What’s in art galleries

December 27, 2013, 7:37 am

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Sculpture

 

* The Seyhun Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of sculptures by Sara Rah-Anjam.

 

The exhibit runs until January 8 at the gallery, which can be found at No. 11, 4th Alley, Vozara St.

 

Painting

 

* An exhibition of paintings by Valiollah Jorjani is currently underway at the Jorjani Gallery.

 

The exhibit runs until December 30, at the gallery located at No. 4, Khayyam St., off Vali-e Asr Ave.

 

* Paintings by Mehrdad Jafari are currently on display in a show at the Mehrva Gallery.

 

The exhibit runs until December 29 at the gallery, which can be found at 38 Azodi St., off Karimkhan Ave.

 

* The Atbin Gallery is currently playing host to an exhibition of paintings by Mina Feshangchi.

 

The exhibit runs until December 30 at the gallery located at 42 Khakzad Alley, Parkway Intersection, Vali-e Asr Ave.

 

* Paintings by Shohreh Bayatipur and Samaneh Puramezan are currently on display in an exhibition at the Henna Gallery.

 

The exhibit runs until January 10 at the gallery, which can be found at 19 Biglarpur Sharghi St., off Jahantab St. in the Qeitarieh neighborhood.

 

Photo

 

* Photos taken by Mohammad Jahanbakht are currently on display in an exhibit at the Melal Cultural Center.

 

The exhibit runs until December 29 at the center, which located in Qeitarieh Park.

 

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Documentary on Isfahan and its sister cities under production

December 27, 2013, 7:36 am

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TEHRAN – A documentary series centering on Isfahan and its sister cities around the world is currently being produced in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

 

Iranian filmmaker Morteza Atash-Zamzam is currently shooting the last scenes of an episode of the documentary series on Isfahan Street in Kuala Lumpur, the Persian service of IRNA reported on Friday.

 

Commissioned by Isfahan Municipality, the documentary is scheduled to be aired on Channel One of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) during the Iranian New Year holidays in March. 

 

Three episodes of the series, which have already been filmed in the cities of Lahore, Florence and Freiburg, are currently in the postproduction stage, Atash-Zamzam said.

 

He added that the documentary mainly focuses on the symbols and cultural commonalities.

 

He continued that one can scarcely find an artwork in Isfahan, which was originally made in Kuala Lumpur. Conversely however, artworks from Isfahan are easily found in Kuala Lumpur.

 

The most beautiful tile works of Isfahan are seen at the entrance door of the Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia, he stated.

 

Isfahan has been named sister cities with 13 cities across the world including Barcelona, Yerevan, St. Petersburg and Dakar.

 

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Actress and director Homa Rusta to be honored at Fajr filmfest

December 27, 2013, 7:38 am

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TEHRAN – The celebrated actress and stage director Homa Rusta will be awarded a Golden Simorgh for her lifetime achievements at the 32nd edition of the Fajr International Film Festival, the organizers announced on Wednesday.

 

Rusta is the widow of Hamid Samandarian, the prominent Iranian stage director and playwright. She was nominated for best actress awards at a number of previous editions of the Fajr festival.

 

A short documentary film on the artistic life of Rusta and Samandarian will be screened at the ceremony, during which she will be presented with the award.

 

The documentary entitled “Hamid of Homa” is currently being directed by Mohammad-Ali Sajjadi.

 

Rusta made her debut with “A Report of a Murder” directed by Mohammad-Ali Najafi. She also played a role in Puran Derakhshandeh’s “The Little Bird of Happiness” and received a nomination for the role at the 6th Fajr film festival.

 

She also starred in Bahram Beizaii’s “Passengers” and Ebrahim Hatamikia’s acclaimed movie “From Karkheh to Rhine”. She was nominated for best actress award for her role in “From Karkheh to Rhine” at the 11th Fajr festival.

 

Rusta has also acted in and directed a number of plays including “The Glass Menagerie” written by Tennessee Williams. Her latest work was “The Cherry Orchard” that went on stage in summer 2013.

