Artist Nima Petgar dies at 69

April 3, 2015, 12:24 pm

≫ Next: Iran to lend statue of Penelope to Italian exhibition

TEHRAN – Iranian painter and sculptor Nima Petgar has died. He was 69.

Petgar died of heart disease on March 25, and his body was buried in the Artists Section of Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery on March 29.

His funeral ceremony was held at the courtyard of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) and was attended by TMCA director Majid Mollanoruzi, artists, friends and relatives.

In a brief speech at the ceremony, Mollanoruzi said that Petgar’s name, works and memoirs will be remembered among Iran’s artistic society forever.

Art critic Amir Purya called Petgar a modest person and said, “Nima had a unique personality and was a good example of an individual influenced by art.”

Petgar liked silence, the artist’s friend Issa Jalali said at the ceremony, adding, “One of the things Nima Petgar liked the most was silence. He paid due attention to silence and stressed on the concept ‘full of emptiness’ rather than ‘full of full’,” he explained.

The artist’s son, Dejar, also spoke briefly and said, “When one looks at Nima’s paintings, one does not see much sorrow, or much happiness. He believed man makes his experiences and suffers. Some cause pain for others due to this pain from experiences, but others make use of it for constructive purposes. The ideal of humanity and goodness were what brought joy to my father.”

The artist’s wife, Fereshteh Yamini-Sharif, expressed thanks to all the participants.

Born in 1946 in Tehran, Nima was the son of artist Ali-Asghar Petgar and learned to paint from his father. He traveled to Italy in 1968 and studied at the Rome Academy of Fine Arts.

He returned home in 1976 and continued his career in his personal atelier.

Some of his paintings are preserved in TMCA, one in Abadan Museum of Contemporary Art, and one of his sculptures is on display in the Rome Academy of Fine Arts.

RM/YAW

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Iran to lend statue of Penelope to Italian exhibition

April 3, 2015, 12:28 pm

≫ Next: Iranian artworks shine at Dubai Christie’s auction

≪ Previous: Artist Nima Petgar dies at 69

TEHRAN -- Iran plans to lend to Italy for display in an exhibition the marble statue of Penelope, which was excavated in Persepolis in 1945.

“The statue will be put on display at the exhibition for six months based on an agreement with the Italian government,” the director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, Masud Soltanifar, said in a press conference held on March 17.

“Reciprocating, Italy will lend four historical statues to Iran for a showcase after the exhibition ends,” he added.

No more details were given about the exhibitions.

The life-size statue, which is in the Severe Style, was excavated in Persepolis by the Oriental Institute of Chicago.

It is surmised that the artifact was brought back to the Persian capital by Xerxes after the sacking of Athens.

It lay scattered in three fragments in the ruins of the Persepolis Treasury, a headless torso lying in Corridor 31, with its shattered right hand in Hall 38.

The circumstances of discovery recall the destruction of Persepolis by Alexander the Great in spring 330 BC. Before torching the palace, Alexander removed the gold stored in the Treasury and allowed his army to plunder the rest of its contents.

The statue is currently on display at the National Museum of Iran.

Penelope is a character of Homer’s Odyssey, one of the two great epic poems of ancient Greek literature. Penelope is the wife of the main character, the king of Ithaca, Odysseus (also known as Ulysses), and the daughter of Icarius and his wife Eurynome.

She waited twenty years for the final return of her husband from the Trojan War, while she had hard times in refusing marriage proposals from several princes for four years after the fall of Troy. For this reason, she is often regarded as a symbol of connubial fidelity.

MMS/YAW

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Iranian artworks shine at Dubai Christie’s auction

April 3, 2015, 12:26 pm

≫ Next: Art news in brief

≪ Previous: Iran to lend statue of Penelope to Italian exhibition

An auctioneer takes bids for the sale of an artwork by Iranian calligrapher Seyyed Mohammad Ehsaii at Dubai Christie’s on March 18, 2015.

