After the 9th
A group discussion about the 9th Contemporary Iranian Graphic Design Biennial
Neshan Iranian Graphic Design Magazine, Number 14, Summer and Autumn 2007
www.neshanmagazine.com
Meshki: This session is somewhat of a pathological analysis of the 9th Graphic Design Biennial in Tehran and its sideshow events. More so than critical, this review is about presenting constructive suggestions for future biennials.
Meanwhile, we asked those who were involved in different parts of the biennial to be present in the discussion. Truth is that through the years, the biennial has turned into an exhibition visited by graphic designers or people interested in the subject. It has become more of an intimate social event therefore, leaving not much impact behind. The issue is how to make the biennial more significant for the authorities in the industry business, ministries and the public relations departments of large companies, who somehow come across graphic design. How can these organizations find their way into this current? This event is both helpful in creating a market for graphic designers and to familiarize clients with the world of graphic design.
Haghighi: This is one aspect. The other major reason for holding biennials is the opportunity to express latest ideas and works. This is an event that takes place every few years for exhibiting of works by new generations or older designers who may have reached new contexts. If we are to expand this universal definition to our own biennials we have to ask ourselves whether the Iranian graphic design biennials fit such a definition. So far in practice, the Iranian biennials have been the showcase of previous works that have already been displayed for some time. Those who benefit amidst that are the organizers who make a portfolio of their activities. This activity both from the governmental perspective and the organizers is in fact the formalistic obligation to hold without reflections in the society. We do not know if is has had an effective repercussion among graphic designers or not. It seems that it is all about displaying works, showing off and receiving prizes. In fact all of our biennials including graphic design have shifted towards this direction. In the commemoration ceremony of the 9th Iranian Graphic Design Biennial 250 individuals were honored as the organizers. That means 250 people put their efforts to conduct such an exhibition. I’m in fact somehow expressing my negative opinion about this.
Meshki: If I’ve understood your question is whether the biennial has catered to reflect the summary of our graphic design works during the two-year period or is this biennial’s duty at all?
Haghighi: I believe every biennial is obliged to show and present new movements of the previous years and explore new ways. It is assumed that every tow years a new generation of work appears with new messages and the impact of this fresh breath should appear in every biennial. But that has never happened here. The young designers hold personal exhibitions displaying their own works that in my opinion do not have much impact. The biennial therefore only becomes a place for displaying.
Mesghali: I think Haghighi gave a correct definition of the biennial. In any case the biennial is as opportunity to exhibit and display but every event of this nature has a mission and a definition. For example, the Venice or Warsaw biennials each exhibit certain kinds of ideas and thoughts.
I think the biennial’s mission in our country is different. Outside of Iran, in Europe for example, all arts are tightly connected to each other and all artists somehow have command of all areas. We are still living in a closed society. If it weren’t for the Internet we would not have been in contact with any live event outside of our country. Therefore, if we assume that the mission of the biennial is to present the latest graphic design phenomena in Iran, a small part of it has to focus on education. I find it a problem that in a section of the biennial we bring works of distinguished foreign designers and create the impression that this is the definition of international graphic design. In reality, in other places the main exhibitions are in the streets, in newspaper stands, in supermarkets, in real life, in packaging, TV commercials, etc.
I think inviting foreign guests at every biennial is not useful as far as obtaining new information or ideas. It may perhaps stimulate to some extent and leave temporary impressions on the youths and create the thinking that they have to work like them. I am not saying this outlook is correct or incorrect but I believe we have to connect our youth to the world on a much broader scale. For example, we have to introduce different international advertising companies and familiarize our designers with the atmosphere of design studios in the world, so they will know what kind of work the studios perform in reality. If a great western designer has done his best on designing forms for a transportation company and considers it among his honors, how come for a letterhead exhibition we do not receive any work? What is the reason? Other areas have been discredited. Here, reputation is only cultural poster design and nothing else. I am addressing the Iranian Graphic Designers Society and the Executive Board of the 9th Biennial because I believe they play a major role and have a uniform policy making process.
The duty of our biennial is different from Warsaw’s; we have an internal prophecy. And exchange has to take place internally even if only graphic designers visit the biennial exhibition. But even this group has to get an impression. This year our national section in the biennial was very poor. The reason must be found. Truth is our art schools instead of teaching and training undermine many things. In the past our own learning involved viewing books and magazines or traveling and observing different forms of art, which in turn educated us. The students of today are deprived of this education. Yet if every two years a door is suppose to open by the name of biennial, it must be done with utmost precision. More importantly, we have to know what to exhibit and what work to honor. We have to assist young designers in sending their works abroad to art societies but at the same time, ensure that foreign designer’s works are discrete.
Meshki: How do you think the young generation will perceive your words? Considering that they have access to means of communication that you didn’t such as the satellite, the Internet. Do you really think that they couldn’t obtain what you did by reading books or watching films or traveling? One hour is enough to see the entire works in a biennial on the Internet.
