Isfahan (IMNA) - Iraj Mohammadi is an artist whose feeling to the Kaveh Ahangar Statue is just like a father to his son; father who never thought of making this statue as a task and looked at it as his own son from the beginning of its construction to the end. Since the time that Kaveh statue was transferred to the storehouse, he became indignant as if his son had been taken there; a storehouse just like a prison! Now Kaveh Ahangar Statue is returned to Azadi Square and reminds Isfahan's mythic dignity; a return which is called "the return of his son to Azadi Square” by Iraj Mohammadi.
Following is the interview of Iraj Mohammadi, the veteran sculptor and one of the founders of the country’s Artist Community with IMNA reporter.
Dear master, congratulations on returning your artistic artwork, Kaveh Statue, to Azadi Square.
Bravo; I congratulate you and Isfahan people on this event.
How do you like Kaveh Ahangar Statue?
One of the memorable stories I heard many times during my childhood is Kave Ahangar Story which still reminds me my mother. The story behind the statue is that kaveh evacuated his internal anger on the anvil and broke it by his fist. There is proverb is Farsi which say: "Fisting to the anvil" to show the power of severe anger. When the inner anger is severe, even a fist can broke the anvil. In this statue, Kaveh is moving forward with his wisdom, his anger is poured on the anvil and he himself is standing ahead of his anger. Even when Kaveh wanted to take the crown, he did not put it on his head but put it on Fereydun's head because Fereydun was the master-mind of that time. According to the myths and stories, Fereydoun was the first discoverer of fire; a sign of his intelligence at that time; so, Kaveh was not looking for a throne, he just was looking for freedom. All of these stories are from Shahnameh.
How did Kaveh statue become a symbol for Isfahan?
In 2000 I was asked to sculpture a statue about Isfahan.I chose two subjects, one was Kaveh Statue that comes from Sepahan, and another was Chogan. Finally, I chose Kaveh Ahangar which was installed on Azadi Square after being made. When the construction of Isfahan subway was started in this place, Kaveh Statue was taken from this place. Now that the subway project is almost finished, the statue is returned to its original place; so, I'm really glad.
How long did it take to sculpt Kaveh Ahangar Statue?
The height of the statue is about six meters and half and five tons of bronze are used in waxy method. I spent two years from its start to its installation.
How did you were chosen to sculpt this statue?
In 1971, when I was about 23, an advertisement was published for sculpturing Shah Abbas statue. I was young at that time and just finished the art school, but I presented the drawing of Shah Abbas Statue and then gained the first place among all masters; so, I sculptured Shah Abbas Statue which was installed on Azadi Square in Isfahan, but one year after the Islamic revolution of Iran It was pulled down. For a time, it was kept in a warehouse of the army located near the Azadi Square; after a while, we heard that it was lost. Then in 2000, the mayor of Isfahan, Mr. Javadi, asked me to sculpture a worthy symbol for Isfan; so, I decided to sculpture Kaveh Ahangar Statue. Of course, I was going to make Chogan player Statue too, but because of its high costs which need much bronze I changed my idea and sculptured Kabeh Statue. Sculpturing Kaveh Statue was mostly due to the mayor's decision who knew that the former statue of Azadi Square, was Shah Abbas Statue, was also sculptured by me.
How is Kaveh Ahandar tied to the Isfahan identity?
Fereydan is a city next to Isfahan in which people believe is the origin of Kaveh, therefore Isfahan people ascribe Kaveh to Isfahan; just like Hafez who belongs to people of Shirazi. Although all Iranian honorable figures belong to all Iranians, every city is proud of its own honors and Isfahan is proud of Kaveh.
How has the installation of statues such as Kaveh Ahangar in the city impact on the community?
The statue is like an open book. All of the people read this book everyday while passing by. If the statue is a positive figure, they certainly will take positive lessons, and if he is a negative figure, they will take negative lessons. If it has a poem or something to tell, it will be pleasant to people. Generally, statues are impressive because different people pass throu
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