 

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Historical photos and paintings on display at Tehran exhibits

December 27, 2013, 7:39 am

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TEHRAN -- Works of the Georgian photographer Antoine Sevruguin (1830-1933) and the Qajar era painter Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ghaffari Kashani, who was known as Saniolmolk, are currently on display at two exhibitions in Tehran.

 

Thirty works of Sevruguin, which depict the public hanging of Mirza Reza Kermani, the man who assassinated the Qajar king Nasser ad-Din Shah on August 12, 1896, have been put on display in Tehran at the Axkhaneh Shahr photo museum.

 

The exhibit has been organized to commemorate the 80th death anniversary of Sevruguin.

 

The museum has borrowed the photos from the Iranian collector and documentary filmmaker Mehrdad Oskuii.

 

Mirza Reza Kermani was an adherent of Jamal ad-Din Asadabadi, also known as Al-Afghani, a political activist and Islamic ideologist during the late 19th century.

 

He and other followers of Jamal ad-Din were demanding that the Qajar dynasty rule Iran justly. Shortly before dying, the shah was reported to have said, “I will rule you differently if I survive!”

 

The exhibition opened on December 16 and will run until January 4, 2014.

 

Sixteen works by Saniolmolk are also being showcased in an exhibition at the Golestan Palace complex in downtown Tehran.

 

He was the uncle of Mohammad Ghaffari (Kamalolmolk), who served as a court painter during the reign of Nasser ad-Din Shah.

 

The works, which have rarely been seen, are kept in a storehouse of the Qajar era complex. The exhibition will continue until December 30.

 

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What’s in art galleries

January 3, 2014, 7:37 am

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Painting

 

* The Hoom Gallery is currently playing host to an exhibition of paintings by 25 artists.

 

The exhibition entitled “20+5” will continue until January 13 at the gallery located at No. 2, Fourth Alley off Qaem-Maqam Farahani Street.

 

* Painter Azadeh Razzaqzadeh’s latest collection “The Shadows Eden” is currently on display in an exhibition at the Asar Gallery.

 

The exhibit will run until January 22 at the gallery, which can be found at 16 Barforushan St. off Iranshahr Street.

 

MMS/YAW

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Filmmaker and screenwriter Jahangir Jahangiri dies at 67

January 3, 2014, 7:37 am

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TEHRAN – Iranian filmmaker and screenwriter Jahangir Jahangiri died of a heart attack last week on Sunday. He was 67.

 

Jahangiri made his directorial debut with “Destiny Makers” in 1977. He directed 17 films during his 35 years of filmmaking.

 

“The Exiles” and “Incident in Candovan” were among his most famous movies.

 

His body was buried in the Artists Section of Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery on Tuesday.

 

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Veteran musician Hossein Yusef-Zamani dies at 80

January 3, 2014, 7:38 am

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TEHRAN – Veteran violinist and musician Hossein Yusef-Zamani died of cancer on Tuesday at the age of 80.

 

Born in 1933 in Sanandaj, Yusef-Zamani was a graduate of the Tehran Conservatory of Music, and had collaborated with different orchestras during his fifty-year music career.

 

“Death of Sohrab”, “Smell of Rain”, “The Cage of Body”, and “Prayers” are among his most famous albums.
 

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New ICRO director appointed

January 3, 2014, 7:40 am

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TEHRAN – Abuzar Ebrahimi Torkaman has been appointed as the new director of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO).

 

The appointment was made by Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati.

 

Torkaman had previously served as Iran’s cultural attaché in Russia for the past two years.

 

He has also written several books including “Tradition and Costumes of People in Russia”,”Walking in Tolstoy’s Shoes”, and “Political Parties of Contemporary Russia”.

 

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Persian translation of “Freya of the Seven Isles” published

January 3, 2014, 7:43 am

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TEHRAN – A Persian translation of “Freya of the Seven Isles” by Polish author Joseph Conrad (1857 –1924) has recently been published by Behnegar Publications.

 

The story has been translated into Persian by Farzaneh Dusti.

 

The novella is a sweeping saga set in the Indian Ocean basin, against a turbulent background of barely suppressed hostilities between Dutch and British merchant navies, told by one of Conrad’s classically detached narrators, writes Amazon on its website about the book.

