Fars News Agency – visual group: Now the whole world knows that Qatar is the host of the World Cup, so every day news from this country is broadcasted to the whole world.

The news that is circulating these days is Qatar’s hosting of 40 giant public sculptures. Works that each present many stories. Of course, none of these giant works are ordinary works, but each of them are among the most expensive and important works of art in the last hundred years of the art field. From Jeff Koons and Louise Bourgeois to Richard Serra, Damon Hirst and dozens of other great artists are present at this event.

Events like this show that the World Cup is not just a short period of football matches and can be defined as the cultural sphere of the era. This is the reason why Qatar, a country that had not seen many statues before, now hosts the most prominent statues in the world.

It was just a few months ago that the five-meter bronze statue of Zinedine Zidane hitting Marco Materazzi’s chest became a point of controversy among Qatari citizens, and many did not appreciate its presence in the public arena and urban open space, but now with a short distance from those controversies. The city of Doha has turned into an open gallery and hosts 40 prominent and famous works, which are generally contemporary works produced after 1960.

The story of this five-meter bronze statue of Zinedine Zidane hitting Marco Materazzi’s chest with his head goes back to 2013, which was unveiled in Qatar. But only a few days after the unveiling ceremony, some Qatari people demanded the removal of the statue because it promoted idolatry, and others described the statue as encouraging violence. In the end, the government of Qatar responded positively to these protests and removed the controversial statue of Zinedine Zidane, but a few months ago, this statue was again installed in the public arena and unveiled.

Among this valuable collection, there is a work by Jeff Koons, 21 meters high called “Dugong”, a strange creature that will float in the waters of Qatar. The works of Jeff Koons are among the most expensive works of art in the world today.

One of the participants in this program is the famous American artist Jeff Koons, who has sold many works of art at astronomical prices during his career, and recently took the record of the most expensive living artist from David Hockney.

Among other works present in Qatar, we can mention the sculpture “Rooster” by “Katerina Fritsch”, “Gates to the Sea” by “Simone Fittal” and “7” by “Richard Serra”.

“Rooster” by “Katerina Fritsch”

“7” is a work of “Richard Serra”, Serra is one of the leading sculptors and one of the most important artists in the field of public art. He made his first sculpture in the Middle East based on the ideas of Iranian mathematician Abu Sahl Kohi. He built the 80-foot-high statue of 7 in Doha in front of the Qatar Museum of Islamic Arts in 2011. He mentioned the idea of ​​making this huge statue based on the belief in the sacredness of the number 7 and also surrounding the 7 sides in a circle by a mountain. He has considered two sources of inspiration for his work geometry. This sculpture is made of 7 steel sheets in a regular 7-sided shape

Among the 40 works of this public exhibition, there is also a collection of sculptures and temporary installations by the contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama in the Islamic Art Museum.

Yayoi Kusama (March 22, 1929) is a contemporary Japanese artist who primarily works in the field of sculpting and composition. He is also active in other artistic media such as painting, performance, film, fashion, poetry and story writing. At the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts, he studied the traditional Japanese painting style called Nihonga. But he was inspired by American abstract expressionism and has been creating art, especially in the field of composition, since the 1970s.

Of course, the complete list of artists whose works are exhibited in the public space of Qatar includes living and deceased international artists as well as a number of Qatari artists. Works by “Tom Classen”, “Isa Janzen” and… are also installed and exhibited in Doha, Qatar on this occasion.

Also, works by Ernesto Neto, Kaus, Ugo Rondinone, Rashid Johnson, Fischli & Weiss, Franz West, Fay Toogood, and Lawrence Weiner will be on display.

“Mother” by “Louise Bourgeois”, “Doors to the Sea” by “Simone Fittal” and “Ship” by Faraj Dham.

In addition to famous and expensive artists of the world, artists from Qatar are also present in this event. Featured local talent in the show include Qatari artist Shawa Ali, who explores the relationship between Doha’s past and present through dense, stacked sculptural forms. Aqab (2022) Qatari partner “Shaq Al Minas” Lusail Marina will also be installed along the promenade. Other artists such as “Adel Abedin”, “Ahmad Al-Bahrani”, “Salman Al-Mulk”, “Monira Al-Qadiri”, “Simon Fattal” and “Faraj Deham” are among the other artists whose works will be exhibited in this event.

The “Public Art Program” project is managed by the Qatar Museums Organization, which owns all the works on display. The Qatar Museum is managed by Sheikh Al-Mayasa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the sister of the ruling Emir and one of the most influential art collectors in the world, and its annual purchase budget is estimated to be around one billion dollars. In this regard, during the past weeks, the Qatar Museum has also announced the attractive program of exhibitions and the renovation of the Islamic Art Museum at the same time as the World Cup.

Finally, as the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup approaches, Qatar Museums (QM) has announced an extensive public art program that will gradually be implemented not only in the metropolis of the capital Doha, but also throughout this small emirate in the Persian Gulf. .

As predicted by Qatar Museums (QM), the country’s public areas, parks, shopping malls, railway stations, entertainment fields, cultural institutions, Hamad International Airport and finally, the eight stadiums hosting the 2022 World Cup have been renovated and statues have been installed. The project, titled “Great Museum of Art in Public Areas (Outdoor/Outdoor)” will be launched ahead of the FIFA World Cup celebrations and is expected to attract more than one million visitors.

The launch of the public art program comes just months after the Qatar Museums Organization announced three museums for Doha: a contemporary art campus designed by Alejandro Aravena, an Orientalist art museum designed by Herzog and de Meuron. “, and the “Qatar OMA” museum. The Museums Organization also unveiled the first Qatar 3-2-1 Olympics and Sports Museum, designed by Barcelona-based architect Juan Cibina, at the Khalifa International Stadium in March.

 

 

Qatar Museums Public Art Director Abdulrahman Ahmed Al Ishaq said in a statement: “More than anything else, the Qatar Museums Public Art Program is a reminder that art is all around us, it is not confined to museums and galleries and can be enjoyed. And celebrated, whether you go to work, school or in the desert or on the beach.

The commemorative element “Le Pouce” (which means “the thumb” in Spanish). The first example of this public monument is located in Paris

In the final analysis, outdoor sculpture which is defined under “public art” has been able to attract many audiences in many countries of the world. From 1960 onwards, artists tried to distance themselves from the space of closed galleries, which was generally followed by the elitist trend, and join public arenas and open spaces. In fact, this contemporary trend tried to erase the lines of separation by popularizing art. The dividing line between artwork-audience, popular-elitist art, art-non-art, etc. and with this method inject new blood into the veins of the art world and give it new life.

Therefore, in the late 20th century and early 21st century, public art found a formal and professional form, which aims to create a creative and global manifestation and create interaction with the audience/connoisseurs. In fact, it was from this period that attention to the mutual effects of public art with the audience was more and more noticed.

These days, the Qatar World Cup has created an opportunity for many of the most prominent sculptures and elements and arrangements made in recent decades to be available to guests and football spectators.

Undoubtedly, this event can be a double attraction for the audience and spectators present in Qatar along with football games. The attraction of culture and the influence of works of art.

The 2022 Qatar Football World Cup will begin on November 21 with the match between Senegal and the Netherlands at Al-Thumamah Stadium near Hamad International Airport.