In 2004 when I first began at the IMA, our marketing offices were in a small  cottage adjacent to the main museum building. Built in the early part of the 20^th century, the home was part of the original estate on which the museum now resides. Fresh out of grad school and new to the working world, I loved the cottage for its warmth and coziness. The PR and marketing coordinators sat in what used to be the living room. The graphic designers were squeezed into two upstairs rooms that were once perhaps the nursery. I shared a corner bedroom/office with my colleague Jessica.

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Recently, NPR ran a story about an Iranian art exhibit that debuted at the Crewest Gallery in Los Angeles, California.  I find it interesting to see how the recent turmoil in Iran affects the artists of the country.

In the interview, curator Shervin Shahbazi speaks of the many pieces that should have made it to the exhibition but where stopped by Iranian customs agents.  And most were held because they contained the color green and/or other political statements about the current regime in Iran.

Green happens to be the color of the opposition party that was lead by presidential hopeful Mir-Hossein Mousavi in the heavily debated election of 2009.  This election lead to rioting in the streets of Tehran and conspiracies that the election was rigged by the ruling party.  So it goes with out saying why the Iranian government would have a problem with the world at large getting their hands on these pieces.

The censorship of Iran is so strong, that none of the artists where able to even give their real names out of fear of retaliation by the government.

But despite the difficulties presented to these artists, many of their works still made it to LA, and are being snatched up at a very fast pace.

All images provided by the Crewest Gallery’s Flickr Page

Scream-FRZ

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The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

www.lifeadvicefromoldpeople.com

Blog: Life Advice from Old People

If this doesn’t get you to crack a sentimental smile on a Monday, then nothing will. You won’t find any potty-mouth one-liners here, but you will find sweet, insightful and real interviews and videos from the wisest among us.

ArtBabble Video: Smarthistory presents:Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper

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Here is a post from one of my summer interns, Lucie Alig, that speaks for itself.

My desk in the conservation lab was situated amongst Renaissance sculptures, ornately painted vases, African artifacts, and yet I was there to devote myself to one specific artwork far too large for any lab: Robert Indiana’s 1970 sculpture, LOVE. Needless to say, it is a piece that prompts a nod of recognition. Whether identifiable from its centralized positioning on the grounds of the IMA, or through its plastic incarnation as a dangling, mass-produced key chain, most everyone seems familiar with the trademark tilt of LOVE’s “O,” as it has been so hopefully interpreted to symbolize a movement forward or—in the case of my research of LOVE’s conservation history—a rather complicated stepping back.

Lucie Alig considers LOVE

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The IMA Blog Team asked Kyle Hodges of Indy Jazz Fest to give his perspective on art, music and inspiration.

As I look at this incredible wood engraving, I can’t help but think ‘What jazz musician inspired this artist?’  What song, what record, what style of jazz was this artist’s favorite to listen to while he created the masterpiece that we see?  I know music is an art form that is inspirational in the lives of nearly everyone on this planet: allowing us to dream, create, or escape.  But what if there was no jazz, what if it was replaced by some other genre of music in this artist’s life? Would he have decided to create something drastically different?

Jazz by Charles F. Quest

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