 

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“Heart of a Dog” appears in Persian

January 3, 2014, 7:43 am

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TEHRAN – A Persian translation of “Heart of a Dog” by Russian writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) has been published by Qasedak-e Saba Publications.

 

This hilarious novel tells the story of a Moscow mongrel named Sharik. Sharik is transformed into a man who spouts Engels and inevitably finds his niche in the bureaucracy, writes Amazon on its website.

 

The story has been translated into Persian by Mehdi Afshar.

 

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“The Great Gatsby” to be reviewed in Tehran

January 3, 2014, 7:43 am

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TEHRAN – “The Great Gatsby”, a novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925 and its film adaptation by director Baz Luhrmann will be reviewed during a session at Tehran’s Arasbaran Cultural Center today.

 

The story follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922.

 

The session has been organized by the Tehran Book Club.

 

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Theater troupe to raise funds for children with cancer

January 3, 2014, 7:46 am

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TEHRAN – A theater troupe will perform a reading of “The Wall”, an anti-war play by Alireza Naderi, at Tehran’s Arasbaran Cultural Center this evening to raise funds on behalf of the Mahak Charity Society for children suffering from cancer.

 

The reading performance will be directed by Dariush Nasiri.

 

“The Wall”, also known as “A Comedy 100 Years after War”, is about soldiers in a territory, who think about revenge 100 years after admitting defeat in a war.

 

The members of the troupe are Leila Sufi, Mahmud Yavari, Amir Asadi, Nadia Moqimi, Monica Mohtasham, Negin Seyyed Mohammad and Abdollah Mahdavi.

 

SB/YAW

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Painter uses songs to draw people to art exhibit

January 3, 2014, 7:46 am

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TEHRAN -- A painter has drawn inspiration from songs composed by Yaghma Golruii to create his new collection in order to draw ordinary people to his exhibition.

 

Siamak Jamshidizadeh has entitled the collection “Yaghmagraphy”, which is currently on display at the Mehrva Gallery.

 

“We live in a society, in which ordinary people seriously disregard contemporary art. They may go to cinema or theater occasionally, but they rarely go to galleries, which are visited by artists or certain clients,” Jamshidizadeh told the Persian service of ISNA on Friday.

 

“I thought how can I convince people to see art shows in galleries? I then recognized the high status of songs in people’s everyday life,” he added.

 

“Songs are the only art productions which have found a proper place among the ordinary people. Our people’s perception of words is more than their perception of pictures… I used this characteristic to create an image for them from the words,” he stated.

 

Jamshidizadeh said that it is important for him that ordinary people visit his exhibition. So beforehand, he distributed about a thousand brochures on his art show among passersby and nearby shops.

 

To perceive a proper view about Golruii’s songs, Jamshidizadeh has participated in his workshops over the past year.

 

“His songs have been performed by many singers after the victory of the Islamic Revolution and people feel nostalgic about his songs like ‘Mask’ and ‘Melli Alley’. I wanted to create pictures based on inspirations from these songs,” he said.

 

To create the collection, he took 44 photographs and then used colors to add some images and details to the photos.

 

“I used the medium of photography because Golruii’s songs do not have a surreal and strange atmosphere,” Jamshidizadeh stated.

 

Reza Yazadani, Hooman Javid, and several other singers who have performed Golruii’s songs have been invited to visit the exhibition, which will run until January 19.

 

The Mehrva Gallery is located at 38 Azodi (S. Aban) St., Karim Khan Zand Ave.

 

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Fajr festival to honor sound recordist Jahangir Mirshekari

January 3, 2014, 7:48 am

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TEHRAN – The veteran Iranian sound recordist Jahangir Mirshekari will receive a Golden Simorgh for his lifetime achievements at the 32nd Fajr International Film Festival, which will be held in Tehran in February 2014.

 

Mirshekari, 67, began his career in cinema with Bahram Beizaii’s acclaimed movie “Bashu, the Little Stranger” in 1986.

 

His collaborations in Abbas Kiarostami’s “Where Is My Friend’s Home?”, Darius Mehrjui’s “The Tenants” and Ahmadreza Darvish’s “Land of the Sun” brought him several prizes at previous editions of the Fajr festival.

