Riyad Osman and the necessity of art

Riyad Osman and the necessity of art
March 14, 2022, 6:06 pm

Originally written in Arabic by the journalist Karim Shafik to his friend the Musician Riyad Osman

Since I left Erbil, the voice of the Syrian-Kurdish artist, Riyad Osman, has echoed in my mind. His great stage presence with his soft and sweet voice singing in Kurdish and Arabic eliminate all illusory differences made by politics and the power struggles throughout history. The more he moves from one singing style to another, the more it feels ecstatic.

Art can really help people handle stress and overcome the obstacles they face inside their small communities. Art as a necessity and a philosophy through which life can be reinterpreted with a more lively vision without submitting to traditions or cultural stereotypes is to belong to the world wherever man exists without boundaries, it is to live this life as an experience and renewable bet, it is to not expect anything, it is to feel pain, happy and tense. That is the true art that rejects traditional stereotypes, faces extremism and seeks to build an imaginary world even if it was temporary. It shows how people can unite despite differences. This way, art becomes a life worth living full of happy memories with no forced assimilation, bigotry or tensions.

Osman the original artist who does not copy other artists' music or performances and who sings Kurdish folk music and Arabic music, his voice has never made me feel homesick, even though I do not know much Kurdish. Art can evoke all feelings even if you do not know the language or the craft behind it. In that restaurant Beroea, whose name comes from Greek mythology and which immortalises the city of Aleppo, we meet to discuss art and culture.

Art is a necessity as the German writer and politician Ernst Fischer titled one of his books that researched the history of art. As well, the Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy himself, considered art a necessity. Art is the oldest coping skill which was turned into an arduous but inspiring and exciting adventure to find a meaning for existence. It is a flaming arrow that penetrates the mystery of life. It creates a common human condition that combines contradictions.

Despite the burdens of life and the serious political conflicts, man always wants to create and renew art to give new meaning to their existence, this way, the "I" experience turns into the "we" experience via the artist. With art all human feelings and experiences can be represented, it makes individual experiences collectivist.

Riyad Osman .. This is a greeting card to a Syrian Kurdish artist who is renewing the history of Kurdish contemporary and folk music, despite attempts of marginalisation. A history that immortalises names like Lorîn Berzincî, Bavê Selah, Gani Mirzo and Shahram Nazeri .

PH: Ali S Baddour
BY: Karim Shafik k

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