Johnsonese Gallery in Bucktown is currently showing work by that displays a different side of Iraq-- scenes of everyday life rendered by a group of Bagdad artists
The group goes by the name, The Iraqi Plastic Arts Gallery. Plastic referring to those arts of material that can be sculpted and molded into physical representation. The 17 artists work despite personal danger and their country’s political turmoil. Seeking an audience for their work has been difficult, given that even a trip to the post office has become a dangerous venture.
“Before (U.S. occupation) the artists had exhibited both globally and locally,” says Chuck Trimbach, creator of Iraqi-Art.com and curator of a newly created Iraqi Art gallery located at 7013 North Sheridan Road, “People leave their houses now only out of necessity.”
Trimbach is largely responsible for the paintings’ long journey from the Middle East to Chicago, where they were able to find their first venue since U.S. occupation.
Most of the paintings currently on display at the Johnsonese Gallery do not include themes of war. Instead, they depict an exceptional amount of hope and beauty for a country struggling to rebuild. Included in the exhibit are paintings of dreamlike landscapes, women happily holding children, figures moving through streams of sand, the holy city of Medina, and many other themes in a uniquely Iraqi tone with bright colors often loudly emerging from tan sand like backgrounds.
Some of the works do address the current situation in Iraq. One by Mohammed Mssayer entitled “Invasion of Baghdad” depicts tanks with peace symbols on their wheels.
“I think that they negotiate (their feelings towards the U.S. presence) really well and that there’s nothing inherently political in their work,” says Trimbach.
The paintings found their first audience in over five years during Chicago’s HAMSA festival (Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance) that took place August 2006. However, this accomplishment did not come without a certain amount of risk to the Iraqi artists and those involved in coordinating the event.
It was a human rights worker in Baghdad, who for safety reasons is referred to as ‘A’, that first alerted Trimbach to the plight of the Iraqi artists unable to find a home for their work. ‘A’, along with Tom Fox, who was recently kidnapped and killed in Baghdad, took pictures of the paintings and arranged them on a CD for online viewing and so that some could be chosen for the festival. After a number of them were picked, ‘A’ completed the extensive paperwork and awaited background checks on the artists before traveling to Chicago with the paintings in tubes. She was stopped numerous times during her journey and was almost unable to get them through claims at Amman, Jordan but did eventually succeed in getting the paintings to the Chicago festival.
Since the HAMSA event, the paintings have been displayed at Chicago’s Peace Museum. During that time, Trimbach was able to organize a short showing at his own gallery as well as the current exhibition at the Johnsonese Gallery. During their stay at Trimbach’s Iraqi Art Gallery, 10 of the paintings were sold, giving the artists some much needed income.
Johnson’s own experience with the artists was somewhat difficult due to communication constraints. He explained that it would often take weeks for the group to correspond via e-mail due to the frequent and lengthy power outages in Baghdad. Once the paintings were chosen, however, they arrived fairly quickly, were stretched, and put on display. Johnson says that during the first week of the show there has been a great turnout and people seem to be having very positive reactions to the work.
The paintings of the Iraqi Plastic Arts Gallery are on display through March 3 at Johnsonese, and can also be viewed online at www.iraqi-art.com. The site also includes bios of the painters as well as additional information about the group and other upcoming exhibitions at the Iraqi Art Gallery.
