U2 Paints the Rose Bowl Green for Iran

U2 performing Sunday Bloody Sunday during their 360 degrees world tour at the Rose Bowl on October 25th, 2009.

As the song Sunday Bloody Sunday opens, U2 now scrolls the lyrics from the Rumi poem Azadi. The word Azadi itself simply means Freedom. U2 is supporting Artists 4 Freedom by using the Rumi poem which provides the lyrics to Dj Spooky and Sussan Deyhim's new track, Azadi (The New Complexity). U2's multimedia screens mash together the lyrics to Azadi along with photos of the protestors in Iran and artworks by Shirin Neshat. Inspiring stuff.



Azadi (The New Complexity) is a song based on a classic poem by Rumi, one of the poet laureates of Iran’s still vibrant poetic legacy.

Here is the original poem translated into English

SHOW ME YOUR FACE
by Rumi

i crave
flowers and gardens

open your lips
i crave
the taste of honey

come out from
behind the clouds
i desire a sunny face

your voice echoed
saying “leave me alone”
i wish to hear your voice
again saying “leave me alone”

i swear this city without you
is a prison
i am dying to get out
to roam in deserts and mountains

i am tired of
flimsy friends and
submissive companions

i am blue hearing
nagging voices and meek cries
i desire loud music
drunken parties and
wild dances

one hand holding
a cup of wine
one hand caressing your hair
then dancing in orbital circle
that is what i yearn for

i can sing better than any nightingale
but because of
this city’s freaks
i seal my lips
while my heart weeps

yesterday the wisest man
holding a lit lantern
in daylight
was searching around town saying

i am tired of
all these beast and brutes
i seek
a true human

we have all looked
for one but
no one could be found
they said

yes he replied
but my search is
for the one
who cannot be found

Read more: DJ Spooky & Sussan Deyhim - Azadi - The New Complexity
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives




Artists 4 Freedom is international in scope and is located between London, Barcelona, Lisbon and Berlin.
Link Below:
Artists 4 Freedom

As a member of Artists 4 Freedom, I ask you to create a poem, a painting, a song for Iran and join the cause. The world is coming together in support of Iran.

(And a special message to Little Steven. Little Steven is touring right now as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. But Little Steven is also an amazing political songwriter who helped bring down apartheid in South Africa with his song Sun City and openly dreamed of a free Berlin, when others labeled him as naive, in his heartbreaking song Checkpoint Charlie. Little Steven, Artists 4 Freedom needs you to write a song for Freedom in Iran.)

United for Iran Rally - Los Angeles - July 25, 2009

Sussan Deyhim
Originally uploaded by gregg chadwick

Sussan Deyhim sings at the United for Iran Rally at UCLA on July 25, 2009. Sussan Deyhim's set was the most soul stirring moment of the evening. I could feel Rumi under the evening sky. A crescent moon hung above us giving this gathering for Iran a celestial blessing.

U2 in Solidarity with Artists 4 Freedom in Iran - Sunday Bloody Sunday Live in Dublin

U2 performing Sunday Bloody Sunday during their 360 degrees world tour in Dublin on July, 24th, 2009.

As the song Sunday Bloody Sunday opens, U2 now scrolls the lyrics from the Rumi poem Azadi. The word Azadi itself simply means Freedom. U2 is supporting Artists 4 Freedom by using the Rumi poem which provides the lyrics to Dj Spooky and Sussan Deyhim's new track, Azadi (The New Complexity). U2's multimedia screens mash together the lyrics to Azadi along with photos of the protestors in Iran and artworks by Shirin Neshat. Inspiring stuff.

Azadi (The New Complexity) is a song based on a classic poem by Rumi, one of the poet laureates of Iran’s still vibrant poetic legacy.

