ART CITIES:Toronto-Contemporary Persians
The exhibition “Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians” at AGA KHAN Museum in Toronto, showcases the many identities of today’s Iranians. The exhibition includes contemporary Iranian artists that have used power, humour, mysticism, and poetry to both openly and subversively critique subjects such as gender, politics, war, religion, and spirituality.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Aga Khan Museum Archive
The exhibition “Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians” showcases the many identities of today’s Iranians through 27 works selected from Mohammed Afkham Collection. Whether in Iran or in the diaspora, the artists’ narratives have been informed by conditions triggered by the 1979 Revolution and by the pressures in the larger world. While some of the works in the exhibition reflect the socio-political tensions of the 25 years, others transcend them to create all-embracing spaces free of strife. Mostly iconic, works are conceptualized in a variety of mediums, from painting and sculpture to photography and video installation. Each of the words in the exhibition title is a facet of an identity or role that can be ascribed to the artists involved in the exhibition: those who use art as critique (Rebel), those who employ humour to speak truth to power (Jester),those who seek transcendence from divisive politics (Mystic), and those who infuse their art with poetry (Poet).As Fereshteh Daftari the Curator of the exhibition says “Despite the sanctions, isolation, and political unrest characterizing Iran in this millennium, the creative forces of Iranian artists have not been dampened. The narratives presented in the exhibition are woven out of genuine obsession and eloquent resilience. This is not the first exhibition on the subject, but it is the first to cast these artists and their works in light of their fortitude”, says Dr. Fereshteh Daftari, curator of the exhibition. The oldest works of the exhibition are “Untitled #10” and”Untitled #11” (both 1998) by Shadi Ghadirian and the most recent is Morteza Ahmadvand’s “Becoming” (2015). In “We Haven’t Landed on Earth Yet” (2012) Ali Banisadr offers a panoramic view of humanity in turmoil, suggesting that while humankind might have conquered space, it has not yet learned to live in peace on Earth. Banisadr’s art historical vision is encyclopedic. The battle scenes in Persian manuscript paintings and the fantastical creatures found in the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch are among the sources that have inspired Banisadr. The highlight of the exhibition is Farhad Moshiri’s “Flying Carpet” (2007). The artist was inspired by a documentary he saw on Afghan carpet weavers who were incorporating into their designs the fighter planes and drones they saw flying above them. Carved out from the heart of the piled carpets is a fighter aircraft, which, having violated the domestic space of an Islamic culture, lies intact to the side. The reference may not just be to the United States’s ongoing military interventions in the region but also to the palpable and unsettling threat of war over Iran’s nuclear issue. Though critical, perhaps, of foreign intervention, the tone is whimsical. Special permission was obtained to install “Flying Carpet” in the Museum Collections gallery for this exhibition. Such an infiltration is provocative and allows for contrasts with tradition to come to the surface. What becomes apparent is that in contemporary art, sometimes concept, in this case political, can be just as important, if not more, than manual execution. Participating Artists: Shiva Ahmadi, Morteza Ahmadvand, Shirin Aliabadi, Afruz Amighi, Nazgol Ansarinia, Mahmoud Bakhshi, Ali Banisadr, Alireza Dayani, Mohammed Ehsai, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Parastou Forouhar, Shadi Ghadirian, Rokni Haerizadeh, Khosrow Hassanzadeh, Shirazeh Houshiary, Y.Z. Kami, Abbas Kiarostami, Farhad Moshiri, Timo Nasseri, Shirin Neshat, Shahpour Pouyan, Hamed Sahihi and Parviz Tanavoli.
Info: Curator: Dr. Fereshteh Daftari, Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr, North York, Ontario, Duration: 4/2-4/6/17, Days & Hours: Tue & Thu-Sun 10:00-18:00, Wed 10:00-20:00, www.agakhanmuseum.org
