Written by MYSA KAFIL-HUSSAIN

Iraqi artist, Amer Al-Obaidi, was born in 1943 into a large family based in Najaf, where he was the fourth of six children. His creative spark was evident from a young age, creating his first sculpture at the age of 10-11. Captivated by cracked patterns in the dry earth around him, baking in the Iraqi summer sun, al-Obaidi cut out a block, allowed it to harden for two more days, then found a knife and began to sculpt.^[1]

Al-Obaidi proudly brought his first work of art to his father, after which he went to the local market, purchased a range of papers, paints and clays, and encouraged his son to continue on his creative path, telling him “take this and go paint”.

After winning local art contests as a young boy, his family encouraged him to pursue art further. He enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts, focusing on painting, and graduated in the late 1960s. While studying and doing small illustration projects for magazines and children’s books,^[2] he also joined a new artist group called The Innovationists, whose members included artists such as Ali Talib, Salim al-Dabbagh and Saleh al-Jumaie. Their objective was to rebel against traditional styles and topics, and especially wanted to experiment with different materials, also taking trips to Iraq’s rural areas for inspiration. They had their first exhibition at Baghdad’s National Museum of Modern Art in 1965, but unfortunately the group did not last for long.

After graduating, al-Obaidi moved to Saudi Arabia, where he taught painting for three years,^[3] returning in the early 1970s to begin a role at Iraq’s Ministry of Culture, designing posters, books and magazines. Following this, he became Director of the National Museum of Modern Art, a role with great prestige and responsibility, especially as Iraq’s art scene was extremely busy in the 1970s. He held this position for ten years, whilst also continuing to paint. Three of the paintings by al-Obaidi in the DAF Collection were painted during this period, all in 1974 and all untitled. He is known for finding inspiration in Arab and Iraqi folklore, incorporating experimental desert landscapes into exquisitely dreamlike scenes. Like much of his other work, these three paintings are inspired by legendary epics, but also by traditional horse riders in Iraq,^[4] whose rituals fascinated al-Obaidi as a child. The horse riders were prominent in rural communities, strongly connected to the land and the people, and the horse itself, especially in Iraqi art, represented a sense of tradition, strength and freedom. Al-Obaidi’s work was especially popular during this period, and he was even chosen to represent Iraq at the 1979 Sao Paulo Biennale alongside artists such as Dia al-Azzawi, Shakir Hassan Al Said, Nouri al-Rawi and Rafa al-Nasiri.^[5]

In the mid-1980s, he took on a leading role in the organization of the first and second Baghdad International Festival of Art, held in 1986 and then in 1988. In 1990, he became the General Director of the Department of Fine Arts in Iraq, directing and supporting activities of galleries throughout the country, all while he himself continued to paint and also exhibit his work within the Middle East and abroad. After the first Gulf War (1990-91), al-Obaidi’s nostalgic, traditional Iraqi scenes fell into darkness. Bombs destroyed much of his area, and as a result his work became more political, abandoning his horses, hazy rural landscapes and folk symbols for broken furniture, wounded men and others stranded in dark, lonely solitude. In 1995, he quit his job, and became a full-time artist, committing himself to his canvases.^[6]

The mid-late 1990s were not without their struggles, but al-Obaidi, his wife Sawsan and their two children lived a happy, simple life. When the 2003 war started, however, chaos came to Iraq, and the family saw death and destruction every day. In the period of violent instability that followed the war itself, al-Obaidi’s son was tragically killed in the bombing of a busy Baghdad shopping district and his wife’s leg was so badly injured, doctors were forced to amputate the leg below the knee. Whilst deep in his grief, and trying to care for his wife, the family was sent a threatening letter by local militias, accompanied by a single bullet, giving them three days to leave the country.^[7] The family fled to Syria, and eventually applied for refugee status from the United Nations, who settled them in the United States. In 2008, al-Obaidi, his wife and his daughter, armed with just two suitcases and his rolled-up canvases, arrived in Iowa, where they have lived ever since.^[8] Throughout all of this, al-Obaidi never stopped painting.

