A transparent mural by conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp, minimalist art by Sol LeWitt and Donald Judd, and works by packaging artist Christo are just some of the more than 130 works by 34 world-famous artists from the West that currently have Iranians flocking to the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

The exhibition has seen about 20,000 visitors since it opened in June — twice as many as previous shows at the venue. "The reception has been marvelous," said museum director Ebadreza Eslami. Speaking to news agency AFP, he attributed the great interest to the fact that 38 masterpieces from the "Minimalism and Conceptual Art" exhibition are being exhibited for the first time ever. Museum spokesman Hasan Noferesti added it is simply exciting to see long-hidden modern masterpieces.

Presenting Western works to the public is not a given in the Islamic Republic. Shiite President Ebrahim Raisi, a devout cleric, regularly rages against Western influence. Local artists who deviate from Iran's "revolutionary culture" face harsh penalties. Western contemporary art was long kept locked up, including the collection now on show.

Biggest collection of modern art outside of US, Europe

It was put together in the 1970s by Farah Diba Pahlavi, the wife of the then Shah Reza Pahlavi. Worth millions, the collection is considered legendary. It is also the largest modernist collection outside Europe and the USA.

In 2017, the former empress told DW that she had discovered various Iranian painters and sculptors during the biennial organized by the Iranian Ministry of Culture in the early 1960s, which gave her the idea for a contemporary art museum in Tehran. The collection was to include Western works of art, too. And why shouldn't it, she argued — "the whole world has our art in its museums, too."

What is happening on the planet and in each particular city

right now and any future day, you can find out here: 

https://ixyt.info/en/Germany/Westend

Paste the desired city into this link!

When the museum opened in 1977, works by Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Claude Monet, Paul Jackson Pollock, Rene Magritte and other big names hung on the walls alongside paintings by local artists.

Removed for representing 'Western depravity' 

Just two years later, the Islamic Revolution swept the Shah from the throne. The new head of state, Ayatollah Khomeini, lamented the moral and sexual depravity of the West, which he believed had infected the Islamic world. Considered "un-Islamic" and "corrupt," the Western art collection was moved to the museum's depot.

Farah Diba recalls she was very worried at first about the fate of the artworks, and that they might even be destroyed. "Fortunately the collection is still relatively complete — except for a portrait of me by Andy Warhol that was in the foyer of the museum. That was completely destroyed, and so were some sculptures by sculptor Bahman Mohasses."

Back into the spotlight

For a long time, the collection lay dormant in the museum depot. Few of the works were showcased in the West, until they gradually began to reappear in 2005, during the political thaw in Iran, including paintings by Andy Warhol, Vincent van Gogh, Jack Pollock and other artists from the West. Nudes however stayed hidden in the basement.

Young Iranians in particular show great interest in international art, often resorting to social media. The fact that works so long under lock are now being shown prompts some people to go see the exhibition more than just once.

"Setting up a show with such a theme and such works is a bold move that takes a lot of courage," said Babak Bahari, who went to marvel at the artworks four times. "Even in the West these works are at the heart of discussions and dialogue," he told The Guardian newspaper.

Author Suzanne Cords

Permalink - https://p.dw.com/p/4G4eU

***

***

Berlin transfers ownership of looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Over 500 pieces will be returned under the deal. The artifacts were looted by British soldiers in the 1800s and sold all over Europe.

A German arts and history foundation on Thursday signed an agreement with to transfer ownership of the Benin Bronzes from the Ethnological Museum in Berlin back to Nigeria. The deal between the Foundation of Prussian Cultural Heritage (SPK) and Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) covers 512 objects in the museum's collection. 

"This represents the future concerning the artifacts issue, a future of collaboration among museums, a future of according respect and dignity to the legitimate requests of other nations and traditional institutions," NCMM's Abba Isa Tijani said. He urged museums outside of Germany to emulate the agreement. French art historians have estimated that some 90% of Africa's cultural heritage is believed to be in Europe.

The Benin Bronzes are coming home!

The pieces are intricate plaques and sculptures made of bronze, an important type of artwork from the region since at least the 13th century. The works in question were stolen from the Kingdom of Benin, located in what is now southwestern Nigeria, by British soldiers in 1897 and ended up in museums all over Europe.

Germany already began repatriating other artifacts to Nigeria earlier this year. Under the deal signed Thursday, several pieces will stay on loan to Berlin for several years.

Slow progress

Culture Commissioner Claudia Roth said it was an example for museums in Germany with colonial-era collections and that further agreements would follow in coming months. After decades of formerly colonized countries demanding the return of looted artifacts, European countries have only recently begun to return some of the items.

Earlier this month, London's Horniman Museum said it would return 72 artifacts, including 12 brass plaques, to the Nigerian government, following a similar move by a Cambridge University college and a Paris museum last year. There have also been complaints that bureaucratic hurdles are slowing down the process considerably. Taking back Africa's looted cultural artifacts. 

Berlin museum returns artifacts to Namibia

More than 20 looted objects from Namibia — including jewelry, tools, fashion and dolls — are being sent back to the country. The loan is the latest move by Germany to address its colonial past. Kenyans sue UK government for colonial land theft. A group in the tea-growing Kericho region is seeking redress from Britain. The land taken from them is now owned by multinational corporations.  

es/fb (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

Permalink - https://p.dw.com/p/4G32c