Untitled 

Curator: This is an intriguing bronze sculpture by Bahman Mohasses. We believe it’s called Untitled, though much of his work went without titles, and its creation date is unspecified. What are your immediate thoughts? Editor: Its weight really strikes me—not just the physical density of the bronze, but also an emotional heaviness. The intertwined figures seem caught in a moment of quiet desperation or contemplation, perhaps grief? There is such tension. Curator: Mohasses, often called the "Michelangelo of Iran," destroyed much of his own work, leaving behind a legacy shrouded in both brilliance and self-sabotage. This piece reflects that turbulence. The smooth finish contrasts the sharp angularity, quite characteristic of his modernist approach. The art world itself, of course, shaped that trajectory. Editor: I'm interested in this act of destruction too, the censorship, which echoes political suppression within Iran and more generally to those who find themself a dissident within the framework of an oppressive nation. Can we think of it as a response to a cultural context? I also read these forms through queer theory – there’s no overt reference to gender, race, or sex, yet the intermingling implies a merging of identities. The composition raises many possibilities about identity. Curator: Precisely, especially if one considers the reception of modernism and figuration in a context steeped in conservative traditions, though of course censorship shaped production during and after the Iranian revolution. One wonders what Mohasses’ own engagement with these matters were, in the later half of the twentieth century, both personally and professionally, when Western institutional interests started forming around the topic. Editor: Absolutely, situating it in its cultural and political milieu allows a more critical look, allowing the figure to speak to broader ideas beyond conventional interpretation. It reminds us of art's crucial role to act as testimony or witness. Curator: I appreciate how you brought contemporary intersectional narratives into conversation with Mohasses’ aesthetic vision. Editor: Thank you, it highlights the continuing relevancy of his works within today’s discourses on identity and censorship.