nakhaei zu einem Gespräch über ihre Kunst und ihr Leben im Iran begrüßen.

Herzlichen Dank dafür!

"Interview with Ahang Nakhaei, 15th October 2012.


In person....
Has your name got a special meaning?

Yes, Ahang means „melody“ and „aim“ in the Persian language.


Is it your first time being abroad?

No, it's not the first time.


How old are you?

37


Are you born to a family of artists?

No, it's just me being an artist. They are mainly working in the fields of engineering and computers.


So you are the first artist in your family?

Yes, but my cousin is interested in art, too.


Did your family welcome your art work, your ambitions in art?

Not at the beginning. I had a lot of problems concerning my art.


When did you start being an artist?

When I was ten or nine years old, I was still a child. I started by painting on walls. My mother bought some colours for me to paint. My parents wanted me to become a doctor. But I fought for my art, so I went to the university of arts when I was eighteen. When I became successful in art, when I appeared in the newspapers, they were happy with it. In the beginning they were afraid if I earned enough money and if I would find a job.



Art & poetry...
Art means...for you.

Art means so much. One can't say it in one or two sentences. There are so deep meanings for (a person like) me who loves its life because it is art.
I was a child, grew up and I loved my life because it was full of art and I was busy with painting, my poems and my ideal about female art. When I started in the mornings I began with art, until the night, every day.
My students learn from me, I teach them in art, too. I am a teacher at the university. The money which I get for it isn't much, but it's not bad. I can make a living.


When did you start being a poet?

I did different things, I was a sculptor, painter, caricaturist, did comics.
Six or seven years ago I started with my poems. I had conflicts with other persons, conflicts in relationships and problems with my job. I worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art but the Islamic government put attention to it. We had to wear scarves and it was so difficult for me. I had a lot of problems with some women, they reported every day on me. So I was forced out of work. They fought with me every day. It was so so difficult for me. So I started writing poems around this time. Short poems with a deep meaning and sense.


Have you got any ideals in art?

Yes, when I was younger but not now. Every artist who starts has an ideal. I found a way for myself, it was satisfying and successful.


Your art work and poems....
Is there a main theme?

Yes, it is feminity, about female life and women in my country. I was concerned about the patriarchic society, they always made me angry, all these restrictions and the concubine system which allows men to have a lot of wives. My art is about women and their life in a limited situation.


So your art is mainly social art, art about society?

Sometimes I work with symbols, with colours like green and yellow. I have a poem about yellow, green, red, it's not about society.


Are you a member of an art scene?

I am connected to an art scene. Some of the galleries have good connections and make some exhibitions. I studied graphic design but I am a painter now. Graphic designers aren't artists so I am in this sense not connected to friends from my time at university.


Is there an established structure of presenting art in Iran?

Yes.
I brought a catalogue with me.
I had more than ten group exhibitions and about four solo exhibitions. One of my exhibitions was about Scheherazade but about feminity, too. She wanted to change the opinion of the king and stop him from killing people. It was the second of my exhibitions.
After that I did an exhibition about Asia. I searched for possibilities to communicate between the East and the West, some symbol and I found the symbol of women, feminity, too and it was a good and successful exhibition. But after it, the situation deteriorated in Iran, there was a huge change for artists. It was in 2010. Galleries couldn't do exhibitions for me anymore, it was little difficult.


What about now?

I had an exhibition with more than 12 of my works. I have hugely seized works. I thought about (presenting them) in another country, that was last year.
But then in facebook I saw Helmut Warnke, we spoke to each other and so I came here. When I talked to different galleries they said it would be too difficult to transfer my works because they are so heavy. So I had to think about something different like video art and poems - my new works are so small and so cheap. But in fact my art work is so big: 2x3m.
On my homepage one cannot really see the quality of my work but you can see the composition.
Teheran has more than 300 galleries and museums but the quality isn't very high. We are too limited to show everything. I can't show the works which I display here in Teheran, never never. It is so simple but I can't. Maybe some of the works I posted in facebook may cause problems for me. It is a very difficult situation in Teheran. But you can show it in another language but some of the galleries will never show these works. They prefer to show something that can be sold. Some of my colleagues and friends decided to leave this country and left for something else.


