#MOHAMED GHANI HIKMAT

[zahraaforest]

[olympic-paris]

'Save Iraqi Culture' - a surreal monument depicting a five-armed giant supporting a toppling cylinder seal; Baghdad, Iraq : In 2010, a bizarre sculpture was unveiled in the Mansour district of Baghdad, Iraq. Designed by renowned sculptor Mohammed Ghani Hikmat, it depicts a muscular giant supporting a Sumerian-style cylinder seal, which is broken at the base and toppling, using all his five arms. When deciphered, the cuneiform on the cylinder seal reads “writing began here” in reference to the Mesopotamian civilization’s role in the development of writing systems. Commissioned by the mayor of Baghdad, it was part of the city’s attempt to improve its long-tarnished image, to promote the richness of Iraqi culture and history. The area of what is modern Iraq was the birthplace one of the earliest human civilizations. A long series of literate cultures, cities, kingdoms and empires emerged in Fertile Crescent between Tigris and Euphrates rivers. When Alexander the Great entered the gates of Babylon at the head of his armies, he was an upstart, while Iraq was the home of what was already an ancient civilization. Sumerian civilization emerged in Iraq about 4000 BC. It evolved a rich and complex culture; built cities, temples and palaces; and developed sophisticated irrigation systems for large-scale agriculture. Sumerians also developed the earliest system of writing cuneiform in which they recorded their myths such as the famous “Epic of Gilgamesh.” Sumerians invented the wheel about 3700 BC and a system of mathematics. Sumerians were followed by the Babylonians and the Assyrians. King Hammurabi of Babylon promulgated a famous law-code, which was a landmark in the development of a system of social justice. Biblical Abraham, spiritual father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, was originally from the city of Ur in Iraq. Assyrians further developed geometry and medical science. Alexander‘s conquest led the building of Greek cities and the spread of Hellenistic culture. Finally, Iraq was absorbed into the Persian Empire until the rise of the Muslim empires in 7th Century AD. Baghdad became the capital of the Abbasid Empire in 8th Century. This cosmopolitan commercial city was a famous center of culture and learning. It was regarded as the intellectual center of the world, standing at the crossroads of the trade routes between Europe, Byzantium, Middle East, India and China. Arab, Greek and Persian cultures mingled, and philosophy, science, medicine, literature and the arts flourished in universities and the court. Arabic became the primary language and most of the people gradually converted to Islam. Christians and Jews lived with Muslims in relative harmony as worshipers of the one God. The Empire reached from the borders of China to the Mediterranean and northern Africa. Catastrophe struck with Mongol invasions of Genghis Khan and his successors in 13th Century. Baghdad was conquered and the countryside devastated. The entire region went into decline. Irrigation systems collapsed and agriculture declined to be replaced by swamps and marshes. European discovery of a route around Africa to India led the decline of trade and commerce through Iraq. Urban society declined and the people turned to tribally-based pastoral nomadism. It was a “dark age.” In 17th Century, Iraq became a province of the Turkish Ottoman Empire until British took over after WWI. Britain set up a monarchy which became independent in 1932.

[pwlanier]

Mohammed Ghani Hikmat (Iraq, 1929-2011)

Women Peering

wooden sculpture

signed and dated 1963

Bonhams

[dykemind]

SAMA ALSHAIBI

THE CESSATION

"The Cessation” calls attention to the invisibility of Iraqi women who have disappeared or been assassinated during the US led war in Iraq. The lack of official investigations has resulted in the ongoing targeted assassinations of other prominent women in Iraq today. The silhouetted neon figure recalls an iconic bronze fountain by the late Iraqi artist Mohammed Ghani Hikmat. That sculpture, Kahramana, is situated a traffic circle in Baghdad. The Cessation reflects my concerns with vulnerable communities, the aftermath of war, and rendering absence into visible form. Words carved into vessels are drawn from lists of Iraqi academics assassinated and include: Mnemocide, Ambushed, She Was, Professora, Disappeared, Organized & Planned, Scrubbed, Shot Dead and Unknown. Originally commissioned and produced by Artpace San Antonio Photo credit Seale Photography Studios The Cessation (Al-Takwir, The Folding Up) Date: 2019 Medium: neon, aluminum, acrylic, palm fronds, water, copper, terracotta, and sound Size: dimensions variable

[maitham-alaradi]

Prof. Rasheed Hameed Hussein

An International Fine Artist and Painter from Iraq. Was born 1951 in Baghdad. Recognized and called "The Painter of Iraq." He studied at the hands of giants in the field of Art and veteran professors. Including the Iraqi International Artist, Mr. Faeq Hassan (also known as Fayiq Hassan), the International Artist, Painter and Sculptor Mr. Jawad Saleem, the International Fine Artist Mr. Ismail Al-Sheikhli, and the International Artist, Painter and Sculptor Mr. Mohammed Ghani Hikmat and others. Graduated from the Art Institute in Baghdad in 1969. He also graduated from Arts Academy in 1974, after obtaining the first place with distinction. Professor and University Lecturer in Iraq at Baghdad University, College of Fine Arts, and Demonstrator at the University of Technology in the Department of Architecture and at other universities in the United States of America and United Kingdom. He holds the best "hand drawing teaching title in the Arab world. Founder of the Arab Ahlia College in May 1993. Founder of the Department of Architectural Engineering at Al-Esraa University College in the Republic of Iraq in 2015, and he also founded the Department of Architecture at Uruk University in 2017. He received many awards and honors from different countries' leaders, presidents and rulers. He also participated in numerous exhibitions around the world. He specialized in many schools of drawing schools, such as the classical school, the realist school, the abstract school, the cubist school, and the surrealist school, and he has a special and unique style of drawing, and has a prominent artistic career and great imprints in the history of Arab and international art.

[7asanain]

Statue save the iraqi culture by mohammed ghani hikmat . i have designed it to be snapchat geofilter in baghdad #snapchat #geofilter #WAITING_TO_APPROVE_IT