- We knew from the history of art in the whole world about musicians who started their creative life since their childhood at 8 years of age, even some of them wrote symphonies at that early age. But we never heard of fine artists starting their creative life at such an age. Yet, in Egypt artist Mohammed Mandour (47), artist of vessels, started in pottery of old egypt when he was six years of age. He was making his vessels using rotating plate till forming clay became an easy task for him, and now he presents his beautiful artistic vessels in both individual and collective exhibitions. He is considered -without arguing- the master of the form ; being a professional in this field makes him takes no time in making vessels, unlike the other artists who were trained to make vessels using ferris wheel after they joined artistic faculties. And this made the vessels of Mandour real artistic formations generated from sense and emotion , and motivated by strong passion. He is like a musician who does not bother himself with technical matters concerning playing on the lute or the piano. It is known that the vessel artists are not much in Egypt, and most of them are ceramists who do other things besides artistic vessels as squaring ceramics and covering walls. But Mandour has nothing to do but creating aesthetical applied decorating vessels; his vessels are like paintings and statues we see for their aesthetical value, and not to put flowers in it or keeping it.
Artist critic/ Makram Hanin
Al-Ahram 29/6/1997
The son of Fostat.... Master of the daughter of fire
-Pottery`s father and mother are fire
-This origion created pottery`s position in all civilizations since man inhabited the area near springs of the Nile, and discovered fire which sometimes burnt him, and some other times was subdued by him.
-Although there is no certain civilization wich monopolized pottery, it has a special relationship with the pharonic civilization which goes beyond the familiar connection between man and things.
-Since our ancestors, the Pharaohs, till the past few years, pottery was the most used item in the Egyptian daily life by both the rich and the poor. Then there is no wonder if we know that vessels, cooking pots, plates, and frying pans made of pottery were basic things in Egyptian life whether in the city or the country.
-And there is the genius invention that includes both functional and values of beauty known as jars`olla` which was like a fridge before the refrigerator was invented.
-Before all this and even after, Egypt is the only country where birth is related to pottery as the `birth party ewer` was and still the most important rite in celebrating the birth of every newly born child in Egypt.
-With this special relation, Egyprian pottery acquired a unique feature through ages, just as the Egyptian pottery acquired a distinctive soul.
-Among those ceramists whom Egypt is proud of all through its long great history, is artist Mohmmed Khalil Mandour who was able to pave his own way, to make for himself a special `corner` carrying his name and his prints in the `passage` of this beautiful art, and to open the gates of a school in which he is a principle, a dean, and the top of its teachers so we can distinguish his works among 1000 works from the first instance.
-The works of Mandour have a special flavour, distinguished taste, and a rare soul which made the great late artist `Bikar` call him `son of fustat` because he has inherited the traditions of the pottery of old Egypt, absorbed its nectar, took its techniques and ethics as a model, and grasped them all just as bees drink the nectar of flowers to produce honey that delights hearts, heals the wounded, and pleases viewers.
-If the Egyptian pottery is the core of the world pottery, the pottery of Mohmmed Mandour is the pride of the contemporary Egyptian pottery.
-In other words, Egyptian pottery is the conclusion of world`s pottery, and Mohmmed Mandour is the senior of the ceramists.
-This distinguished position inhabited by Mandour`s works is not a coincidence, and the way to reach it was not full of flowers.But rather it is the out come of a long fascinating journey of struggle, an exhausting way of learning and acquiring experience, a story of hard work, loyality, love which reaches the point of celebacy in the mihrab of this beautiful art, and wise contemplation in his books of secrets through a genius dialogue between clay , ferris wheel, colours oxides, fire degrees, fingers of talented artist.
-As for the conclusion of this creative dialogue, it is these huge, beautiful vessels and pots with which Mandour surprises us; so it fires our imagination, frees our insights as its lines, curves, colours and shadows takes us to an eternal journey whose origins goes back to the Pharaonic,Coptic , Islamic Egypt, it even reaches the sky of the present, and the future.
Saad Hagras |
