The Artist and the Street: Politics and Representation in the Iranian and Latino/Chicano Contexts: A Symposium In the Iranian, Latino/a, and Chicano/a contexts, artists' interventions in public spaces have played a critical role in the social and political landscapes. The
street has served as a museum and a stage where artists, intellectuals, and activists have advocated a wide range of causes. Diana Taylor
(Department of Performance Studies, New York University) "Performance Protest: The Children of the 'Disappeared' Take to the Streets" Peter Chelkowski
(Department of Middle Eastern Studies, New York University) "Rite of Passage/Passage of Rite: From Iran via India to Trinidad" Carol Wells (Center for the Study of Political Graphics, Los Angeles) Haggai Ram (Department of Middle East Studies, Ben-Gurion University, Beersheba, Israel) "Multiple Iconographies: Political Posters and the 1979 Iranian Revolution"
Moderator: George Yudice (Department of American Studies and Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, New York University)
Friday, September 27, 1–5 pm, Kevorkian Building
50 Washington Square South (at Sullivan and West 4th Streets)
"La Luche Sigue: From East Los Angeles to the Middle East"
Co-sponsored by the
Kevorkian Center, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Grey Art Gallery at New York University, in association with the Iran Heritage Foundation. For more information, call 212/998-8877. The origins of Iranian modernity lie in the long 19th century, when cultural
production was an act of resistance to colonialism through the production of a local, national culture. Throughout the 20th century, modern Iranian visual art both reflected and affected social and political currents. 10 am–Noon
Session One: Painting a New Iran Layla Diba (Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture) "Between Tradition and Modernity: Iranian Visual Arts of the Early 20th
Century." Dr. Diba will trace the sources of Iranian modernism in the visual arts of the late Qajar and early Pahlavi eras, examining court painting, popular culture, coffee-house painting, and the graphic arts.
Fereshteh Daftari (Museum of Modern Art, New York) "Highlights of Iranian Modernism." A co-curator of the exhibition, Dr. Daftari will present an overview of the
key artists in the show, delineating a history of modernism in Iranian art from the 1960s and '70s. 1:30–3:30 pm
Hamid Naficy (Department of Art and Art History, Rice University) "Filmmakers as Poets and Intellectuals: the Case of Abbas Kiarostami." Perhaps the most celebrated
filmmaker in Iran today, Abbas Kiarostami is an artist who works in multiple media. Professor Naficy will examine Kiarostami's work, bringing together selections from his films, photographs, and poetry. 3:30–4:30 pm
Parviz Tanavoli—sculptor, painter, lithographer, collector, and scholar of Iranian art—will present his work and take part in a roundtable discussion with Professor
Peter Chelkowski (Department of Middle Eastern Studies, New York University) and Lynn Gumpert (Director, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, and co-curator of the exhibition).
Modern Iranian Visual Culture: A Symposium
Friday, October 25, 10 am–4:30 pm., Silver Center (Main Building), Room 703
(enter at 32 Waverly Place)
Opening Remarks: Shiva Balaghi (Kevorkian Center, New York University) Introduction: Ehsan Yarshater (Columbia University)
Chair: Priscilla Soucek
(Institute of Fine Arts, New York University)
Session Two: Screens, Streets, and Stages:
Image-Making in an Islamic Republic
Chair: Peter Chelkowski (Department of Middle Eastern Studies,
New York University)
Annabelle Sreberny (Center for Mass Communication Research, University of
Leicester, UK) "The Writings on the Wall: Examining the Ephemera of the Iranian Revolution." Professor Sreberny's lecture will explore a variety of artistic forms—stencils, graffiti, stamps—used during the revolution.
Reception and Exhibition Viewing
Artist Parviz Tanavoli at the Kevorkian Center
The Hagop Kevorkian Center Luncheon Seminar Series
Thursday, September 19, 12:30–1:45 pm, Kevorkian Building
50 Washington Square South (at Sullivan and West 4th Streets)
Co-sponsored by the Kevorkian Center and the Grey Art Gallery at New York University, in association with the Iran Heritage Foundation. For more information, call 212/998-8877.
