IMAGE 3000
"Image 3000" is a project about designing and creating felt by Behrouz Darash (Sculptor) and Elham Moazzami (Textile designer) which was performed since 1996 to 1998 for 2 years and its outcome is 60 felt boards that are being reflected in the first part this present book and as well, 60 digital pantings reflected in second part of this book that are designed under the inspiration of thes felts.
"Image 3000" is actually imaginations, fantasies and a visual journey from now and here to the depths of history and returning to the present moment and that how the first felts were and which path they went through and how they can have an effective presence in present life.
Actually an ontological questioning in felt existence and that why it is not present in today life and is not being used and that what the truth laying inside felt is. Can this forgoten custom be come back to life?
Challenging felting custom is going farther than what is existing and being involved in this activity by designing and producing and reaching the felt truth, putting creativity instead of proficiency. Unlocking felt secrets and that how the first felts were and which patterns and designs they had and how they should be today. It is a challenge between custom and modernity, making a connection between present, past and future for achieving cognition and manifestation of felt and not being surrendered in repeating and geometrical, regular and in some cases non-genuine patterns, investigating and finding this truth that how the initial characteristics felt works and how it flies over the limits of a pattern or a design and at last giving some scope to the nature of felt and being involved in this activity to achieve the truth and manifestation of felt by designing and producing felt.
Historically the evolution of felt have been in the fields of performance skills and regular repeated patterns and technocracy that this means have found some kind of metaphysical, religious and holiness, a paradoxical situation that in one hand protect the historical existence of felt and in the other hand resist against felt transformations, the exact property we know from custom.
Felt existence in historical evolution path of itself, in passing from first felt patterns which had more coordination to the felt nature, have been affected by rug and Gabbeh, carpet by some factors like pattern, size, color and the misses the first situation and freedom of itself which is based on wool interconnection.
Felt is not a texture nor a painting but it is wet wool interconnection that changes to felt after rubbing. pattern and design are just made of wool in several colors in expression of “pooring the wool” then it is washed and rubbed with water and soap by the “felting man” in order to make the patterns appear on felt and be stable and then the felt is made.
Felt is a unique occurrence for its desire to interfere the patterns and making deformations and the lack of full compliance of the first made design that in this aspect makes it different from Gabbeh, rug or carpet and painting tableau.
In Iran felt is a historical flow and a tribal symbol and reminds nomadic actions. Tribes and nomads produce felt very normally and naturally during their life procedure and use it with no concerns and when it is trodden and torn apart they throw it away. Because of its Vulnerability and less care in comparison with other hand-woven of man like carpet and rug; felt has a shorter life and so we rarely encounter old felts in history.
Old felts could be simulated to. the tablet of existence which is full of vanished sediments and footprints. as it is said Image3000 is a challenge about patterns, colors and sizes of felts by a new and creative point of view with the purpose of showing today’s felts and how it could be used in today modern and changed life and get this priceless forgotten art from on the ground onto the wall.
To achieve a synthesis of performed challenges by Image 3000 this performance had a quadrupled direction:
- - an effort to achieve initial and early patterns
- - designing felts based on ancient myths
- - designing and using traditional patterns
- - designing and using non geometrical abstract patterns
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