Mesghali: The biennials are not the whole life. The young generation is not familiar with all of the contemporary world’s graphic design.
Meshki: Rad what is your opinion on this, coming from the young generation yourself?
Rad: I believe a biennial cannot meet all expectations. It is a small event compared to the whole graphic design current in Iran or anywhere else in the world. We cannot therefore expect it to carry the load of all concerned issues.
Mesghali: No, but it can sample out. I am saying one of the duties of the biennial is the sideshows in which a broad range has to be covered. Our students have to become familiar with book cover design outside of Iran. They have to see how catalogues are designed in other countries and I don’t mean the exhibitions in which the artists play all kinds of artistic roles, which is legitimate. The definition of a biennial for us is different from its western example.
There are varieties posters in other countries but our focus here is on cultural ones. When we hold exhibition they have to avail.
Considering the 250 people involved and millions of Tomans of invested it shouldn’t suffice for 400 people to come and see. It is an environment that promotes the elite on no grounds. At the university in my graduate classes I ask students why they want to get a master’s degree. Most of them are young working students who also want to do cultural work while their graphic design skills lack. The most expensive international art directors work for highly circulated magazines. Time magazine’s art director is the most expensive in the world and his job is to create the most conservative or clearest forms. If we want to provide a work market for the young generation we have to draw their attention to other areas of graphic design. In Iran as graphic design means cultural posters, illustration also means children’s book illustration. This is while the most reputable global journal have to daily create political illustrations for their articles; a visual context at a high and comprehensible level. The publishing market in Iran is extremely poor.
Rashidi: Haghighi is saying that in biennials the latest design phenomena and innovations must be presented and everyone must see them, be affected ad learn from them but it’s useless to just have an exhibition. Mesghali mentions the issue of sideshows for providing an opportunity for the young generation to become more proficient in every aspect. In order to help the next biennial, I think we have to refine our expectations of the biennials and reach a common ground.
Meshki: The Executive Board of the Biennial did not specify any goals and perhaps if it weren’t for Mesghali’s insistence for a national section, it would not have emerged and just like in the past only the international poster section would have continued.
Haghighi: Mesghali believes that by holding the domestic biennial we can somehow compensate for our educational shortcomings as much as we can afford to.
Rad: I think we consider educational vocation for ourselves everywhere. But education is not a matter different from practice. And our every act is subconsciously an act of education. Our works are seen and they will somehow educate. I don’t think the issue is about setting a goal of education for the biennial. Graphic design has a skeleton that includes various branches such as academic education, books, exhibitions and shows. In the past four years, if the area of books has not had a lasting and reputable translation it is not the problem of the biennial. If we are concerned with the educational system and feel deficiencies let’s not hold the biennial responsible for it. The biennial should continue its course and do its job. Let us correct education from the inside of the system.
Mesghali: I don’t think your perception of the word education is correct. You are saying that everything that goes up on the walls in a biennial is automatically educating but the question remains as to what should go up on the wall in the first place. We do not intend to teach. Are we to put the latest graphic design phenomena on the wall or something that suits have with domestic consumption? With all that effort and expense 30 people at the most may be impacted and do a novel job. I think if we create a sideshow with educational use, for example displaying a page of the Guardian newspaper so young designers can see how a newspaper page is designed; how the photography or the illustration is done, it will be more effective.
Rad: There are hundreds of books that explain and teach this stuff!
Mesghali: These two are not in conflict with each other. Books and studying have their own place. We are saying the biennials have the potential to display more useful works. How come there is no trace of all those brilliant domestic posters in the streets that were on the walls in the biennial?
Haghighi: In the biennial except for the opening day that was overcrowded and difficult to view any works, the rest of the days had few visitors; 10 to 20 people daily at the most. Is this the total of those eager young artists who design cultural posters, write and are present in every site?
Education may be part of our goals or exhibiting what we don’t address during the year. Now as obligated people whether in the university or in the Graphic Designers Society or the biennial’s executive board we have to plan to correct our next steps. We are still exhibiting posters and introducing them as the most important element and ignoring other areas such as commercial graphics, packaging, book cover design, etc. As far as book cover design, the designers and publishers reach agreements and we are unable to review this area which our designers have challenged their capabilities the most. Perhaps we can better revolutionize it. Apparently, we organize an exhibition according to our finances and desire it to be evermore glorious but we give less value to its quality and if there’s a quantity involved we are unable to obtain statistics and evaluations.
Rashidi: I believe even if we focus on packaging, advertising, corporate identity, etc. this generation is not interested to come and learn. I am not trying to be negative but the truth is that the new generation is impatient. A generation that looks for easy solutions and our graphic design is no exception to that. Let’s face it, the goals of the organizers; the jury and participants of the biennial are very personal. The Graphic Designers Society organizes the biennial to show off its power. The biennial accredits the Society. It is not that important what occurs other than holding the exhibition. And the participants in the biennial are more interested in their works to be published in the biennial’s catalogue. Jury members also treat the works with a very personal manner since no objectives were defined for them. With the current situation, if the number of sideshows increases, it will have the same repercussions. This generation is too hasty to be educated this way. The level of education is descending everywhere in our country. The young generation desires premature fame and wants to win prizes. They are not interested in process but the quickest result.
