Photos:
Tehran Wall Paintings Have Been Repaired
When Fati Ti Christina, the student of PhD in Public Politics in Kennedy School entered Tehran for the first time in order to study Persian Literature Course, she was influenced by the very big pictures that had covered the city. These pictures included the big portraits of Hazrat Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei which had been painted around buildings and overpasses. There were pictures that showed appreciation for the martyrs of war between Iran and Iraq, blaming Israel and America. And there were also very big writings which were full of religious symbols. All these wall paintings had created a visual view that she had never seen the similar.
This article has been written on May 24th, 2007. It was downloaded from the Website: www.harvard.ed
Christina also discovered one stranger thing. It seemed that no one is informed about the paintings on walls. These pictures had been disappeared in eyes of ordinary citizens of Tehran. For these people, these pictures are dark backgrounds for the every day activities of life.
Christina tried to document these pictures; the work that had not been carried out by anybody as a systematic work. She borrowed a high resolution camera and started to take photos and related them with the map of Tehran.
She said: “My friends thought I had become crazy. They thought that is officials of Iran Country are informed what I do, will get into trouble.”?
She did not get into trouble and brought all the pictures she had taken with her. The pictures had not been damaged. Those pictures can be found in Gallery of Governmental and International Studies (GGIS) located at Number 1730, Cambridge. In cooperation with Ms Ghazal Abbasi Asbagh, the Iranian designer, Christina could print all photos in large sizes as they were exactly similar to the original pictures. They used different materials such as canvas, water color paper and …
By using financial helps of Weathoohead Center, Middle East Information Center and Provost Administration, the exhibition was held on June 15th.
One May 29th, several round tables were held in order to discuss the importance of pictures of walls. This conference was held under the title of “Martyrdom Walls, Propagating Wall Paintings of Iran”? in Faculty of Law of Harvard University. The conference was held in cooperation with and also with the financial support of Center of Human Rights Policy (CARR) and Islam Legal Studies Program.
Michael Fisher from Anthropology Group of Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT) says: “The wall paintings express the reflection of conflict between the culture of death and the culture of life.”?
Fisher further said: “The main Shiite branch of Islam that is accepted by approximately 90 percent of population of Iran has a special emphasis on death, mourning and martyrdom. In the Zoroastrian Religion that was in Iran before Islam, there were permanent fight between goodness and badness, light with darkness. And finally they believed that goodness will be dominant and widespread. During Shah Government (The system that ruled in Iran before Islamic Revolution), they had made efforts not to emphasize on pictures of sadness and death. They substituted those sad pictures with Zoroastrian cheerful and lively symbols such as the pictures about Zoroastrian Norouz celebrations. Zoroastrians celebrated the new year and the spring season in Norouz.
In step with the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, religious ceremonies for martyrdom and death again increased and become widespread. And now after approximately three decades after the cultural revolution, life is again returning and in many cases it has been mixed with the youth culture that has come from Los Angeles.”?
Kesineh Grouber who is an art historian in Indiana University and is a specialist in Islamic Art referred to many of public art exhibitions in Tehran and said: “Religious and martyrdom are neither celebration nor express bitter criticisms against west. The culture of fine arts has changed a lot since Islamic Revolution and the war between Iran and Iraq. Now efforts are made to improve social values and introduce Islam to the world as it really is. Now we can observe the portraits of Imam Khomeini in which we can see kindness, patience and tolerance instead of sour faced (Threat) picture. One of the wall painting shows Imam Khomeini in Neauphe Le Chateau in suburbs of Paris where Imam lived in exile before returning to Iran. In this picture Imam Khomeini is walking in this place. “Here the picture emphasizes on everyday mystic walk of Imam Khomeini; the picture which is empty of any anti- American feelings”?.
Karimi, the student of PhD in Faculty of Architecture of Massachusetts University could not attend the conference personally; but his article was recited by Grouber. In his article, he had focused on the concept of art in wall paintings that were not in harmony with advertising essence. “Firouzeh Gol Mohammadi”? was one of his first examples. He had written in his article as follows: “She is an artist who had painted several great wall paintings in 1990. In these paintings, the pictures influenced by sufiism (Special mystic culture) were dominant. Other artists almost went though the same path. They rejected political messages to the benefit of the designs that paved grounds for imagination. Many of these wall paintings show being affected by western artists such as Andi Warl and David Haketi.”?
Ali Reza Karangi was the other university student of PhD in the group of “Eastern Languages and Civilization”? of Harvard University who attended the conference. His mind had become busy with the concept of martyrdom, but in the point of view of historical and literary. Karangi spoke about pessimism and the undeniable sense of failure that seemed ruled on Persian literature even before entrance of Islam to Iran. He said: “There is always a person who wants to find a place in the heart of his beloved person. This idea of failure and bad fate is prevailing in many Persian love stories. The beloved seems like the person who proposes for marriage. There is a person that his death; but he still sacrifices him for her. Martyrdom is one of concepts that have had the strongest effect on Persian literature.”?
Hacheng Chehabi, the Professor of International Relations and History in Boston University was one of the persons who attended the conference and discussed about these wall paintings. He briefed the speeches of others with explanations and his own observations and said: “Since miniature is the old form of Iranian painting, we can call the paintings on walls of Tehran as big paintings.”?
He believed that the method that they (Iranians) use to impose themselves to the knowledge and insight of passengers by big pictures is the symbol of a dictator government.
He further said: “these paintings are also the symbol of hot weather of past in Tehran buildings. For example, in a building, the exterior sides that receive the most amount of sunlight are built without windows. These buildings make blind and dead walls which are suitable places for applauding and admiring death. These big pictures that show religious leaders and the people who have been killed in the way of God carry another message too. These pictures mention the fact that Iran is a country of clergymen dominance. The idea is that you do not think that you are in Europe. We do not want a European city. These wall paintings continuously remind that here is not Champs- Elysees.”?
