Parable of the Garden: New Media Art from Iran and Central Asia

After going back to the exhibit and spent more time looking at the work, I really started to appreciate the work as a whole a lot more than I did before. I think the exhibit as a whole is a really good concept. I think a lot of people do not consider Iran and Central Asian countries that have advanced societies and technologies. I think this exhibit not only shows the creative capacity of artists of these regions, but also the technological advances these countries have made within the past decade.

After I really looked at the various works I found the piece by Karan Reshad to be very interesting. I think bRainstorm was one of the best examples of the "garden" within the context of new media. I think this piece took "new media" to the highest level. Reshad contacted artists through the use of computers, a newer technology, to create stickers to be posted in streets throughout Tehran. The artists also used computers to create their stickers and to send them to Reshad. The magazine was also created and published as an e-magazine which also falls under the category of new media. I think all of these uses of modern technology in the making of the magazine are just as important as the piece itself in considering this work of art. I think the multiple levels of thinking that are associated with this relatively simple piece is very interesting.

Reshad takes a symbolic approach to the garden. He takes the idea of putting these stickers in a place that has quite a bit of tension and a sense of loneliness in terms of expressions of creativity. Reshad putting these stickers in the urban environment makes the area happier and friendlier. He, in essence, creates his own garden out of the streets of Tehran.