Anti-American murals and pro-American people

The sides of buildings along Tehran’s wide highways are used for a peculiarly post-Revolutionary brand of art – the outsize mural. Poster art in style and mostly depicting Ayatollah Khomeini or the martyrs of the Iran-Iraq war, the most famous is the anti-American mural which depicts a huge American flag, its stars made of skulls and the stripes of falling missiles. It bears the legend ‘Down with the USA’ and at the bottom is written: ‘We will not negotiate with America, even for one second’. The mural dates from the early days of the Islamic Republic and is as faded as the sentiment itself (Iranians mostly love American culture), but its location in the heart of downtown Tehran makes it hard to forget. In Aban Street, on the corner of which the mural is located, is Tehran’s coolest café, Café 78, which is owned by an Iranian-American photographer and populated by bohemians, expats and artists. There is a gallery in the basement showing contemporary art.

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