Iran Through the Lens of Abbas
Abbas, an Iranian-born photojournalist and member of Magnum Photos who resides in Paris, will discuss his photographs of Iran. Throughout the 1970s, he took hundreds of photographs documenting the impact of the Shah's modernization
programs. His images of the 1979 Revolution serve as a compelling historical record of that event. Since 1997, Abbas has been returning to Iran regularly.
Monday, September 23, 6:30 pm, Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street)
Co-sponsored by the Asia Society, the Kevorkian Center and Grey Art Gallery at New York University, and the Iranian-American Forum. Tickets: $7 Asia Society members, $10 non-members, free to NYU students, faculty, and staff
with valid ID card. For tickets and more information, call 212/517-ASIA.
From Page to Film: The Birth of New Wave Iranian Cinema
King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, 53 Washington Square South Wednesday, September 25, 6 pm, Wednesday, October 16, 6 pm
Wednesday, November 13, 6 pm Wednesday, December 11, 6 pm
Presented by Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, this film series focuses on the First Wave of Iran's New Cinema, which began in the early 1960s. Curated by
Dean Pari Shirazi, the films underline the relationship between cinema and literature in Iran. For screening dates, times, locations, and other film information, call Laura Tewksbury at 212/998-9178.
Screening Room
Written, directed, and edited by Masud Kimiai, after a short story by Sadeq Hedayat.
Produced by Hushang Kaveh. Music by Esfandiar Monfared-Zadeh. In this tale of suppressed love and honor, Haji Agha, on his deathbed, entrusts his wife and
daughter to Dash Akol, an honest, valiant and highly regarded man. But Dash Akol falls madly in love with Haji Agha's daughter, who is much younger and under his paternal care.
Written, directed, and produced by Parviz Sayaad, after a plot by Anton Chekov. Edited by Ruhollah Ememi. Music by Mojtaba Mirzadeh. A young woman entertains
romantic fantasies that an acquaintance seeks her hand in marriage. When the man asks to visit her family, fulfillment of her fantasy seems within reach. Things are not
as they appear to be, however, and the true purpose of his visit turns her world upside down. Based on a plot by Anton Chekov, this film was banned during the Shah's regime and remains so under the present Iranian government.
Directed by Bahram Farmanara. Screenplay by Hushang Golshiri and Bahman Farmanara, after a story by Golshiri. Produced by Telefilm. Edited by Abbas
Ganjavi. Music by Ahmad Pejman. On his deathbed, Prince Ehtejab (one of the last of the Qajar dynasty) is assailed by memories and guilt about his family's cruel
deeds. Members of his household cannot understand why he lacks the brutality of his ancestors. The ghosts of his father and grandfather appear, chiding him for failing to
continue their despotic dynasty. This film was selected by the International Film Guide in 1974 as one of the top ten films and was a Grand Prix winner, Tehran International Film Festival.
Directed by Dariush Mehrjui. Screenplay by Gholam-Hosayn Saedi and Dariush Mehrjui. Depicting urban degradation and corruption, The Cycle is a cinematic
vision of hell. In this courageous and shocking account of unsavory practices in a big city hospital, a sick, impoverished old man and his young son arrive in Tehran
seeking medical treatment but end up at a center where junkies and other outcasts sell their blood for money. The son quickly learns the ways of the capital, living from graft and exploitation.
The World Music Institute Presents Masters of Persian Music
Three of today's most important figures in classical Persian music will return to the US after last year's sold-out tour: Iran's great vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian;
tar (long-necked lute) maestro Hossein Alizadeh; and Kayhan Kalhor, a virtuoso of the kamancheh (spike-fiddle), who has been instrumental in popularizing Persian
music in the West. They will be accompanied by Shajarian's son, Homayoun Shajarian (vocals, tombak/goblet drum). Their program features all new works drawing on the rich heritage of Persian classical music and ancient mystical and
contemporary poetry.
Saturday, October 5, 8 pm, Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street
Tickets: $45, $35 ($75 Golden Circle). For information, call 212/840-2824.