 

His credits also include “Mama’s Guest” directed by Mehrjuii, “Absolutely Tame is a Horse” and “Nothing” by Abdorreza Kahani.

 

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Book on Forugh Farrokhzad’s poetry hits bookstores

January 4, 2014, 7:43 am

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TEHRAN -- A book on the poetry and thoughts of the controversial Iranian modernist poetess Forugh Farrokhzad (1935—1967) has recently been published in Tehran.

 

Mansureh Ashrafi wrote the book entitled “Forugh, Loud Outcry of Rebellion” and Shurafarin Publications released it.

 

The book contains two chapters, the first of which is about the role of women in contemporary Persian literature and art, Ashrafi said in a press release on Saturday.

 

The poetry and viewpoints of Farrokhzad are discussed and reviewed in the second chapter.

 

Farrokhzad, who also pursued a career in filmmaking, is one of Iran’s most influential female poets of the twentieth century.

 

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Books by Pushkin and Gogol appear in Persian

January 4, 2014, 7:44 am

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TEHRAN – Persian translations of “The Tales of Belkin" by Russian author Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), and “The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich” by Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) have recently been published in Tehran.

 

Babak Shahabi translated the works into Persian and the Behnegar Company published the two books, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Saturday.

 

“The Tales of Belkin” presents a series of interlinked stories narrated by a good-hearted Russian squire - among them “The Shot”, in which a duel is revisited after many years, writes Amazon.

 

“The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich” also known in English as “The Squabble” features Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich as the greatest of friends until the day they begin a foolish quarrel that culminates in that very worst of insults.

 

RM/YAW

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Mungu busy with “Waiting for Godot”, “The Beauty Queen of Leenane”

January 4, 2014, 7:45 am

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TEHRAN -- The Iranian theater troupe Mungu is currently rehearsing for “Waiting for Godot” and “The Beauty Queen of Leenane”. 

 

Homayun Ghanizadeh directs the troupe, which will perform the Irish plays at the main hall of Tehran’s City Theater Complex for 45 nights from February 1.

 

Peyman Moadi, Ali Sarabi, Reza Behbudi and Ramin Sayyardashti are the main members of the cast for “Waiting for Godot”, an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot.

 

The play was scheduled for last September but was postponed until February 2014. 

 

The troupe will stage “The Beauty Queen of Leenane”, a 1996 black comedy by Martin McDonagh, at the same time and place.

 

Vishka Asayesh and Saeid Changizian have also joined the troupe for the rehearsals for the play.

 

The story of the play is set in the Irish village of Leenane, Connemara in the early 1990s.

 

The play is about the life of Maureen Folan, a 40-year-old spinster who takes care of her selfish and manipulative 70-year-old mother Mag. Maureen’s sisters have escaped into marriage and family life, but Maureen, with a history of mental illness, is trapped in a seriously dysfunctional relationship with her mother.

 

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Festival of Iranian Films in Prague announces lineup

January 4, 2014, 7:46 am

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TEHRAN – The 3rd Festival of Iranian Films in Prague announced lineup on Friday.

 

Twenty-two films will go on screen in various categories of the festival, which will be held at the Cinema Svetozor in Prague from January 8 to 12.

 

The organizers have added a competition section to the festival this year. 

 

“Here without Me” directed by Bahram Tavakoli, “Trapped” by Parviz Shahbazi, “The Wedlock” by Ruhollah Hejazi, “Kami’s Party” by Ali Ahmadzadeh, “A Cube of Sugar” by Seyyed Reza Mir-Karimi and “Snow on Pines” by Payman Moadi will be screened in this section.

 

A jury composed of Czech film critic Eva Zaoralová, Iranian filmmaker Mani Haqiqi, Spanish filmmaker Diego Fandos and Iranian literature scholar Zuzana Krihova will judge the movies.

 

The acclaimed movies “The Past” by Asghar Farhadi and “Modest Reception” by Mani Haqiqi will be shown in the noncompetition section of the festival.

 

“Into Thin Air” directed by Mohammadreza Farzadi, 

“The Last Days of Winter” by Mehrdad Oskuii, “My Name is Negahdar Jamali and I Make Westerns” by Kamran Heidari, “From House No. 37” by Sam Kalantari and Mohsen Shahrnazdar, “Stone Melody” by Parviz Rostami and “Revolutionary Memories of Bahman Who Loved Leila” by Farahnaz Sharifi are documentaries, which will go on screen at the festival.

