Art • This
focal point features many drawings
of women.
Emily Sparkhul
Iranian art comes alive on campus
By
Julie Michelle Sparkuhl
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
Bold, rich and simple drawings and paintings cover the walls and the center
floor of one of the many student galleries in Max L. Gatov Gallery, East at
Cal State Long Beach. “The Red” is one such painting. Dark red
and green leaves cover the canvas and in the corner and center are two drawn
figures that right away capture your attention. These are the work of Mehri
Dadgar an Iranian artist depicting the struggle she faced in prison in her
homeland, Iran.
The gallery walls hold many paintings. Each side of the five walls holds huge
or small canvases. The right side of one wall has huge canvases depicting pronounced
colors. Some of the paintings have buildings with little figures peeking out
and one or two trees with no real shape or form. The center wall had “The
Red,” in which a garden can be seen, as well as one of many tiny figures.
It almost seems the figure is lost in a puzzle that doesn’t need to solved,
only to be looked at.
The art on the right side of the wall has line drawings. Some have shape, others
don’t, but right away one can tell the drawing is of a woman.
In “Angst,” the figure is in odd shapes, forming and twisting with
real shape in mind. At the bottom, not meant to be noticed right away, are
two high-heeled shoes. These shoes seem out of place with the drawing yet you
can’t look away from such a simple symbol.
In the center, neatly arranged in a circle so that everyone can see them at
once are Dadgar prison pictures. The pictures are child-like, each one has
a woman either tied up or beaten, children with their mothers and pregnant
women standing in a cell. In the middle of the circle, in a simple wooden frame,
is a drawing of a woman with half of her gone. The picture is titled “Hair
Cut.”
Blood is also seen in the drawings, however, instead of red it’s green,
to hold everyone’s attention to the action taking place. Soldiers with
sticks are beating the women on their feet or backs. At the center with no
color but shaded in are women completely clothed and blind-folded. They are
solitary figures with no faces. Audiences are drawn to the center to pictures
titled “The Prison Pictures.” These paintings are daring, as well
as startling, to look at.
The show will be runs through Oct. 27, at the gallery from 9a.m. to 5p.m. For
more information, call 562-985-7819.
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