Although whimsical, these canvases possess staggering social inferences, those aimed at the amalgamation of his cultural background,
as seen with cutouts of Persian vases and Islamic artifacts and references to American psychedelic culture and Western philosophy.
The various compartments in which his figures and objects appear are reminiscent of the division of interior spaces seen in examples
of Persian miniature painting. The work also alludes to the new-age, quest for “eternal youth” culture that has run rampant in Los Angeles,
yet has been a fixation in various cultures throughout the history of mankind. In “Terminated” (2008), this is further enunciated with a
multileveled edifice that is scattered with images of skulls (alluding to the universal symbol of death) while occupied with the muscle-barring
poses of action movie star-turned California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. A polarizing figure, the “Terminator’s” political run has been
one marked by inconsistencies, controversy and state-wide financial crisis. Is Fallah commenting on the politician’s term or the overt self
aggrandizing postures of world leaders? Countless skulls are dispersed throughout the artist’s architectural form, some falling off into the
endless void of yellow that dominates the lower part of the composition. A previous insight made by Fallah about the use of these structures
might provide hints as to his intentions: “As I started making the first drawings of these fort/tree house structures I realized that they also
resembled images of war torn Al-Qaeda bunkers and/or refugee camps. The idea that an image can function both as a place of joyful childhood
imagination and exploration and simultaneously as desolate war-torn space intrigued me." [iii] According, his mixed media works offer
viewers an environment that is on the verge of collapse.
Roya Falahi’s photographs similarly resonate with a strong political slant. Extending her observations to notions of femininity and Iranian
identity (and the misconceptions of such) Falahi seeks to undermine the viewer’s perceptions. Working within an American context, the
artist affirms, “In my work I approach photography, more specifically portraiture through a mix of sculptural and performative terms…My
aim with this series is to create a disorienting experience for the viewer. To make a space that confuses the viewer’s senses and intellect…”
Her 2006 series “Camos Tactics (It Smells Like Blood)” is a selection of bold portraits of a female protagonist that the artist has meticulously
fashioned with macabre undertones. Rendering monochromatic images executed in various shades of bright red, the artist strives for a
shocking effect. The identity of a veiled woman is both obscured by a large clown nose and various cloth fabrics that further conceal her
features. Every inch of her subject’s body is covered, as she even wears gloves. Dressed from head to toe in red, she recedes into the
background of the photograph, a weighty comment on the frequent marginalization of women. Shown in a number of poses and settings
—eating a meal, drinking from a glass or standing with her hands on her hips—the artist gives the viewer no leeway, hers is a subject that
stands both guarded and defiant yet “hidden” from the viewer’s gaze. Although vulnerable to visual scrutinizing, she remains seemingly
unaffected, as she goes about her daily routine. The woman of Falah’s images is at once constrained and empowered, creating a
dichotomy of representation that is anything but simple.
As Falahi confirms, “My photographs use issues of disguise and concealment to play with the conventions of photography, beauty and
display, while creating a dialogue concerned with identity politics." [iv] If through Falahi’s work we are to establish an idea about Iranian
femininity and the complex web of identity politics that informs it is that things are never what they appear to be, regardless of our perceptions.
While artists in diaspora are confronted with the negotiation of various cultural trajectories, those in Iran face an equally complex environment,
with a political atmosphere that is magnified to extremes in every aspect of life. There the push and pull between government-sanctioned
culture and a population that is all too well-versed in the latest global trends in art, technology and fashion makes for a unique, if not
contradiction-filled, brand of twenty-first century society. Take for example the photographs of internationally-recognized artist Shadi Ghadirian,
whose work also frequently explores issues of women. The Tehran-based artist, who is one of the country’s leading photographers, has
made a significant impact on the global art scene with her “Qajar Series” (1998-2001) and “Like Every Day” series (2002), both of which
explore the politics of gender within a contemporary framework.
Although the black and white images found in the “Qajar Series” show her female family members and friends dressed as though living in
nineteenth-century Persia, they are accentuated by objects of a “modernized” existence, one marked by the influence of Western culture
through globalization. A can of Pepsi, a boom box and other symbols of “progress” point to the increasing homogenization of culture
(and the inevitable meeting of various societies), while the artist insists on bringing women to the forefront of these issues. This was
furthered in her “Like Every Day” series, which consisted of a number of images titled “Domestic Life.” As part of a long line of Iranian
artists that have explored feminist issues in their work (a precedent that is significant to Roya Falahi’s photographs), the identities of Ghadirian’s
female figures are buried not only beneath the mounds of fabric that make up their chadors but also by everyday objects such as tea pots,
brooms and rubber cleaning gloves that point to an overt domesticity. A direct reference to the domicile-subservient roles often thrust upon
women around the world, the collection of photographs has resonated with viewers at home and abroad. Perhaps her most arresting examination
of these issues to date, Ghadirian’s “Nil, Nil” photographs (2008), speak of the normalizing of war and its seeping into domestic settings.
Similar to American artist Martha Rosler’s “Bringing the War Home: House Beautiful” (1967-72) photomontages, which sought to highlight the
impact of the Vietnam War on American culture and society while emphasizing the saturation of catastrophic images in the mass media,
Ghadirian’s works illuminate the looming presence of conflict in Iran.
From the violence of the Islamic Revolution to the collective trauma of the Iran-Iraq war, today’s Iranian society remains wounded from
its history. Threats of an American invasion and/or an Israeli attack are also ever-present. This is coupled with an acute sense of political
frustration that seems to run through a significant portion of Iran’s population (as seen in the recent standoffs resulting from the 2009 elections).
The artist thus taps into local tensions that have not only been informed by foreign relations but years of internal political turmoil. In one
image a bullet appears wedged between cigarettes. In another an army jacket is hung in a closet filled with women’s clothing, while a grenade
is neatly placed alongside condiments in the door of a refrigerator. Anything but subtle, these images not only speak of modern Iran but
highlight the current state of international conflicts in which an increasing number of women are subjected to the suspension of everyday
life by the harsh realities of war. As seen in the work of Asad Faulwell, Amir Fallah, Roya Falahi and Shadi Ghadirian, Iranian art today
is not only striving to change the face of contemporary Iran—it is reaching out to the global community at large. By remaining entrenched
in international issues and continuing to work with a deep sense of artistic trends, these artists are transforming how culture can inform
politics in profound ways.