TEHRAN – Iranian artworks shone once again at the Dubai Christie’s auction of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art held on March 18.

”Zahra’s Image”, a mirror mosaic work made in 2009 by Iranian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian that sold for $395,000, was among the highlights of the auction, Christie’s announced on its website.

All the Iranian artworks offered at the auction were sold.

Other Iranian highlights included artworks by Hossein Zenderudi, which went for $293,000 and by Rokni Haerizadeh, which sold for $221,000.

Work by Egyptian artist Tahia Halim (1919-2003) was the highest lot sold at the auction at $749,000.

An abstract painting by Sohrab Sepehri, calligraphic paintings by Mohammad Ehsaii and a painting by Kurosh Shishegaran were among the Iranian items.

Works by Egyptian artists accounted for $2.8 million of the sale, followed by works by Iranian artists accounting for $2.3 million.

RM/YAW

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Art news in brief

April 4, 2015, 11:07 am

≫ Next: Iran and France to collaborate on brick architecture projects

≪ Previous: Iranian artworks shine at Dubai Christie’s auction

“Writing down the Bones” hits Iranian bookstores

TEHRAN – A Persian translation of Natalie Goldberg’s “Writing down the Bones” has recently been published in Iran by Vistar Publications.

Translated into Persian by Shahram Adilipur, the book brings together Zen meditation and writing in a new way.

It also includes an interview with the author, in which she reflects on the relationship between Zen sitting practice and writing, the importance of place and the power of memory.

Iranian troupe to perform “The Taming of the Shrew” in Tehran

TEHRAN – Iranian director Maryam Kazemi’s troupe will begin performing William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” at the Iranshahr Theater Complex in Tehran today.

The play will be stage based on a Persian translation by Kurosh Asadollahi.

“The Taming of the Shrew” has been adapted frequently for stage and screen, opera and musical theater.

“Iranian Ninja” wins award at U.S. filmfest

TEHRAN – “Iranian Ninja” directed by Marjan Riahi has been named best documentary at the 8th Central Illinois Feminist Film Festival.

The festival was organized by Eastern Illinois University in Charleston from March 23 to 25.

The documentary chronicles the struggles of Khatereh Jalilzadeh in Tehran for teaching young girls how to twirl nunchucks and launch dropkicks.

“Red Dream” to go on screen at Indian festival

TEHRAN – The Iranian short film “Red Dream” directed by Shahriar Purseyyedian will go on screen at the 7th CMS International Children’s Film Festival, which will be held in India from April 7 to 15.

Produced by the Iranian Young Cinema Society (IYCS), it features the story of a wistful boy who lives with his grandmother on the eve of the Iranian New Year.

“Elegy” to compete in Zanzibar Intl. Film Festival

TEHRAN – “Elegy”, a 29-minute Iranian film directed by Yusef Kargar, will be screened at the Zanzibar International Film Festival, which is scheduled to be held in Tanzania from July 18 to 26.

“Elegy” narrates the story of an old man who has been waiting for the return of his missing son for over 25 years.

MA/YAW

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Iran and France to collaborate on brick architecture projects

April 4, 2015, 11:15 am

≫ Next: Tehran exhibit to display “Iran in the Mirror”

≪ Previous: Art news in brief

TEHRAN – Iran and France will collaborate on brick architecture projects based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which has recently been signed in Tehran.

The MOU was signed by the director of Iran’s Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT), Seyyed Mohammad Behesht, and the director of France’s Grenoble National School of Architecture (ENSAG), Thierry Joffroy, RICHT announced in a press release on Sunday.

Based on the MOU, the two institutes will cooperate in bilateral educational, technical and research activities on brick architecture.

Making use of mud bricks in new architectural designs has also been emphasized in the agreement.

The two also agreed to hold joint conferences and seminars to exchange views on applications of mud brick construction.

