The Iranian Art Scene Is Exploding Right Now | VICE | United States
▻http://www.vice.com/read/tehran-art-jackson-pollock-929
Contemporary #art in Tehran is experiencing a boom, both artistically and commercially. Javaherian notes that, 20 years ago, Iranian art had regressed almost to the basic function of all art—that of being the heart of a heartless world—as it helped exorcise the horrors witnessed during the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. Coming back from the front, the young men who had some talent for drawing and painting produced tepid images of ideal landscapes and flowers. No one who has been through hell wants to relive it, Javaherian argues, something I could confirm after meeting with war veterans in Tehran. Perhaps the first contemporary art gallery of the Islamic Republic was the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, where martyrs’ photographs are covered with simple decorative elements.
Today, things could not be more different. Young Iranian artists are full of blast and thunder. They gather every evening in the courtyard and cafes of the Artists’ Forum in Honarmandan Park, around which a distinct art scene has been developing. The forum has become a sanctuary for artists. It is also a meeting point. With so few outlets for expressing their irreverence and creativity, young Iranians have turned contemporary art into a powerful social force.
#Iran
