Exclusive interview with Mahboubeh Pakdel-irancartoon Feb,10,2021
Mahboubeh Pakdel, cartoonist and caricaturist, was born in Mashhad and graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science. She started her career in the field of cartooning in 2011.
Mahboubeh Pakdel has won many awards in domestic and foreign festivals, including: Special Award at the Torhan Seljuk International Festival in Turkey 2013, won first place at the ISIL International Festival in June 2015, winner of the fourth edition of the 2015 Naji Ali Jordan International Award. (With the theme of Palestine and Freedom), won two grand prizes and a special prize at the 18th Porto Cartoon World Festival of Portugal April 2016, first place at the 4th World Resistance Art Festival 2016, winner of the third prize at the 20th World Porto Cartoon Festival Portugal 2018, winner of the Special Prize in International Festival in Germany 2018, winner of the Special Prize of the Porto Cartoon World Festival Portugal 2019, winner of the Golden Prize of the RED MAN China International Cartoon Competition 2019, special prize of the 29th International Cartoon Competition of Romania 2019, special prize of the 26th Ricardo Randon Colombia 2019 International Cartoon Festival And selected the Porto Cartoon Festival of Portugal 2020.
The artist recently won the 14th Portugal International School Cartoon Exhibition Award for his work on discrimination. We have had a brief conversation with him under the same pretext that you are reading:
First, tell us about the festival and about the theme and awards:
The 14th Portugal International Cartoon Exhibition will be held in two sections for professional artists and teenagers, and the theme of the festival is the violation of human rights, justice and equality.
In the category of professional artists, I had three general awards, one of which was awarded to me, and the judges were from Egypt, Spain, Brazil and Portugal.
During this period, 1086 cartoons from 39 countries participated in the festival, and thank God, two awards were given to Iranian cartoonists.
Did you work on this cartoon before this festival and its intended subject, or did you create this work according to it?
No, I have already worked, but I am working freely on my new collection. It is more about poverty, women, children and racial and social discrimination. I like this kind of work because the fluid mind performs better in finding subjects.
I find most of my subjects in real images and the real pain of society. Maybe that's why it has the most impact on the audience. So, I came up with ideas, and to see them flush it out, it was really fun.
What was your idea in creating this cartoon to pay attention to the subject, both in terms of content and in terms of form and technique?
Since most of my focus in my new work is on inequality, injustice, and class distance, my mind seeks out objects that better portray this level difference and make the greatest impact on the audience, both semantically and formally.
How effective do you think the function of cartoon art can be in dealing with a widespread and deep-rooted problem such as discrimination and class differences? Is there any hope of making an impact, or is it just a flip of the mind that may have had no effect on creating this dilemma?
The cartoonist transforms the phenomena and events that take place around him, as well as the external realities, into a work of art with his tools and language of expression, which is the cartoon. The effectiveness of cartoon art is also a flip to the audience and the individual, and the result of these flips, shows the effectiveness of this art in society. So these individual influences will gradually show themselves in society.
It seems that you have selected a lot of work because you have won many awards, but you put less work on your page. Do you often send your work to festivals and competitions or do you only do work that you are sure will pay off?
I can't be sure of the efficiency of the work because the tastes of the judges are different, so I always try to present the best work to the festival. Whether the work is customized or non-customized makes no difference to me, either in terms of concept and idea, or in terms of execution and technique. I don't even think about sending a few works to a festival, and I prefer to put all my energy into finding an idea. And often, the same single effect with power, has had a positive effect on attracting the audience.
Here are some other works of Mahboubeh Pakdel:
اثر برگزیده محبوبه پاکدل در فستیوال پورتوی پرتغال
کارتون «پایان ترامپ نزدیک است» اثر محبوبه پاکدل
اثری از محبوبه پاکدل با موضوع کرونا
