Revolutionary Art in Iran / Aydin Aghdashloo

Every revolution heralds the year "zero", a year which symbolizes the imagination of man who at once aims to build a world different from what was, and sets out to fast and furiously establish vast and widespread changes that are all-encompassing.

The 1979 revolution in Iran started with such an aspiration, and after its establishment, devoted itself and its efforts to instilling sweeping change - not, however, in the same manner as the French Revolution which went so far as to rename the months of the year. It also differed from most other revolutions which have generally turned away from the past and cast their eyes on the future Indeed, the Iranian revolution strove to revisit and rediscover past values and sought to deliver an “Islamic-National” concept that was also “global” in nature. And art, as one of the most significant cultural products of Iran , was one of the first areas put to the test.

The first years of the revolution brought development in most artistic disciplines to a grinding halt among these, theatre, cinema, painting, sculpture, architecture and music deserve special mention.

However, with impressive speed, graphic and mural artists, poets authors and photographers, began creating new and diverse works, of which there is no shortage of shinning examples.

Before long, the Iranian revolution, not unlike the French Revolution, faced its foreign adversary; and to a Greater extent experienced dispersed ethnic insurrections b which although were not as lengthy and widespread as those following Russia's October Revolution, they were nonetheless severe and damaging. And soon thereafter, the eight-year war with Iraq resulted in the fusion of “Revolutionary art” with “Wartime Art", and in areas such as war anthems and marches, poster art and film new and interesting works began to flourish.

The Iran-Iraq war, which lasted three years longer than World War II, did not profoundly influence established and renowned artists; and contrary to the commitment of important Russian artists during and following civil war in Russia , Iranian artists limited their reflections to occasional and marginal allusions to the war.

The older generation of Iranian artists, with the exception of a few religious intellectuals and artists, were strongly influenced by the leftist intellectual movement of the 1950s and 1960s in Europe , and expressed much of their ideological beliefs through literature, cinema and theatre.

This generation perhaps represented the core of the intellectual and artistic movement in Iran , which in the 1 930s had taken on a more collective and organized form. However, following the repression and marginalization of “Leftist Iran” during the three years following the revolution, this group withdrew from the depiction and imagery of the revolution and war, and instead took on the role of an observer.

Yet, the younger generation that grew up and matured with the revolution, in greater numbers and with less skill, sought and found its rightful place in Iran 's arts arena. With the founding of the “Council for Islamic Thought and Art,” which was created as a cultural center, young artists found a suitable environment for new experiences in fine arts, cinema and theatre. A number of celebrated artists new such as Hossein Khosrowjerdi in painting and modern art, and Mohsen Makhmalbaf in cinema - emerged from this environment.

Undoubtedly, numerous artists as individually as a collective as well have done much to advance the revolutionary art of the past twenty years. They have created a multitude of films about the war longer distinguishable from the revolution which is no and have produced a plethora of paintings, plays, poems and novels that reference and allude to religious fables and myths which also cannot be separated from the revolution.

This new generation, based on their individual achievements as well as a religious and populist background which has been ever present in Iran's cultural hi story and that in the 1 960s gained a strong following in the form of the artistic movement “Sagha - khaneh” has introduced a new and different image and concept. If one is to stand in fair judgment, it is evident that in creativity, universality and technical expertise, they do not yet match the pre-revolution generation of artists. However, they relate and convey new struggles and challenges in unprecedented shape and form.

Among painters of this generation, I can name Khosrow Hassanzadeh, who was raised in an average family outside of intellectual circles, and who these days due to various exhibits of his work outside of Iran is perhaps better known among art enthusiasts in Europe and the United States than in Iran . As a representative of the new generation of post-revolution artists, he revisits war and revolution: and without distancing himself and his emotions from these, he creatively relates his observations in new form.

Iran 's revolutionary art, as in all revolutionary arts, is propagandist, and slogan-bearing. Similar to others of its kind, it draws a sharp and explicit line between good and evil, right and wrong, just and unjust. As a result, it is perhaps difficult to place it in the realm of the adventurous, complex and futuristic art of the 20th Century a Consequently, it should be categorized and viewed as “Revolutionary Art”; an art form which since the late 18th Century has produced brilliant as well as common artworks from the creations of Jacques Louis David to the realist painters of socialist Russia, to Cuban filmmakers, Mexican artists, and Diego Rivera, among many others.

Applying the standard of “pure and unadulterated art” to judge it may result in fitting answers and examples; however, it will not be all that accurate or useful. Clearly, what I mean is not to introduce and apply dual standards; but, I do believe that any form of art should be considered in the framework of its “objective and delivery.”

If Iran's revolutionary art failed to produce any significant architecture (despite its rich history of traditional architecture in religious structures), if it did not deliver a striking and distinguished example in the form of a memorial, a mosque or a tomb; if it did not succeed in surpassing certain boundaries in music, poetry or literatures it did instead achieve impressive stature in photojournalism, photography, and Mural painting.

