Thursday, May 17, 2018

Conference


Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past

17-18 May 2018

Christie Room, John Rylands Library, Deansgate

The University of Manchester



I take great pleasure in welcoming you to the conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’. Thank you all for coming, some of you from very far away, from the East as far away as Iran and from the West, the USA.
We are most fortunate that our venue and location for this two-day conference is the historic John Rylands Library, Deansgate in central Manchester. I thank the Librarian and Curators for their permission to hold it here. The John Rylands Library was opened to the public on January 1, 1900, endowed by Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her husband, John Rylands, the English entrepreneur and philanthropist who died in 1888. Today the John Rylands Library (JRL) is part of The University of Manchester Library. In this building are housed many thousands of rare manuscripts, fragments, documents and books. What is most interesting for our purposes is that it has a collection of nearly a thousand Persian MSS, which the JRL continues to treasure very highly. There is currently a concerted effort by the JRL to catalogue, digitise and research this wonderful Persian collection. There will be a brief opportunity to view some of the beauties of this collection during the conference.
The conference on Persian and Iranian art is hosted by the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at the University of Manchester, where the Department of Middle Eastern Studies has been in existence since the beginning of the last century: Persian and other Iranian languages have long been taught here, alongside Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac and Turkish. In this conference we bring together scholars who are working internationally in Persian/Iranian art and architecture.
The history of the art and architecture of Iran is divided into two fields, one much more populated than the other. One of these is the widely studied historical field with its focus on pre-modern, medieval and ancient ‘Persian’ art and architecture; the other that of modern and contemporary ‘Iranian’ art and architecture. There is often little communication or appreciation between these two fields: modern and contemporary artists and scholars do reflect on classical art and architecture, but from the historical side there tends to be considerably less inclination to look into the modern and contemporary field. Methodological practices also differ: contemporary art history uses 20th and 21st century theoretical perspectives, whereas in the historical field, more often than not, historical and traditional art historical methods are used. Yet, the two fields are profoundly connected –Persian and Iranian art is by definition one great field: there has always been a looking back at, and awareness of, the past among historians of art, and modern and contemporary artists too are rooted in, and make reference to, the past. It is to be hoped that in this conference we can talk to one another across disciplinary and area boundaries and make progress in overcoming a false separation that has divided us in the past.
Aida Foroutan




Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Chris Foster; courtesy Aida Foroutan/University of Manchester

Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Chris Foster; courtesy Aida Foroutan/University of Manchester

Dr Siavush Randjbar-Daemi. Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Chris Foster; courtesy Aida Foroutan/University of Manchester

Dr Hamid Keshmirshekan. Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Chris Foster; courtesy Aida Foroutan/University of Manchester

Mr Bobak Etminani. Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Chris Foster; courtesy Aida Foroutan/University of Manchester

Dr Aida Foroutan. Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Chris Foster; courtesy Aida Foroutan/University of Manchester

Professor Paul Luft. Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Chris Foster; courtesy Aida Foroutan/University of Manchester

Professor Robert Hillenbrand. Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Aida Foroutan

Professor Abbas Daneshvari Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England ©Aida Foroutan

Panel discussion – Day 2 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England. Photo by Mina Talaee

Plenary Discussion session – Day 2 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England. Photo by Janet Rady

Sponsors
This conference is supported by a research grant from the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) and the Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF). For more information on BIPS and grant opportunities please see https://www.bips.ac.uk/, and for the IHF http://www.iranheritage.org/.







Sunday, May 13, 2018

Live Streaming of the Conference



Day 1 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akAqqHkj78c




Day 2 at the Conference ‘Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past’, May 17-18 2018 at the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester, England

https://youtu.be/HWUxYBM-KMI



Friday, May 4, 2018

Programme


Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past
Day 1: Thursday 17 May 2018
Christie Room, John Rylands Library, Deansgate

8.45:    Arrival and Registration

9.10 – 9.15: Welcome
Professor Alan Williams (Professor of Iranian Studies, University of Manchester)

9.15 – 9.20: Introduction
Dr Aida Foroutan (University of Manchester)