 

The festival will also screen a selection of short films.

 

The short films are “The Road is Closed” directed by Vahid Hajiluii, “Glimmer” by Omid Abdollahi, “Under the Colors” by Esmaeil Monsef, “These Narrow Alleys” by Ghazaleh Soltani, “Temporary” by Behzad Azadi, “More than Two Hours” by Ali Asgari and “Endorphin” by Reza Gamini.

 

The main goal of the festival is to provide a vivid image of Iranian cinema for a wide range of international audiences in the Czech Republic. 

 

 

SB/YAW

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Over 150 world artists send submissions to Fajr Festival of Visual Arts

January 4, 2014, 7:47 am

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TEHRAN – Over 150 artists from 55 countries have submitted their artworks to the 6th Fajr International Festival of Visual Arts, which will be held in Tehran in February.

 

Artists from Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia, Austria, India, Russia, Greece, Germany, Belgium, Australia, Lebanon, Malaysia and several other countries will be invited to the event, the organizers announced in a press release on Saturday.

 

The international section of the festival is comprised of four sections: cartoon, with the central theme of art and caricature of world political figures; photography, on the theme of hope and happiness; poster, on the theme of energy; and illustration, on the theme of family.

 

Panels of experts will review the submissions in various categories and the entries will be announced next week. 

 

Seifollah Samadian, Mohsen Rastani and Abbas Kowsari are the members of the board for the photography section.

 

Mehdi Saeidi, Mohammadreza Dustmohammadi and Hassan Musazadeh will select the entries in the poster section, and Kambiz Derambakhsh, Masud Ziaii and Bozorgmehr Hosseinpur will select the cartoons.

 

The illustrations will also be picked by Behzad Gharibpur, Pejman Rahimizadeh and Ali Buzari.

 

In addition, the national section of the festival will be held in the various categories of painting, miniature, ceramic, sculpture and calligraphy.

 

The 6th Fajr International Festival of Visual Arts will be running from February 3 to 24.

 

 

RM/YAW

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Iran’s National Photo Festival opens in Tehran

January 5, 2014, 8:44 am

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THERAN – The third edition of Iran’s National Photo Festival on the theme of “Iran’s Beautiful Nature” opened at the Iranian Academy of Arts (IAA) on Saturday. 

 

Organized by the Iranian Young Cinema Society (IYCS), the selected photographers were honored at the opening ceremony, which was attended by Iran Cinema Organization (ICO) Director Hojjatollah Ayyubi, IYCS Director Habib Ilbeigi and a number of scholars and photographers, IAA announced in a press release on Sunday.

 

Speaking at the ceremony, Ayyubi expressed his interest in visual arts including painting, photography and graphic design saying, “When I was appointed to helm the cinema organization, I felt depressed to be far from my interests, but now I am happy I am here among you. Our youth are making progress in graphic design and photography along with the world and this makes me happy.

 

“I would like our photographers to highlight the traditions, daily life and costumes of Iranians in addition to the beauties of nature at the next festival.

 

“I hope the good relations between society and photographers help introduce photography as an art to the world,” he added.

 

The ceremony continued paying tribute to the honorees in different sections.

In the people and nature section Arvin Rusta received the honorary diploma of the youth and the special award of this section went to Vahid Varasteh.

 

Ali Hashemi, Farshid Alizadeh, Matin Nuri, Asghar Besharati and Ramezanali Emami were also honored in this section.

 

The honorary diplomas of the nature section went to Arvin Azima, Azam Sabbagh, Ebrahim Bakhtiari, Hossein Nikzad, Abbas Rastegar and Ali Akbari.

 

The ceremony was brought to an end honoring the first managing director of the society, Farzad Hashemi, with the lifetime achievement award.

 

Moreover, an exhibition of selected photos will be on display at the Saba Art and Cultural Institute, an affiliate of IAA located on Mozaffar St., off Taleqani Ave., near Felestin Square.

 

RM/YAW

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