Tehran Museum hosts an exhibition on minimalism and conceptual art
TEHRAN – The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) is hosting an exhibition on minimalism and conceptual art.
Thirty-eight rarely seen works of art from these styles selected from the museum’s treasury are on display at the exhibition which opened last Tuesday.
Minimalism is primarily an American movement in visual arts and music originating in New York City in the late 1960s, and is characterized by extreme simplicity of form and a literal, objective approach.
Conceptual art, also called post-object art or art-as-idea, is a work of art whose medium is an idea or concept, usually manipulated by the tools of language and sometimes documented by photography. His concerns are based on ideas rather than formalities.
“These art movements that emerged in the middle of the 20th century had a serious attitude towards art, did not accept the standard definition of art, and mainly considered art philosophy and artistic ideas,” said the director of TMCA, Ebadreza Eslami, during the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
“It seems that these movements have posed the question of whether the value of a work of art refers to its objective reality or its subjective nature,” he added.
“An important aspect of this exhibition is that it reviews the history of art and this attitude as seen in its catalogs and advertisements,” he explained.
Eslami also announced the museum’s plans to hold similar exhibits and launch its permanent showcase this year.
He said his colleagues and the exhibit’s curator, Behrang Samadzadegan, conducted extensive research to find the right way to display the artworks.
“The TMCA team is one of the best I have worked with based on my experience of organizing exhibitions in other countries,” Samadzadegan said.
“It’s a promising start for the museum’s mission to showcase priceless works of art from its treasure trove, and I hope we can keep these works alive by hosting such exhibitions,” he added.
“For me, as an art teacher, it is really important to exhibit these works to students, whose hearts are filled with the desire to visit foreign art museums; so we must appreciate the beautiful works of art housed at the TMCA,” he noted.
He referred to the title of the exhibition and said, “If minimalism and conceptual art are the antitheses of aesthetics, today we are in the period of synthesis.
The Minimalism and Conceptual Art exhibition will continue until September 18.
Pictured: Deputy Culture Minister for Art Affairs Mahmud Salari (5th R) and his colleagues visit the Minimalism and Conceptual Art exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran on June 21, 2022. (Honaronline/Gata Ziatabari)
MMS/YAW
