Article author:
Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Tehran's Museum of Contemporary Art issued an apology and was temporarily closed to deal with an infestation of pests, after footage of insects scurrying over the world-famous artwork was released. Concerns grew after it went viral on social media.
Insects can attack and devour paintings, and the first American and European minimalists on display at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ousted the West from Iran. It poses a serious threat to the list's masterpiece. - Supports the monarchy.
Eating his two papers under the glass in his 1978 industrial photo taken earlier this week by influential German photographers Bernd and Hillabecher A video of a silverfish wriggling has gone viral. Sightings of the wingless pearl gray bug caused shock and disgust on social media.
The museum apologized to the public on Wednesday and insisted that the "proper maintenance" of the priceless works "is of the utmost concern to all of us." Houses rushed to the museum and carefully cleaned the exhibited works.[24][25]Betcher's photographs and other works were not damaged by insects, the museum said, and pest control technicians could address the problem. He added that it would be closed for two days.
Her Ebadreza Eslami Koulaei, manager of the museum, told Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency that experts were closely monitoring the work.
"Such incidents can happen when you take a piece out of its box and bring it into a gallery," he said.
Many of the famous contemporary Western works on display have been hidden in museum vaults for decades. Iran's Shia cleric, who came to power in 1979, put away this art to avoid offending Islamic values or conforming to Western sensibilities.
The Western-backed Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his wife, former Empress Farah Pahlavi, built the museum during the oil boom of the late 1970s and raised billions of dollars.
Sensational arts such as Cubism, Surrealism, Impressionism and even Pop Art have slowly resurfaced in recent years as cultural restrictions are eased in the Islamic Republic.
