A golden age for Iranian art

[ensho]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LE27Ak03.html


The Persian word for "love" is spelled out in Swarovski crystals and glitter, with a small footnote from the artist: "A picture is worth a thousand words and a word a thousand pictures." The estimate wasn't high enough.

When the acrylic painting on canvas sold at Bonhams in Dubai two years ago for a historic US$1,048,000, the Iranian creator Farhad Moshiri became the first artist from the region to break the $1 million price barrier at auction.

It was a breakthrough moment - not just for Moshiri, but for Iranian art, which for the past few years has been experiencing what experts say is a "golden age". Largely attributable to the stabilization of the Dubai art market and strong ties between the United Arab Emirates and Iran, the boom is also being fueled by a younger generation of artists attempting to push the boundaries of freedom of expression.

-snip-

The mass demonstrations that broke out following the disputed re-election of Mahmud Ahmadinejad last June are related to a growing demand for self-expression among Iranians, Issa says. She says it is no coincidence that since the protests "many new galleries have opened" in Tehran, calling them "even trendier" and "more luxurious" than before. These galleries, she says, have started publishing catalogues, something she hasn't seen "for decades".

For Iranian artists, the growth of the Dubai art market over the past five years has been a boon. Iranian artists working inside the country now have the ability to network, exhibit, and sell their works in a fine art market much closer to home. As a result, they have seen the value of their works steadily appreciate.

Sales of Arab and Iranian art in Dubai increased from $2 million in 2006 to $35.7 million in 2008. Iranian artists now represent 74% of artwork sales in Christie's Modern and Contemporary Arab and Iranian auctions and 64% of sales at Bonhams.

-long historical/political snip-

Iran's 2,500 years of artistic history does influence her work, Manuchehrabadi says, but "it's not only flowers that we've grown up with," it's also the fact that "we are the MTV generation."
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at least something good is happening there

I heart art - in all its forms