"Iran Inside Out" Offers Rare Glimpse into Iran, Opens Sept. 24 at DePaul Art Museum

Sep 18, 2009

"Iran Inside Out" Offers Rare Glimpse into Iran, Opens Sept. 24 at DePaul Art Museum

The turbulence and complexity of present-day Iran and its relation to the West will be explored in the groundbreaking exhibition “Iran Inside Out,” which opens Sept. 24 at the DePaul University Art Museum, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago.

The exhibition, which runs through Nov. 22, features recent works by 36 artists living in Iran and in diaspora. Images range from paintings to video, from the stridently political to the lyrical; together they are a window into the daily life and imagination of one of the most volatile nations in the world.

The work is organized in five sections based on subject matter and issues of concern to the artists: “War and Politics” addresses Iran’s status in the world and the Iranian political order and religious hierarchy; “Street Life” reflects self-presentation and daily life in public places; “Culture as Commodity” draws on the commercial use of cultural stereotypes; “Reinventing Traditional Art Forms” shows the reworking of older Persian and Islamic calligraphic and decorative motifs; and “Representations of Gender” engages the complex intersection of gender, identity and religion.

“Together, the work is strikingly diverse in medium, in subject and in tone,” Museum Director Louise Lincoln said of the exhibition. “Much of it reflects direct anger at Iran’s status in the world, at the United States and its hegemonic power, and at the political order and the religious hierarchy in Iran.”

Organized by the Chelsea Art Museum, home of the Miotte Foundation in New York, the exhibition attracted rave reviews in its first showing this summer in New York. The Wall Street Journal described it as “a subtle, brave, often funny act of protest by both expatriate and resident artists.” The exhibition is curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath of the Chelsea Art Museum.

An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 24 at the museum. Prior to the opening, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., a panel discussion will explore “Art and Politics: Inside and Out” at the museum. Moderated by Narimon Safavi, president and founder of Pasfarda Arts & Cultural Exchange, panelists will include Kaveh Ehsani, assistant professor of international studies at DePaul; Sam Bardaouil, curator at the Chelsea Art Museum; and artist Negar Ahkami.

Other exhibition-related events and programs that will also be held at the museum include:

● Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. Noted musician and composer Kazem Davoudian will perform on the santur and Kaveh Mazhari will sing and perform on the tonbak and daf at a benefit concert titled “Persian Traditional Music” at the museum. For reservations and details about the cost of admission to this event, contact the museum at (773) 325-7506.

● Nov. 5, 6 to 7:30 p.m. “Iranian Revolutionary Graphics and the Emergence of Post-Islamist Art,” a lecture by Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi, professor of history and Near and Middle Eastern civilizations at the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto Mississauga.

● Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. “Performance Art: Beyond the Sense of Breaking.” Negin Sharifzadeh will combine installation with a choreographed performance piece.

The DePaul Art Museum is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information about “Iran Inside Out” or other museum programs and exhibitions, please call 773/325-7506 or visit http://museums.depaul.edu/artwebsite/.