Reinforcement of mud brick structures, as well as architectural and anthropological studies related to mud brick architecture are also among the topics mentioned in the MOU.

Also included are publication of books and academic articles, and exchange of researchers and students.

The two also agreed to establish an international center for research and studies on mud brick structures in Iran, and provide necessary technical equipment and organize joint projects.

RM/YAW

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Tehran exhibit to display “Iran in the Mirror”

April 4, 2015, 11:16 am

≫ Next: Manager of Bologna Children’s Book Fair invited to Tehran

≪ Previous: Iran and France to collaborate on brick architecture projects

TEHRAN – Ebrahim Haqiqi, the Iranian artist who is mostly known for his skills in graphic arts, plans to display his latest collection of photos entitled “Iran in the Mirror” in an exhibition at Tehran’s Shirin Gallery.

The exhibition will open on April 10 and will run for eleven days, Haqiqi said in a press release on Saturday.

“I began with a mirror in my hand six years ago and I took the first series of photos in Kalut, a desert area near Bardsir in Kerman Province,” he added.

“I decided to continue with taking the mirror to different locations and gradually took photos in different cities and different regions across the country”, he added.

The collection contains 25 photos of monuments in Isfahan, historical mosques in Shiraz, and the beautiful palaces and sites in Tehran, he added.

“I like to travel anytime I get a chance and I have tried to see most parts of the country and take photos of different cities, regions and beautiful landscapes,” he explained.

The gallery is located at No. 5, 13th alley, Sanaii St. off Karim Khan Zand Ave.

RM/YAW

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Manager of Bologna Children’s Book Fair invited to Tehran

April 4, 2015, 11:18 am

≫ Next: Iranian artworks shine at Dubai Christie’s auction

≪ Previous: Tehran exhibit to display “Iran in the Mirror”

TEHRAN -- Iran has invited the exhibition manager of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Roberta Chinni, to visit the Tehran International Book Fair (TBIF), which will be held from May 6 to 16.

Chinni received the invitation, which was signed by TBIF Deputy Director Amir-Masud Shahramnia, from the Iranian cultural attaché, Qorbanali Purmarjan, during a visit to the Iranian pavilion at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair on April 1, the Iranian Cultural Section in Rome reported in a press release on Saturday.

“It is a great honor for me to visit the Tehran International Book Fair and I will do my best to attend this event,” she said.

In addition, Iran’s request to be a guest of honor at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2017 or 2018 or 2019 was also discussed at the meeting.

Over 300 titles from Iranian publishers were put on display by the Iran Cultural Fairs Institute at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which was held March 30 to April 2.

The potential of Iranian children’s literature to be translated and published abroad was discussed during a session at the Authors Café of the book fair.

Maurizio Silvio Pistoso of the University of Bologna,

Kia Literary Agency Director Lili Hayeri Yazdi, Jeanne Dalgaard of the Danish publishing house Jensen & Dalgaard, and Iranian cultural liaison Mahryar Qaderi delivered speeches at the session.

MMS/YAW

END

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Iranian artworks shine at Dubai Christie’s auction

April 3, 2015, 12:26 pm

≫ Next: Art news in brief

≪ Previous: Manager of Bologna Children’s Book Fair invited to Tehran

TEHRAN – Iranian artworks shone once again at the Dubai Christie’s auction of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art held on March 18.

”Zahra’s Image”, a mirror mosaic work made in 2009 by Iranian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian that sold for $395,000, was among the highlights of the auction, Christie’s announced on its website.

All the Iranian artworks offered at the auction were sold.

Other Iranian highlights included artworks by Hossein Zenderudi, which went for $293,000 and by Rokni Haerizadeh, which sold for $221,000.

Work by Egyptian artist Tahia Halim (1919-2003) was the highest lot sold at the auction at $749,000.

An abstract painting by Sohrab Sepehri, calligraphic paintings by Mohammad Ehsaii and a painting by Kurosh Shishegaran were among the Iranian items.

