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تردیدی نیست که دوازده چهره‌‌ای که به عنوان آخرین آثار احمد مرشدلو در اینجا به صورت یک مجموعه به نمایش گذاشته شده‌اند را باید ابتدا در تداوم با روند فعالیت نقاشانه‌ی وی در یک دهه‌ی اخیر مورد توجه قرار داد، و آنگاه در گسست. در این مجموعه نیز مانند سایر کارهایی که از او در ده سال اخیر به نمایش در آمدند طرفِ نگاهِ ما فرد است و نه جمع؛ در اینجا نیز گذر روزگار را بر چهره‌ها به روشنی می‌توان شناسایی کرد و در اینجا نیز– هر چند با تأکیدی بیش از پیش – فردِ ترسیم شده حامل تاریخ و احساسی است که با ضربِ قلمِ نقاش تصویر شده‌اند. با این همه، در این مجموعه نه دیگر خبری از خود‌به‌خواب‌زدگانی است که گویا مرگ را بر زندگی ترجیح می‌دهند و نه چهره‌های مملو از شرمِ جوانانی که با جثه‌هایی نحیف، ناتوانی خویش را در رویارویی با جهان پیرامون‌شان فریاد می‌زنند. نه با جماعتی غریبه با خود و یکدیگر سر وکار داریم که بی‌حرکت، آینده‌‌ی تاریک و محتوم خویش را انتظار می‌کشند. نه از حیواناتِ سربریده اثری هست و نه از زنان و مردانی که ابدان نامتناسب‌شان فقط یکی از نشانه‌های فقدان تلاش برای معنادهی به زندگی روزمره‌شان است.
اگر نبود آن تک‌چهره‌‌ی زنی که تأملش در خویشتن را نه در زخم‌هایی که گذر زمان بر چهره اش به‌جا گذاشته است بلکه در نگاهی همزمان به گذشته و حال و آینده جستجو می‌کند، ممکن بود به عنوان بیننده، این مجموعه را در تداوم تک¬نگاری‌هایی بدانیم حاصلِ روایت نقاش از زمانه‌اش. تک¬نگاری‌هایی که مرشدلو در بازتاب دادنِ آنها معمولاً اغراقی چنان موفقیت‌آمیز دارد که مشکل بتوان فقط در مقام بیننده‌ی بی‌طرفِ آثارش باقی ماند و به دعوت نقاش برای جستجوی شباهت‌ها در سرنوشت مشترک بیننده و اثر نیندیشید. اما همان تک‌چهره، به سانِ تَلَنگری به ما یادآور می‌شود که اینجا دیگر نه با تک‌نگاریِ نقاش بلکه با اتوبیوگرافی یا همان زندگینامه‌ی خودنوشتِ یکایک چهره‌ها روبرو هستیم. اینجا ما با افرادی سر و کار داریم که گویی برای اولین بار جرأت و جسارت نگاه کردن به خویش را یافته‌اند.
اولین نتیجه‌ی حذف نقاش در رابطه‌‌ی میان بیننده و اثر، بازیابی نقاشی است به عنوان هنری اصیل. هنری که از جمله به واسطه‌ی همین دوازده اثر می‌توان پی برد که در کشور ما هنوز و برخلاف روند هنرهای تجسمی در جهانِ غرب که نقاشی جایش را به رقبایی همچون ویدئو‌آرت و چیدمان و سایر خطابه‌های بصری داده‌است، حرفی برای گفتن دارد و کاری برای انجام دادن. کاری که کمترینِ آن ارائه‌ی تصویری است از سر زدنِ هرچند نه آسانِ فردیت در جامعه‌ای که با این مفهوم سرِ سازگاری ندارد.
و در همین اولین نگاهِ به خود، آنچه جلب نظر می‌کند نه وجه تشابه آنها که وجه انفرادی‌شان است. یکی با نیشخندی به خود می‌نگرد که بیشتر از تعجب حکایت دارد تا از خرسندی و دیگری با پرسشگری از اینکه چرا پیش از این نگاهی به خویش نینداختی؟ در این میان نگاه دوگانه‌ی مردی را می‌یابیم که گویا هنوز بیشتر به ازخودگذشتگی عادت دارد تا توجه به خود؛ و زنی که چنان با اطمینان به خود می‌نگرد، گویی خود را همانگونه یافته که تصورش را می‌کرد.
اینک به نظر می‌رسد که دیگر احمد مرشدلو به آن دخترک کوچک که با چشمانی جستجوگر و زنده، گاه و بیگاه سر و کله‌اش در میان جمعیت به خواب رفته پیدا می‌شد تا بر وجود اندک شرری و بودنِ خاکستر گرمی جایی شهادت دهد و نقاش را از اتهام بدبینی و تلخ‌نگاری برهاند نیازی نیست. هر امیدی هست در همین بازیابی فردیت و هستی‌پذیری در نظام‌های دلالت فرهنگ و اجتماع و تاریخ است. در همین جرأت و جسارتِ نگاه کردن به خویش. حتی اگر آنچه بر ما گذشت را آئینه هم به خواب ندیده باشد.
