Growing in thus Way 1972

Editor: This is Iran Darroudi’s "Growing in this Way," painted in 1972. It's a pretty surreal landscape… I can't quite put my finger on the mood, but the red is so striking, almost violent. How do you interpret this work? Curator: The emotional weight is certainly palpable, isn’t it? Beyond the visual symbolism, I think we need to situate Darroudi within the socio-political context of 1970s Iran. Consider the pervasive sense of unrest and anticipation of change during that period. How might that anxiety and yearning for growth manifest itself symbolically in her surreal landscape? Editor: That’s a good point. I guess the “growing” element isn’t necessarily a peaceful growth. So, the sharp, almost harsh red and those vertical lines… are those bars? Curator: They could be interpreted as such. The "growing" may signify not only hope but also resistance. Are the "bars" structures of oppression? Are they symbols of confinement but also points of upward reach, aspiration? Consider how female Iranian artists at the time navigated their identities within a patriarchal society. Could this be a coded representation of their struggles and aspirations? Editor: I see, so it’s about a personal and political uprising, told through landscape. The abstract style almost hid that from me. Curator: Abstraction often becomes a vital tool for artists facing censorship or wishing to convey complex emotions that transcend literal representation. Think about how other women artists have used similar approaches to express complex social realities. Does that reading shift how you view the flower atop the central “bar”? Editor: It does. Before, it seemed delicate, but now it's resilient. A powerful statement about persisting in the face of oppression. I will have to dig deeper to contextualize the themes, symbolism and historical context of this era! Curator: Precisely! It enriches the experience, doesn’t it? The more context we gather, the more nuanced our appreciation becomes.