Now in Iowa with his family, the artist cares for his wife and paints every day. His colours have shifted from the browns, beiges and blues of his compositions in Baghdad, now using vibrant reds, purples and yellows, reclaiming the tones of chaos and violence as tones of peace and joy. Al-Obaidi often exhibits locally to a community who know little about his past successes back home, but he remains committed to his passion, and remains one of Iraq’s most important artists.

Notes

[1] Tim Paluch, 2016. “The Color of Hope”, In dsmmagazine.com:  https://dsmmagazine.com/2016/02/16/the-color-of-hope/

[2] Michael Morain, 2015. “Iraqi Immigrant to Open Art Show at D.M. Social Club”, In desmoinesregister.com: https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/11/03/des-moines-artist-who-fled-his-homeland-2008-plans-display-some-his-recent-artwork-month-social-clubs-viaduct-gallery/75100094/

[3] Paluch, 2016

[4] Christies: “Amer al-Obaidi – Celebrating the Horse Domestication” (From Middle Eastern Modern & Contemporary Art, Dubai, 23 March 2019): https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/amer-al-obaidi-iraqi-b-1943-celebrating-6192326-details.aspx

[5] Iraq Pavilion: The XV International Sao Paulo Biennal 1979, 3rd October – 9th December 1979 (exhibition catalogue)

[6] Paluch, 2016

[7] Taysha Murtaugh, 2010. “The Colors of Peace”, In Iowastatedaily.com: https://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/the-colors-of-peace/article_3c4eee6e-d43f-11df-9544- 001cc4c002e0.html

[8] Paluch, 2016

Sources

Al-Azzawi, Dia. “Graphic Design and the Visual Arts in Iraq”. In Lenssen,Anneka; Rogers, Sarah; Shabout, Nada, Modern Art in the Arab World -  Primary Documents. North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2018: Pages 370-371

Morain, Michael. “Iraqi Immigrant to Open Art Show at D.M. Social Club”. Desmoinesregister.com. November 16, 2015. Accessed April 2020. https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/11/03/des-moines-artist-who-fled-his-homeland-2008-plans-display-some-his-recent-artwork-month-social-clubs-viaduct-gallery/75100094/

Murtaugh, Taysha. “The Colors of Peace”. Iowastatedaily.com. October 10, 2010. Accessed 26 April, 2020. https://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/the-colors-of-peace/article_3c4eee6e-d43f-11df-9544- 001cc4c002e0.html

Ne’meh, Dr. Madi Hasan. “تنقلات وإضافات ساخنة ، عند التشكيلي عامر العبيدي”. Elsada.net. Accessed April 26, 2020. http://elsada.net/45054/

Paluch, Tim. “The Color of Hope”. Dsmmagazine.com. February 16, 2016. Accessed 26 April, 2020. https://dsmmagazine.com/2016/02/16/the-color-of-hope/

Yousif, Farouq. “عامر العبيدي في حكاياته ذات البعد الأسطوري”. Alaraby.co.uk. November 11, 2018. Accessed April 26. 2020. https://alarab.co.uk/عامر-العبيدي-في-حكاياته-ذات-البعد-الأسطوري

Contemporary Arab Artists: Part One, Iraqi Cultural Centre, London, 8 November – 7 December 1978 (exhibition catalogue). 1978. “Modern Art Iraq Archive”, Iraqart.org. Accessed April 2020.

https://artiraq.org/maia/items/show/54

Iraq Pavilion: The XV International Sao Paulo Biennal 1979, 3^rd October – 9^th December (exhibition catalogue). 1979. “Modern Art Iraq Archive”, Iraqart.org. Accessed April 2020. https://artiraq.org/maia/items/show/402

"عامر العبيدي: رسومات عامر العبيدي التشكيل التراثي وإطار التجديد". Ila-magazine.com. Accessed April 26, 2020. http://www.ila-magazine.com/عامر-العبيدي.html

Christies: “Amer al-Obaidi – Celebrating the Horse Domestication” (From Middle Eastern Modern & Contemporary Art, Dubai, 23 March 2019). Accessed April 2020. https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/amer-al-obaidi-iraqi-b-1943-celebrating-6192326-details.aspx