9.20 – 10.00: Keynote Speech                                    Chair: Professor Alan Williams

Professor Robert Hillenbrand FBA (Professor of Islamic Art History, University of St Andrews, Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh)
‘The Originality of the Great Mongol Shahnama’

10.00 – 11.35: Panel 1 – Historicism                         Chair: Professor Paul Luft

Dr Mina Talaee (Alzahra University)
‘Committed Art: Post-revolutionary Figurative Sculpture in Iran in the Context of Modernism’

Ms Elizabeth L. Rauh (University of Michigan)
‘Visual Resurrections: Reproducing “Classical” Persian Images in 20th-Century Iranian Art’

Dr Saeid Khaghani (University of Tehran)
‘The Dynamics of Historicism in Contemporary Iranian Architectural Discourses’

Dr Aban Tahmasebi (The Sapienza University of Rome)
‘Romantic Architectural Historiography Linked to Persian Cultural Absolutism’

11.35 –12.00: Tea/Coffee break

12.00 – 13.15: Panel 2 – Identity                               Chair: Dr Ilse Sturkenboom

Professor Abbas Daneshvari (California State University, Los Angeles)
‘The Color of History in Contemporary Iranian Photography’

Mr Keivan Moussavi-Aghdam (Tehran University of Art)
‘Society for the National Heritage and Iranian Modern Identity’

Dr Aida Foroutan (University of Manchester)
‘Extension of the Universe on Canvas: Poetry in the Painting of Bobak Etminani’

13.15 – 14.20: Lunch break
In the Atrium

13.15 – 14.15: Collection Encounter:  (Group 1: 13.15 – 13.40  -  Group 2: 13.50 – 14.15)
In the Bible Room
led by Elizabeth Gow (delegates will be divided into 2 groups: there will be 2 sessions)
The Collection Encounter will present selected Persian manuscripts (including miniatures, lacquer bindings and calligraphy)

14.20 – 15.10 Panel 3 – Case Studies                         Chair: Professor Ali Ansari

Dr David Hodge (Art Academy, London)
‘Reformism’s Self-Portrait: Reformism’s Self-Portrait: Cosmopolitanism, Contemporaneity and Class in Mehraneh Atashi’s Early Work’

Ms Roberta Marin (Khalili Collection of Islamic Art and the University of York)
‘The “Traditional Abstract Art” Of Faramarz Pilaram (1937-1983)’

15.10 –15.30: Tea/Coffee break

15.30 –15.45: Panel 4 – Education                            Chair: Professor Alan Williams

Professor David Lomas (Professor of Art History University of Manchester)
‘Human Flows’

15.45 – 16.15:
Mr Bobak Etminani (Vice-President, the Association of Iranian Painters)
‘Typology of Painting and the Five Genes: A Comprehensive Academic Shortcut in Teaching Drawing and Painting’

16.15 – 17.00: Keynote Speech                                  Chair: Dr Siavush Randjbar-Daemi

Professor Paul Luft (Hon.Vice-President of the British Institute of Persian Studies, formerly Senior Lecturer University of Manchester)
‘Following the track of Iranian Studies at Manchester’

17:00   End of Day 1

18.45   Conference Dinner (for Speakers and Chairs)
Christie’s Bistro Located in The Christie Building, #58 in the Campus Guidance
The Old Quadrangle, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL


Day 2: Friday 18 May 2018
Christie Room, John Rylands Library, Deansgate

9.15 – 10.00 Keynote Speech                                                 Chair: Dr Aida Foroutan

Dr Hamid Keshmirshekan (London Middle East Institute, SOAS Univ. of London)
‘Challenging Points of Entry: Modern and Contemporary Art Historiography of Iran Revisited’

10.00 – 11.10: Panel 5 – Method 1                            Chair: Dr Siavush Randjbar-Daemi

Mr Hosein Eyalati (Kaarnamaa Art Magazine)
‘Collective Memories / Selective Interpretations’

Dr Combiz Moussavi-Aghdam (Tehran University of Art)
‘Contemporary Iranian Art and Its Scholarship: A Critical Review’

