Marching for Peace

 The Bitter Orange Flower of My Soul

         In my dictionary, love and peace are my ultimate goal in life. A goal that I am so committed to and working hard on achieving, but the reality of this broken world is quite different.

         Peace and war are like day and night, you can not recognize and appreciate them without going through both of them.

         Internal peace and external peace are what help us stand up tall in front of all challenges. During the darkest moments in life, one simple dot of light can grow hope inside every and each person’s heart and mind worldwide. Therefore, no matter how hostile is the world around us, no power on earth can stop my march for peace.

         As a soldier of love, I believe in art as the right tool to fight the dark and help peace to be victorious. ~ Amer H. Fatuhi

 

Subject: Wounding the Dark III

Technique: Acrylic & Mixed Media on Canvas

Measurements: 30 x 30 Inches

Date: 2007

Price: $30,000

Ishtar’s Spells

 

Dancing Between Myth & Logogramism’s Lines!

As evidenced by many museums’ displays, the mix of myths and art goes back to the pre-historic period when the first primitive artists/sorcerers used their imagination to interpret weather phenomena (wind, cloud, rain, storm, snow, fog, and dust storms, etc.) as divine practices. As a theme, religion has always influenced artists, past and present. On the other hand, mixing figurative composition and symbolic artwork styles is not recommended because it is like mixing water and fire. In the end, only one element will survive! 

So how can an artwork that uses a religious theme, which some may categorize as myth, mix between figurative and symbolism in painting and still be considered a successful artwork?

 Ishtar’s Spells artwork might seem just an example of how myths could play an important factor in shaping and strengthening our views of the world. For instance, Ishtar & Tammuz’s^[1] death and resurrection myth prove that life can still overcome death through good deeds. What makes this artwork special is not because it beautifully used a myth to present a challenge, but because of the positive impact of Logogramism symbols. 

Using the pictograph symbols made the artwork full of life. Although the pictograph symbols were not the central gravity of the artwork, adding these visual elements to a figurative scene gave the artwork the needed power to captivate art lovers.

Going back and forth between the figurative details and the pictograph symbols of the artwork, Ishtar’s Spells proves that mixing figurative elements with symbols produced a successful artwork against all odds and previous recipes for disaster artworks.

Such carefully conducted methods are like dancing between two parallel lines: no matter how far they go, their destiny is that they will never meet, yet each line continues to give the other line the necessary formula for success.    

Subject: Ishtar’s Spells

Technique: Acrylic on Hardboard Canvas

Measurements: 30 x 40 Inch

Date: 2006

Price: $25,000

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[1] Ishtar & Tammuz, Ishtar and Tammuz are the protagonists of one of the world's first love stories. Ishtar was the goddess of love, war, and fertility, while Tammuz was one of many Mesopotamian gods of fertility and the patronage of herdsmen.

 

Looking For Another Paradise

 

The Paradise That Is All About Logogramism

Any good father who works hard on raising his children to become better than him would never favor one child over another. However, for unknown reasons, most of us do!

Likewise, artworks for artists are as precious as their own children. No matter what one could say or do, a particular artwork becomes near and dear to the artist’s heart and mind. That artwork for me is Looking for Another Paradise.

What makes this artwork extraordinary is that anyone could notice the huge impact of the central cross shape on the entire scene, which is like an open invitation to explore the foundations of the Logogramism art style. It presents the famous Mesopotamian pictograph symbol that depicts an intersection (which leads to meeting and departing). The many other symbols located inside the cross, play a significant role in strengthening the core of the composition. The surrounding symbols outside the cross enrich the background with what looks like a magical atmosphere that encloses the entire artwork. The saturated harmonic colors and the many layers of texture create almost a sonata; the first part of any perfect symphony, which reflects pure transcendent feelings and unadulterated expressions.

 

            Looking for another Paradise has it all: the theme (journey – looking for a new home of hope), the technique (layers and materials), the chromatic colors, and the composition in one captivating Logogramism modern artwork style.

Subject: Looking for Another Paradise

Technique: Oil on Canvas with Mixed Media

Measurements: 27.75 x 23 Inches

Date: 1993

Price: $40,000