Publication of two books from the collection of oral history “Treasure”

80 hours interview to compile “Revolution of Colors” and “Born in Bahman”

Nazanin Sasanian
Translated by Natalie Haghverdian

2016-12-11

“Treasure” is the name of a series of books published by Islamic Revolution Cultural Fronts Study Center in collaboration with Moaref Publication which focus on oral history of the Islamic Revolution Cultural Front. These series examine the impact of the Islamic Revolution and the Holy Defense on art and culture and the books are basically interviews with individuals active in these fields. These series which are categorized as oral history provide information on the first years of the revolution movement to date and also prominent and influential individuals and elites who have been active in these years. Two books of this series including “Revolution of Colors: oral history of Alireza Khaleghi” and “Born in Bahman: memoirs of Esfandiar Qarah Baghi” are presented below.

Who is the painter of Imam Khomeini’s famous portrait?

Alireza Khaleghi painted one of the first portraits of Imam Khomeini (POH) which was carried in the front lines of demonstrations for a very long time. Many of those active in the Revolution, know him by this portrait. Comments of Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, about this relic is also briefly quoted in the back cover of the book: “A large image of Imam (POH) with a length of sixteen meters and compatible width was made and was always carried in the front line of demonstrations. Friends would comment that this image is like the special sign of Isaiah that they used to carry with them in every war to defeat the enemy. We were carrying the picture that day (30 December 1978) and we were sure that nothing will go wrong.”

The first volume of the series “Treasure: oral history of the Islamic Revolution Cultural Front” with focus on visual arts of the Revolution, titled “Revolution of Colors” is dedicated to the memoirs of Alireza Khaleghi. Hassan Soltani has been the researcher who has compiled the book. Compilation process started in the spring of 2011 and is the result of 60 hours of interviews conducted in two phases.

Specific objectives as provisioned for this series, distinguishes this book. The book assesses the impact of revolution art but is not limited to art merely. The narrator recites the events and reactions and the stories provide not only and understanding of the revolution art but the historical incidents to the audience.

Considering that the narrator is a specialist of visual arts and filmmaking, many details are discussed in the book. This very fact makes the book impeccable. However, considering the development of graffiti the author could have covered the memoirs to date. This would provide interesting information on the current graffiti.

The book consists of three main chapters with a segment dedicated to posters and paintings, annexes and declarations. Albums of relevant pictures are also provides within chapters which are visual documents of the incidents as recited by the narrator.

The first chapter covers the childhood of Alireza Khaleghi including incidents such as his first experience in painting competitions with the Institute for Intellectual development, signage design, niello and working in this field, not joining Rastakhiz Party and anti-royalist activities, his first arrest and revolutionary protest sparks.

The next chapter starts with the issues pertinent to the Revolution and victory. In this chapter Khaleghi recites his involvement in aid provision to earthquake stricken people of Tabas, culmination of revolution in Mashhad, filming protests, provision of a cliché of Imam’s image, his revolutionary activities in Mashhad and Tehran.

The third chapter includes eight years of Holy Defense to the demise of Imam Khomeini (POH). This chapter entails detailed information on the events surrounding the imposed war of Saddam’s army against Iran in Mashhad and Tehran. It also reviews the importance and effect of visual arts during the war. For instance, art mostly used in war related advertisements.

In a part we read: “In 1983 after I went to Astan Qods for the first time I was deployed to Hoveyzeh. At the beginning of war, Saddam had ruined Hoveyzeh; that’s the reason that Imam issued a decree to the Astan Qods to take measures for reconstruction of Hoveyzeh. Obviously such reconstruction measures required advertisement. I was deployed to Hoveyzeh and I used to make fabric signs. I would paint Imam’s picture and do graffiti; especially when the city was being rebuilt. That was when the second and third strike on the city happened; but in order to show our resistance we used to write Imam’s decrees on the walls indicating that we will rebuild Hoveyzeh no matter what.”

In the next part of the book some of Khaleghi’s most prominent posters and paintings are demonstrated for the audience to comprehensively understand his work. In the “Annex” part of the book, the letters for the artist’s arrest, declarations and interviews are included. In the same segment of the book vital information is provided on the importance of Revolutionary Art titled “An honest and revolutionary artist from Khorassan” written by Mostafa Goudarzi, member of University of Tehran Scientific Board and member of the Academy of Art of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Songs Remembered by All

The slogans and songs constitute the cultural heritage of every nation such as the songs of the Islamic Revolution and Holy Defense which remains to exist in the heart and soul of the nation. The Islamic Revolution Cultural Front Study Center in its “Treasure” series has addressed the Revolution Art from various aspects and so far every volume of this series has covered the story of an artist which is compiled by a specialist in the field.

The name of Esfandiar Qara Baghi is synonymous with Revolutionary and epic songs and is known by the nation for his famous song against the United States. “Born in Bahman” book covers his memoirs; the third volume of Treasure series focuses on Revolutionary songs. Qara Baghi says in the book: “I was in Radio Station in Ark Square when Mr. Ragheb came to me to discuss composition of the song against the States. The whole process from writing the lyrics to composing the melody happened in less than 48 hours. When we came out of the studio after recording the song I said to Mr. Ragheb: “Believe me Ahmad, this song is going to be more famous than “Iran”. I really believed in this since I could feel the hatred against the USA in the people.”

The book is the result of 20 hours of interview conducted by the author with Mr. Qara Baghi. Rouh Ollah Rashidi in his introduction to the book states that the book fails to comprehensively demonstrate the personality of this composer and is merely a brief introduction. The book indicates the state of music during the first years of Revolution, war and years after. On the other hand it defines the process of composition of other songs which are remembered by the nation. This makes the book more interesting for all and especially those who have experienced the era.

The book consists of 9 chapters. The first chapter covers the childhood of Qara Baghi and his interest in music and his activities before the revolution. The next chapter discusses his activities during the Revolution and composition of relevant songs and his activities during war. The third chapter explains his involvement with the National Broadcasting Organization where he was in charge of music unit and composition of the song against the States and the effect of the imposed war on music which resulted in composition of “Rahian Karbala” and Imam’s comment on “Neynava”. Chapter four constitutes of the narrator’s memories about composition of songs and production of one album.

The next chapters include Annexes, Relics, Pictures, Documents and Table of Content. Interview of Vahid Jalili and Asghar Fardi with Qara baghi and articles of Hossein Valipour, Jamshid Jam, Mohammad Biglaripour and Mehdi Nalbandi are also provided in the Annexes. The lyrics of Qara Baghi’s most prominent relics including the poet, composer and producer of those pieces are presented in the Relics.