مراد ثقفی
Take a Look at Yourself
The twelve exhibited portraits from Ahmad Morshedloo’s latest series, indeed, should be first considered as furtherance to his artistic pursuit throughout the past decade and then as a diversion. In this series, as in all his other works exhibited in the past ten years, he has portrayed individuals and not masses. In these works, once more, the effects of time are clearly seen on the faces, and again, with his painterly skills, the artist has portrayed the history and emotion each individual carries, with a more accentuated tone this time. Nevertheless, one can neither see any of the figures who pretended to be asleep as if they preferred death over life in his latest series, nor the members of the younger generation who screamed their incapability to face the world around them with their frail bodies and ashamed faces. We no longer see a still crowd feeling alienated from itself and others while awaiting its dark and doomed future nor there is any sign of the headless cattle, or men and women whose disproportionate figures would be just one sign of their apathy to add meaning to their daily routine.
If it was not because of the woman whose search within herself is noticed by her concurrent gaze into the past, present and future and not just the scars on her face indicating the passage of time, we could consider the current series in continuation of the portraits the artist had created in the past to narrate his era; the ones he generally depicts in such a successful exaggerated manner that viewers find it very difficult to remain unbiased and not become tempted to accept the artist’s invitation to look for what he has in common with the fate he shares with the artwork. But it is that very one portrait that acts as a fillip and reminds us we are no longer dealing with just some portrait painted by an artist, but autobiographies of several individuals we happen to be viewing their portraits. In this exhibition, we face individuals who seem to have found courage for the first time to look within themselves.
The first consequence of eliminating the painter from the viewer/artwork correlation is reviving painting as a genuine form of art. These twelve paintings, indeed, prove the fact that this form of art still functions in our country and has its own say unlike in the Western world where it has been substituted with rivals such as video art and other visual media in the course of time. The least these paintings can do is to depict the not very smooth blossoming of individuality in a society that does not conform to such concepts.
In their first self-contemplation, what stands out is their individuality rather than the similarities they share. One looks at himself with a grin which is more of his surprise rather than self-content and another has a questioning look as if he is asking himself why he had not looked within himself any sooner? We see the dual look of a man who is still more used to compromising rather than paying attention to himself, and a woman who looks at herself with such confidence as if she sees exactly what she imagined.
Seemingly, Ahmad Morshedloo no longer needs that little girl who appeared among his still crowds every now and then with her attentive and curious eyes to remind us of a little spark of hope somewhere to save the painter from being accused of cynicism and pessimistic documentation of history. If there is any hope, it is in the revival of individuality and bringing systems of historical, social and cultural significance into being. It is in having the courage and bravery to look within self, even if mirror never even dreamt of what we each went through.
Morad Saghafi – Spring 2014
نمایشگاه آثار " احمد مرشدلو " با عنوان " فضای منفی " اردیبهشت 1393 گالری اثر
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Overview and HistoryTehran is the capital of Iran and the largest city in the Middle East, with a population of fifteen million people living under the peaks of the Alborz mountain range.Although archaeological evidence places human activity around Tehran back into the years 6000BC, the city was not mentioned in any writings until much later, in the thirteenth century. It's a relatively new city by Iranian standards.But Tehran was a well-known village in the ninth century. It grew rapidly when its neighboring city, Rhages, was destroyed by Mongolian raiders. Many people fled to Tehran.In the seventeenth century Tehran became home to the rulers of the Safavid Dynasty. This is the period when the wall around the city was first constructed. Tehran became the capital of Iran in 1795 and amazingly fast growth followed over the next two hundred years.The recent history of Tehran saw construction of apartment complexes and wide avenues in place of the old Persian gardens, to the detriment of the city's cultural history.The city at present is laid out in two general parts. Northern Tehran is more cosmopolitan and expensive, southern Tehran is cheaper and gets the name "downtown."Getting ThereMehrabad airport is the original one which is currently in the process of being replaced by Imam Khomeini International Airport. The new one is farther away from the city but it now receives all the international traffic, so allow an extra hour to get there or back.TransportationTehran driving can be a wild free-for-all like some South American cities, so get ready for shared taxis, confusing bus routes and a brand new shiny metro system to make it all better. To be fair, there is a great highway system here.The metro has four lines, tickets cost 2000IR, and they have segregated cars. The women-only carriages are the last two at the end, FYI.Taxis come in two flavors, shared and private. Private taxis are more expensive but easier to manage for the visiting traveler. Tehran has a mean rush hour starting at seven AM and lasting until 8PM in its evening version. Solution? Motorcycle taxis! They cut through the traffic and any spare nerves you might have left.People and CultureMore than sixty percent of Tehranis were born outside of the city, making it as ethnically and linguistically diverse as the country itself. Tehran is the most secular and liberal city in Iran and as such it attracts students from all over the country.Things to do, RecommendationsTake the metro to the Tehran Bazaar at the stop "Panzda Gordad". There you can find anything and everything -- shoes, clothes, food, gold, machines and more. Just for the sight of it alone you should take a trip there.If you like being outside, go to Darband and drink tea in a traditional setting. Tehranis love a good picnic and there are plenty of parks to enjoy. Try Mellat park on a friday (fridays are public holidays), or maybe Park Daneshjou, Saaii or Jamshidieh.Remember to go upstairs and have a look around, always always always! The Azadi Tower should fit the bill; it was constructed to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Empire.Tehran is also full of museums such as:the Contemporary Art Museumthe Abghine Musuem (glass works)the 19th century Golestan Royal Palace museumthe museum of carpets (!!!)Reza Abbasi Museum of extraordinary miniaturesand most stunning of all,the Crown Jewels Museum which holds the largest pink diamond in the world and many other jaw-dropping jewels.Text by Steve Smith.
