Re:The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Is Re-Emerging
by hodwik on Monday December 28, 2015 @02:06PM
(#10802723)
A contemporary aesthetic that the fools in our art departments crafted in the 1960s under the guiding hand of the CIA.
I'm not saying Iran is failing for not purchasing better art (that's a different discussion for a different time).
I'm saying our culture is failing for not calling modernism what it was -- a ruse, a blind alley, a death of the heart and intellect. I'm saying we are failing for allowing this charade to go on, to the point that Iran would think this is the best we have to offer.
Re:The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Is Re-Emerging
by Sven7 on Monday December 28, 2015 @02:49PM
(#10802960)
Keep posting your list. It speaks for itself.
Re:The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Is Re-Emerging
by qzxvwt on Monday December 28, 2015 @05:52PM
(#10803906)
>A contemporary aesthetic that the fools in our art departments crafted in the 1960s under the guiding hand of the CIA
Wait what?
Re:The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Is Re-Emerging
by hodwik on Monday December 28, 2015 @09:57PM
(#10804909)
"For decades in art circles it was either a rumour or a joke, but now it is confirmed as a fact. The Central Intelligence Agency used American modern art - including the works of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko - as a weapon in the Cold War. In the manner of a Renaissance prince - except that it acted secretly - the CIA fostered and promoted American Abstract Expressionist painting around the world for more than 20 years."
-- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/09/modern-art-was-cia-...
http://cup.columbia.edu/book/cold-war-modernists/97802311623...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/modern-art-was-cia-w...
https://www.nytimes.com/books/00/04/23/reviews/000423.23joff...
So when these paintings were bought by the Iranian elite they didn't want paintings that showed the depth of Western humanity that can conquer the hearts of their nation. They were guided by a contemporary aesthetic understanding.