AMMAN — Art should not be “studied”, Areej Salameh, 24, believes,
rather it should be a free expression of one’s self, unbound by rules.
“There should be no laws that bind you to use specific
colors together or use a specific structure to draw. If there is one thing I
learned is that art cannot be taught,” the young artist told
Jordan News in a recent interview.
اضافة اعلان
The young artist’s work explores heritage, culture, and
women, including original drawings as well as parodies of famous artists’
paintings, infused with local heritage, such as, “Girl with a Pearl Earring”
and “Mona Lisa”, which she recreates with models dressed in traditional
Jordanian outfits, or relocates the painting to a setting from her own cultural
background.
“When we talk about art, the first thing to come to my mind
is women. To me, art and beauty are women,” Salameh, a graduate of literature
and arts, says.
Salameh describes herself as a “free artist”, working with
portraits, mainly oil paintings, and sometimes mural drawings, but without any
formal art education or courses. She believes she was “born with an instinct to
draw.”
As a day job, Salameh works as a managing assistant at the
School of Travel.
People at her workplace have demonstrated a lot of support
to her passion for art, by allocating a mural for her to display her work, as
well as turning to her when any illustration work is needed.
“Even though I am an artist, I believe that here in Jordan
you must explore your talents in other fields as well,” She told Jordan News.
“My work as a managing assistant did not really have anything to do with art,
but I chose to explore different potentials in the work field.”
Although the young artist would like to enter the art
gallery scene, she found that the art scene in Jordan is too restricted for her
liking, and would constitute a barrier in her path, as she does not follow a
certain art school or form.
Instead, Salameh chose a different route to display her
work, sharing her favorite pieces on her social media platforms.
Salameh hopes that artists would be more encouraged to
expand their knowledge on the “philosophy of art”, by reading, exploring the
world of psychology, and recommends that they “keep an open mind on many other
aspects that can assist them in making their work unique, and self-reflective.”
She believes that this strategy is more important to focus
on than just following the usual rules, like focusing on the structure, colors,
and lighting, etc.
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