eL Seed: Street art with a message of hope and peace
ال سعد: هنر خیابانی با پیامی از صلح و امید
French-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
the minaret of Jara Mosque
من منارههای مسجد جارا در
in the south of Tunisia,
نقاشی میکردم،
so much attention to a city.
این میزان توجه در شهر به خود جلب کند.
for a wall in my hometown,
was built in '94.
of concrete stayed grey.
طوسی رنگ باقی مانده بودند.
and I told him what I wanted to do,
he was waiting for somebody
is that he didn't ask me anything --
که او از من چیزی نخواست--
or what I was going to write.
یا چیزی که میخواهم بنویسم.
I write messages
یک پیام به سبک خودم
a mix of calligraphy and graffiti.
ترکیبی از خوشنویسی و نقاشی دیواری.
the most relevant message
should come from the Quran,
باید از قرآن باشد،
from a male and a female,
از زن و مرد خلق کردیم،
so you may know each other."
تا یکدیگر را بشناسید"
tolerance, and acceptance
تحمل و پذیرش یکدیگر بود
portray in a good way in the media.
توسط رساناها به تصویر کشیده نمیشود.
community reacted to the painting,
the minaret getting so much attention
این میزان توجه رساناهای بین المللی در سراسر جهان
all around the world.
just the painting;
a monument for the city,
به بنای تاریخی ماندگاری برای شهر،
to this forgotten place of Tunisia.
فراموش شده تونس بکشاند.
of Tunisia at this time,
Quran in a graffiti way
با نقاشی دیواری مینوشتم
the essence of my artwork.
even Arabic-speaking people
حتی مردم عرب زبان هم
to decipher what I'm writing.
به تمرکز واقعا زیادی دارند.
the meaning to feel the piece.
آن را بدانید تا آن را احساس کنید.
your soul before it reaches your eyes.
جذب کند روح شما را لمس میکند.
that you don't need to translate.
شما نیازی ندارید که معنای آن را بدانید.
where I'm painting,
a universal dimension,
can connect to it.
and read Arabic when I was 18.
به یادگیری خواندن و نوشتن زبان عربی.
this is so important to me,
I've experienced all around the world.
تجربه کردهام.
this Portuguese poem
to the poor people of the favela,
intrigued by what I was doing,
من انجام میدادم شدند،
the meaning of the calligraphy,
معنای خوشنویسی را به آنها دادم،
connected to the piece.
و با این قطعه مرتبط شدند.
concrete wall of the slum.
فقیرنشینی را به من پیشنهاد کردند.
impossible until it's done."
به نظر ناممکن میآید."
"Man, why you don't write in English?"
" چرا این را انگلیسی نمی نویسی؟"
your concern legit if you asked me
جایز بود اگر از من میپرسیدی
که آن را نقاشی کنم.
and he asked for the wall to be erased.
و گفت که دیوار را پاک کن.
of the event asked me to come back,
از من خواست تا برگردم،
right in front of this guy's house.
برابر خانه آن مرد هست.
to write, "[In Arabic],"
and I wrote, "[In Arabic],"
of it through my artwork.
the stereotypes we all know,
of the message anymore on the wall.
دیگر بر دیوارها نمی نویسم.
of the calligraphy to be broken,
without knowing the meaning,
آن بدون دانستن معنایش لذت ببرید،
from other countries.
سایر ملتها لذت میبرید.
as a rejection or a closed door,
بستن درها میبینند،
to my culture, and to my art.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
eL Seed - ArtistFrench-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents.
Why you should listen
Born in Paris to Tunisian parents, eL Seed travels the world, making art in Paris, New York, Jeddah, Melbourne, Gabes, Doha and beyond. His goal: to create dialogue and promote tolerance as well as change global perceptions of what Arabic means. In 2012, for instance, he painted a message of unity on a 47-meter-high minaret on the Jara mosque in Gabes, Tunisia. This piece and others can be found in his book, Lost Walls: Graffiti Road Trip through Tunisia
Most recently he created a sprawling mural in the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood of Cairo that spans 50 buildings and can only be viewed from a local mountaintop. Intending to honor the historic garbage collectors of the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood, the piece reads, "Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first."
eL Seed | Speaker | TED.com