Womens' life in Iran
Is there any influence of old Iranian art in your work?

We had more than 2500 years of high culture.
Yes, traditional art is important for me because I am Iranian and our culture differs from other countries. I used traditional symbols in my work in a new form. Sometimes my work is a mixture between women in traditional clothing and a new situation. You will think about it after you have seen it: Why is this woman in this situation? It's a mixture. Some of my paintings (which I did) four years ago are about this. My new works deal with it, too.


Do you feel free?

In my mind I am free. I live so free except in Teheran/Iran. I always fight with everything that makes me feel imprisoned. With my job, with my parents, with my neighbour because in Iran the situation is so bad for women. Sometimes they even cut off my electricity, they manipulated my car. A lot of problems and I fight, fight, fight. I live in my house for more than six years and only after so many fights I established a good situation for myself there.


Does your freedom differ from the one men of your age experience?

Yes, of course. I am writing an essay about it at the moment.


Are you feeling privileged?

Well, I worked a lot when I was younger, so I earned the money I have. I never think about money or getting rich because it's enough for me.
In Iran it was very easy to travel for both women and men. Now it is rather problematic because for example of the German Embassy. It is so difficult to get a visa for a young woman. For me it was ok, I already travelled to France and Italy. showed my works. My friends were astonished though: „Oh, you go to Germany?“
I had to proof that I have enough money to finance myself during this stay here. Just an invitation is not enough, never. I feel a little privileged, yes. I lead a rather good life in Teheran.


What do you like about your country?

I like my culture, it's an ancient culture and I am proud of it. I like the hospitality in Iran, they pay so much attention to the guest and try to give him a nice time. I have the feeling that it is in Germany, too. But not in Italy or France. I like so many things about Iran, I hear a lot of Iranian music. The ancient things are the best and very important.


Are there any particular points of danger? Is it a risk to be in contact with the world via Internet? To leave the country? Consequences for relatives and friends?

Yes.


We all remember the pictures of veiled women. How is it now to be a woman in Iran?

Many women are just interested in having a boy-friend or husband and it's often the same with men. Sometimes I think they could change things. But no, they are satisfied with earning money, consuming and searching for a partner. They lead a usual life, they don't want to fight, they are relaxed.
They are satisfied with this standard life, they are so interested in eating and doing something about the house, but there is no interest in going outside.

This is not for me. In fact I am trying to find a university for post-graduate studies.


What kind of music do you like?

Iranian Music has become so cheap in the last time, I prefer to listen to traditional music in Iran, like Hosein Alizadeh.


Do you have a favourite book/author/artist?

Yes. Abass Kiarostami, Sadegh Hedayat as writers.
I like the poems of Forough Farrokhzad, Shamloo, Akhvan Sales and Ali Salehi.


Your film...

There are two meanings to my film: Society and feminity. I speak with my female tongue. The location was the office of my friend in the city centre. And you can see the weather and the situation in Teheran in my film a little bit. So cold....


On art in general....

Art is finished in this world. A long time ago. Painting has finished, 100 years ago. There is almost no possibility to earn money by being an artist, most artists do it just for themselves. It's so different to other times. Some painters of course have a high living standard, also in Iran.

In these times everyone can make a video, take some scenes from the street and say: „This is my video art“. I don't understand new art, this minimalistic art.
I worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art with the best exhibitions from all over the world, but I didn't understand new art. There is so much nothing. It needs a little colour, a little composition, but nothing, nothing, nothing. And some people speak so much about so little. I am always in discussions with these new artists, it's just pretenders.


Your trip to Germany....
What kind of artworks are you planning to work on here?

It depends. There are a lot of possibilities.


What is your impression of this part of Germany?

Clothes and shoes are not that expensive as in Iran, that was a surprise.


What did you find especially interesting?

I like the people and the German food, I prefer it to Iranian. Especially the cheese........


Thank you!