Graffiti of Iranian Islamic Revolution

Pictures of Graffiti of Iranian Islamic Revolution

Morteza Momayez

Tehran, the Center for Scientific and Cultural Publication, 2006

Introduction

Claiming absolute matching of historical reports and narratives with realities is of course a fiction because they are narrations of a factual event and narration is always manifested in reporter’s position, his historical situation, and even the structure of his language. Therefore, we are always dealing with narrator and his narratives not with a bare fact unaffected by biased interpretation. However, objectivity to a certain limit is still important and this is what distinguishes valid historical reports from invalid ones.
These principles are sometimes referred to as objectification rules in every profession and in every reporting pattern. Each narrative method has requirements and follows a set of professional principles and rules. Objectification rules means observing professional requirements and rules.
Image-based news and historical reports are one version of the real thing. But it is assumed that image-based narration reduces the role of narrator more than word-based narration, and more than other methods leaves the interpretation to the audience.
So the rule of observing objectivity in this regard demands that picture-based narration, more than other forms of narrations reflect contradictory and diverse strains of reality, so that at least at the outset observance of a single-sided and single-line fact is not possible in the pictures.
As if the narrator has acted in a way that reconciling the paradoxes has been transferred to the viewers. In other words, in the pattern of visual narrative, rules of objectification are held in a way that audiences will find narrator in the scene and understands his impartiality from his absolutely incompatible strains historical account.
A review on the book “Pictures of Graffiti of Iranian Islamic Revolution”
“Pictures of Graffiti of Iranian Islamic Revolution” is a book published by the Center for Scientific and Cultural Publication.
The book has enough attractions to appeals to its target audience interested in the revolutionary events. The title suggests two catchy things: first, it is about the image and the second, images of graffiti during the revolution.
What is interesting at least for the writer is the much spreading over of stories that have somehow released a single-line and stereotypical picture of revolution to the next generation. Different groups and parties have provided various accounts of the revolution and numerous works written over the past three decades had been published in the field. But a significant portion of these accounts belongs to parties and groups that have had specific situations in the revolution and justification of their current position in the network of political power struggle is subject to a single linear narrative of the revolution.
These stories had been repeated over and over during the three decades after the revolution and have turned into boring stereotypes. Changing complex and multi-faceted events into stereotypes is equivalent to reducing reality to a picture frame and slamming it into the wall. No matter how big or small the frame is. In any case, this frame can be seen only a few times and gradually it gets out of the circle of audiences’ views.
TV and radio ads are very instructive in this field. During the last six or seven years, radio and television advertising in the Fajr decade has a different flavor. In other words, because of the fact that the purpose of advertisings is effective propagandas and agitation, each year it is tried to show new images and new aspects of the revolution. Pictures and margins which during the first and second decade, had not been published in any way.
Releasing such images clears one-sidedness of the TV and radio media, but it would have important benefits that pulls ads from former stereotypes and keeps the audience in front of the TV screen.
However, stereotyping the revolution is not limited to the advertising media, even an important portion of the historical and analytical books, following specific academic approaches, provide the complex revolution system in analytical and biased structures and thus with the excuse of the concept of revolution have supplied theoretical traditions in various spheres.
Although these works have played an important role in an even deeper understanding and analysis of revolution, they have sometimes presented the concept of revolution in analytical stereotypes.
In any case, in the mass of stereotypes that exist on the subject of the revolution, seeing the book “Pictures of Graffiti of Iranian Islamic Revolution” attracts attentions. It is a collection of images, the revolution graffiti images; therefore, it is expected that the book though being o form of narrative, it presents a completely different aspect of the revolution and not similar to books and provides historical and political treatises. It is as though its rules of objectification are taken more seriously than other patterns.
Graffiti related to Islamic revolution is narrated from the point of view of public understanding; it looks at the revolution in the psychological structure of the mass in a completely different structure from certain events and the role of political figures. Such a work attracts audience's mind in the public arena and stimulates and motivates them and shows how people have acted in public spaces and events.
The title of the books and its illustrations and graffiti attracts the audience in a way unwanted way, because the professional rules of practice in this area and objectivity in its view, requires that audience with images of different faces and different from the revolution. But browsing through the book, indicating a pattern of selection and juxtaposition of images that enterprises become more verbal stereotypes come into the picture.
It can be understood from the note written by the Center for Scientific and Cultural Publications have gotten involved in the publication of this book only for advertising purposes in an unprofessional narrative. In this two-page note not only the importance of such books which are worthy to academic audiences has not been pointed out, it does not even explain the practice and production of this book, in order to provoke trust and confidence of the audience.
The only remarkable thing is that we read in the note is that the images included in the book are excerpted from the album of the late Morteza Momayez; the author of the note does not explain why the album is not published, and on what pattern and on what basis the published in this book, the albums are selected from the collection.
The author in the initial notes not only is unaware of the perspectives and writing styles that are exponential in terms of objectification rules such, but also on the contrary, uses a stereotyped literature to tell in advance that a worthless propaganda work void of any scientific value is being published.
The images that have been collected in this book, from the viewpoint of the author, who himself had been an active player in several streets and alleys in the revolution and has had a role in the production of many graffiti, is in no way comparable to the diversity and complexity and attractions of the revolutionary atmosphere.

