Max Emadi's Islamo-Erotic Paintings!
Max Emadi
makanemadi@hotmail.com
Web Narration: Ahreeman X
August 2, 2007

L. Max Emadi's Eyes
R. Max Emadi

As you know, IPC "Spotlight" is reserved for the best that Iran has to offer. If you are the best in your field, then you just may end up in the IPC spotlight. And the IPC Spotlight of the season is now on Max Emadi. Iranians are famous for "Dead Worship", but let us make art an exception! We need to support our valuable artists while they are alive! Let us show them our appreciation. One of these fabulous artists is Max Emadi.

Max Emadi is an artist from Claremont, California. Max paints in many different categories such as:

Portraits
Self Portraits
Hero Worship
Etc.

But basically he does three major types of paintings:

Abstract
Islamic Erotica
Terrorists and Freedom Fighters

In addition he also sculpts Ceramic Statues.

Islamic Marilyn Monroe in Islamic Hollywood!
Wind from the vent blows the chador away!

At age 14 (1979), Max and his family were emigrated from Iran to Southern California. In Claremont High school, California, he studied art and sculpting. Max (originally Makan) has a bachelor's (Cal Poly Pomona) and a master's degrees (Cal State Long Beach) in Social Work and has been working a long while as a certified Chemical Dependency Counselor. Eventually Max had established himself as a psychotherapist.

Virgin # 71

Virgin # 53

After his career achievements in the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and as a faculty at Mount San Antonio College, Max went back to his passion and started practicing his art. He was successful and managed to participate in a few group and individual art shows. Since 2002, Max has been creating a series of small size ceramic figures, which he refers to as the "Beautiful Monsters." Started in 2004, Max painted a series of Islamo-Erotic veiled women in the form of the Calendar Girls!

Cultural Controversy

Max's work is about cultural controversy. Max himself is torn between two cultures. His work is diverse yet meaningful. Max questions the reality and fundamentals of politics, society and art! Max is in search of the truth and cultural identity. Max puts forward the questions, which many do not have the courage to put forward. Max searches deep in to the psyche of his characters and in to the society around them. Max's artistic approach is bold and appealing.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shaved and wearing a 3 piece suit!
Terrorists and Freedom Fighters Album
This is a western Anti Islamic sin, a controversy waiting to happen!

Max on Islamic Erotica

On the subject of Islamic Erotica, Max states:

"Representation of the female body is forbidden in strict Islamic tradition, and is therefore taboo in today's Muslim cultures. To imagine Western art without the nude is, in contrast, impossible. These paintings revisit the Western tradition of pin-up art and its "celebration " of the female form while "lovingly" objectifying it through overexposure and unnatural posing of the model. The Middle East's version of sexism, in contrast, takes the form of control through mandated repressive female clothing, or "Hejab," in the name of protecting and honoring women.

I have avoided referring to my heritage in my work until now. After all, I have lived in Los Angeles most of my life, not Iran, and expressing "pride in cultural diversity" has been too fashionable a movement for me. However, in recent years, as in 1979, when my family immigrated to the United States, I have been confronted by my "otherness" on a more regular basis. As the battles between fundamentalists on both sides of the globe rage on, so do my bicultural conflicts.

Mid-Eastern Belly Dancer

In my new series of paintings, "Islamic Erotica," I have portrayed Muslim women in a style that references American pin-up art, modern advertising, and photographs of tribal women in National Geographic-type publications.

Persian Belly Dancer

When these seemingly contradictory traditions are combined, we can envision an absurd future where the ever-expanding arm of globalization and the growing influence of American-style democracy in the Middle East will continue to manifest into stranger and more outlandish hybrids."

Max on Beautiful Monsters

On the subject of his ceramic sculptures "Beautiful Monsters", Max states:

"The hope is that each individual of my ceramic sculptures has an internal aesthetic charm masked by a more glaring and obvious external ugliness. In this way, I view them just like each of us humans; or is the opposite true of most people?"

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."
[Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher (1844 - 1900), Beyond Good and Evil]

On Max Emadi's Art

Let us dig deeper in Max Emadi's world of arts, shall we?

Beautiful Monsters

Even though the concept is very interesting, yet the style is surrealistic modern art and as a lover of classical sculpting, I see no value in modern sculpting. I am a Michelangelo type o guy. I am not crazy about Max's sculptures; however, if you are a fan of modern sculpting and you do not mind getting nightmares by setting a few of these statues on your bedstand, then by all means, purchase a few and welcome to Max Emadi's Nightmare!

Self-Portrait: Max with scar

Overall I find Max's philosophical view on these statues, interesting. His style maybe bizarre yet also interesting.

Max Emadi's Beautiful Monsters Ceramic Sculptures

Abstract

If you are in to Abstract Art, you may find these pieces appetizing, but again, as a classical art lover, I dislike Abstract Art. It has nothing to do with Max Emadi's work, but in general I do not value Abstract and Modern Art, even Pablo Picasso!

I do not value Cubism, Abstract and Surrealism. I love Classical Paintings and Realism. I take Da Vinci paintings over Picasso hands down, any day of the week! Nothing personal Max!

Max Emadi's Abstract Paintings

Terrorists and Freedom Fighters

Now these series are interesting art. Max has taken a new approach in the world of Freedom Fighters and Terrorists, but then again, one's freedom fighter is the other's terrorist! It is up to you to decide who is the freedom fighter and who is the terrorist?!

Mohamad Reza Shah Pahlavi
Terrorist? Freedom Fighter? Hero Worship?

In this series Max has painted a number of different political characters including G. W. Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Mohamad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Max Emadi's Terrorists and Freedom Fighters Paintings

Islamic Erotica

Islamic Erotica is basically Max's bread and butter! This series is his Neo Artistic Statement to the world. I believe that in this series, Max had outdone himself and truly explored and displayed his artistic talent. In the past, this has been done in the form of cartoons, yet it has never been done as art. This is more than a Calendar Girl Series but it is something different, something new and something surely bold!

Let us enjoy Max Emadi's art while he is alive and before Ayatollahs put a price on his head and release a Fatwa to behead him for insulting Islam! Max, don't worry and don't go in hiding (like Salman Rushdie), I am only kidding!

General Conclusion

Overall, I have to give credit for Max Emadi as a new artist who has something to say. Artists are a dime a dozen and Persian artists grow on trees! Most of them paint garbage, basically throw and splash some paint on the canvas and call it art! Amazingly they also manage to sell them for a few thousand dollars each!

Max is surely a breath of fresh air in this jungle of Bang O Salavat Art!

For more information:

Max Emadi
makanemadi@hotmail.com

Please visit these sites:

Max Emadi Site

Max Emadi Blog

Max Emadi Gallery on Ariki Art

Ariki Art

IPC Art and Literature

Max Emadi, Persian Artist

Let us support our valuable Persian artists. I strongly recommend for you to visit Max Emadi's Gallery, collect some of his art and support the artist.

More power to Art.

Dr. X