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IRAN Newspaper Wrote:
Mahboubeh Kazemi
Researcher in Civilizational Arts and Cultural
The artistic stature of Morteza
Motififard places him among the great masters in the history of Iranian art.
Trained during years of restoration work at the Niavaran and Golestan palaces—and later through two decades of dedicated service at the holy shrine of Sultan Ali ibn Musa al-Reza (A.S.)—Master Motififard drew inspiration from Timurid and Safavid stucco traditions, yet did not remain confined by them. Through in-depth studies of Persian motifs from pre-Islamic eras to the Qajar period, he developed a new visual language that was both authentic and innovative. His art told the story of the Iranian spirit: deeply rooted, yet vibrant and forward-looking.
Restoring Homes, Restoring Identity
The 1990s marked a turning point in his artistic journey. Collaborating with Master Seyyed Akbar Helli and a restoration team under the direction of Hossein Mahallouji, Motififard played a pivotal role in reviving the historic houses of Kashan. This movement redefined such structures not as decaying relics, but as revivable cultural assets capable of generating value.
Master Motififard taught us that stucco is not merely a building material—it is a language for narrating beauty, history, and grandeur. He demonstrated that stucco carving is not just a museum-bound or aristocratic art, but a living craft that can once again flow through contemporary architecture—urban spaces, hotels, traditional residences, museums, and even newly built homes. It can serve as an attraction for art-conscious travelers and cultural tourists alike.
If we change our perspective, plaster can become gold—both in meaning and in economy.
Transmitting Tradition, Training Generations
Motififard was not only a creator of masterpieces but also a teacher of love and devotion to art. In his workshops, hundreds of students—many of them women—trained under his guidance. His method combined skill-building with soul-shaping, transferring not just technique but a sense of responsibility and reverence. More than producing mere artisans, he cultivated future masters. His legacy is encapsulated in a specialized book on stucco carving—an enduring record of a lifetime of passion, knowledge, and experience.
Stucco: From Decorative Craft to Civilizational Potential
Today, as cultural tourism and the creative economy shape the future of global development, it is time to reimagine traditional arts like stucco, calligraphy, tilework, mirrorwork, and miniature painting—not just as aesthetic practices, but as resources for wealth creation, employment, tourism, national identity, and cultural exports.
Without slogans or spectacle, Master Motififard proved—through action—that a single stucco piece, when placed in the right context, could double the architectural and spatial value of a building. By connecting the past with the present, he transformed cultural forms into economic assets. It is now our responsibility to learn from such lived models and integrate them into the design of cultural, artistic, and urban development policies.
Recognizing Silent Treasures
Commemorating Master Motififard on the occasion of his 80th birthday is not only a tribute to a lifetime of artistic devotion but a wake-up call: our cultural and civilizational assets must not be lost in silence and neglect. Iran is home to countless master artists in traditional and decorative arts—whose works still pulse through the architecture of bazaars, mosques, and historic homes—yet their names are largely absent from our economic and policy frameworks.
Let us not forget: artists like Master Motififard are strategic assets for a civilizational nation—not merely cultural figures. If traditional Iranian arts are granted rightful space in systems of cultural support, education, tourism, urban regeneration, and national content development, they can usher in a new wave of civilizational art economy—one that is not based on imitation or consumerism, but on creativity rooted in authenticity and national identity.
From Masters of Tradition to Horizons of Cultural Investment
Master Motififard embodied a civilizational view of art—seeing it not merely as beauty, but as living identity, cultural experience, and a source of sustainable wealth.
It is time for our cultural and economic systems to recognize civilizational arts and artists not as nostalgic memories in museums, but as strategic assets for the future.
In a world competing to create authentic, unique cultural experiences, the victors will be those nations that invest in their heritage and human treasures: master artisans, traditional architects, calligraphers, painters, restorers, and guardians of indigenous skills.
Standing as a bridge between past and future, Master Motififard calls us to a new awareness: if we regard art as capital, we will build a future rich in sustainable civilizational wealth.
