by The text of the speech by Master Jalil Ziapour at the opening of Ardeshir Mohasses’s exhibition; published in the weekly “Donya-ye Jadid” (No. 3), 15 May 1967
Ardeshir Mohasses; caricaturist, draftsman, and painter
At the request of Ardeshir Mohasses, I delivered a short speech about caricature (Caricature) (on the day of the exhibition of his works) which was published in the weekly “Donya-ye Jadid”.
The art of painting, which is a visual means of expressing intentions, if we look at its history, we see that it has recounted the desires, conditions, and actions of society; and its exaggerated form, for the purpose of individual and public criticism and warning, has had a general educational aspect. Even now, the art of painting, in its exaggerated form, along with the pens of writers, journalists, and the media, exposes ugliness through satire; and to eliminate it, it sometimes manifests in the most severe manner, even to the point of threat, and sometimes these roars arise from the entire being of the people, showing anger, sardonic laughter, and rebellion. Forms are distorted satirically, and are presented to mock and demean actions and condemn the bad deeds of individuals.
In fact, people who possess an educational sense and wish to reform society utilize caricature (this reliable, easily understood medium) to advance their purposes, and confront individuals and society with their flaws. Caricature, from an educational standpoint, is in principle a conservative and sometimes terrifying medium (it is terrifying when the ugliness of its concept and effect has not become normalized, and shamelessness, like leprosy, has not gnawed away at consciences). It is for this reason that, considering various aspects, the impact of caricature differs in terms of public emotions and decency (depending on what level of culture it resides in). For noble-minded people, it is a means of reminding them of flaws. But for uncultivated people, it is a means of breaking the bonds of complexes, as well as a means of insolence and dragging individuals or a society through the mud, and sometimes of shackles and prison.
Caricature is a critical medium, and every society (whether at a high or low level) needs it. The caricaturist, within the realm of the art of painting, occupies a low standing in the eyes of the common people! They are unaware that a caricaturist with an intense critical sense possesses the technical power to display public conditions and actions to a degree comprehensible to all, and is, in his own right, a valuable being with a sensitive instinct. His work is “figurative” and exaggerated; the work of the “abstractists” is outside natural forms, exaggerated, yet “decorative,” and they tread the path of exaggeration in forms and colors. The renowned caricaturist, in service to the public alongside those who wield the pen, presents the understandable demands of the common people, and goes hand in hand with culture in improving the public condition.
When I was reading the writing of “Ahmad Shamlou” about “Ardeshir’s” caricature, I came across this sentence: “What a ridiculous, distorted, absurd generation!” And this was the effect of “Ardeshir’s” caricatures on thousands of sensible and intellectual individuals, being voiced through the tongue of “Ahmad Shamlou.” In my own mind, following his sentence, I added: “A ridiculous, imitative, ill-proportioned generation that contrives neither any proportion for its body and clothing, nor any balance for its brain; its flattering, ludicrous gestures and its still more ludicrous fashionable attire are a means of self-display and of parading progressiveness.”
In “Ardeshir’s” caricatures, these ridiculous events and the absurd affectations of our people of every class, with all their manifestations, slowly take shape in a painful silence and create pain. In the exhibition recently prepared of his works, his pen appears firmer, the expression of his subjects stronger, and his critical sense more precise.
