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!