The 80-year-old Tanavoli made the remarks in a visit to the museum on Sunday while his daughter, Tandis, and a number of war veterans who were wounded by Iraqi chemical weapons during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war accompanied him during the visit, the museum announced in a press release.
“Today, looking at these amazing artifacts in the museum lifted my spirit for life and working,” said Tanavoli and expressed his hope that the museum with its unique objects could be sources of inspiration for many artists.
Addressing the executive director of the museum, Mohammadreza Taqipur, who is himself a war veteran, Tanavoli said, “As a debt of gratitude to you, I promise to familiarize my students and younger artists with your museum and encourage them to visit this humanistic venue in order to learn lessons about life and diligence.”
He said that he had previously been advised by the late filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami to visit the museum, which was established in 2005 to promote the culture of peace by displaying the grief of the victims of Iraqi chemical attacks during the war.
“This visit occurred today when he is not among us,” Tanavoli sighed.
“The most significant thing that makes visitors involve themselves is the fact that the real victims of the war are themselves the direct narrators of the events,” he added.
He praised the war veterans and said, “Your merciful spirits are deeply inspiring for everybody.”
Kiarostami paid a visit to the museum in December 2014. “Visiting the museum inspires me and everybody to do whatever we can for the war veterans,” he stated during the visit.
Source:Tehran Times