Mohammad Negini
In the name of the creator of beauty
Some people know him as the reviver of gem stone carving art in the contemporary time. Awards, invaluable artworks and his great titles in the external and internal festivals are numerous. Mr. Mohammad Negini, skilful artist of gem stone carving, was born in 1953 and during only eighteen years of experience in this field he reached to distinguished positions in Iran and all across the world.
Summary of Dr. Negini achievements
- Selected in festival of Asia and Australia and Oceania, in 1993 among 45 countries in Tehran and in 1994 among 86 countries in Islamabad, Pakistan.
- Received the special reward of first gem stones festival in Iran in 1998.
- Successful participation in the Great Silkway Festival under control of UNESCO organization in 2000 and selected for cutting the ribbon starting the festival on that year.
- Received the special reward in the Great Silkway Festival in 2004.
- Establishment of Celebration regarding National day of culture and art in the special location of that in the Kyrgyzstan museum of beautiful arts in Bishkek City among 150 countries.
- Rewarded two honorary diplomas from faculty of Iranian Inventors and Innovators community in 2003.
- Received appreciation letter from National Elites Foundation in 2006.
- Establishment of Gem and Art gallery to exhibit art works in 2006.
- Received Ph.D. degree from Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in 2007.
- Establishment of the Institution of Gem and Art, first institution in the field of carving and design of gem stones, with the best rank in 2009.
- Establishment of cultural and artistic Institution of Gem and Art to teach hand-made and visual artworks by gem stones, plus running art exhibition and conferences in 2010.
- Participation in more than 40 art exhibitions inside and outside of country (Asia and Europe) to display artistic capability of Iranian people, 23 years of efforts, teaching for reviving and expanding this field of art, invaluable industry of Iranian ancient people.
Biography
Mr Negini was rewarded twice in the continent of Asia and Australia and Oceania festivals and in the Great Silkway Festival. He received the special reward of Ministry of Industries and Mines Exhibition in 1998 and UNESCO Silkway festival in the Bishkek City of Kyrgyzstan in the year of 2000 was opened by him.
Mr Negini told us this way his interest and attitude in stone carving: I have only eighteen years of experience in carving stone and prior to this I was drama writer, television writer in the Farabi Cinematic foundation and coach of Project Scenario Foundation. All of my work experience refers to performance art. In the year of 1988 for some reason I entered to the field of stone carving(and maybe I was forced) but I stayed in this field.
The story is that in the year of 1988, one of my childhood friends, after twenty years wanted to see me, he met me at my parental house and left me with a telephone number. My friend had a big workshop and jewellery store on that days. all designs of his jewellery was special and sort of secret and the only thing led to disclosure of this secret and his ideas was the carving of his stones. From that day on, he suggest to provide me all equipments devices, expenses and etc. provided that I worked for him as a carver of his stones. I didn't accept until the day he came to our place moody, when my wife was serving him, he said : ”good man, don’t you want to improve your life?” he told so and the sharp ears of my wife heard it. When he left the place, I couldn't take any book from library and couldn't take any paper to write. I wrote the last script of serial and submitted it, after that I did all of my payments and went to my friend’s workshop.
At the first, I set some conditions that I know nothing and can not do anything, I left literature and all my expenses is still alive at its place. At least I need to get paid 10,000 IRR monthly to be affordable of paying my rent,,, now, you imagine that he was paying 40 to 80 IRR to his workers in 1988, so the asking amount of money (10,000 IRR) didn't matter for him at all and was an easy job for him. I have been going to his workshop for three months without any coach, equipment, payment. I paid expense of my life from my pocket and by selling my stuff, until I passed that days. I was fed up with that and he didn't act like what he had told me. Carving gem stones was a secret and Inheritable job at that time and market instructor and masters of that didn't teach to people. Forget it! After three months I told him at least give me the address of two masters in this field. He gave me the address and I was heading toward the market by that. I was only up to talk with them but all of Masters in this field turned the devices off at the time of my arrival to keep their jobs as a secret. Nobody wanted to teach me! I got a diamond middle gem (it’s fair to say that diamond is a design not stone itself) and I was thinking with myself that how this is shaped like this. I started by guessing and thinking and tracking back. I simplified it to the first shape of that until I figured out something about the way we can carve it. After that I carved Marquis, Falamak, Avval, industrious and etc. whenever I was meeting the Masters of this field, they told me laughing that whether I found any equipment or not! One day after saying so I put my glass carving made with artificial tools in palm of his hand. He turned red from hand to his face, point to his son and said to him” look! I brought the art of carving stone to Iran, you who were beside me for years, learned nothing but he who had nobody beside him did this, look at what he have done!” he turned his face toward me and told me “I understood that you have passion of this art”. from that day, he rent me the required equipment and devices with an affordable price but never taught me! I never went to see my childhood friend after last meeting. I worked hard as much as I learned it completely and the day I was up to publish my experimental knowledge I was encountered with objections of traditional carving artists(regard to possible increase of stone carving artists). Even now, some of the old carvers of stones don’t intend to teach their skills to other people and in addition, some of them by establishing number of institutions without real knowledge and experience of carving the stone, just tend to make money of that and get their pockets full!
Two years after that story, around 1991, I got closer to the artistic aspect of the stone carving and in the year of 1992 I was rewarded the selective position of carving stone in the Asia and Australia Oceania hand-made artworks festival among 45 countries. I have been working as artist from the start, now when I'm going to carve the stone, It also should be kind of artistic work. I've never been a man of industry, so I don’t aim to carve stone to serve the consuming market.