Iranian Photography Now

This publication is a photographic sensation: the visual dynamics of Iranian photography in all its fascinating beauty and heroic resistance is unveiled for the first time, revealing a rich new aesthetics from inside Iran as well as from the Iranian diaspora. We see innovative responses by photographers living in a country under political restrictions, as well as an important body of work from Iranians who have been living in exile for the last thirty years creating works of great political and cultural relevance. The aesthetic response to political terror is provoking, pioneering, and artistically sophisticated, documenting the willingness of a generation of artists to protect freedom with the weapons of their imagination.

Iranian Photography Now offers a surprisingly broad spectrum of artistic expression that outshines the Western mainstream. Among the most renowned photographer-artists are Abbas, Reza Aramesh, Shirin Neshat, Parastou Forouhar, Abbas Kiarostami, Kaveh Golestan, Amirali Ghasemi, and Shadi Ghadirian. Their visual imagery constitutes an exciting and instructive journey for the reader, who may have never had access to these histories before. Each of the thirty-six contributing photographers was asked to supply a statement on his or her life and experience as an artist. It is high time to give a voice and a platform to photographers from Iran.

“The purpose of Iranian Photography Now is not to expose the hidden histories of Iranian society to the probing eyes of insiders or outsiders... The artists in this book are intent on protecting what is unexpected about their experience of everyday life by creating an aesthetic that can be represented alongside long histories and old traditions.
“Freedom may be a large idea with a long history, but the diverse photographic practices represented here remind us that freedom can also be lost or gained in a moment. If we don’t take a shot at liberty and beauty we will never know what we have missed. Just like a photograph.”

HOMI BHABHA

 

 

Cover of Iranian Photography Now

photo The Swanrider by Parastou Forouhar, that was published on the back of the cover of Iranian Photography Now

Details

Edited by Rose Issa
Published by Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern Orders: www.hatjecantz.de

236 pages 24,5 x 30,7 cm, hardcover €39.80           
ISBN 978-3-905801-03-3 (German)            ISBN 978-3-7757-2257-5 (English)