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Quote by Farah Diba

“Of course, I didn't become an architect, but later on in Iran, I had a lot of contact and discussions with architects because Iran was developing, and I felt we shouldn't destroy the past and copy completely the West, which is the problem in developing countries.”

Quote by Farah Diba

Author

Farah Diba, born on October 14, 1938, was the wife of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Known for her elegance and fashion sense, she was a symbol of the Iranian Empire. Farah Diba contributed to the cultural, artistic, and social development of Iran and became a prominent figure in the country. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, she and her husband went into exile. more

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“I wanted to preserve the old buildings, not to destroy them and build something new.”

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“I remember I went to an exhibition somewhere and one of the artists, an Iranian lady, said, "I wish we had somewhere that our paintings would stay forever." So this idea came to me. I said, "She's right, we should have a place to keep them, and not only Iranian art works, but also of foreign artists."”

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“I don't think that the big crunch should be seen as a menace, but rather as an opportunity. It's one of these times in -history - and we have plenty of examples from the past - where it's possible to really make a difference. And if art is serious about claiming a central role in today's society and culture, this is the best chance it's had in ages.”

“The current climate doesn't represent a threat to the production of art but to the market. I think it's time for artists to get over auction houses, galleries, and high-production-value exhibitions and start using our voices again.”

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“I'm criticizing the way they are perceived. I was going through a book of Marina Abramovic and Ulay's 1970s performance work the other day. These people did two, even three Documentas or Venice Biennales over the course of a decade without any fuss. They would just treat it as any of their other engagements, with the same level of dignity and commitment they'd reserve for a one-day event in a small gallery on the Austrian mountains.”

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