Mesghali: In this biennial at times it was said not to give a prize to a so and so person because the next time all works will look like his. So there is some kind of impact but the issue of evaluation is also involved. If focus is put on posters then the definition of graphic design becomes posters and that’s inconsistent with what happens in our society. I am saying by focusing on other areas perhaps sensitivities can be raised or created. If I made animation films it was because I saw films in the second festival of children’s films and I got excited I think if there’s more consumption in other areas then they need to be practiced. You weren’t even able to distribute the ten posters designed for the 9th Biennial and the 70×100 cm size posters cannot be put up anywhere. My question is why for a commodity so slightly consumed that we invest so much time and money into? I think work needs to be created for graphic designers in a professional manner.
Rad: We are working in a country with many problems but not all problems take root in the biennial. We have problems in commercial and adverting graphic design but every current has a cycle. Money and investment turn the wheel of commercial graphics and political and social situations drive cultural graphics. In President Khatami’s era, our cultural situation had a growth and so did the area of book cover design. It was all due to escalation in political and social developments and had nothing to do with the biennial. In commercial graphics if the Iranian economy grows, graphic design will also prosper. The biennial cannot respond to all of this. I still think the best solution is to hold sideshows and continue the poster biennial. For example, we can hold an exhibition of book cover design next to the book exhibition and the visitors will include publishers as well as graphic designers, or have a press illustration exhibition along with the press festival.
I think a biennial is the country’s selected graphic design works in a two-year period. I compared the catalogue of this biennial with the pervious one. In the previous biennial, the Iranian works section had poor productions and most of the posters had been digitally designed. But in the last three years the poster designs have greatly improved. Maybe if other sections were also more goal-oriented they would have developed better. Giving worth to advertising will not necessarily solve problems and so long as books are not published putting energy on designing covers is meaningless.
Rashidi: In every grocery store you see there are many packaging example but for the 1100 posters sent to the biennial, we didn’t even have 100 packaging designs because we had put more importance on poster design and everyone was compelled to send in a poster. I even knew individuals who had to pay for offset printing their single-copy posters since digital printing was not accepted by the biennial.
Haghighi: The biennial is an excuse to reach conclusions and take the right next steps. The discussion here in fact relates to our social thinking and a thought that has long preoccupied our minds. This is an outlook and the two categories of cultural and commercial graphic design remain firm. The cultural window in which we display the products of our minds brings us closer to the rand and status of an artist much valued in this country. Our system of evaluation and judgment is based on art and when it comes to commercial division we consider it worthless. I am not saying it is right or wrong. I am just saying that it is a dominant collective mindset in our country.
Mesghali: Yes, but because of the special circumstances in our country, shouldn’t we change the biennial from being a hundred percent artistic and promote other areas such as print or advertising-catered to society’s need not just sheer artistic work. I have a question for Rad. What did the young generation think? Were they satisfied with the biennial’s outcome?
Rad: someone mentioned that the young generation is bold and uneducated. It is in fact bold. It questions everything. But it is more of a claim because out of 500 designers from this generation maybe 20% participated in the biennial or sent in their works.
Haghighi: The number of works accepted in the national section belonged to 253 people of which 182 were men and 71 were women.
Mesghali: But Rad you were among the selecting panel. Do you think the works were unjustly refused?
Rad: No, it wasn’t unjust. But I think the average age of the jury is high. This age difference between the jury and average age of the participants may cause for biased judgment or selection of particular designs.
Meshki: I think the main issue goes back to the fact that the biennial’s policymaking council has not even determined a clear and specific goal for the jury. For example, the specifics of the Warsaw biennial are clear and it is also defined what kinds of works get accepted. When the policies of a biennial are specified, the goal is easily obtained but because of numerous problems in organizing, the biennial fails to have a specific goal.
Mesghali: In every term we need to pay attention to a specific policy on a subject such as book cover, advertising, the press, etc. It may be necessary to address one subject in every term because during the two years we do not have several works to exhibit in every area. For example, it could be advertising one year and books and the press in another year.
Meshki: If you’ll allow let’s sum up our discussion. Everyone believes that along with the poster biennial we can have other exhibitions on needed subjects especially for the younger generation. Also, everyone proposes that in the period from one biennial to another we can have other biennials on book and magazine covers and the press. The other important point is that the policymaking council should define a specific goal and direction so that this important and costly event will be significant both for those directly and indirectly involved. Also, the organizing group and the jury can operate with more goal orientation. It may be necessary to review the jury in terms of age, number and composition. Apparently, there’s more difference of opinion on the goals of the biennial. This difference will appear in the manner of selecting the subject of the sideshows.
