Early life and education
Mohammad was born in Kuwait on October 1, 1943. His father was a tailor. As a child, he liked playing with clay and made forms that looked like birds and animals and sold them to his friends. When he was a student at Sabaah School, he helped in creating statues for a school project for commemorating the battle ofCareer
Before leaving for the USA to study further, The Kuwaiti University deputized him as a visiting artist to teach tutorials in visual arts. While Mohammad was in the USA, he start working on his first major collection called ''Curves''. After completing his education, he returned to Kuwait in 1976. On his return, he started working on ''Before birth'', "After birth" and "Motherhood". In 1978, he was selected to represent Kuwait at the Kuwaiti Artists Exhibition in Paris and later represented Kuwait at the Tenth International Sculpture conference held in Toronto. Upon returning from the conference, he began work on his ''Box'' series and subsequently started focusing on mankind and humans as the subject of his sculptures and arts. He held his first travelling exhibition in 1994, which included both paintings and sculptures. The exhibition opened in Sharjah, organized by Department of Culture and Information, Directorate of Arts, then moved toWorks
The subject of most of Mohammad's work has been human and Arab revolution. In the beginning of his career, he was involved in making life-size sculptures. Some of the important ones included ''Ibn Rushd'' (1964) and ''Al-Khalil Bin Ahmad'' (1965). Mohammad often made sculptures that were related to the crisis of the time. In 1983, he made Sabra and Shatila, expressing the pain of Sabra and Shatila massacre and before that he made sculptures relating to the Crisis in the Cairo in 1970's. He started working on Boxes series, in 1979, which became one of his major works. Other important works by him included the ''Shackled'' series, which were paintings and drawings in Chinese ink on paper and the ''Call for Help'' series, ''The Sailor'' (1964) and ''Mother'' (1968). After returning from the US, his art changed considerably, having been influenced by the Western artist. Upon returning from the US, he started studying other artists' work and sought to find new ways of expression.''Sabra and Shatila''
''Sabra and Shatila'' is a sculpture made by Mohammad in 1983 after the Sabra and Shatila massacres. It was the subject of a paper written by Zahra Hussein in 2010. The sculpture shows a man on a block who is blindfolded and appears to be writhing in pain. Hussein wrote in her paper that "his form is simple yet highly polysemous. In Sabra and Shatila, the barely alive single, recumbent body bound by incising, torturous fetters stands for a people. Mohammad's Sabra and Shatila does what the media images and abstract art regularly decline to do. It Solemnizes its narrative dimension, merges the secular and the sacred and engages in the critique of Political Darwinism."Statue of Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah
Mohammad was commissioned by Al-Aam Newspaper in 1971 to make a statue of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, who was the ruler of Kuwait from 1950 to 1965. The statues was made of Bronze and completed in 1972. While discussing, Mohammad's work, Arab Times wrote that "the pose the artist chose for his creation and the expression on the face of the Amir reveals the noble bearing of the man he was..." and called it "one of the most important works" by Mohammad. Later, Mohammad also made the statue of Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. Both these statues were presented at 55th Venice Biennale.''Hunger''
In 1970, Mohmmad made ''Hunger'', which is a sculpture that shows a mother and a child, all skin and bones. The sculpture was modelled of synthetic marble. It was called the "true epitome of hunger and starving humanity" by the Arab Times.Artistry and style
The subject of majority of work by Mohammad has been humans and the Arab revolution. The topics for his sculptures surround the ideas of oppression, genocide and suffering. He has made many sculptures that were about the tragedies of his time: the tragedy of Sabra and Chatila, political oppression, economic difficulties and human aggressiveness. An article published in '' Al-Watan'' in 1985 wrote than "Sami has always been faithful to the subjects of his sculpting: humanity and the Arab revolutionary. In this, he is considered a follower of Iraqi school of art sculpture. However, in his style, he belongs to the gulf school. Nevertheless, he has maintained his own steady and prevailing style." His art has been influenced by the Arab awakening of the 70's and the liberalism that came about subsequently. A paper analysing, the work of Mohammad wrote that "in his early career, Mohammad enjoyed the benefits of the Arab awakenings liberalism and sculpted life size male and female figures in nude, seminude categories. Later, in his mature years, he witnessed the dwindling support for art when less liberal ideologies ascended politically and the exuberant culture climate, brought about by the ideals of Arab awakening and Arab nationals, waned." After returning from the US, his art changed considerably, having been influenced by the Western artist. Upon returning from the US, he started studying other artists' work and sought to find new ways of expression. Freedom is yet another important concept in the art of Mohammad. A paper about his art discussed that "...his visual art suggests that the sign of the buoyancy of culture is the conviction that the underpinning logos should be freedom–and most specifically, free speech..."Publications
In 1995, Mohammad published his first and only book, ''The Art of Sami Mohammad'', a bilingual Arabic-English book which traces the development of his career. Mohammad has also been the subject of multiple publications. In 2004, ''Sami Mohammad and the Semiotics of Abstraction'' was published that discussed his artwork and style in great detail. In 2010, a paper entitled ''Aesthetics of Memorialization: The Sabra and Shatila Genocide in the Work of Sami Mohammad,Reception
Mohammad's work has received critical acclaim in Kuwait as well as internationally. His work has received considerable media attention. In a series of articles about Mohammad's life, the Arab Times wrote that "Sami is an artist deeply involved in the human saga. Everything that spells tragedy and suffering interests him." In September 1987, the Al-Arabi Magazine while reviewing his work wrote that, "one of the most important elements that gave the formative works of Sami Mohammad a considerable degree of steadiness and strength is his full commitment to the creation of visual and intellectual connection between one artistic step and other." Mohammad has often been called one of the most important artists in Kuwait. The Al-Quds Al-Arabi called him "the most prominent aspect in formative art in Kuwait and the Arab world." The Kul al-Arab called his work "noisily eloquent" and "his sculptures are the result of a deep understanding of the feeling and suffering of the viewer". Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, has said "his works are worthy of being displayed in the lobbies and corridors of the United Nations Building in New York and of the UNESCO in Paris."Selected awards and honors
*1984 – First prize in First Cairo Art Biennial *1988 – First prize at the Kuwait General Exhibition *1988 – First prize at the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) Art Biennial *State of Kuwait National Merit Award, given by the National Council for Culture, Arts and LettersReferences
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