Works by Egyptian artists accounted for $2.8 million of the sale, followed by works by Iranian artists accounting for $2.3 million.

RM/YAW

END

↧

Art news in brief

April 4, 2015, 11:07 am

≫ Next: Iran and France to collaborate on brick architecture projects

≪ Previous: Iranian artworks shine at Dubai Christie’s auction

“Writing down the Bones” hits Iranian bookstores

TEHRAN – A Persian translation of Natalie Goldberg’s “Writing down the Bones” has recently been published in Iran by Vistar Publications.

Translated into Persian by Shahram Adilipur, the book brings together Zen meditation and writing in a new way.

It also includes an interview with the author, in which she reflects on the relationship between Zen sitting practice and writing, the importance of place and the power of memory.

Iranian troupe to perform “The Taming of the Shrew” in Tehran

TEHRAN – Iranian director Maryam Kazemi’s troupe will begin performing William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” at the Iranshahr Theater Complex in Tehran today.

The play will be stage based on a Persian translation by Kurosh Asadollahi.

“The Taming of the Shrew” has been adapted frequently for stage and screen, opera and musical theater.

“Iranian Ninja” wins award at U.S. filmfest

TEHRAN – “Iranian Ninja” directed by Marjan Riahi has been named best documentary at the 8th Central Illinois Feminist Film Festival.

The festival was organized by Eastern Illinois University in Charleston from March 23 to 25.

The documentary chronicles the struggles of Khatereh Jalilzadeh in Tehran for teaching young girls how to twirl nunchucks and launch dropkicks.

“Red Dream” to go on screen at Indian festival

Produced by the Iranian Young Cinema Society (IYCS), it features the story of a wistful boy who lives with his grandmother on the eve of the Iranian New Year.

“Elegy” to compete in Zanzibar Intl. Film Festival

“Elegy” narrates the story of an old man who has been waiting for the return of his missing son for over 25 years.

MA/YAW

END

↧

Iran and France to collaborate on brick architecture projects

April 4, 2015, 11:15 am

≫ Next: Manager of Bologna Children’s Book Fair invited to Tehran

≪ Previous: Art news in brief

TEHRAN – Iran and France will collaborate on brick architecture projects based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which has recently been signed in Tehran.

Based on the MOU, the two institutes will cooperate in bilateral educational, technical and research activities on brick architecture.

Making use of mud bricks in new architectural designs has also been emphasized in the agreement.

The two also agreed to hold joint conferences and seminars to exchange views on applications of mud brick construction.

Reinforcement of mud brick structures, as well as architectural and anthropological studies related to mud brick architecture are also among the topics mentioned in the MOU.

Also included are publication of books and academic articles, and exchange of researchers and students.

The two also agreed to establish an international center for research and studies on mud brick structures in Iran, and provide necessary technical equipment and organize joint projects.

RM/YAW

END

↧

Manager of Bologna Children’s Book Fair invited to Tehran

April 4, 2015, 11:18 am

≫ Next: Tehran exhibit to display “Iran in the Mirror”

≪ Previous: Iran and France to collaborate on brick architecture projects

TEHRAN -- Iran has invited the exhibition manager of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Roberta Chinni, to visit the Tehran International Book Fair (TBIF), which will be held from May 6 to 16.

“It is a great honor for me to visit the Tehran International Book Fair and I will do my best to attend this event,” she said.

In addition, Iran’s request to be a guest of honor at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2017 or 2018 or 2019 was also discussed at the meeting.

Over 300 titles from Iranian publishers were put on display by the Iran Cultural Fairs Institute at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which was held March 30 to April 2.

The potential of Iranian children’s literature to be translated and published abroad was discussed during a session at the Authors Café of the book fair.

