^{Image courtesy of Behrooz Daresh} 

Interview with Behrooz Daresh

Luca Curci talks with Behrooz Daresh during FRAGMENTED IDENTITIES, second appointment of BORDERS festival, in Venice on August 2016. Behrooz Daresh was born, in Uroumiye one of the western cities of Iran in 1942 in an Assirian Christian familly, when he was a child moved to Tehran with his family for a better living. He lived and staid in this city, went to Tehran University and finally get an M.S degree in economics in 1969. When he was 17 parallel to his studding science began to learn and practice the art, he benefits too much from his grand brother Victor Daresh supervisor of Sculpture section in Tehran University. Daresh, from 1978 worked and lived as a professional sculptor in Tehran, Iran, until now. During this time he worked hard and participate in many exhibitions and won some national and international prizes, like the first prize of the Tehran Sculpture Biennial and he was the Iran representative in Venice Biennial (sculpture branch) in 2003. Behrooz Daresh is the sculptor that for the first time in Iran sculpturing pays more attention to the installation and using the space (the void) and the light and the multiple elements in creation the art work and he uses a special, self invented system, for creation. Daresh says: “I am a sculptor but, I am always look out of the sculpturing, nowadays is difficult to say that I am a sculptor, it is so much fanatically! Therefor I am a plastician”.

 

^{Image courtesy of Behrooz Daresh} 

 

Luca Curci: What is the message linked to the artwork you have shown in this exhibition ?How it is connected to the theme of this festival?
Behrooz Daresh: Originally creation don’t follows a priory meaning or concept, creation is a freely independent action. But, all these, concepts and meanings flow by the people, critics, viewers, even artist himself, after that work is created. Loran Barthes, says that the art work is like a Tabula Rasa only when a critic writes something on its margin, it finds a place or a meaning. Creation happens according to the generally unknown situations, tendencies and spiritual conditions of an artist. The art work itself is, a meaning makers, and meaning somehow happens in the art work and finally changes our ordinary relation with the world.
If I be forced to speak about the meaning of my exhibited work, simply it is an attractive peace (fragment) of our world (a Fragmented Identity) a moment that we stop and look at it and say oh! That is it. After this process  we begin to create our desired meanings, about the work. In a popular concept my work shows the aesthetic of falling, hundred of small bicycles under the light, in the space, aesthetically shows a falling down situation. Because of the moral and humanistic beliefs we don’t care about this kind of aesthetic and don’t see it, like what we can find in pornography, or in 9/11 happening, (the biggest artistic happening of the century) of course without forget its humanistic crimes. Finally the aesthetic is scattered every where only should be seen.

 

^{Image courtesy of Behrooz Daresh} 

 

L.C. – What do you think about the concept of the festival? In which way did inspire you ?
B.D. –  The concept of festival is an up to date and provocative, the festival have utilized very well the time and situations in Venice city, the concept of “Fragmented Identity” inspired me so much and also the international activities of the “Its Liquid Group” attract me.

L.C. – What is your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most?
B.D. – I have about 35 years experience in visual arts. My works are created under the influence of my experience, studding and practicing and seeing art constantly, the experience that had the great influence on my work and changed my manner of creation are, the experience of using space, light and multiplicities in my works as, free and fundamental elements of a creation.

L.C. –  What is art for you?
B.D. – Ah! What is art for me? It is my living.

 

^{Image courtesy of Behrooz Daresh} 

 

L.C. – What do you think about the whole organization of the event, the selection of the artists, the communication management and opening ceremony?
B.D. – The Festival generally is well organized especially in the virtual world, about the actual world needs more activities, the way of selecting the artists is a common way that still have had good results: a composition of direct invitation and competition (this way needs a vast knowledge about the well known artists in the world). The management communication was very good, and the opening ceremony should be considered more.

L.C. – Do you think that this experience could be useful for artists and can contribute to increase personal background?
B.D. – From my point of view, being with another artists and see there works under one ceiling, all together, increases our personal experience, especially having dialogue, changes our understanding, and helps the peaceful situation, that is a necessity for our, to days world.

L.C. – Are you interested in future collaborations with our organization?
B.D. – Yes of course.

 

^{Image courtesy of Behrooz Daresh} 

 

 

^{Image courtesy of Behrooz Daresh} 

 

 

^{Image courtesy of Behrooz Daresh}