Artist Analysis (Triangle Method)

Dream of Dust 2003 , Reza Abedini.

Film poster

100 x 70 cm

Silkscreen 

This poster was designed for a Persian film with a conversation of no more than 5 words.

Reza is an Iranian graphic designer and professor. He creates modern, traditional Islamic patterns, calligraphy and culture. Most of his work consists of illustrations combined with beautiful typography and different layouts. I believe the aim of his work is to explore the beauty of Persian Culture. 

"Many designers were forced to look at their own culture because there was no connection with the outside world." - Reza Abedini. This was after the revolution where they were isolated for 10-15 years.  He sees the value of graphic design as it opens up different discussions which gives him ideas and new perspectives. 

Abedini strives to make his cultural heritage known and wants to improve the way Persian art is seen today. "I think the Persian type has almost been ruined...I hope I will be able to discover ways to use the Persian script... In the best possible way and bring it back to its glorious days" - Reza A. He clearly shows true passion for his work which is evident in being a professor at the Terhan University which is also where he studied himself in 1992, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree.

A lot of art critics feel postively about his work. " His way of thinking... reflects a culture and a sense of history quite different from our own".  - Kenzie Greene.

It seems as Reza resurged Iranian graphic design as not only does he give Europeans a look into his work and culture, but also give a new outlook of culture to Iranians themselves. 

I couldn't find any more reviews, however, some of the negative ones complain that his books mention about history that an average reader wouldn't know nothing about, "How many non-Iranians would know when the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties were?" - Rick Poynor (eye magazine). I disagree, because his art is so visually captivating, that I would want to do the research myself and understand the culture better, making his art more relatable to me as I'd be well informed.  

When it comes to the 'Dream of Dust' poster, he used a solid colour for his background, in order to not disturb the main focus of this piece - a veiled woman. I love how he used a colour scheme of 3: brown, black and white. This creates a beautiful contrast but not too striking, it's almost calm and soft to represent like the lady. His use of letters forms the shape of the lady by using a variety of fonts and scale to create a beautiful flow of the words. 

The composition of the woman is centrepiece presenting her significance in this poster. " The body is sacred, like words" - Reza A. I feel that Reza values his use of typography by letting most of his works inform the viewer by the words inside of a silhouette of a figure. 

I'm not sure what the poster is exactly trying to communicate but it definitely shows that it's about the Middle East and perhaps religion catered to a French audience.

Personally, I love this piece because it's simple yet very striking and beautiful. I definitely want to incorporate his use of typography and style into my work for experimentation. 

Johnston, W., 2020. An Interview With Graphic Designer Reza Abedini.. [online] Modular 4. Available at: <https://modular4kc.com/2012/05/23/an-interview-with-graphic-designer-reza-abedini/> [Accessed 24 September 2020].

Rezaabedini.com. 2020. Rezaabedini.Com | Works. [online] Available at: <https://www.rezaabedini.com/autobiographic.html> [Accessed 24 September 2020].

Rezaabedini.com. 2020. Rezaabedini.Com | Works > Poster. [online] Available at: <https://www.rezaabedini.com/works/poster_29.html> [Accessed 24 September 2020].

Mgreene1.workflow.arts.ac.uk. 2020. Reza Abedini - Workflow. [online] Available at: <https://mgreene1.workflow.arts.ac.uk/reza-abedini> [Accessed 24 September 2020].

Eyemagazine.com. 2020. Eye Magazine | Review | Iran’S Tantalising Visual Revolution. [online] Available at: <http://www.eyemagazine.com/review/article/irans-tantalising-visual-revolution-extract> [Accessed 24 September 2020].