Iranian+American+Artwork



= = =The Iranian American Experience= =By Jack Santangelo=

Iran is an interesting country in this world that most Americans don’t know much about. There are many negative stereotypes in America that criticize Middle Eastern culture however, many Americans don’t know the true story of Iranian immigrants, and how or why they came to America. Most Iranian immigrants came to America after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which threw Iran into civil war. To escape a war torn country, many Iranians fled the country to America in search of a new life. When Iranians started to pour into the United States between the 1970's and now, they were surprisingly successful in terms of socio economic status. 60.9% of all Iranian immigrants earn a college degree and the average annual income of an Iranian American immigrant is $60,000. Iranians bring an interesting new culture to America with a strong work ethic and a prowess for success that will greatly benefit America.

Since Iranian Americans arrived in the United States they have contributed both artistic and cultural aspects of their society to the American society. One of the many Iranian immigrants to contribute to American society is Amir Salamat who is a painter. His art is particularly inspiring and shows the optimism and integrity of the Iranian immigrants. One of the more famous Iranian immigrants is Khaled Hosseini who is the author of “The Kite Runner” which was the number one New York Times best seller. Hosseini came to America when he was young to escape the Islamic Revolution. When he arrived in California he graduated high school and went to college. Hosseini eventualy earned his medical degree from San Diego's school of medicine. Hosseini began writing "The Kite Runner" when he started his medical practices. "The Kite Runner" shows the struggle of the Iranian immigrants and escaping a country torn by war could effect a person.

I think that the themes presented through the pieces of Artwork shown include a strong sense of creativity and perseverance. In Salamat's painting shown, the hands reaching up to the people above could represent the integrity of the Iranian American immigrant group to succeed. "The Kite Runner" tells a story of the Iranian immigrant and how challenging it can be. With these pieces of art added to the American artistic voice, a sense of hard work and creativity will be highlighted that always existed in American artwork. The Iranians hard work shows through their artistic pieces and the struggle that they went through is definitely shown. Escaping the Islamic revolution was no easy task and by taking in these new people America will see the emergence of a new honest group of people in search of freedom and the American dream.