The Museum of New Art presents   a design for life marker art from Amer kaj Miri January 15 - February 5 Turkish artist Amer kaj Miri is best known for his colorful felt marker paintings and drawings, a modern riff on Persian rug making, an art form that has been in the Islamic culture for centuries.              A DESIGN FOR LIFE: An Interview with Amer kaj Miri By Agnes Doherty for Culture Club   Recently, I had the pleasure to sit and talk to Turkish artist Amer kaj Miri. A meeting I've wanted to do ever since I laid eyes on his vibrant paintings several years ago at the 10th Ä°stanbul Biennial. He is most known for his colorful felt marker paintings and drawings, a modern riff on Persian rug making, an art form that has been in the Islamic culture for centuries. In anticipation of his upcoming 2011 exhibition at the Museum of New Art (MONA), kaj Miri spoke about his early years, his current challenges as a Muslem artist, and what we can expect from him next. Agnes Doherty: When did you begin your love affair with art? Amer kaj Miri: I have always loved just being creative. I've been drawing ever since I was a little kid back in Uygur. I only started taking it seriously when I was going through a really rough time in my life. At about 17 I was working at a FedEx store in Iszmir. I got hooked on the colored felt markers there. I was caught sniffing, let go from my job and so needed a therapeutic outlet: on the way out the door, I pocketed dozens of the markers and just started painting with them at home. Until my parents kicked me out as well A friend I lodged with for a bit said to me why don't you start selling these in galleries and I thought there is no way, who is going to take me seriously? It happened that I ran into someone at my mosque whose brother had a gallery in Ä°stanbul and I pretty much begged him to get me a meeting. Hoping this dealer would just take a look at my work and he did, and liked it. That was really my main break. Between that, I was hustling on the streets and sniffing the markers to get high. That period was my escape into life. I [UTF-8?]didn’t like that much. I prefer the world of art. AD: What was the hardest thing you experienced when you decided you wanted to make art as your career? AKM: That no one took me seriously. People would ask me sometimes what do you do? No really, what do you do for work? Even some of my johns while pulling up their trousers would say "come on, you're not an artist! [UTF-8?]There’s no career in Turkey for that here." But in my head, it was really important in order for this thing to work, to take it seriously. To truly believe in my mind that this was a career path, not just a hobby. Being an immigrant native [UTF-8?]I’ve always been considered a [UTF-8?]dışarıdaki, an outsider. And then one day my work was chosen for the Ä°stanbul Biennial. Life changed. AD: When you started, did you know what you wanted your art to be? AKM: What pretty things could I make to compete with the horrors that go on every single day? You have to start somewhere. I only had carpet patterns in my head that I had copied day after day. You have to at some point just let go and let things take its own course. And then I just wanted to be loved. It was quite easy after that realisation. AD: How would you describe it now? AKM: It's mostly spontaneous juxtapositions and there's no logic. Illustration and decoration function as the signs of artistic failure. Terrible sins, temptations to be avoided at all costs. [UTF-8?]I’m an admitted sinner and an addict without an escape plan. AD: What has inspired you so much about the Persian rugs? AKM: There is a factory still outside [UTF-8?]Ä°zmir that produces fakes of original Persian designs, a very modern factory actually and heavily mechanized that creates what they call "genuine cheaper substitutes." Since my family had come from a region famous for its Khotan carpets, everyone assumed it was in our blood as well. My father's job at this factory was to transfer bootleg designs onto graph paper. And I eventually became his assistant at fourteen, although I was only allowed to pirate smaller prayer rugs. When the factory modernized in the early 90s, all these jobs were lost and replaced by computers and scanners. AD: How does your father who trained you respond to your work now? AKM: He [UTF-8?]hasn’t seen it. [Laughs]. We [UTF-8?]don’t talk. But I think he would be shocked. I should track him down but I don't think he would have a clue. I was fourteen when I begged my parents to get me some art lessons. Instead he took me to work at the rug factory where [UTF-8?]he’d correct me constantly and there would be scribbled red marks all over my designs. AD: What do you say to those that have criticized your designs as not being "traditional"? AKM: It's not. I totally agree. It's more of scribbles and if you want to call it Islamic or rug designs you can but it doesn't adhere to any particular set style. Having a bad memory, [UTF-8?]I’ve been forced to make it my own. AD: What has been the proudest moment so far in your career? AKM: Besides my very first exhibition, being recognised by national galleries and international museums, or to see myself on TV or to have spoken at University since I had no formal training. AD: What's next? AKM: I never tried to be original. Everything comes from somewhere and it's just a mish-mash. I think that there's only been one idea for me and that was painting with my markers. I think [UTF-8?]I’ll just carry that on until it all dries up.   Amer kaj Miri: A DESIGN FOR LIVING at The Museum of New Art (MONA)     January 15 - February 5 reception: Saturday, January 15 from 3-6pm   7 North Saginaw Street Pontiac, Michigan hours: thurs to sat, 1p-6p detroitmona@aol.com