Last November (2007), the Fine Arts Gallery of SAADABAD Complex played host to an art auction organized by the Society of Iranian Painters (SIP). Revenues from the sale of artworks were to be used for a valiant purpose -- to keep a guild independent and well grounded. I spoke to the organizers who are also members of the board of SIP. Although they want to keep the auction separate from the controversies surrounding this year's Painting Biennial, a short history of the relationship of SIP with the art establishment may shine light on the significance of the recent auction.

In the second half of 1997, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) invited some thirty artists to participate in the organization of the 4th Painting Biennial of Tehran. Previously, the Museum and state artists associated with it had arranged the painting biennials. But in 1997, and in that meeting, independent painters decided to form their own society, with the help of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Sculptors had previously refused to be part of any official organization. The Society of Iranian Painters was born in the second half of 1998. In 1999, it started operation [1].

In the 5th Painting Biennial of Tehran, SIP only offered consultation to the Museum, but two years later, the organization of the 6th Biennial was given entirely to the Society, with {Farah Osuli} as its director. SIP not only set policy but formed the selection committee of the Biennial. The Center for the Promotion of Visual Arts (CPVA), part of the Ministry of Culture, was the financial supporter of the Biennial.

In the past two years (2006-7), the new administration has restructured the Center for the Promotion of Visual Arts in a way to undermine the achievements of those years by turning the clock back to the beginning of the decade. At first it appeared that those achievements could not be rolled back, but time has proven otherwise. Though small artistic (and to me unprofessional) societies have gone along with this retrogressive trend, SIP kept its independence alive by taking clear stands vis-à-vis its relationship to the government.

Four years has elapsed since the last Painting Biennial of Tehran and this year, TMCA decided to reconvene the event. In the beginning, {Aydin Aghdashloo}, the well-known Iranian painter, accepted to be the director of this year's Biennial on behalf of TMCA and SIP, but the conditions set by TMCA were too strict, refusing to let SIP handle policy-setting and selection. The Museum also refused to provide funding from the outset, promising later payments. Aghdashloo, whose presence could've been helped mend differences, resigned from the responsibility. With his resignation, tensions came to the surface. Hardliner newspapers like Keyhan and official gazettes criticized the head of TMCA, {Habib Sadeqi}, for even considering cooperation with SIP, after which {Habib Ayatollahi} was designated as director of the Biennial. He boasted that the 7th Painting Biennial of Tehran would promote Islamic and revolutionary values in art. With these developments, almost none of the established artists accepted to be part of the jury committee. Eventually artists {Iran Darrudi}, {Mohammad-Ali Tarraqijah}, {Zahra Rahnavard}, {Abolqasem Saeedi}, {Jalal Shabahangi}, {Abdol-Hamid Qadirian}, and {Ahmad Vakili}, along with two painters from Morocco and Algeria, agreed to be part of the committee of the 7th Biennial.

It was against this background that SIP decided to organize its art auction with the aim of purchasing its own building. Currently, the Society is housed in a space rented from CPVA. I spoke to three of the organizers. {Manizheh Sehi}, member of the board of SIP, doesn't see the auction related to Biennial problems, "Our Board of Directors thought about purchasing a new building for the Society a year and a half ago. We were never told that our current location would be taken away from us, but we are currently renting it from CPVA and we feared that we may not have it in the future. As such, and to forestall such a possibility, the Board thought of acquiring its own building. We asked artists to submit works for an auction at Saadabad Complex, part of whose revenues would go to the artists and a major chunk towards purchasing a building. Since we really wanted to this auction succeed, we talked to many venues, like Niavaran and Saba cultural centers, but at the end the Saadabad Complex accepted to house our exhibit and auction."

It is possible to call this event a major step towards independence from the state structure. In this midst, the row over the Biennial with TMCA, made the auction more crucial for SIP. Such group actions are rare, especially among visual artists who work in seclusion and are less inclined to join collective efforts. "We never thought that it would happen on such scale," Manizheh Sehi admits, "260 artists participated and 380 works were sold. It was a momentous event."

