I don’t know if you’ve seen Ben Affleck’s Oscar-baiting Argo or Showtime’s once-great Homeland, but while well-crafted, their largely cardboard depictions of Iranian people as fanatical, bloodthirsty, anti-American yahoos has inspired me to pay tribute to some of the most caring, creative and community-minded people I know, in a series I am calling To Iran, with Love.
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Allow me to introduce my dear friend Keyvan Mahjoor. A world-class artist from the ancient Persian city of Isfahan, Keyvan has not set foot in his homeland in over thirty years, but his history soars in the brilliant sky of his mind, destined to be reborn on a bare canvas.
When Keyvan was a boy, he fell under the spell of the nomadic Bakhtiari tribe. These legendary people have been migrating through Iran for centuries, blazing through the potholed deserts and road-less mountains on horseback in their madly colored clothes as they herd thousands of bleating sheep across vast swaths of land, with a posse of spitting camels, braying donkeys and barking dogs.
One summer, when the tribe traveled through Isfahan, Keyvan’s equally enthralled father befriended an imperial Bakhriari chief. Over the next few years, whenever his tribe would pitch their black, goatskin tents on the outskirts of the big city, the chief and his personal entourage of wives, children, servants and water-pipes would knock at the Mahjoor family’s front door and bring the wilderness into their home.
Their orderly house turned to chaos. Children ran wild, servants took over the kitchen and water-pipes choked the air. They would sit in a circle, talking about the animals, their tribe and amazing travels, blowing smoke. Draped in vivid layers, the women and children were like moving flowers through the rooms. For a budding artist, it was a dream come true.
Years later, in his sunlit studio in Montreal, Keyvan painted a very bright light that illuminated his childhood living room and opened directly to the sky, with no ceiling, roof or door.
For a dose of Keyvan Mahjoor’s captivating drawings, please click here and FRIEND him on Facebook. You will be transported!
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FAN THE FLAMES of Burns the Fire, please-
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GOOD NEWS FLASH: McDonald’s and Coca Cola are having a PR nightmare and David is bringing down Goliath, one small culture-jam at a time. PR nightmare?!! Nothing compares to the living nightmare that queers in Russia are presently living through. (Suzanne Nuttell) Speak up, speak out!
Participation – that’s what’s gonna save the human race. RIP Pete Seeger.
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24 Responses to To Iran, with Love
GREAT POST, will like everywhere…!!
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Thanks, JE. I like that you like.
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I am so glad you have taken on this project Brenda! Keyvan is also a dear friend of mine, but I never knew that about him. It’s wonderful to read his memories of his childhood, which are treasure troves of precious eye-opening experiences to life. Thank you Brenda and thank you Keyvan! xx
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Part of the goal is to build bridges together. Thanks, Bev!
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Lovely tribute, lovely images. Thanks.
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Gorgeousness
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I just sat with my Ethiopian friend last night talking about the wars of the world…and that by and large we are the same: people that want to love their families and friends and just live. I love that you highlight this fact with such beautiful simplicity. Thanks for that little ray of beauty this morning!
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Precisely. Thank you, Jami!
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A beautiful painting. Thank you for sharing his story.
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Brenda I don’t have problems with Iranians, it’s their government that causes me great pain.
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Yes, the government, but still… Iranian people worldwide are chastised for their government and all too often are badly portrayed in the media.
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I love every post you write. That is all – for now. 🙂
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Thank you, Jennie, blush.
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I loved reading about Keyvan’s childhood! I’d never heard about the Bakhtari tribe coming to his home. I imagined a cramped, crowded living room, with people of all ages walking and talking over each other. And then I saw little Keyvan observing the scene with wide, beaming eyes. When you described the painting with its ceiling-less room and its door looking straight out to the sky, I felt my chest open up and realized what Keyvan’s art does for me: it’s like someone has opened a window and let the fresh air in.
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Tara, what a perfect description of Keyvan’s work. Here’s to ‘opening a window and letting in the fresh air.’
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I loved reading about Keyvan’s childhood! I’d never heard about the Bakhtari tribe coming to his home. I imagined a cramped, crowded living room, with people of all ages walking and talking over each other. And then I saw little Keyvan observing the scene with wide, beaming eyes. When you described the painting with its ceiling-less room and its door looking straight out to the sky, I felt my chest open up and realized what Keyvan’s art does for me: it’s like someone has opened a window and let the fresh air in.
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Thank you for showing a different side of Iran. As for me, I love Persian food, Persian ancient culture and have many Iranian friends -that’s the beauty of London!
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Vive la difference!
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finally . . . somebody that realizes that people around the world are all pretty much the same . . . (at least until they get involved in politics)
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Great post. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you, Ainhoa, and welcome.
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[…] by Keyvan Mahjoor. I wrote about him in To Iran, With Love. For more of his amazing work, click […]
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Thanks for introducing me to his work.
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Ellen, the pleasure is mine. If you follow Keyvan’s Facebook page, you will have the singular delight of a drawing a day.
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