too long away!

Has it been so many months? Been furiously finishing my new book, Radical State: How Jihad Is Winning Over Democracy In The West, which comes out May 31 (find it here), writing a couple of articles on Islamic Contemporary collections, dealers, and collectors, and working on two exhibitions of works by Iranian, Iraqi, and Turkish artists that have been underway for over a year now.  

Meantime, Ms. Kino picks up the slack for me once again, following in my trails with a simple interview in the Times with Shoja Azari based on his exhibition at LTMH. 

Iranian Contemporary Art - Book Review in Wallpaper

Worth reading - with a summary of the history of Iranian contemporary art (newer than you'd imagine):

>>The Islamic Republic, which took power in 1979, immediately rejected all modern art as decadent, excluding any discourse. It didn’t help that most forward-thinking artists immediately fled the country for Europe and the US. What replaced the vacuum was reminiscent of Socialist Realism, an art form dominated by the large propaganda murals that for years decorated the urban landscape. This so called ‘Irano-Islamic’ art also included the return of calligraphy, albeit using only religious texts.

Contemporary Iranian art was born at the close of the 20th century under the reformist president Mohammad Khatami. He actively encouraged an external dialogue with western artists as well as with the large Iranian diaspora, for example inviting New York-based artist Shirin Neshat to exhibit in Iran. The internet opened the window for Iranian artists to join the global debate. A new generation of artists, many of them women, emerged and began expressing themselves through other mediums such as video installation and art photography.<<

Me, I'm ordering the book.

Quick on the bandwagon, Carol Kino profiles Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller, one of the contributors to the "Iran Inside Out" show at the Chelsea Art Museum, in tomorrow's New York Times (link to follow when the article is posted at the Times). Coincidentally, I've had an appointment to visit the gallery this coming week since about a month ago - part of the curatorial research for the exhibition I'm currently organizing with another New York gallery. The piece mentions the obvious stars - Neshat, Moshiri, et al -- and includes images of some of the pieces in the Chelsea show, though none of the more powerful ones, like Abbas Kowsari's breathtaking photographs of women police recruits, their dark uniforms partially obscured by black chadors. I suspect that's a decision made by the ever-tentative editors of the Times, who are likely to follow the path of those like Yale University Press - and an unfortunate path, indeed. Much better work is out there for the viewing - but that's the stuff I've written about already...and will soon again, now my other book is done!

Five Features Of Islamic Contemporary Art

 *An extraordinary number of the best artists are women. This may or may not related to the oppression of women in Muslim countries, but it is certainly noteworthy.

*Iranian artists seem to draw largely from their Persian cultural heritage, with art that emphasizes aesthetics. Painterly, graceful, and often calligraphic, these works are richly-colored and can be absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.   Top artists: Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, and my personal favorite, Mohammed Ehsai.

 *Iraqi artists, by contrast, are (understandably) focused on the political, and on addressing the political and sociological conflicts of their culture.  These works tend to be more secular in nature.

*A significant number of the women artists work with photography. Examples include Lalla Essaydi (Moroccan), Shirin Neshat (Iranian), Mitra Tabrizian (Iranian), and Raeda Saadeh (Palestinian).

*This summer, the Venice Biennale will feature, for the first time, an entire pavilion of works by artists from the UAE. Other countries represented from the region include Iran (which has been represented at the Biennale in the past) and Pakistan (which makes its debut this year).    The inclusion of these artists reflects the growing interest in Islamic Contemporary art throughout the international artworld.