{Rozita Sharafjahan}, who is responsible for organizing exhibits for SIP, and who runs her own art gallery (Azad Art Gallery), contacted collectors to come to the auction and handled the public relations. She has always been a major supporter of non-official initiatives, "We trusted and supported each other and were determined to make this auction happen. We pooled all our resources to find buyers; in truth, however, we were skeptical about sales prospects and the fact that artists may not agree to give up their income for such an objective. Fortunately, 800 works were submitted in total, 600 of which were given to us before the auction and 200 more when it got underway. Artist willingly gave us their best works. This shows how much our artists are aware of the situation of art in our country today."

This auction coincided with two other opposing collective actions by artists. On the one hand, theater people raised their objection to the construction of a Metro station entrance just outside the gates of the 40-year old City Theater in central Tehran, which resulted in the temporary halt of construction. When two years ago Tehran Municipality decided to turn the City Theater parking lot into a mosque, none of the artists protested collectively. With the recent protest, however, it seems that artists are realizing that they should rely less on government organizations and try to find solutions within their own ranks.

On the other hand, established sculptors agreed to help CPVA convene the 5th Sculpture Biennial of Tehran (see this pictorial report), abdicating their hard-gained right to set policy and to select works. This was a huge set back for sculptors. Perhaps one can attribute the collective actions by painters and theater people to their sizable numbers compared to sculptors, but Sharafjahan believes, "It goes back to the difference in vision and the nature of their media. Sculptors are more dependent on municipality or government commissions. They don't have a market for their works outside of these commissions. This is also true of graphic artists. They may have huge turnovers compared to painters, but they need some kind of permission to print their works. It may also be that independence is not one of their major preoccupations. Painters are more independent per se. Most live with income from teaching. They don't need sponsors to produce works and their buyers are not governmental."

{Nemat Lalehi}, member of the board and in charge of publications of SIP, "We had difficulties with advertisement because we wanted to avoid too much publicity. 99% of our buyers were from the private sector; some were major buyer and others individual, but I see this as a positive development, say compared to last year's HAFT NEGAH exhibit [2], which created much of a stir but most of the buyers were from governmental organizations. The fact that buyers at the auction were from private sector is in itself great encouragement for SIP. Another thing is that we avoided the patronizing treatment of galleries. Young artists who have to stand in line for galleries to grant them exhibit time, and who have to pay up if their works weren't sold, were at ease at the auction, and many among them sold works. At the same time, artists who witnessed the success of the auction decided to become SIP members. As Ms. Sehi mentioned, the auction helped bolster the relationship of the society with art, bringing artists and aficionados together."

One of the reasons the auction was successful was the economy of art in the past year. Galleries have come out of isolation. They are selling works more than ever. Yet another reason is the success of some Iranian artists at art auctions in Dubai, which has brought recognition to Iranian art within the country (although it’s unpleasant to think that Iranians have to discover their own artistic merits when foreign buyers show interest). "Whatever way the Iranian art market gets promoted is a step in the right direction," says Manizheh Sehi, “Unfortunately painting and sculpture has never seen success in Iran, neither among the public nor governmental or private institutions. But in the past couple of years, art has of sorts acquired value, not necessarily for artistic reasons perhaps but in terms of the market and as an investment."

Despite the lucrative sales at the auction, money is not enough to purchase a building just yet. It is significant, however, that this building will not be purchased in the name of an individual but of a society. Even if SIP is closed for whatever reason, the building cannot be confiscated. SIP is still negotiating with potential sellers for the purchase of a building.

Footnotes

[1] See Works of the Society of Iranian Painters, by Nemat Lalehi. Tehran: 2007.
[2] See www.aftab.ae
[3] Haft Negah (Seven Visions} was an exhibit set up by the owners of seven galleries (all of whom were women) at the Niavaran Cultural Center with the intention of selling works.