After twenty five years, it is perhaps time to examine and evaluate the achievement, as well as the failures, of ‘ Iran 's revolutionary art. An art form that is self-made, with only a small reliance on the formal art that preceded it. It was, after all, born to reject and deny its immediate past and to replace it. And as a result, calligraphy, miniature painting and traditional music were supposed to replace western art - though without much success - and artists and intellectuals who even during the years of war did not desert their people were frequently oppressed.

In certain disciplines, Iran 's revolutionary art succeeded in validating the existence and the extent of the revolution, and developed a relationship with its audience. Wherever it built, it also influenced. However, it failed to reject or to bring to an end the well-established arts of the past, and in many areas - such as in fine arts - it benefited from and relied on these.

Defiance of and confrontation with, the Western world - one of the pillars of revolutionary thought - did not reach a definitive conclusion and resulted in a contradictory state of affairs, because it aimed to benefit from the methods, yet it rejected and ignored the wisdom that had led to the creation and development of those very methods. Such a challenge, for example in fine arts, could have led to a balanced fusion of traditional Iranian miniature, calligraphy and religious art, together with Western applications and techniques. However, in practice it became evident that miniature painting and traditional calligraphy, fundamentally, cannot advance and depict the objectives of the revolution. And thus, the prima goals and aspirations of this group searched for their appropriate molds in other forms and other venues.

A search which the first generation of revolutionary artists continue to pursue.

The past ten years have seen the growth and expansion of a new generation of art which has surpassed revolutionary art, and has begun to communicate with the intellectual stratum of Iranians and the contemporary world. Iran 's non-commercial cinema is developed for, and regularly participates in, international film festivals. Poetry and literature have greatly moderated their popular and populist nature, and authors such as Azar Nafisi and Reza Barahani continue to reside abroad.

"New Art”, with the able support and backing of Tehran' s Museum of Contemporary Art, is exhibited at highly regarded biennials; and of course there is no shortage of forward-thinking revolutionary artists who have in this midst gained and retained their position.

Today, a new generation of young and dynamic Iranian artists, in all disciplines, is creating abundant works of art whose importance and growth is not necessarily due to their “opposition” tendencies or “revolutionary" nature. A new generation has been born, and it is in search and demand of its rightful place which in certain areas it has already found.

I myself who remained in Iran following the revolution, teacher and continue to work as a painter, author and teacher, look upon this new generation revolutionary or not with praise and approval. I recognize the onset of the revolution as the principal starting point for them, and in this respect, I believe my conclusion is not far from the truth. Although I was not a revolutionary, I tried not to turn a blind eye to the realities of the world around me.

In conclusion, I would like to benefit more from the audience's patience to highlight one of the most important developments and achievements of “revolutionary and wartime” art in Iran which I have never refrained from discussing and debating at every opportunity.

Based on a tradition and custom that gradually took shape, portraits of the martyrs of the eight-year war were painted as murals on large expanses of walls throughout cities and towns, which during the years following the war, adopted a customary style. These paintings, often commissioned by various government entities, or at times as private expressions of appreciation and thanks, were often quite massive in size.

In one of the towns in northern Iran , I saw a wall on which the portraits of martyrs were painted in equal size frames next to one another, each of which was painted by a different reputable artist. The collection of the images on the wall, part of which was left blank to allow for portraits of future martyrs, was comparable in concept and effect to “Hundred Portraits,” an important work by Gerhard Richter, the renown contemporary artist.

Eventually, the portraits of the martyrs spread across cities and towns, small and large, and wherever there was a naked wall, a martyr's portrait was painted on it. And so it was that the undeniable and inescapable presence of the martyrs engulfed the cities. It was as though the youth who had sacrificed their precious lives for the survival of the revolution, their beliefs and their country, were a constant reminder, keeping watch, and by their presence making sure that we do not forget - ever - the years and the lives that were lost.

The pervasive presence of the martyrs' portraits - which over the years may diminish in conclusiveness and resolution, and perhaps become less noticed by the population - is a singular and unique phenomenon in the history of mural art. Historically, portraits of religious martyrs and holy men have often been painted.

Similarly, images of political figures and important and popular personalities have been depicted. However, the fact that images of ordinary and nameless martyrs - just important commanders of war - have gained such prominent stature, and that common people have through an exalting transformation come to adorn and occupy the cities, is an occasion that I have not seen in any other place.

My depiction and analysis is of a new form of art which has targeted the expanse of urban life and has imposed its striking and distinct presence on it as in the works of Christo. Arid it is comparable to the examples which we will now see; examples that although created by the hands of amateur artists, for those of us who spent the years of war together, bear a deep and profound emotional significance, and receive our unconditional compassion, admiration and praise.