Biography
.
Twenty years ago, I broke free of the modernist tradition that was the mode in Beirut. I was so much critisized and attacked that I had to use a pseudonym : "Artist Unknown". Later, at some point I had to explain what I was doing, so I wrote the following statement.
---------------------
I, Artist Unknown, live in a world where all speak but not hear, all monologue but not dialogue, where art is regarded as a beautiful piece of furniture with no common denominator with life and its events, where artist is not expected to go beyond the realms of meat and stone, where culture is a distant concept perpendicular to everyday experiences of life rather than parallel to it. I try to create a common ground where different people of different experiences meet under the umbrella of art, to see, to hear, to experience, to relate, to act, to react, to interact, to express and to be seen, to be heard, to be understood and to be appreciated, so that when strangers meet and interact in a dialogue, the particles grow to make a whole, and Art becomes accomplished and shared by all, like a collective prayer...
Anita Toutikian, 1999, Beirut
........................
My works speak about the strength and the beauty of the human spirit.
Anita Toutikian, 2011, Beirut
