Realism (deep rooted love)

Art pieces that depict the local society or use folklore as their main theme are usually inspired by musings deep rooted in the past. They don’t have any connection to outside environment. Rather, they got their beauty and best features from the unconsciousness, like psychology tells us. The artist employs spiritual concepts stored in his inherited traditions and adds to them meaningful methods from his society.

When we look at Nashaat al-Alousi's realistic artwork we can see that he's been able to showcase his impression and imagination and give us creative work with different formations that kept their beauty in its own place and timing.

Nashaat al-Alousi's proposals tend to document social reality. From traditions he takes the most important aspects that can showcase certain events in his own environment. His figures speak to a culture taken from the past of that society.  

Although he paints directly from the nature, he sometimes depends on photography to capture a certain moment that otherwise would not wait for the artists to be ready. Photography had its positive impact in certain subjects and times..

The wedding, folklore dance, Daraweesh, female farmers and others are themes that have special place in Nashaat's life. He studies them and their colors and artistic meaning and employs them realistically. On their part, they show his academic and professional skills, in addition to fulfilling his desire to document places in his country and traditions that have special meaning and are connected to his environment.   

Although he has a certain style, but he uses many techniques that sometimes bring him closer to classic art or impressionism through strengthening the theme by using opposite colors and light and shade and ignoring the details by using big brushes and a lot of color.    

Therefore, realism in Nshaat's work has its obvious individuality. By studying his work we can see that he was aware of his abilities and academic skills. He has many techniques to show this awareness that may differ from one painting to another depending on the subject and content.

Although realism has to follow a certain artistic vision, but that's not its only function. It mirrors reality in the society and the day-to-day life. For some, it is a means to interpret beauty and a need for artistic expression which represents in many cases a social identity.  

The creative identity in Nshaat's realistic work comes from his own understanding of the environment and social events. This comes from studying the psychological factor and an understanding of the historic and social background of the subject of the painting. His paintings take that viewer in a trip into the Baghdadi social life and houses, which have enough beauty and metaphors to satisfy his desire to create an artwork to document whatever he sees or touches.

Popular areas in Iraq's cities and rural areas with all their architecture and traditions gave Nashaat a database that he used in his work. But what he struggles with is how to find a common ground between the experience that he gained through academia and the artistic style connected to his local identity and gives him the push to indulge in realism and document the local society.

The individuality that Nashaat is looking for can be found in his techniques that can be opposite in the overall artwork. The exaggeration in the color scheme in many of his earlier realistic pieces was the best solution that paved the path for him to move to another style. A style that depends on the intellectual aspect and the beauty aspect. There was a need to move to an art that can take some of the details off. Then, his artwork grew closer to impressionism in its attempts to pay more attention to the intellectual side and beauty.

There are some confusions in art that may be strange to art itself, but can control it. They like social mandates or traditions. They don’t come from individuality, but from a collective existence in a certain society and country and are affected by the unconsciousness of that society. Therefore, art takes a direction where it shows harmony in the artwork and themes. Traditions and rituals are almost the common grounds for realist artists in Iraq. Nashaat, like many of his colleagues, took the realistic path at some point in his professional life. He worked to create these common grounds which form part of his individuality in the Arab art sphere.