I further stress that the content of this blog is strictly an expression of my thoughts and by no means intends to undermine any mentioned individual.
For many and I mean MANY of us what distinguishes a high art from a low one( a term I'm hesitant to use) is the gallery's, auction house's price list or simply the price tag on the piece itself. This is particularly true and widely evident in Iran's art scene and is exactly what I've been finding puzzling:
- In a market where art's become one of the safest modes of investment with a lower chance of depreciation and exponential appreciation, is the price a candid representation of the value of an art piece?
If the answer to the above question is No then one of the biggest consequences of this phenomenon would concern the artists themselves.
- When price becomes such a significant part of an artist's identity and worth, would artists factor in this matter when creating the piece? by this I mean would their subject/medium/message change according to what the fad is or simply what's hot in the market? If so, wouldn't the value of that art be jeopardized due to its not so creative creation process?
These are not meant to be rhetorical questions, just ones the answers to which I do not know and will not pretend to know. I don't even think there's any definite yes or no to any of these questions. I'll leave the readers to develop their own opinions with the light of the following:
Today, feminist movement is widely seen and highly popular in Iran's art scene with modern day pioneers like Shirin Neshat, Mokarrameh Ghanbari, and Shahrnoosh Parsipur and two of my favorites Shohreh Mehran and Mona Shomali ( Who I like to think of as Iran's Kahlo).
Due to their increasing popularity and demand, works with a sense of provocative expression of sexist issues leave a great impression on auction houses, galleries, and dealers. Additionally, they are particularly popular with the foreign media given the political analysis That can be derived from such pieces.
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| "The Impossible Divide Of Feminine And Nature" by Mona Shomali |
One of the artists I can think of in this pile is Afshin Pirhashemi. Pirhashemi's works are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars on Christie's and other prestigious auction houses. This places him, if we were to categorize by sales, alongside some of the most prominent Iranian fine art artists like Aydin Aghdashlou, Parviz Kalantary, Vahed Khakdan, and many more artists who have a significant place and role in Iran's contemporary art history.
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| "I Don't Need Sex" by Afshin Pirhashemi |
Personally, I used to find Pirhashemi's works quite powerful partially due to his masterful photorealistic portraits, but more importantly and impressively because of the strong messages and powerful expressions each piece carries in the most unprecedented provocation that was and still somewhat is alien to Middle Eastern art. Any artist's work can loosely be analyzed in a million ways but one thing that anyone could pin point about Pirhashemi's works is the sense of criticism of women's role or the social standards placed upon different gendered bodies.
This fascination however only lasted until I met the artist himself at an event. It came to me as a complete shock when his treatment of women at that gathering was in total contradiction and utter juxtaposition of the very feministic message he is conveying through his works. Since the most basic step in critiquing an art is utilizing all the available resources to learn more about the artist who created that piece, then I do believe that an artist plays a significant role in the representation and value of his/her work.
Thus, when an artist is not in accordance with the core principle he/she is promoting through his/her work and goes by what the "market" demands of him/her, I can't help but to question the validity or power of the message being conveyed. In my opinion that piece can hardly be considered a high art since it is often characterized by having a specific purpose like sale or exposure rather than depth of message.
