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Dr Deuchar: We take every opportunity to promote relations with Iran
05/08/2004
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Following the loan of Francis Bacon work from Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art to Tate Britain in June, British Persian Media conducted an interview to discuss the loan from Tehran as well as the level of current art relations between Britain and Iran.
Tate Britain’s director, Dr Stephen Deuchar who has visited Tehran on different occasions has met with the director of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Sami Azar where he was shown numerous stored artworks in Tehran.
FRANCIS BACON’S WORK
During one of his visits to Iran, he indicated his interest in borrowing a work from Tehran and that he would be happy to consider reciprocating by lending some works to Tehran, which would hopefully begin a new process of exchange of artworks between the two countries. The result was the loan of Francis Bacon work to Tate Britain.
Yet Francis Bacon artwork was not the first encounter between the two countries in the field of art. British council mounted an exhibition of 20th Century Sculpture of Britain where Tate Britain had also contributed by exhibiting works by Bill Woodrose in Tehran.
Asked if there were any difficulties in discussions with Tehran to borrow the work, Dr Deuchar said: “In any loan negotiations there are always obstacles to overcome, any institution lending to another needs to be comfortable that the work is going to be looked after and that the insurance is properly in place.”
Referring to rumours about the possibility of Francis Bacon work being purchased from Iran, Dr Deuchar categorically denied any talks of purchasing the work from Iran.
Dr Deuchar suggested once the work is returned to Iran, Sami Azar has plans of putting Francis Bacon work on display in Tehran some time in the future.
Despite the fact that Francis Bacon artwork was deemed indecent and the reports indicating that it was never displayed in Iran after the revolution, Dr Deuchar said during his visit to Tehran he found out that the work was displayed at some points after the revolution mostly in the 1980s. This was discovered in the records of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.
IRANIAN ART
Asked about the level of art in Iran in comparison to art in Britain Dr Deuchar said: “Contemporary art derives fundamentally and absolutely from the immediate surrounding culture, so it is not a question of which is better” but rather there needs to be an individual understanding of each country’s culture
He added: Yet “the diversity of art production in Iran is staggering; there are people working vigorously in the most traditional forms of painting and sculpture and perhaps more than people that are in London or Britain.”
Referring to the strongly emerging new artists in the field of conceptual art in Iran and the exhibition of Iranian artworks in the Venice biennial contemporary art exhibition for the first time since the revolution, director of Tate Britain concluded: “The Iranian visual artwork integration with the art world internationally continues the pace and I think the names of the individual Iranian artists who are going to emerge within the next few years are going to join the headlines paraded by other countries, which is going to be a very exciting time”
FUTURE COLLABORATIONS
Dr Stephen Deuchar said he was extremely keen to future collaborations between Britain and Iran and that the British Council in Tehran has been trying to establish further relations including the exchange of art students.
As for Tate Britain he said: “We would be happy to support any future kinds of collaborations and we think that it would be exciting for our own visitors and public to see how British Art fits into the wider world.”
The director of Tate Britain added: “We will take every opportunity to promote such relation”
Tate Britain
Francis Bacon
Iranian Art
Francis Bacon work on loan to Tate Britain
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