Art of Sacrifice Exhibit Awards the Best

TEHRAN, (SCIB) - The art of sacrifice exhibit opened at Saba Cultural Institute wrapped up work Friday evening at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

News ID: ۴۷۷۱۵

يکشنبه - ۱۶ شهريور ۲۰۰۷ / 2007 16 June

The exhibit was held concurrent with the anniversary of the liberation of Khoramshahr on May 24 in three sections of modern art, painting and photography. A number of the country’s cultural managers attended the event where contemporary painter Nasser Palangi delivered a speech on global movements at the field of modern art. “Today the world recognizes the art of Middle East as it is under going amazing developments, However Iran lags far behind other regional countries in this respect. Isn’t it high time now that we took measures to preserve our historical heritage through fundamental moves?’ Nasser Palangi said. ‘The third generation artists have employed modern technology to make significant progress in visual arts and have managed to talk about new concepts in an international language.’ Palangi noted. The next speaker of the event Hussein Khosrojerdi described photography as an art which addresses human issues in the most simple and straightforward manner and should thus receive more support. ‘It does not suffice to merely portray the martyrs in a bid to convey their ideals; the message of the artist should remain comprehensible for the audience for years.’ member of the selection jury of the event said. Khosrojerdi considered Iran the world’s cultural refinery. “All the concepts which entered Iranian art over the time have been polished and translated into Iranian culture”? Khosrojerdi added. Representing participant photographers, Shahrokh Honarmand called for more attention to the photographers sincerely working in the field and those who have managed to record a history of resistance flawlessly to be transferred to another generation. Another member of the selection jury, Abdolmajid Hoosseini Raad, read out the jury’s statement before proceeding to screen a documentary made during the exhibit. Head of the research and cultural relations section of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans’ affairs, Abbas Khameyar, noted: ‘The spreading of the culture of sacrifice and resistance is interwoven with issues like security, national interests, and the ideological integrity of the country; this is the responsibility of every single Iranian. “The foundation has been one of the organizers of the event, but has not been in charge of the organization of the exhibit.”? Khameyar stressed the creation of a suitable atmosphere for the artists as one of the responsibilities of the foundation of martyrs and veterans’ affairs. “The language of Art is the most excellent language that one can use to convey the message of martyrs to today’s generation.”? he noted. Director of Tehran museum of Contemporary Arts, Habibollah Sadeghi , noted that Iranian visual artists portrayed the efforts of Iranian warriors during the 8 years of the holy defense; This is done again now, with the support of organizations like the foundation of martyrs and veterans’ affairs and the University Jihad. “The artists have managed to present the sacrifices of martyrs and warriors to a generation that hasn’t witnessed the war.”? he added. After his speech, the selected artists in each section were awarded with the festival’s trophy and a certificate of honor. The exhibit’s special award went to the martyred photographer Kazem Akhavan. In the photography section, Abdolsalam Badawi Nejad, Mohsen Rastani, Amir Ali Jawadian, Mohsen Vafayee Shandiz, Mohammad Sayyad Sabour, Ali Gholi Ziayi, Esmaeel Dawari and Ehsan Rajabi were selected as award-winners. Within the photography section, Jamaal Salehi, Hasan Ghaedi and Behzad Firoozi were awarded for their photos about post-war Life in Khoramshahr. Additionally, Mohammad Reza Khosh Eghbal, Mehrzad Arshadi and Jahangir Razmi were presented with certificates of honor. In the painting section, Morteza Asadi was awarded for his portrait of Martyr Abbas Kareemi; Kazem Chalipa for his painting of Martyr Tondgouyan, Mohammad Kazem Hasan Vand for a painting of Martyr Sanee’ Khani, Hasan Razmkhah for a painting of Martyr Shiroudi, Rezwan Sadegh Zade for a painting of the martyred brothers Toghayee, and Abdulhameed Ghadeerian for a painting of Martyr Rezayee and Mohammad Me’mar Zadeh for a painting of Martyr Shah Abadi. In the same section, Esmaeeli received a certificate of honor for his painting of martyr Ghafari; Nadia Habeebwand was also awarded with a certificate of honor for her illustration of Martyr Sadoughi. In the section of Modern Art, Morteza Ahmadvand, Mahdi Aashourian, Nezamoldin Emami Far, Panjbaz group, Jamsheed Haghighat Shenas, Mahnaz Pasikhani, Babak Kazemi and Afshan Ketabchi were awarded. The public selected the following artist for the viewers’ award: Dawoud Bayat, Mahmoud Fadawi, Mohammad Razdasht and Farideh Shahsawarani.