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شاید اگر ویلیام موریس چند دهه دیرتر متولد می‌شد، شاید اگر او این بخت بلند را می‌داشت تا با اندی وارهولی ملاقات کند که داشت در «کارخانه»اش هنر تولید می‌کرد، او را یگانه هنرمند جهان می‌نامید. اگر ویلیام موریس بعد از چند قرن داشت دوباره به یگانگی هنرمند و صنعت‌گر می‌اندیشید و چشم انتظار پیوند دوباره‌شان بود – پیوندی که قریب به یک سده پیش به طور کامل گسسته بود – اندی وارهول اما انگار ندای دوباره‌ی یک پیوند بود؛ مردی که زندگی صنعتی را دوست داشت، به آتلیه‌اش کارخانه می‌گفت و شیفته‌ی قوطی‌های سوپ کمبل و یا بطری‌های کوکا کولا بود. وارهول حتی روش تولید هنر را هم با فرایند صنعتی یکی کرده بود تا ده‌ها نسخه از «قوطی سوپ کمبل» تولید کند. با این‌حال شاید این همان‌جایی بود که راه او از ویلیام موریس، پدر جنبش «هنر و صنعت» جدا می‌شد، جایی که وارهول هنر را در پیوند با صنعت تعریف می‌کرد و موریس در ضدیت با تولید ماشینی.
آن‌چه مجید عسگری در مجموعه‌ی جدیدش می‌کند، ریشه در همان باوری دارد که هنر را به دست هنرمند، به مهارت و کار یدی‌اش پیوند می‌زند. جایی که صبوری، مهارت دست و مرارت به جای روند صنعتی می‌نشیند و با کنار هم چیدن ساخته‌های ماشینی، برچسب بطری‌ها یا قوطی‌های نوشابه یک بار دیگر اهمیت کار هنری– با تمام مرارت، مهارت و صبوری‌اش – را به ما یادآوری می‌کند. آن‌چه او می‌کند شاید ما را به یاد وارهول یا دیگر هنرمندان پاپ بیاندازد، ولی این کار هنرمند است که به آثار او معنی می‌بخشد.
حافظ روحانی، شهریور 95
Perhaps if William Morris had been born a few decades later, maybe if he had this great chance to meet Andy Warhol, who, at that time, was producing art in his “factory”, he would have called him the only artist in the world. If, after several centuries, William Morris was contemplating again about the unity of the artist and the artisan and was longing to see these two join together once more – a link, which was entirely shattered approximately a century ago –apparently Andy Warhol, was A renewed call for a union; a man, who loved industrial life, called his atelier a factory and was fond of Campbell’s soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles. Warhol even unified the methods of art production with industrial procedures in order to produce tens of copies of “Campbell’s soup cans”. Nevertheless, perhaps this was the very place, where his way was separated from William Morris, the father of art and crafts movement , where art was defined by Warhol in connection with industry and by Morris in opposition to mass production.
What Majid Asgari does in his new collection has roots in the very same belief that connects art to the hand of the artist, to his skills and his manual works. It is a point, where industrial procedures are replaced with patience, hand skills and hardships; and through arranging machine-made products alongside one another, labels of bottles or soda bottlers recall us once again of the importance of the artwork with all its adversities, dexterity and tolerance. What he does may remind us of Warhol or other pop artists; however it is the work of the artist that gives meaning to his artworks.
Hafez Rouhani, September 2016
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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.
