Music occupies the top position among fine arts.

TEHRAN, April 20--Ninety pop music artists in an open letter to President Khatami called on the state to support this branch of art, ILNA reported.
Part of the letter reads, “As you know, music occupies the top position among fine arts and material and spiritual investment in music or other branches of art will ensure their progress and survival.“
Music plays a crucial role in enlivening the society and pop music, like its counterpart abroad, can serve as the cultural envoy of the country, the letter added.
The artists likened pop music to a factory, which lacks the sophisticated and industrial tools.
The letter further noted that while citizens of a civil society undertake production by relying on meager capital and without any expectation, under the supervision of state-run departments, notably the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, they have to encounter hard and difficult conditions.
The artists also criticized the way their applications are dealt with. The purchased lyrics should first be delivered to City Council’s office and then pass through a long and cumbersome process to get approval.
“Mr. Khatami! Believe us that if we had channeled our energy and capital on dealing in properties, not only would we not have faced so much trouble but would have earned a considerable profit,“ the musicians complained.
The musicians also called on the president to extend serious support to the production of musical works and revision of the current rules.

Allama Iqbal Lahori

TEHRAN, April 20--A noted Iranian researcher on the works of Allama Iqbal Lahori said that most of the Iranians and Pakistanis focus on his poetry while in reality he is a philosopher who adopted a versified style to express his thoughts.
Speaking to ILNA on the occasion of Iqbal’s 67th death anniversary, which falls on April 21, Mohammad Baqaei Makan regretted that Allama’s ideas have not yet been analyzed as they deserve by those involved in research on his works, whether in Iran or Pakistan.
Categorizing the trend of research studies on Iqbal’s works into the pre- and post-Revolution periods, he noted that those which were conducted in the former period did not enjoy rich and profound contents.
“The most acclaimed book on Iqbal before the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution is ’We and Iqbal’ written by the late Dr. Ali Shariati. This book however does not go very deep into his works compared to those which were published after the Revolution,“ Baqaei said.
He further stated that although some noteworthy research studies have been conducted in Pakistan, as his son Javid Iqbal said ’as much as Iqbal is used for publicity purposes, he has not been a focus of study to be really introduced’.
Baqaei, who was selected as the most industrious researcher on Iqbal’s works at 2003 Lahore International Conference on Allama Iqbal and was awarded the Golden Plaque of Iqbal Studies by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, described Iqbal as an intellectual with different thoughts that symbolize 12 independent fields.
Few persons can claim to be well-versed in all these fields, he said, adding that one can explore one aspect of Iqbal’s character.

Oljayto alter in Isfahan Jame' Mosque

TEHRAN, April 20--An instructor of architecture at Tehran University has said that geometry plays a special role in Iranian and Islamic architecture.
Farhad Fakhari Tehrani told IRNA that geometric designs have been used in a unique manner in Iranian architecture and Islamic arts. The university instructor said that geometric designs have also been applied in decorations, linoleum, carpet, sculpture and arch gates as well as in structures of buildings.
Citing Isfahan Jame’ Mosque as a unique example of Iranian architecture, he said that it represents a combination of arts and architecture from the past 1,000 years. He compared ancient architecture with modern buildings and said that geometric designs have religious implications and are beautiful, whereas modern architecture which is following a specific format is not attractive.

LONDON, April 20--An ancient Iranian artifact that Iran says was taken out of the country illegally has been withdrawn from sale, UK auctioneer Christie’s says.
Christie’s said they were happy to comply with a London court ruling to give Iran time to provide evidence in support of its claims, BBC reported.
Iran says the 2,500-year-old stone relief from the ancient city of Persepolis was smuggled out Iran. The piece, which depicts the head of a soldier, was to be sold on Wednesday. Christie’s had estimated its value at some $400,000 (£200,000).
The limestone relief is said to have come from the stairways of a palace built by Xerxes I (486-465 BC) in Persepolis, now in southern Fars province.
The piece was smuggled out of Iran some time between 1933 and 1974, an Iranian cultural official, Younes Samadi told AFP.
It was sold by another London auction house in the 1970s. Iran filed a complaint in a London court against British auctioneers Christie’s to stop the sale of the 2,500-year-old relief fragment, Samadi said Monday.
The legal complaint marks the first time Iran has tried to retrieve artifacts of Persepolis site from foreign countries. “We can prove the relief belongs to Iran. It has to return as it has been illegally taken out of the country,“ the official said. “Pictures from the stairway show the relief fits in perfectly.“
Samadi hopes to have international community’s support in returning the Achaemenid soldier as Persepolis is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Founded by Darius I in 518 BC, Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire.
It was built on an immense half-artificial, half-natural terrace, where Darius created an impressive palace complex inspired by Mesopotamian models. The importance and quality of the monumental ruins make it a unique archeological site.

TEHRAN, April 20--Director of a conservatory for boys, Alireza Mohammadi has complained that the music school is facing a shortage of teacher and classes, IRNA reported.
He said that according to international standards, there should be one teacher per five students at the conservatory, whereas, in Tehran music school for boys there is one teacher for every eight students.
At present, 35 teachers are working at the music school teaching classic music and string instruments, he pointed out.
Criticizing the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for the delay in issuing book purchase vouchers last year, he said, “The ministry offered book vouchers valued at 12 million rials to the conservatory last year, but they were delivered after the deadline set for purchasing books from the International Book Fair and we could not use them since the international event had already ended.“
The Tehran International Book Fair will be held from May 4-14.
He also complained that the number of the classes is not enough and called on Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to support students of the conservatory.

TEHRAN, April 20--This year’s Animation Film Week which is due be held in London in May-June will include 10 animations from Iran in a special program called ’From Tehran to London With Animation’.
According to ILNA, the secretary of the event Hossein Ziaei pointed out that most of the films which have been selected for the event have earned wide recognition in other such events.
The animation films include: ’Plato’ by Fayez Alidousti, ’Endless Balance’ by Hossein Ziaei, ’Iranian Chat’ by Amir Saharkhiz, 𔃻,000-Year-Old Man’ by Kaveh Kanani and Azadeh Shakouri-Rad’, ’Please stop, I Want to Get Off’ by Moin Samadi, ’Train’ by Babak Nazari, ’My Daddy’s Car’ by Farshid Shafiei, ’How Is a Nice Girl’ by Hoda Haddadi, ’Fly and Painter’ by Masoud Keshmiri, ’From Apple to Apple’ by Bahman Nazari, ’One, Two, Three, Four’ by Mehdi Zari Qadami.
The Animation Film Week will be held at London Modern Arts Museum.