Compelling the Children to Imitate in
Painting is to Silence their Inner Voice
The most important characteristic that sets the art of any country,
nation, and civilization apart from others is the philosophical view
of life and its manifestation in the art of that country. The artist
of that territory is the one who makes this a reality. Undoubtedly,
art, created by any medium, carries a special spiritual message, which
has been nurtured by the mind of the artist, and has given artistic
nobility to the common material. Now, considering the importance of
art in the evolution process of a nation, we can realize that the lack
of the existence of art can leave destructive and harmful effects on
the culture of that nation for generations to come. Since, the art of
a nation can only be inferred through the edifices of the existential
and ideological philosophy.
Indeed, what is the identity of our art today and whom are we
addressing with our art?
Why, in spite of our numerous galleries the visitors of these places
are only a handful? Is this only due to the difficult economical
situation of the country or basically the lack of the correct habit
for visiting these galleries, among the people and society has created
such few visitors?
For example, what product does a painting gallery, as a
commercial/cultural trade offers? Is this fact disputable that a
product of a gallery must have its roots in the arts of a society and
the gallery owner as a medium between the artist and people must
exhibit the art at its best possible shape? But what is the identity
of our painting today? Do we follow our artists the way people in
developed countries do or do we believe in the bond between our
native, traditional, and national art? Do the people of our country
consider visiting a painting gallery, going to a concert, calling on
Iranian and world tourism exhibitions, going to theaters, etc. as a
soul food and an inseparable part of their daily life? Why does this
artistic poverty exist in the different walks of life in our society
and what should be done to eradicate it? Is this cultural/artistic
poverty a result of inability to create art or due to omitting art
from the daily life of people?
What drove me to write this article, as the owner of one of the
galleries in Tehran, is indeed the irreparable catastrophe of the
art's loss in the daily life of people. I, not as a social reformer
but as an artist, art professor, and gallery owner, see most of the
cultural problems of our society as a result of this artistic poverty.
Although, the philosophers, artists, and theorists of our country have
referred to these essential problems in different subjects, but no
serious solution has been presented to battle these problems. And if
any solution has been presented, it has not had any enforceable
guarantee. Obviously, the cultural modifications of a nation will not
take place in a short period of time, but they can be observed by the
generations to come.
Undoubtedly, in order to elevate the artistic culture of our
society, the government and those responsible (including the artists
themselves) are obligated to submit practical procedures. The
government can make our compatriots accustomed to the familiarization
with art and living alongside it. Dedicating a suitable budget and a
logical programming to perform sufficient research in the sociological
aspect of art is essential on discovering the reasons and presenting
the correct solutions.
The noteworthy point is the attention, which must be paid to the
future generation of our country. The children of today are the
enforcing and effective arms of this giant cultural step in the future
Investing on this generation is assured and profitable. The reason
being that it is possible to include the artistic growth and
development in them since childhood and at the same time as their
mental and physical growth.
Investigating the mental and emotional characteristics and
psychological needs of the children states the internal bond of the
child with the artistic creations. This connection shows that art has
a special effect on children and affects their learning and training.
Studying the instructional aspects of art shows that it can have a
crucial rule in teaching different sciences and various course
subjects. The nourishing role of art can be found in
