Dr. Youssef Al-Amoud is an artist who made his mark in the field of graphics and contributed to the art scene, practicing creative work through exhibitions and contributing to the management of this art as head of the Department of Art Education at King Saud University. That is why we are pleased to meet him through this dialogue:
* As one of the contributors to the plastic movement, you experienced distinguished performance through the graphics experience, then you stopped to complete your doctoral graduate studies. So what about the current and upcoming new things?
- The art of engraving or graphics is one of the fine plastic arts practiced by many international plastic artists and has characteristics and advantages that are too long to explain. As you mentioned, my experience with graphic art began before I traveled to the United States of America, specifically during my university studies, and the credit for that goes to God and then to Dr. The artist Abdul Hamid Al-Dawakhli - may God have mercy on him - I studied engraving under him, and I felt great encouragement from him, which motivated me to take a greater interest in him. The Dar Al-Funun Foundation for the Artist Al-Salim - may God have mercy on him - also had a great impact in this field due to what this pioneering institution did. Providing devices, materials, and artistic tools that were not available before, including printing machines, inks, and various materials. So I purchased a printing device and other materials, which helped me a lot in refining my initial experience in this field. In the United States of America, and especially at the University of Wisconsin, I received very great encouragement from senior artists in In the field of graphics, they are Dr. Dean Meeker and Dr. George Kramer, who had a great influence in obtaining large doses in the field of advanced techniques in silk screen, acid etching on various metals, and others. This interest resulted in the establishment of a personal exhibition at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, based mostly on artistic works. I exceeded forty pieces executed in graphic art, and after my return from the United States of America, I was burdened with responsibilities inside and outside the university, which greatly reduced the opportunities for entering the studio and artistic production. The work at the university is very intense and crowded with administrative, research, and teaching engagements in such a way that there is no time except for a few experiments. With which I seek to maintain artistic practice and fitness, so my current artistic works are few and my participation is done through group exhibitions, whether exhibitions of faculty members at the university or limited exhibitions on various occasions for which I am invited, whether at home or abroad. Art works in previous periods were focused on presenting them. It draws heavily on folklore in the form of panoramas and visual epics packed with decorative, geometric, floral, letterform units, and abstract objects. The Arabian horse, camel, and woman were among the common denominators in these works. Recently, I have been trying to move away from panoramic designs to circular, oval, or other unconventional divisions. With the use of new objects and developed decorative units, what I hope on this occasion is that emerging artists will be encouraged to learn about this type of art and experiment with it so that it can spread, especially in light of the scarcity of this field among Saudi plastic artists, and from this platform and on behalf of my fellow members of the body. Teaching in the Department of Art Education, and based on my awareness of their interest in serving the community through the plastic arts, I would like to convey to you their welcome for any cooperation with any cultural, educational, or social institution that aims to advance the plastic arts by participating in specialized artistic courses, workshops, artistic lectures, or Other joint work projects.