Why do Aghdashloo's fans consider the NYT report unfair?/ Farnaz Fassihi and her ten incredible points
TEHRAN.(Iranart)- The October 22 report of the New York Times under the headline "Wave of sexual abuse allegations against Aydin Aghdashloo" is very strange from a journalistic point of view. In this article, we review more than 10 incredible directions of a journalist who is aware of Iran issues The painter masters claim that he is deliberately trying to destroy the artistic and social personality of Aydin Aghdashloo!
Like each and every one of you, I am against any persecution of any human being, including girls and women, and also, like all of you, I believe that no one can be convicted on charges alone, the way is clear: Complain to the court and thoroughly investigate the charges without appeasement.
Some time ago, it became fashionable to ask each other, please do not judge, but sometimes we all forget this moral duty and give such rulings as a judge. By the way, by mentioning this introduction, I would like to remind you, as in the previous article about the accusation of 13 women against Mr. Aghdashloo, as Mr. Aghdashloo himself has repeatedly called for the trial to take place I am waiting for the court to be set up so that the head will be cleansed and the right will be given to the rightful.
In this article, I will review parts of the controversial New York Times article, which I think has fundamental flaws in the process, and the esteemed journalist, instead of narrating, has taken the pen of judgment, with an unbridled rage that even does not leave the 33-year-old daughter of master unlucky either!
I was amazed at the intensity of the orientations of Ms. Farnaz Fassihi, a respected New York Times reporter, for writing this text. I talked to two female artists whom they have known Ms. Fassihi for a long time. They also said that they were surprised by the biases in this text, one of them even said that she had expressed her protest to Ms. Farnaz.
These two female artists said: she is considered a worthy human being and a professional journalist, she has been a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Iran for many years and is aware of Iran's social situation; that is why part of a report in the New York Times that lists one-sided bizarre judgments about Mr. Aghdashloo is incomprehensible. Incidentally, the main direction of this text is a reflection of the anger of this respected New York Times reporter…
ONE
Perhaps if the New York Times reporter did not refer to Afshin Parvaresh's virtual page at the end of her article and did not write explicitly: '… Anonymous allegations against Mr. Aghdashloo were first made in 2018 by Afshin Parvaresh, an Iranian investigative reporter on Instagram….'
Mr. Aghdashloo's fans dealt with this issue in a different way. For several years, culture and art societies have been confronting this person with the question: why he does not submit his documents to the court so that the master painter can be tried?
Even 20 days before the New York Times article, Mr. Aghdashloo's lawyer published a text in cyberspace that also had an interesting, pleading tone, asking Mr. Parvaresh to give an address in New York, but a reporter whom the New York Times calls an investigator. He is still a fugitive.
TWO
205 of Mr. Aghdashloo's friends, all of whom are artists, gallery owners and art critics, have called and asked Iran Art to deliver these questions to NYT: Why is the New York Times article so similar to the storytelling of Mr. Afshin Parvaresh's last four or five years? Could this article be based on information provided by Mr. Parvaresh to a New York Times reporter? If this information is true, then why does Afshin Parvaresh avoid presenting it to the court?!
According to Aghdashloo's students, Mr. Parvaresh has promised to present his documents in court at least twice during these years, but so far there is no news of him doing so!
THREE
The focus of the doubts is on the names of the people mentioned in the New York Times report, and only the names of five women are mentioned in full form in that report. We will review the words of some of them, but the rest of the names are belong to unknown people: Maryam, 49 years old photographer, Mehrnaz 54 years old, one of Mr. Aghdashloo's former students, Ati 30 years old, an unknown lady and Afarin Moalemi one of Aghdashloo's assistants in Tehran. If these narratives are new to the world, these unproven accusations have been read by Iranian artists for several years and are now being published in a world tribune without a court-approved document.
