Hello everyone, thanks for all who have joind our site and send us info and comments.
So as of today 8/16/10 I will be posting a ton of creative artist interviews in hopes of informing our community on new emerging and up and coming artists here in the U.S. and worldwide. Create, change, inspire and share. It’s been a very busy time in the art world!!! Soo here we go, introducing Tony Hope.
It’s one of the finest collections of modern art anywhere in the world, but you won’t find it in New York or Paris. Dozens of works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock — together valued at roughly $3 billion — are locked in a basement in Tehran. Only a handful of westerners have had an up-close look at the underground archives in Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art. ABC News was granted exclusive access inside the vault that holds a priceless collection Iranian authorities choose to keep locked away. What was revealed was astonishing: a series of paintings by Picasso; a wall’s worth of pop art by Roy Lichtenstein; Warhol portraits of Jackie Onassis, Mick Jagger and Marilyn Monroe; a Diego Rivera self portrait; and a painting many consider to be the best Jackson Pollock outside of North America. The collection was supposed to be a gift to the Iranian people. It was assembled by the Shah of Iran and his wife using public funds during the oil boom of the 1970s. Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art was inaugurated in 1977, designed to be one of the world’s landmark modern art institutions, with an international collection worthy of that ambition. But just months later came the Islamic Revolution. The Shah was deposed, Ayatollah Khomeinei was became the country’s leader, and in the Revolutionary, anti-American climate the museum’s western art was banished to the basement. Why aren’t the pieces shown to the public? The reasons are a mix of ideology and practicality. The collection is huge and the museum small. Museum director Dr. Habibollah Sadeghi, himself a painter appointed by conservative President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, says there is no space to properly put the works on display. Others question whether the museum could properly protect the valuable pieces from theft or damage were they displayed openly. Conservative Muslim ideology — a powerful governing force in Iran — has played a similarly forceful role in keeping the pieces underground. Aside from the anti-Western overtones of Revolutionary Iran many of the pieces are considered too racy for a conservative Muslim society. When some of the collection briefly went on display in 2005 Andre Derain’s "Golden Age," a 1905 painting of female nudes, was notably absent. Also hidden was the centerpiece of a Frances Bacon painting triptych. The center panel could be taken as homoerotic, showing two naked men asleep in bed. There are plans to display the collection permanently once museum space is expanded, Sadeghi said. If those plans materialize — full-time public access to view the pieces — it would fulfill the dreams of art lovers worldwide. "In two or three years we can improve the museum and have a permanent exhibition," said Sadeghi, adding that the museum is hoping to buy more Western works in the coming years to fill out the collection.
New images are updated daily + the scans are big and bright. Both mainstream or more obscure artists from all over the world are featured on this blog.
A scan from Traveling Ghost. A nice high-key image of Jessica Stam by Tom Murno
The concrete floor has been finished and clear-coated. The walls have been painted a nice white color picked out and applied by our good friend Larry Masters, owner of The Master’s Touch. He gets big props in our book.
We start moving in furniture next, and setting up the displays. Will post pics soon.
We also just picked up a whole lot of new art and clothing from the Joyengine Crew , Indy Ink , and Lucas Thomas. A new print by Jon Orr, titled (Masque) will be released for purchase at the opening. Edition size is 25, signed and numbered giclee print measuring 14inX28in on a fine Somerset Velvet paper. Price TBA.
Our friend Mike Sebastian of Nuleaf Media has just purchased orangecost.com. If you are saying to yourself, "What’s an Orangecost?" then I am laughing at you.
On a related note, I met someone named Doc tonight. Then I asked him, "What’s Up?"
Hello everyone, thanks for all who have joind our site and send us info and comments.
So as of today 8/16/10 I will be posting a ton of creative artist interviews in hopes of informing our community on new emerging and up and coming artists here in the U.S. and worldwide. Create, change, inspire and share. It’s been a very busy time in the art world!!! Soo here we go, introducing Tony Hope.
It’s one of the finest collections of modern art anywhere in the world, but you won’t find it in New York or Paris. Dozens of works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock — together valued at roughly $3 billion — are locked in a basement in Tehran. Only a handful of westerners have had an up-close look at the underground archives in Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art. ABC News was granted exclusive access inside the vault that holds a priceless collection Iranian authorities choose to keep locked away. What was revealed was astonishing: a series of paintings by Picasso; a wall’s worth of pop art by Roy Lichtenstein; Warhol portraits of Jackie Onassis, Mick Jagger and Marilyn Monroe; a Diego Rivera self portrait; and a painting many consider to be the best Jackson Pollock outside of North America. The collection was supposed to be a gift to the Iranian people. It was assembled by the Shah of Iran and his wife using public funds during the oil boom of the 1970s. Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art was inaugurated in 1977, designed to be one of the world’s landmark modern art institutions, with an international collection worthy of that ambition. But just months later came the Islamic Revolution. The Shah was deposed, Ayatollah Khomeinei was became the country’s leader, and in the Revolutionary, anti-American climate the museum’s western art was banished to the basement. Why aren’t the pieces shown to the public? The reasons are a mix of ideology and practicality. The collection is huge and the museum small. Museum director Dr. Habibollah Sadeghi, himself a painter appointed by conservative President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, says there is no space to properly put the works on display. Others question whether the museum could properly protect the valuable pieces from theft or damage were they displayed openly. Conservative Muslim ideology — a powerful governing force in Iran — has played a similarly forceful role in keeping the pieces underground. Aside from the anti-Western overtones of Revolutionary Iran many of the pieces are considered too racy for a conservative Muslim society. When some of the collection briefly went on display in 2005 Andre Derain’s "Golden Age," a 1905 painting of female nudes, was notably absent. Also hidden was the centerpiece of a Frances Bacon painting triptych. The center panel could be taken as homoerotic, showing two naked men asleep in bed. There are plans to display the collection permanently once museum space is expanded, Sadeghi said. If those plans materialize — full-time public access to view the pieces — it would fulfill the dreams of art lovers worldwide. "In two or three years we can improve the museum and have a permanent exhibition," said Sadeghi, adding that the museum is hoping to buy more Western works in the coming years to fill out the collection.
New images are updated daily + the scans are big and bright. Both mainstream or more obscure artists from all over the world are featured on this blog.
A scan from Traveling Ghost. A nice high-key image of Jessica Stam by Tom Murno
The concrete floor has been finished and clear-coated. The walls have been painted a nice white color picked out and applied by our good friend Larry Masters, owner of The Master’s Touch. He gets big props in our book.
We start moving in furniture next, and setting up the displays. Will post pics soon.
We also just picked up a whole lot of new art and clothing from the Joyengine Crew , Indy Ink , and Lucas Thomas. A new print by Jon Orr, titled (Masque) will be released for purchase at the opening. Edition size is 25, signed and numbered giclee print measuring 14inX28in on a fine Somerset Velvet paper. Price TBA.
Our friend Mike Sebastian of Nuleaf Media has just purchased orangecost.com. If you are saying to yourself, "What’s an Orangecost?" then I am laughing at you.
On a related note, I met someone named Doc tonight. Then I asked him, "What’s Up?"
