Part of Minoo Emami’s Peace March sculptures, “Lamia” reinterprets foot prostheses worn for more than 20 years by an Iranian woman who lost her legs in a city bombing; in name, it commemorates an Iraqi woman whose husband and brother were killed in the Iran-Iraq War. Emami’s process began by making plaster casts of her own legs, from which she then made sand molds. Glass was then blown into the molds by a Tehran glass artisan. Finally, because the prosthesis owner had personalized her feet by painting their toenails, Emami was inspired to delicately hand decorate – and beautify -- each leg.
Photo courtesy of Minoo Emami
In Peace March, a Voice Against War
Minoo Emami’s empathy for those who have endured the devastation of war has established her as an accomplished anti-war and anti-violence artist, one who translates outrage and grief into works that seek to transcend the indelible pain of loss. Her project The Peace March, started in 2013, is a series of sculptures that integrate blown glass limbs, both legs, and arms, with used prostheses. Her work also incorporates calligraphy, Persian tiles, tapestry, and textiles.
Born and raised in Iran, Emami, A19 (SMFA/BFA), witnessed the Iranian Revolution as a teenager; soon afterward the war with Iraq started. Originally a self-taught painter and sculptor, she creates art connected by a shared theme: to highlight women's stories and how ordinary people’s lives are devastated by the consequences of violence and war.
Her work has been exhibited worldwide, published widely, and has been collected privately and within the permanent collection of the Newport Art Museum, Newport, Rhode Island, USA, and at Lettre International in Berlin, Germany among others. She continues to build a practice as a multidisciplinary artist working across—in addition to glass—painting, drawing, photography, video, performance, and sculpture.
“My work with glass began at the SMFA when I started looking to talk with Iraqi women in Cambridge, a survival of the 1980s Iran-Iraq War. I wanted to translate trauma into art that would empower women and raise a collective voice against war and violence.
Minoo Emami
“My first inspiration was a pair of prostheses feet that belonged to a woman who used them for more than 20 years in Iran. It touched my heart; she had painted the nails with nail polish. I was thinking about her desire as a woman to be beautiful without having her own legs. So, I thought I have to make something beautiful and unique too—a beautiful work of art that would make women like her feel proud to have endured.
“It was a challenging idea because I've never worked with glass. But then it had so much resonance. By its nature, glass is firm, it's hard, and then we melt it, and then we make it hard again, and at every stage, it's very vulnerable. In case of damage, we can melt it again and remake it. That process of renewal, remaking, and rebirthing felt right. It’s like our journey through life. With every political and social violence and exchange, we break, we shatter, and then we must rebuild our lives, and heal from trauma. We must find each other, unify, and grow together.
“I was lucky that on a trip to Iran, I found a blowing glass artisan. He was a practicing Muslim, liked my concept, and let me into his male-dominant glass shop. However, he challenged me: ‘If you make the mold, I will help you learn how to blow the glass.
’Within weeks of experimentation in my home studio, I made perfect traditional sand molds for the glass pieces. First, I cast my own two legs because those two feet I had were my size. Then made a two-part sand mold (in wood boxes with hinges) for each leg and transport them to his shop. During the process of making the casted glasses, I assisted him. At first, I was not comfortable as the only woman in the space and burned my face and hair! But eventually, I was successful.
Another quality that I love about glass is its fragility. Down to the last second that you are casting, painting on, or even moving the piece, you must be careful and thoughtful. To me, that speaks to a profound concept: how we experience being humans in relationship to each other and the world.
“As an artist, I believe in the power of storytelling to help us transcend the pain and tragedy of war. I connected these sculptures with stories of Iranian and Iraqi true resilience and share them, beyond language and culture, with whoever cared about humanity and peace. I believe art, a performance, or a painting, can connect our hearts, and share perspectives, a chance to heal or feel, or a part of a larger humanity.”
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November 14, 2022 at 07:00PM
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Glass Imagined through the Artist's Eye | Tufts Now - Tufts Now
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