Maurizio Silvio Pistoso of the University of Bologna,

Kia Literary Agency Director Lili Hayeri Yazdi, Jeanne Dalgaard of the Danish publishing house Jensen & Dalgaard, and Iranian cultural liaison Mahryar Qaderi delivered speeches at the session.

MMS/YAW

END

↧

Tehran exhibit to display “Iran in the Mirror”

April 4, 2015, 11:16 am

≫ Next: Art news in brief

≪ Previous: Manager of Bologna Children’s Book Fair invited to Tehran

The exhibition will open on April 10 and will run for eleven days, Haqiqi said in a press release on Saturday.

“I began with a mirror in my hand six years ago and I took the first series of photos in Kalut, a desert area near Bardsir in Kerman Province,” he added.

“I decided to continue with taking the mirror to different locations and gradually took photos in different cities and different regions across the country”, he added.

The collection contains 25 photos of monuments in Isfahan, historical mosques in Shiraz, and the beautiful palaces and sites in Tehran, he added.

“I like to travel anytime I get a chance and I have tried to see most parts of the country and take photos of different cities, regions and beautiful landscapes,” he explained.

The gallery is located at No. 5, 13th alley, Sanaii St. off Karim Khan Zand Ave.

RM/YAW

END

↧

Art news in brief

April 5, 2015, 11:05 am

≫ Next: Tehran exhibit to showcase Qajar era photos

≪ Previous: Tehran exhibit to display “Iran in the Mirror”

“The Story of a Rainy Night” crowned best at Colony filmfest

TEHRAN - “The Story of a Rainy Night” directed by Mehdi Fardgaderi has won the best short film award at the 9th Annual Colony Film Festival, which was held in Marietta, Ohio in the United States from March 20 to 21.

Produced by the Iranian Young Cinema Society (IYCS), the film tells the story of an old man and some events that takes place on his birthday.

“Ranna Silence” named best film at German children’s festival

TEHRAN – Iranian director Behzad Rafiei’s “Ranna Silence” has been named best film at the 22nd Kikife International Children’s Film Festival, which was held in Schwabisch Gmund, Germany from March 19 to 22.

A production of Iran’s Art Bureau, the film set in a northern Iranian village details the story of a seven-year-old girl and a very special chicken named Kakoli, which is a symbolic memory of her grandmother.

MA/YAW

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Tehran exhibit to showcase Qajar era photos

April 5, 2015, 11:09 am

≫ Next: Translator Mahmud Hosseinizad to meet Judith Hermann in Germany

≪ Previous: Art news in brief

TEHRAN – A collection of photos taken during the Qajar era (1785-1925) will go on display in an exhibition opening today at the Iran Photo Museum, which is also known as Axkhaneh Shahr.

The collection consists of 29 rarely seen photos by Iranian photographers Mirza Ebrahim Khan Sani al-Saltaneh and Abdullah Mirza Qajar, and Georgian photographer Antoin Sevruguin, Axkhaneh Shahr announced in a press release on Sunday.

The exhibition runs until May 9 at the museum, which is located on Bahar Shiraz St. near Haft-e Tir Square.

The advent of photographic art in Iran occurred about five years after its invention in 1839 during the last years of Qajar king Mohammad Shah’s reign.

Afterwards, Nasser ad-Din Shah showed great interest in photography and sent several groups of talented students from Dar-ul-Fonun, the Iranian polytechnic institute established in 1851, to European academies to learn the art.

MA/YAW

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Translator Mahmud Hosseinizad to meet Judith Hermann in Germany

April 5, 2015, 11:09 am

≫ Next: Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider to reunite at Islamic Worlds Festival

≪ Previous: Tehran exhibit to showcase Qajar era photos

TEHRAN – Seyyed Mahmud Hosseinizad, the Iranian translator of Judith Hermann’s “All Love Beginning”, will meet the author and other translators of the book in Germany next week.

The five-day program beginning on April 13 is the 11th Straelener Atrium call, in which the German-language book will be discussed by the author and the translators, Hosseinizad told the Persian Service of ISNA on Sunday.