The original English article has been translated into Persian by Dr Goudarzi Ali Bakhshi
Christina also discovered one stranger thing. It seemed that no one is informed about the paintings on walls. These pictures had been disappeared in eyes of ordinary citizens of Tehran. For these people, these pictures are dark backgrounds for the every day activities of life.
Christina tried to document these pictures; the work that had not been carried out by anybody as a systematic work. She borrowed a high resolution camera and started to take photos and related them with the map of Tehran.
She said: “My friends thought I had become crazy. They thought that is officials of Iran Country are informed what I do, will get into trouble.”?
She did not get into trouble and brought all the pictures she had taken with her. The pictures had not been damaged. Those pictures can be found in Gallery of Governmental and International Studies (GGIS) located at Number 1730, Cambridge. In cooperation with Ms Ghazal Abbasi Asbagh, the Iranian designer, Christina could print all photos in large sizes as they were exactly similar to the original pictures. They used different materials such as canvas, water color paper and …
By using financial helps of Weathoohead Center, Middle East Information Center and Provost Administration, the exhibition was held on June 15th.
One May 29th, several round tables were held in order to discuss the importance of pictures of walls. This conference was held under the title of “Martyrdom Walls, Propagating Wall Paintings of Iran”? in Faculty of Law of Harvard University. The conference was held in cooperation with and also with the financial support of Center of Human Rights Policy (CARR) and Islam Legal Studies Program.
Michael Fisher from Anthropology Group of Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT) says: “The wall paintings express the reflection of conflict between the culture of death and the culture of life.”?
Fisher further said: “The main Shiite branch of Islam that is accepted by approximately 90 percent of population of Iran has a special emphasis on death, mourning and martyrdom. In the Zoroastrian Religion that was in Iran before Islam, there were permanent fight between goodness and badness, light with darkness. And finally they believed that goodness will be dominant and widespread. During Shah Government (The system that ruled in Iran before Islamic Revolution), they had made efforts not to emphasize on pictures of sadness and death. They substituted those sad pictures with Zoroastrian cheerful and lively symbols such as the pictures about Zoroastrian Norouz celebrations. Zoroastrians celebrated the new year and the spring season in Norouz.
In step with the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, religious ceremonies for martyrdom and death again increased and become widespread. And now after approximately three decades after the cultural revolution, life is again returning and in many cases it has been mixed with the youth culture that has come from Los Angeles.”?
Kesineh Grouber who is an art historian in Indiana University and is a specialist in Islamic Art referred to many of public art exhibitions in Tehran and said: “Religious and martyrdom are neither celebration nor express bitter criticisms against west. The culture of fine arts has changed a lot since Islamic Revolution and the war between Iran and Iraq. Now efforts are made to improve social values and introduce Islam to the world as it really is. Now we can observe the portraits of Imam Khomeini in which we can see kindness, patience and tolerance instead of sour faced (Threat) picture. One of the wall painting shows Imam Khomeini in Neauphe Le Chateau in suburbs of Paris where Imam lived in exile before returning to Iran. In this picture Imam Khomeini is walking in this place. “Here the picture emphasizes on everyday mystic walk of Imam Khomeini; the picture which is empty of any anti- American feelings”?.
Karimi, the student of PhD in Faculty of Architecture of Massachusetts University could not attend the conference personally; but his article was recited by Grouber. In his article, he had focused on the concept of art in wall paintings that were not in harmony with advertising essence. “Firouzeh Gol Mohammadi”? was one of his first examples. He had written in his article as follows: “She is an artist who had painted several great wall paintings in 1990. In these paintings, the pictures influenced by sufiism (Special mystic culture) were dominant. Other artists almost went though the same path. They rejected political messages to the benefit of the designs that paved grounds for imagination. Many of these wall paintings show being affected by western artists such as Andi Warl and David Haketi.”?
Ali Reza Karangi was the other university student of PhD in the group of “Eastern Languages and Civilization”? of Harvard University who attended the conference. His mind had become busy with the concept of martyrdom, but in the point of view of historical and literary. Karangi spoke about pessimism and the undeniable sense of failure that seemed ruled on Persian literature even before entrance of Islam to Iran. He said: “There is always a person who wants to find a place in the heart of his beloved person. This idea of failure and bad fate is prevailing in many Persian love stories. The beloved seems like the person who proposes for marriage. There is a person that his death; but he still sacrifices him for her. Martyrdom is one of concepts that have had the strongest effect on Persian literature.”?
Hacheng Chehabi, the Professor of International Relations and History in Boston University was one of the persons who attended the conference and discussed about these wall paintings. He briefed the speeches of others with explanations and his own observations and said: “Since miniature is the old form of Iranian painting, we can call the paintings on walls of Tehran as big paintings.”?
He believed that the method that they (Iranians) use to impose themselves to the knowledge and insight of passengers by big pictures is the symbol of a dictator government.
He further said: “these paintings are also the symbol of hot weather of past in Tehran buildings. For example, in a building, the exterior sides that receive the most amount of sunlight are built without windows. These buildings make blind and dead walls which are suitable places for applauding and admiring death. These big pictures that show religious leaders and the people who have been killed in the way of God carry another message too. These pictures mention the fact that Iran is a country of clergymen dominance. The idea is that you do not think that you are in Europe. We do not want a European city. These wall paintings continuously remind that here is not Champs- Elysees.”?
The original English article has been translated into Persian by Dr Goudarzi Ali Bakhshi
