Art, the Islamic Revolution, and Family: New Documentary Delves Into a Volatile Mix

Sara Nodjoumi’s ‘A Revolution on Canvas’ centers on her father, Nicky Nodjoumi, who fled his native Iran more than 40 years ago and has, since then, been living and working in Brooklyn.

Via Partner Pictures & HBO Documentary Films
A scene from 'A Revolution On Canvas.' Via Partner Pictures & HBO Documentary Films

The new documentary from Sara Nodjoumi, “A Revolution on Canvas,” poses some provocative questions, not least of which is: Are there things that are more important than art? At moments of historical consequence, creative types of all sorts are given to ponder their efficacy or relevance. When the fates of governments, cultures, and human lives are at stake, a person could think twice about, as the painter Philip Guston famously put it, “adjust[ing] a red to a blue.”

The subject of “A Revolution on Canvas,” Nicky Nodjoumi, fled his native Iran more than 40 years ago and has, since then, been living and working in Brooklyn. One hesitates, though, to call him a New York artist, and one dares not call him an American artist. Although the 81-year old painter has spent the majority of his life in the United States — including stints as a student at the New School and at City College — Mr. Nodjoumi remains an Iranian through-and-through. He is a refugee of not one, but two revolutions.

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