FOUR
the report goes unbelievably beyond the "accusations of sexual misconduct of Mr. Aghdashloo" and attacks his artistic and social character in a very angry manner. In fact, in some lines, she whitewashes the Kayhan newspaper in the case profile making. As if she even enters the marriage of Ms. Tara, the daughter of Mr. Aghdashloo, who seems to have been married for the last two or three years!
The respected New York Times reporter simply makes accusations against Aydin Aghdashloo that are completely unrelated to the thematic context of the article; she writes: 'Aghdashloo joined the ruling clergy after the revolution, and he and his family have trade ties with the government'. Mr. Aghdashloo's lovers are astonished and ask: which clergyman circle did their teacher specifically enter?
He has never had the privilege of a government, which he has repeatedly faced sharp accusations and criticism from the media, such as the Kayhan newspaper. Unlike some of his friends, Aghdashloo has not been declared a permanent figure or praised by any government. So where are the documents related to joining the clergy association?
The obvious questions are: If Mr. Aghdashloo has such governmental relations, why is the price of his works not equal to other artists of his generation? Except for the last two years, when the market for the sale of Mr. Aghdashloo's works has jumped, why haven't his governmental links worked to raise the price of his work all these years?
Which collection of his paintings is clergy and government-friendly? Memories of destruction Or Years of fire and snow, Apocalypse catastrophe Or Mystery? Which of these approaches to art and critical thinking is clergy favorite to get him into their circle? And again, which trade links? It will be revealed later in the report that it seems the journalist's intention on Mr. Aghdashloo's trade links are his daughter, Tara, who married about three years ago, 2017!
FIVE
The New York Times reporter wrote: ' Despite a small number of accusations such as Mr. Aghdashloo is a monarchist and a spy for the West, in the conservative Iranian press, He has been widely covered in the state-run press, and the possibility of sexual abuse has not been reported in the official media'. This paragraph is the best document to prove the unfair orientation of the journalist towards Aydin Aghdashloo.
Aghdashloo fans ask: if this dear journalist knows that the painter has been accused of spying for the West for 40 years, how does she put him in the circle of clerics? Of course, with a simple internet search, the journalist could see that the extremist media in Tehran had taken full advantage of the New York Times report and reflected it with pomp and circumstance.
SIX
the reporter wrote in the continuation of the effort to make Aydin Aghdashloo a government artist: Aghdashloo as a consultant, teacher, writer and art expert with Astan Quds Razavi,
The Religious and Economic Foundation has cooperated under the control of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is sanctioned by the United States. The former head of Astan Quds Razavi is the current head of the Iranian judiciary. But she doesn't mentioned that Aydin Aghdashloo is an expert in Islamic arts, and even large European auction houses come to him to examine any works, and incidentally, this is one of his sources of income until the last decade. It is also with his efforts that the art market in Iran and the region flourished. Are there any Islamic museums in Iran that Mr. Aghdashloo can study as an expert?
One of the female painters, who was once a student of Mr. Aghdashloo, said in an interview with Iran Art: Regarding the cooperation with Astan Quds, the whole cooperation of Aydin Aghdashloo with this institution is as follows: 1- An introduction to the book about the exquisite Qur'an of Sultan Ibrahim, published by the Institute of Artistic Creations 2- A lecture on the same Qur'an 3- Teaching in a watercolor painting workshop. Does working with a museum mean such a weird relationship that this reporter has lined up in a row?
With such a hypothesis, all artists, including cinema, theater, music, etc. Everyone in Iran has to get permission from the government, which, according to this reporter, is cooperation with the government and presence in power circles!! Is it possible to live in Iran at all and not deal with the government and the government? Anyone who does anything for a living must obtain permits and etc.
Before releasing such statement this reporter written 'Among Mr. Aghdashloo's students were the daughter of the Friday Imam of Tehran and the grandchildren of one of the founders of the Islamic Revolution'
It is not really clear what is the purpose of emphasizing these phrases? Who does not know that Mr. Aghdashloo is one of the most skilled teachers of gilding and it is possible that he also had religious students. But what behind-the-scenes secrets does making such dubious claims prove? A fair look at such an option, if it is correct, would mean the spread of art among different sections of society, which is commendable.
