TEHRAN Born in 1984, Soheil Danesh-Eshraqi has been drawing cartoons since 1993. Although he is very young, he has already made lots of progress in this area of art.
His latest achievement was winning the special prize of the Zagreb 2000 International Cartoon Festival held in Croatia.
Among his other achievements are the second rank in the cartoon competition with the theme of cultural invasion, the first rank in the competition with the theme of the usurper Zionist regime and the first rank in the international cartoon competition held in Belgium in 1998.
Moreover, Danesh-Eshraqi contributes to the New York-based Cartoon News periodical.
Considering his international achievements, the TEHRAN TIMES conducted an interview with this young cartoonist. The text of the interview is as follows: Q: Compared with the youngsters who are of your age, you have achieved remarkable success in the area of art. What do you think is the reason for this? A: Self-confidence has played a major role in my success. However, I have also been greatly influenced by the works of my instructors like Mr. Bahrami and Mr. Alizadeh.
Q: Why do you think cartoons are created? A: What cannot be expressed in words can usually be expressed easily through cartoons.
Such works usually make the viewers think and of course, at times, they call forth different responses.
Q: What style do you follow in drawing your cartoons? A: I'm mostly interested in animation. But in drawing cartoons I prefer the style of realism.
Q: When I was looking at your works, I felt you have some inclination toward sarcasm. Am I right? A: Yes, you're right. Contrary to my own characteristics, most of my works are sarcastic, since I'm interested in a mysterious and gloomy atmosphere to dominate my works.
Q: Can people easily set up relation with your works? A: Today the situation has changed. Once we had only one satirical periodical which nobody gave any attention to. But today there are many magazines published in this area, and people express much more enthusiasm for them than before.
Q: To what extent do you think our cartoonists are free to express their ideas? A: Due to certain considerations in our society, cartoonists should act within a specific framework. Even the Iranian cartoonists taking part in international contests observe certain restrictions.
Q: What kind of cartoons have flourished more considerably in Iran? A: Journalistic cartoons have always had the largest number of audience throughout the world. It is also the same in Iran.
Q: Where do cartoons mostly flourish in our society? A: Cartoons mainly flourish in the print media. Of course festivals have also brought about a major development in this regard. In the previous years Iranians seldom participated in international festivals. But today tens of Iranians take part in every festival held abroad.
Q: Have cartoons achieved their real status in the Iranian print media? A: Yes, this is what I can say for sure. Today, some of our publications carry cartoons even on their front pages.
As regards the theme and style of cartoons, Iranian cartoonists lead many other cartoonists across the world.
Q: To what extent do you approve of the policies adopted by the visual arts center toward young artists? A: Unfortunately, the rights of cartoonists are violated in Iran, and the least amount of money is paid for cartoons.
This is also true of other branches of art in this country.
Q: As far as drawing cartoons is concerned, which objectives you have not been able to achieve yet? A: My great objective is making animated cartoons, which I hope will be achieved soon.
Q: Haven't you been influenced by Cartoon News to follow their policies? A: The cartoons which I contribute to this periodical are mostly without a political theme. And those with a political theme have a general view on the world.
I usually follow the policies of my own country, but respect the policies of other countries as well.