Here is the original poem translated into English

SHOW ME YOUR FACE
by Rumi

i crave
flowers and gardens

open your lips
i crave
the taste of honey

come out from
behind the clouds
i desire a sunny face

your voice echoed
saying “leave me alone”
i wish to hear your voice
again saying “leave me alone”

i swear this city without you
is a prison
i am dying to get out
to roam in deserts and mountains

i am tired of
flimsy friends and
submissive companions

i am blue hearing
nagging voices and meek cries
i desire loud music
drunken parties and
wild dances

one hand holding
a cup of wine
one hand caressing your hair
then dancing in orbital circle
that is what i yearn for

i can sing better than any nightingale
but because of
this city’s freaks
i seal my lips
while my heart weeps

yesterday the wisest man
holding a lit lantern
in daylight
was searching around town saying

i am tired of
all these beast and brutes
i seek
a true human

we have all looked
for one but
no one could be found
they said

yes he replied
but my search is
for the one
who cannot be found

Read more: DJ Spooky & Sussan Deyhim - Azadi - The New Complexity
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives




Artists 4 Freedom is international in scope and is located between London, Barcelona, Lisbon and Berlin.
Link Below:
Artists 4 Freedom

As a member of Artists 4 Freedom, I ask you to create a poem, a painting, a song for Iran and join the cause. The world is coming together in support of Iran.

(And a special message to Little Steven. Little Steven is touring right now as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. But Little Steven is also an amazing political songwriter who helped bring down apartheid in South Africa with his song Sun City and openly dreamed of a free Berlin, when others labeled him as naive, in his heartbreaking song Checkpoint Charlie. Little Steven, Artists 4 Freedom needs you to write a song for Freedom in Iran.)

Make Your Voice Heard

Artists 4 Freedom is international in scope and is located between London, Barcelona, Lisbon and Berlin.
Link Below:
Artists 4 Freedom

United 4 Iran Presents Arts Program for Peace at UCLA

United 4 Iran Presents Arts Program for Peace at UCLA

Date/Time:
Jul 25 2009 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Price:
Free to the public
Where:
UCLA Bruin Plaza
308 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles CA 90024

United4Iran event at UCLA
Desmond Tutu and other Nobel Peace Laureates, Iranian Poets and Artists Support July 25th Global Day of Action Protests in Iran Continue - Global Activism Increasing



In Los Angeles a coalition of student organizations, United4Iran.org, Levantine Cultural Center and others are presenting an evening of music, poetry, speeches and solidarity messages on Saturday, July 25, from six to nine pm. Among the presents/performers are Sussan Deyhim, Maz Jobrani, Mamak Khadem and Naked Rhythm.

A press release from United4Iran quotes several prominent leaders and others:

"We deplore the violence and crackdown on peaceful protesters, the increasing restrictions on civil liberties, and the imprisonment of a growing number of civil leaders in Iran. " —Archbishop Destmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1984

"If one country sincerely wants to support democracy in another country that is under dictatorial rule, the only thing to do is to support the freedom fighters who stand for the democratic institutions of that country. Done this way, the sapling of democracy will bear the flower of freedom." —Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights activist, Nobel Peace Laureate, 2003

"The Iranian leadership is violating the country's own commitments to international human rights treaties, as well as contravening Iran's own laws." —Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1976

"We call for the release of all political prisoners, the secession of violence against protesters, and respect for human rights and civil liberties in Iran." —Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1997

The two most prominent living Iranian poets, Ismael Khoie, and Simin Behbahani, who lives in Tehran, have joined the Global Day of Action. Dariush, socially conscious singer and Iranian cultural icon, will perform at the Washington D.C. United4Iran rally.

Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi, Mairead Maguire and Jody Williams are available for interviews.

Los Angeles and more then 55 cities around the world solidarity rallies are planned in support of civil and human rights for the Iranian people and for an end to the violence. Check www.united4Iran.org for a full list of participating cities and supporting organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, FIDH, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Nobel Women's Initiative and Peacejam



I am eager to share with you an interview I did with Artists 4 Freedom on my paintings for Iran.
Artists 4 Freedom is international in scope and is located between London, Barcelona, Lisbon and Berlin,
Here's the link. Please feel free to comment on the site.
Artists 4 Freedom