Ansari: “underperformed in introducing history to youth

TEHRAN, (SCIB) - The Deputy head of the foundation of martyrs and veterans affairs said in a visit to “ Khoramshahr, Epic of Resistance”? photo exhibition that the country has underperformed in utilizing art to familiarize the youth with their history.

News ID: ۴۷۳۲۹

پنجشنبه - ۱۳ شهريور ۲۰۰۷ / 2007 13 June

“The photos are well-taken and telling of the reality of war; despite the hard condition of the years of was as well as poor equipment of the photographers.”? Mohsen Ansari said during the visit. He praised war photographers as extremely motivated and courageous to have risked their lives to record the moments of war. “A collection of these photos together with short explanatory notes on their subjects need to be published in a book. We need such books to familiarize the readers of the second and third generation of revolution with the history of the revolution. They have a very limited knowledge of the chronological order of the events during the war”? Ansari added. Ansari extolled war photographs as instrumental in conveying the concepts of sacrifice and martyrdom as their subjects are the people who defended the country against the enemy. “Imam Khomeini referred to the liberation of Khoramshahr as a “supernatural”? event that was carried out by Allah”? “The more time passes since events like the Islamic Revolution and the imposed war, the more the necessity for such exhibitions is felt. We need such exhibitions to familiarize the young generation with our ideology and history in order to stop a generation gap from occurring.”? head of the foundation of martyrs stated. “I am afraid we have underperformed in employing art to familiarize the youth with the rich history of our revolution. The conduction of similar exhibitions can make up for our underperformance during the past years”?. Ansari stressed the importance of deploying the language of art in spreading the culture of sacrifice and martyrdom. “Whether in a museum or a temporary exhibition, art has to provide an answer to the questions of the youth. Otherwise it has failed to fulfill its purpose.”? he told reporters. “There are plenty of committed artists in this country who have not been able to be active in spreading our message of sacrifice and martyrdom. Other countries, that have not even been involved in a war like we have, have invested immensely in the construction of museums and conduction of exhibitions to celebrate their history”? The creation of such institutions here requires planning and investment by the country’s cultural authorities. The foundation of Martyrs and Veterans’ Affairs is trying to fulfill this need, Ansari explained.