Barbie in Headscarf as Iranian Artists in New York Protest Mullahs
July 1, 2009 Back to News
July 1 (Bloomberg) -- A young Iranian woman in a minidress stabs a mullah in the eye with a golden dagger while another crouches to tie his hands as the cleric writhes on the ground.
The 2006 painting, “May the Evil Eye Be Blind,” was conjured up by Negar Ahkami, one of 72 artists whose acts of creative rebellion compose two timely surveys of contemporary Iranian art in New York.
“Iran Inside Out” at the Chelsea Art Museum brings together 56 artists living in Iran, Europe and the U.S. “Selseleh/Zelzeleh: Movers and Shakers in Contemporary Iranian Art” at Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery on the Upper East Side, offers 40 artists, including 24 also in the Chelsea show. (The gallery’s works range in price from $2,750 to $145,000 and 18 have been sold.)
“Our artists have been protesting for a long time,” said Taghinia-Milani Heller, whose gallery has been showing contemporary Iranian art since 1982. “They’ve been doing it with metaphors and symbols. Now they are in the streets as well.” Taghinia-Milani Heller introduced the Chelsea museum’s curators to the Iranian art community, including artists, collectors and sponsors.
The exhibitions, planned a year ago, coincided with the street protests in Iran following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed June 12 re-election. At last week’s opening in Chelsea, many guests wore green plastic bracelets in solidarity with the presidential challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
These artists weave themes of violence, censorship, discrimination and consumerism into the historical context of Persian and Islamic art. The resulting mix features chadors, mullahs, arabesques and calligraphy.
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The 2006 painting, “May the Evil Eye Be Blind,” was conjured up by Negar Ahkami, one of 72 artists whose acts of creative rebellion compose two timely surveys of contemporary Iranian art in New York.
“Iran Inside Out” at the Chelsea Art Museum brings together 56 artists living in Iran, Europe and the U.S. “Selseleh/Zelzeleh: Movers and Shakers in Contemporary Iranian Art” at Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery on the Upper East Side, offers 40 artists, including 24 also in the Chelsea show. (The gallery’s works range in price from $2,750 to $145,000 and 18 have been sold.)
“Our artists have been protesting for a long time,” said Taghinia-Milani Heller, whose gallery has been showing contemporary Iranian art since 1982. “They’ve been doing it with metaphors and symbols. Now they are in the streets as well.” Taghinia-Milani Heller introduced the Chelsea museum’s curators to the Iranian art community, including artists, collectors and sponsors.
The exhibitions, planned a year ago, coincided with the street protests in Iran following President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed June 12 re-election. At last week’s opening in Chelsea, many guests wore green plastic bracelets in solidarity with the presidential challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
These artists weave themes of violence, censorship, discrimination and consumerism into the historical context of Persian and Islamic art. The resulting mix features chadors, mullahs, arabesques and calligraphy.
Click Here to Read More
