An eight-volume ‘Collection of Articles’ by veteran contemporary painter, art critic and author Aydin Aghdashloo, was unveiled on March 4 at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts (TMoCA).
Renowned writer Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, veteran director, screenwriter and producer Masoud Kimiai and journalist, Iranologist and writer Ali Dehbashi besides a number of Aghdashloo’s admirers were present at the unveiling ceremony, Honaronline reported.
The volumes have been brought out by two local publishing houses ‘Aban’ and ‘Diid’.
Majid Molla-Norouzi, director of Visual Arts Bureau at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, was also present.
Dowlatabadi in his speech, hailed the collection saying that “it covers a vast spectrum including art criticism, painting, illustration, calligraphy, cinema, history, archeology, art in general, contemporary and ancient artists, and commends artists who have preserved Iranian culture and spirit.”
“We are all gathered in this place to honor Aghdashloo’s esteemed character. He is a multi-dimensional art scholar and an important part of our culture and art history, Dowlatabadi said.
Molla-Norouzi said no doubt it is an honor for the TMoCA to host such an important ceremony. “The collection is an endorsement of Aghdashloo’s deep knowledge of Iran’s rich art and history. His life-long multidisciplinary investigation of different periods has resulted in the present collection, which is indeed a valuable document on Iran’s cultural and artistic history. Aghdashloo is a rare one of his kind.”
A video clip of an interview with the distinguished artist was screened at the end of the ceremony.
Early Interest
Aghdashloo, 76, early in his career, took great interest in the Renaissance and Italian Sandro Botticelli’s paintings in particular. He even used to test his own skills by copying Botticelli’s works to the last detail.
His admiration for Renaissance paintings led to the creation of his “Memories of Destruction” series in the early 1970s, which became his most celebrated and famous works. In the series Aghdashloo depicts destruction of identity and beauty by painting a complete Renaissance masterpiece and then partially destroys and defaces it.
He also used Persian miniatures extensively in his paintings after 1979. The “crumpled” Persian miniature series are the best example. Besides painting, he is an expert in Iranian pre-Islamic and Islamic art history and artifacts. He also assesses items for auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
Aghdashloo has published eight books; three collections of articles, two painting collections and two researches in Iranian art history.
Since 1981, he has been teaching art and art history in a number of universities in Iran.
