Extra-Ordinary Iran

By Zoneil Maharaj, November 18, 2009

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Intersection for the Arts' "One Day" exhibit counters misconceptions and celebrates everyday life in the Islamic Republic.

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Aerial views of nuclear test sites, armed troops, riot police attacking angry protesters, Ahmadenijad's sly grin and demoralized citizens -- these are the typical images Western media transmits from Iran. Our skewed channels paint Iran as a country to fear, full of anti-American extremists. We rarely see life in Iran outside of politics or war, the everyday people doing everyday things.

A new group art show in San Francisco aims to change perceptions by celebrating the mundane and ordinary in the Islamic Republic.

San Francisco's Intersection for the Arts exhibit, "One Day: A Collective Narrative of Tehran," (running Nov. 4 through Jan. 23) features photography, sculpture and installations that reveal both ordinary and surprising elements of Iranian life.

Featuring the works of eight Iranian artists living and working in Tehran, "One Day" documents daily life in Iran's capital city, which has an estimated population of eight million. The exhibit demystifies what life is like in Iran and the Middle East, says Kevin B. Chen, program manager for literary, visual arts and jazz events at Intersection for the Arts. "A lot of people think they still ride camels there."

Conceptualized by San Francisco-based artist Tahraneh Hemami, she and Chen hope the exhibit will humanize Iranians and Middle Easterners.

"These people have been bastardized by the media and, especially, our government," Chen says. "The media is showing us the extremists. It'd be like showing rednecks in Appalachia and broadcasting to the world that this is what America is like."

Among the installations are pieces that capture the ordinary in the Islamic Republic, such as photographer Abbas Kowsari's triptych "The time is 24:00. This is Tehran." One photo depicts Tehran's smoggy skyline. The next sees police women dressed in full burkhas repelling from a police station wall during training. The final shot simply shows people walking.

Though the exhibit wasn't meant to be political in its inception, it couldn't be helped. In the works for two years, some artists produced new pieces following the aftermath of Iran's disputed presidential elections and its ensuing protests in June, Chen explains.

One of the standout pieces is Neda Razavipour's "Find the Lost One." The installation features a split-screen video of commuters entering and exiting a train station. The same video loops on both sides, except one person has been digitally "erased" on the right. According to the artist's statement, the piece is a commentary on the high number of government arrests, interrogations and executions of civilians, protesters and journalists following the elections. It's a cynical, reverse "Where's Waldo?" game that's a little more frightening than it is fun when you realize that anyone can be a suspect.

Saba Alizadeh's "Captured Breath" memorializes the demonstrators who were killed during the post-election protests. 72 holes are drilled into a wooden column to honor those who've been martyred. Lean in close to the tower and you can hear deep, heavy breathing to show their spirits are still with us.

The exhibit's other installations include Hemami's "Turning Green," a laser-cut carpet shaped into a map of Tehran; the color green celebrates Iran's democracy and peace movement. Acting as an alternative mapping of the city's congested roads is Ghazaleh Hedayat's "Taxiography," featuring 77 ink drawings on pieces of notebook paper. Hedayat would hop into a cab, place her pen on the paper and allow the motion of the car dictate the movement of his pen.

Not only do we see Iran within the walls of the gallery, we hear Iran, too. Nima Alizadeh's audio project, "This is Tehran, Voice of Islamic Republic," plays snippets on speakers in each corner of the room from various radio programs, recorded both before and after the elections. Excerpts from the audio are written in Persian script and placed on the gallery walls, ranging from extremist sloganeering such as "Muslim brothers and Muslim sisters! Oppose the enemy! Victory is close!" to random news clips such as "The U.S. Mint launched the first ever coin with an image of an African American."

With a total of ten installations spanning multiple mediums, "One Day" transports us to Tehran, showing life beyond the nightly news broadcast. By focusing on individuals, we're able to see a people and country like any other -- average citizens going about their daily tasks without the extremist imagery that we're used to. The sights and language may be foreign, but it feels a lot like home.

Zoneil Maharaj is a Nathan Cummings Arts and Culture Journalism Fellow at Wiretap. He's also editor-in-chief of Oh Dang! Magazine, and the former music editor for Hyphen.