Soheil Tavakoli: Painting Green

by JULIE JIGSAWNOVICH in New York

14 Nov 2009 21:073 Comments

[ art house ] Last spring in Isfahan, I had no idea why people in Iran smiled so much when I approached with my green umbrella aloft. Iranian presidential campaign workers approached and joyfully placed fliers bearing photos of Mir Hossein Mousavi photos in my hands. A tourist trying to beat the heat, I was unaware of the mounting significance of the color -- until I returned to the States and looked at news from Iran.

The violence that the Basij and Revolutionary Guards inflicted upon green-clad Iranian voters questioning "official" results of the presidential election still shocks me -- especially after the kindness and gentleness I experienced in Iran, even from security guards. It's been hard to reconcile these extremely diverging impressions of the country and its people. But at last this video of digital paintings by Soheil Tavakoli has succeeded in transcending the dissonance.

Tavakoli's semi-abstract, figurative paintings are bright, accessible, well-composed and pleasing to the eye. His work radiates an innocence and perseveres an energy that guides one unflinchingly through the tough subjects of torture, rape and murder of political prisoners, and contrasts this with scenes representing hopes of the recent past and a bright future that could still be possible.

I first met Soheil Tavakoli in front of the United Nations headquarters last July, at a hunger strike sponsored by the NY chapter of "Where Is My Vote." He was painting a large canvas in support of democracy, freedom and human rights for Iran. Tavokoli combined imagery of Tehran's Azadi Tower, the UN headquarters and protesters bearing signs including one that said, "I am Neda," a reference to the slain protester who became a symbol of the movement. A few days later, at the United4Iran rally organized by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, this and another Tavakoli painting sold for $2,000 each, with proceeds going to the cause.

In addition to activism and painting, Soheil Tavakoli is an architect and designer. Tavakoli has designed a memorial for Ahmad Shamlou, the contemporary Iranian poet, who he says "spent a lifetime talking about freedom." Tavakoli now plans to also include in the memorial the names of protesters killed in the violent post-election crackdown this past summer.

Copyright © 2009 Tehran Bureau

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