A Review of Morteza Avini’s Islamic Art (Part I)

Date: 13 April 2024 - 21:41

News ID: ۱۲۶۱۷۸

TEHRAN -- Seyyed Morteza Avini was a documentary filmmaker, photographer, journalist, writer, and theorist of Iranian “Islamic Cinema”, whose life and thoughts are discussed in this article.
After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, he left architecture in the university and turned to filmmaking as per the necessities of the revolution. He started his media activities in late 1983, simultaneously with participating in the war fronts – Iraq’s imposed war against Iran - and producing documentary films about the war.
During this period, he thought about cinema, art, global culture, and its confrontation with various issues. Avini’s research collection and discussions were published in the monthly artistic magazine “Soureh” and later collected in the book “Magic Mirror,” which is the first volume of his articles and film critiques.
Avini, was martyred on April 9, 1993, in Fakkeh, southwestern Iran, while making a documentary and television series “Chronicles of Victory”, due to explosion of a landmine, remaining from the time of war.
He critically analyzed famous works in philosophy, art, cinema, etc., producing three famous books among his works:
-”The Victory of Blood” analyzes the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH) the freedom and justice seeker grandson of the Prophet of Islam.
-”Development and Foundations of Western Civilization” analyzes fundamental challenges of the West.
- “Magic Mirror” analyzes media.
Here we take a look at some of his analyses on art and the West, all of which belong to years before 1990.
-Art in Martyr Avini’s Thought
-The Language of Art
Avini about the language of art writes: “The artist is a keeper of hidden treasures and his language is the language of symbolism. Therefore, he must recognize the secret and mystery of the emergence of sublime truths and the quality of the emergence of divine command in the world. This discovery is not necessarily with self-awareness; rather, the artist’s soul must become a place for the descent of hidden symbols and truths.”

Art, Thought, and Mysticism
In explaining the relationship between art, mysticism, and thought, Avini writes:
“In terms of content and substance, art is like thinking, wisdom, and mysticism and is only different in how it is expressed and manifested. The main source of art is also love and mysticism.”

Artist
Avini says: “The artist is someone who, in addition to being a lover of the truth, has also received the power of expression it from the Almighty.”

Western Art
Avini, about the characteristics of contemporary Western art writes: “Western art is self-indulgent; and it’s not about truth and divinity. Western art is the expression of modern human narcissism.”
He writes elsewhere: “Western civilization is in search of earthly paradise. The historical journey of art in the West has been traversed with such an extreme goal.”