The event has been organized by Straelener Atriumsgesprache, a center, which hosts a series of annual encounters between German language writers and their foreign translators.

In this book, Judith Hermann tells the story of a life believed to be safe and sound that suddenly falls apart from the irrational feeling of being defenseless. She is considered to be a definitive and formative German-language narrator of the Berlin of the 1990s.

Hosseinizad, who is the Iranian winner of the Goethe Medal in 2013, added that he also has been invited to attend a program arranged by the Centre Durrenmatt Neuchatel in Switzerland to discuss works by Swiss author and dramatist Friedrich Durrenmatt (1921-1990).

The program is entitled “Durrenmatt in Iran” and will be held on April 23.

RM/YAW

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Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider to reunite at Islamic Worlds Festival

April 5, 2015, 11:22 am

≫ Next: Producer regards separation of Fajr festival’s international section as positive

≪ Previous: Translator Mahmud Hosseinizad to meet Judith Hermann in Germany

TEHRAN -- Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor and American string quartet Brooklyn Rider will join together again in Blacksburg, Virginia to perform at the Islamic Worlds Festival, which will open today.

Their program will be held during the closing day of the festival on April 11, organizers have announced.

The performance is one of highlights of the Islamic Worlds Festival, which has been organized to promote understanding about Muslim societies in diverse contexts.

Comedians Maysoon Zayid and Maz Jobrani, and hip-hop artist Omar Offendum will also give performances during the event.

Art exhibitions, panel discussions and informal talks have also been arranged.

Grammy Award-nominated soloist and composer Kalhor has toured the world with various ensembles and orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic.

Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider also gave a performance at the Savannah Music Festival in east Georgia on March 30.

Violinists Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, viola virtuoso Nicholas Cords and cellist Eric Jacobsen are the members of Brooklyn Rider.

They previously collaborated on the acclaimed albums “Silent City” and “Layers of Darkness”.

MMS/YAW

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Producer regards separation of Fajr festival’s international section as positive

April 5, 2015, 11:25 am

≫ Next: Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider to reunite at Islamic Worlds Festival

≪ Previous: Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider to reunite at Islamic Worlds Festival

Producer Morteza Razzaq-Karimi in an undated photo

TEHRAN – Producer Morteza Razzaq-Karimi believes that separating the international competition section of the Fajr Film Festival can be regarded as a positive step.

“In the previous editions of the festival, the international section was overshadowed, however this time, the main focus will be on the international section and the organizers will help to highlight this section,” Razzaq-Karimi said in a press release on Sunday.

Razzaq-Karimi, who is also a member of the selection board of the international section, added that he would leave further judgment until after the festival closes.

“This is the first time the international section will be held independently of the national section and at a different time. This change requires long-term programming and needs time to consolidate its position,” he explained.

He continued, “I believe our cinema can be noticed in the world and grow only when it keeps in touch with the world cinema, and an international festival plays an undeniably significant role in upgrading the national cinema.

“Moreover, the festival can lead to organizing film markets and films from them can be distributed to different countries,” he explained.

He said that a collection of films from different countries and cultures have been selected this year, adding that films from the cinema of the Middle East are among the highlights.

The international section of the Fajr Film Festival will be held at Tehran’s Mellat Cinema Complex from April 25 to May 2, 2015.

The international section includes the two categories of Islamic and Asian Countries’ Cinema (Eastern Panorama), and World Cinema (Salvation).

A number of short films and documentaries will be screened on the sidelines of the festival.

The 33rd Fajr Film Festival, Iran’s most important event on the motion picture industry, was held in Tehran in February.

RM/YAW

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Kayhan Kalhor and Brooklyn Rider to reunite at Islamic Worlds Festival

April 5, 2015, 9:58 pm

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Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor (front) and American string quartet Brooklyn Rider pose in an undated photo.