Solace of Lovers. Trost der Liebenden. Helena Perena
was also this fascination with the compelling nature of poetic language that first enabled a European audience to gain a deeper insight into these worlds in modern times. In his “West-Eastern Diwan” (published in 1819 and again in an extended version in 1827), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) was inspired not only in linguistic terms by the work of Hafez (ca. 1315–ca. 1390), probably the most significant poet in the Farsi language. An Austrian element in this artistic enterprise was provided by the poetess Marianne von Willemer (1784–1860), who was born in Linz and whose texts Goethe incorporated into the work without mentioning her name. On the anniversary of the death of Hafez, who died so many centuries ago, thousands of people still flock to his tomb in Shiraz every year. Incidentally, this city not only lent its name to the eponymous wine, it was also the birthplace of this drink, which even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989) praised in his early poems.
The deeper their enquiry into this “continent” of Iran, the greater the number of apparent contradictions found by Western travellers, who are confronted yet again with the huge discrepancy between the propagandistic spin of Western media and the reality to be experienced on the ground. One particularly striking aspect of this is the natural hospitality, which manifests itself in so many ways. A traveller in Iran is borne by the language of love and the solace of a life on a search – an experience that has been described so vividly again and again in a wide variety of travelogues.
The mission of this exhibition organised by the Tyrolean State Museums is to communicate a little of this fascination in as direct a manner as possible. It is not the many Iranian exiles whose art is presented here, but artists who have been living in the country for decades and developed their art there. The selection deliberately includes many artists whose names are unfamiliar to even the progressive expert, and these names represent artistic positions that require careful exploration. That is the role of our exhibition and this book. Our special thanks go to the curators Tarlan Rafiee and Yashar Samimi Mofakham, whose great personal commitment has made this project possible with the very substantial support of the KLOCKER FOUNDATION. We are also grateful to the authors of this accompanying book, who have joined us as travel companions on our journey to the Iranian “Solace of Lovers”. There are still so many places to visit on the cultural “continent” of Iran.
Last but not least, this Iranian journey has also led us to our own collections: the Artuqid bowl is a highlight of the Mediaeval Collection at the Ferdinandeum, and in the Library Collection, our “Iranian eye” discovered a series of 19th century illustrations. And the journey is not over yet.
Peter Assmann
“The first creation of all things, the pearl of intellect was endowed with three qualities, three children named Beauty, Love and Sorrow. A luminosity appeared in him when the Beauty gazed upon himself, and he smiled. From that smile thousands of cherubim appeared. Love, the middle brother, was so intimate with Beauty that he could not take his eyes from him and was constantly at his side. When Beauty’s smile appeared, a consternation befell Love, who was so agitated that he wanted to move. Sorrow, the youngest, clung to him, and from his clinging the heaven and earth appeared.”
Selected text from “Reality of Love or Solace of Lovers”, an allegorical treatise by Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi (1154–1191)
PREFACE
In this publication the term “Iran” has been used to define a country with clear geographical borders, the inhabitants of which are called Iranians (just as they are in the Farsi or the Persian language). Wherever reference is made to the culture of this country, including its poetry, miniatures, paintings, carpets and other art forms, and whenever there is mention of its soul and culture, the word “Persian” has been used in order to correspond with non-Persian texts of the past. The poets of this land are called “Persian poets”, which is a more accurate translation of the expression used in Farsi even today. But in the case of its modern and contemporary artists and authors, who exist and developed their craft under a modern definition of Iranian culture and modern Iran, the term “Iranian” has been used instead. In instances where reference is made to linguistic or cultural boundaries of Iran that surpass the geographical and political borders and are known as Greater Persia, the term “Persia” has been used. For instance, the “Shahnameh” is identified as the national epic of Persia.
An attempt has also been made to avoid using standard artistic and philosophical terms, many of which are academically common. Many Persian intellectual and philosophical concepts have often been translated into their closest western equivalents. And even though we cannot offer an alternative to this practice we believe that in this process of trans lation, the Persian term is reduced in order to fit within a global terminology. In discussing philosophical points of view or schools of art, rather than relying on a common terminology we have attempted to describe the concept instead, even though it is likely that the reader will associate it with a familiar term in his mind.
One example of this is the translation of names and titles, such as the word “Sha’er”, meaning someone who writes poetry (“She’r”), as described in detail in the text “The Persian Poetic Soul”.
Another example is the word “Haqiqat”. In English, this is translated as “reality and truth”, and we were limited to using these two terms interchangeably. In Persian philosophy and mysticism (both pre- and post-Islam), however, the word “Haqiqat” can imply multiple meanings in one sentence, from something that exists but remains unseen (such as the creator) to material being.
These are difficult but exciting challenges, yet we believe we must all address this challenge in order to facilitate a clearer form of intercultural communication.
The Curators
INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION
Yashar Samimi Mofakham, Tarlan Rafiee
“The truth was a mirror that fell to the earth from God’s hand and broke into myriad pieces. Each person took a piece, saw himself reflected in it, and believed he held the truth. Yet the truth was scattered among all.”
Rumi, The Fihi Ma Fihi
The current exhibition gave us the opportunity to review travelogues from recent centuries that related to Iran in one way or another; some were written by Iranians about their various observations in their travels abroad, and others were written by foreigners travelling to Iran. Regardless of their initial intentions, all of these texts communicate a piece of the “truth” as experienced and interpreted by their authors.
And yet “truth” is an abstract concept. The reality or truth that I perceive about myself is a piece of a puzzle that defines me, shapes my relationship to my context and connects me to the surrounding world. Another piece of the truth that defines me is from the perspective of the “other”, what they see and how they perceive this depending on their own context and background.
Is it possible to reach a single definition of the truth about someone, and more generally about their society and everything that relates to them?
Travelogues are amazing resources when it comes to understanding others and ourselves, because they offer us a perspective about our life and culture that falls beyond our field of vision. But when the individuals who are the subjects of travelogues are not given the opportunity to decipher some of their complexities and explain certain things about them, then the travelogue will remain a subjective interpretation and its use as a source of reference will be problematic.
There is a story common to many cultures, and a version of this story is also found in classical Persian texts. The story describes a group of blind men – or men in a dark room – using their sense of touch to describe a creature (elephant) they have never seen before. It may be possible to gain a general understanding of the elephant by putting all of their individual descriptions together. But if each piece of information is relied upon in isolation, the unseen creature is reduced to a rug, a downspout, a column, a rope, a trumpet or a tree. Reading travelogues helps us understand