A review of images

Of course, what we just said does not diminish the value and validity of the published pictures. Pictures per se are of historical and cultural quality and extraordinary value. The problem is with the selection and editing of images and their neighboring pattern to reproduce a linear narrative of revolution. The publication of this collection of images can be an introduction to the scientific literature in this field and the same thing in the book market is considered a good omen.
Despite the critical points mentioned, the book is a collection of images and because of many different factors pictures have a different relationship from any other narrative structures which are based on theoretical analysis. From a perspective of the third generation of the revolution that is born several years after the revolution, I asked him to see the collection and write his general feeling towards images.
Having seen all the images, he wrote:
Viewing photos only gave me an exciting feeling; the feeling that all components of a city lose their usual role and mobilize beside other people. For me who had not the experience of such a transformation, it was interesting. The kind of feeling that it gave me was curiosity and excitement to see the courage and simplicity of a crowd of people along the city walls.
I never had the opportunity to see the city walls as living creatures that give hands in setting fire. For me the city walls are but a bunch of black and cold stones, but regrets the fact that your wishes are not made any even show now, these aspirations are not on city walls.
Pictures that are published properly reflect the role of walls in the alarmed atmosphere of the revolution. It furthers the communication with the revolution from speculative or ideological principles beyond the range of possibility and creates a sense of sympathy with the space. Linkage of the walls with a wide-range event in the urban space is seriously a symbol of authentic relationship between people and the warmth of public space.
If the revolution is thought of nakedness of the culture and the structure of the collective mind, through these images, we can consider this provocative revolutionary atmosphere as a mirror of public understanding of mental structure and assumptions. Such a role cannot be used in any conventional historiography or analysis conventional in political science and sociology expected.
What attracts attention more than the quality and quantity of graffiti of the revolution is the aesthetics of written slogans. We can consider parts of graffiti as painted lines proportional to the revolution. “Death to the Shah” that was written on one of the walls near Martyrs Square and is printed on the first page at the first place reflects writer’s fear and his haste in writing.
As if the climate of fear of the environment is reflected in the structure of the writing. However, the author has so much decorated the word “death” with colors that reflects his anger and hatred.
In another picture it is written in honor of oil industry employees. The font and the play of calligrapher with the letters is in a way that they are both dancing and lively and reflects collectively endorsement of them. Writing the word “Shah” inversely which shows the will to overthrow him, retaliation among a number of slogans that such exercises a strange feeling to pass, other forms of living walls in this turbulent atmosphere of the city.
With all the effort that developers have done in the selection of photos, still multiple mentality and diversity of the revolution can be seen in the slogans and graffiti, a plurality that revolutionary solidarity and passion were its driving engine. Slogans indicate the existence of various social classes and groups.
It can be understood from imbalances in the literary structures of the slogans. In addition, the lyrics indicate a variety of linguistic structures and provoking a revolutionary space. Slogans are sometimes heroic: people, get armed. And sometimes accompanied with irony: if you go aside involuntary, Iranians will provide your need of opium till the end of your short life.
Sometimes they have a position of strength: Ali hit on the Pahlavi’s head, or until final victory, the movement is continuing; and sometimes mournful elegy: O wolf, go! The flock has no more sheep, in each house there is not more than one boy.
Slogans were primarily focused on central and decisive leadership of the revolution and consider the victory of the revolution as the victory of Ayatollah Khomeini over: you are done with, Khomeini won. He is considered one of three iconoclasts in the history besides Ibrahim Khalil Allah and Muhammad the messenger of Allah. Everything will be organized according to his promise and command.
Walls are full of slogans that suggest emotional feeling toward him: O! Imam Khomeini, let me sacrifice myself for you, my life is nothing, lives of women are nothing, and all the lives shall be ransomed. Other slogans are rarely seen that suggests people’s centrality: the nation only wants his own right, that’s all.
It is hoped that the Center for Scientific and Cultural Publication ends the way it has begun by publishing graffiti images from the revolution with exquisite print of Master Momayez and open a new landscape in the analysis of the revolution and its complexities of this important event in the contemporary history of Iran.