SEVEN
one of the strangest allegations in this report is about Mr. Aghdashloo's influence on Iranian galleries and the visual arts which the students and lovers of this artist obviously find unreal and even irrational; The New York Times reports says: 'Another student said that when he rejected Mr. Aghdashloo's offer, He retaliates and tells the galleries not to accept her work, Something that seriously damaged his profession' or ' Some interviewees requested that only their first names be mentioned, which reflects their fear of Mr. Aghdashloo' Or 'If I said something to someone or complained about him, it was not clear what would happen to me or my job'.
Those who are familiar with the Iranian art scene know that making such claims is ridiculous. Not only Aydin Aghdashloo but no other artist has such a strong position in Iran, Art galleries and buyers are naturally driven by self-interest, and the fragmentation is so great that they are often likened to distant islands. Certainly, in a conversation with the gallery owners, the female journalist can verify the quality of these claims.
EIGHT
The New York Times on October 22 published this controversial report with the headline "Iranian Art Superstar" on its front page. But with the descriptions that the journalist gives of Aydin Aghdashloo throughout the text, it is not clear why such an artist is popular and superstar in Iran?! The reporter is so angry that he forgets to mention in his report why such a bad artist as she describes is popular in Iran?!
NINE
in this regard, the esteemed journalist, who is generous in writing against Aydin Aghdashloo, doesn't pay attention to reflecting his approval by others. Shohreh Aghdashloo is certainly the most familiar name quoted in this report, but the reporter only gives her a few words; 'He never commits such heinous acts' And so for collaborating with this report by Mitra Zad, A student who has denied the accusation against his teacher is just a few words; 'I have not seen anything but good from him'
TEN
in the October 22 report, Elnaz Mohammadi, Solmaz Naraghi and Solmaz Ajhdari are the only women who interviewed with the journalist by their full name. The statements of Laleh Sabouri and of course Sara Umm Ali are quoted in this report based on their previous interviews and tweets. Strangely enough of the three interviewed, two of the ladies objected to the published report and sent corrections for it!
Aghdashloo's followers believe that two corrections out of the three statements are high statistics, and this is enough to cast doubt on the accuracy of this reporter in reflecting the views of the interviewees. It should be noted that Ms. Naraghi's denial and fundamental objection to this report did not follow by the New York Times, but Ms. Mohammadi's text is included at the end of the report!
But one of the most interesting points of this report, which many emphasize and confirm the reporter's strange orientation, is reflecting the opinion of Ms. Laleh Sabouri, a TV actress: 'Laleh Saburi, 50-year-old actress, movie and TV star was a student of Mr. Aghdashloo for two years. She tweeted that women were afraid to be alone with him and rape was a patch that clings to him'.
Aydin Aghdashloo's students emphasize: Ms. Sabouri has only acted in one movie and a star in Iran does not mean that, She was a student of the teacher for two years and did not see an example to mention, he wrote a strange sentence: "Rape sticks to him" which is obviously a slander and a blind accusation, Why should a media like New York Times reflect such a tweet? You mean the journalist's hand was so empty?
And As I have written before, I also want to address the claims of these 13 respected girls and women, No one likes to be forgiven, not at all in this case. Women are oppressed all over the world, much more oppressed in Iran; Here, the girls of Isfahan, who went to a music conservatory in their city and have a music diploma, are not allowed to hold concerts and play the instrument on stage; In 13 provinces of Iran, women are not allowed to perform on stage. Therefore, any allegations of harassment towards girls and women should be taken more seriously; among other things, instead of four or five years of operation to be seen and followed, the documents must be submitted to the court. Also, journalists who claim to protect and defend women must be very careful not to tarnish this valuable goal with personal motives and grudges in the shadow of misinformation. Because it is a plague that inflicts double oppression on women. End
Iran Art News
Chief Editor Hossein Hashempoor