Iranian Singer Maral's Haunting Song for Neda

Neda
Sung by Iranian Singer Maral

As the protests simmer and rage in Tehran, the arts in Iran are exploding and seeking solidarity with the outside world. The response to my paintings concerning the recent events in Iran has been strong and dialogues have begun to emerge. The website Bar-Ex picked up my interview on my paintings for Iran and I was privileged to hear a broad array of new important music from Behind the Iran curtain.

I am reminded of the band "The Plastic People" and the works of playwright Václav Havel in Czechoslovakia and their artistic efforts to break down their Iron Curtain. In Iran today we have the singer Maral who has created a haunting and powerful song for the memory of Neda, who was murdered last month by the Basij on the streets of Tehran. Fittingly, Maral also lends vocals to the band,"The Plastic Wave."

In Maral's lyric "Neda screams through her eyes of her pain" as Maral "cries of her own pain through Neda's name."
The word Neda means "the call" in farsi or at times evokes the idea of "the voice."

I wrote Maral not long ago and expressed to her my dream that one day soon she may sing her song for Neda beneath my painting The Call - ندا -Neda in a newly free Iran.


The Call - ندا -Neda
Gregg Chadwick
36"x48" oil on linen 2009
Courtesy- Look Gallery, Los Angeles

Much more at:
Bar=Ex - New Iranian Music