Dr Jamal Arabzadeh (Tehran University of Art)
‘Theory versus Method: The Evolution of Art History Teaching in Iran’

11.10 – 11.40: Tea/Coffee break

11.40 – 12.55: Panel 6 – Exhibiting                           Chair: Dr Ilse Sturkenboom

Dr Nicoletta Torcelli (The French-German cultural channel Arte)
‘Exhibiting Iranian Art: Curatorial Considerations’

Mr Tim Cornwell (The Art Newspaper, and other publications)
‘The Building of the Collection of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and its Art’

Ms Chaeri Lee (Free University and Humboldt University of Berlin)
‘The Politics of Collecting and Displaying Iranian Coffeehouse Paintings’

12.55 – 13.55: Lunch break

13.55 – 15.10: Panel 7 – Photography & Cinema    Chair: Professor Alan Williams

Dr Anita Hosseini (University of Hamburg)
‘Public And Private Spaces Of Emotions: Ashgar Farhadi’s “The Salesman/Forushande” in The Context of European and Persian Art History’

Ms Agnes Rameder (Catholic Private University of Linz)
‘The History of Staged Photography in Tehran’

Ms Janet Rady (Gallery Director and Curator, Independent)
‘Shadi Ghadirian - Nostalgic Revivalist or Contemporary Creative?’

15.10 – 15.40: Tea/Coffee break

15.40 – 16.30: Panel 8 – Method 2                            Chair: Professor Paul Luft

Ms Dafne Gotink (University of Amsterdam)
‘Political with a wink: how to read critical contemporary art from Iran’

Mr Abbas Hosseini (University of Zanjan)
‘Reading Art Historiography through Persian Safavid Manuscripts; Approaches and Challenges’

16.30 – 17.30 Final Panel: Professor Hillenbrand, Professor Luft, and Dr Keshmirshekan

Panel: Plenary Discussion: Concluding Remarks

17.30   End of Conference




vvv
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Members of the conference are invited to join us for an informal dinner
as the English say, ‘Going Dutch’  





This conference is supported by a research grant from the British Institute of Persian Studies and the Iran Heritage Foundation.

For more information on BIPS and grant opportunities please see


Monday, December 18, 2017

Modern Iranian Art and Architecture in the Shadow of the Classical Persian Past


The University of Manchester
School of Arts, Languages and Cultures


CALL FOR PAPERS


A Conference at the University of Manchester, 
The John Rylands Library, Deansgate, ManchesterUK

May 17-18 2018

Generously Sponsored by 

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSIAN STUDIES
We are pleased to announce a conference on Persian and Iranian art hosted by the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at the University of Manchester. The Department of Middle Eastern Studies has been in existence since the beginning of the last century, and Persian and other Iranian languages have long been taught here, alongside Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac and Turkish. In this conference we bring together scholars who are working in Persian/Iranian art and architecture.

There is an on-going problem in academic work on the history of the art and architecture of Iran: it is divided into two fields, one much more populated than the other. One of these is the widely studied historical field with its focus on pre-modern, medieval and ancient ‘Persian’ art and architecture; the other is the field of modern and contemporary ‘Iranian’ art and architecture. The problem arises in the fact that there is often little communication or appreciation between these two fields. Modern and contemporary artists and scholars reflect on classical art and architecture, but from the historical side there tends to be considerably less interest in the modern and contemporary field. Methodological practices also differ between the two: contemporary art history uses 20th and 21stcentury theoretical perspectives, whereas in the historical field, more often than not, historical and traditional art historical methods are used. Yet, the two fields are connected – artists and historians of art do not live in a vacuum, and Persian and Iranian art is by definition connected. There has always been a looking back at, and awareness of, the past among historians of art, but modern and contemporary artists too are rooted in, and make reference to, the past. 

In this Conference we seek to bring together scholars from both the historical and contemporary fields to discuss certain issues which run across their respective subjects.

Keynote speakers will include Professor Robert Hillenbrand, Professor Paul Luft, Dr Hamid Keshmirshekan. 


This conference is supported by a research grant from the British Institute of Persian Studies and the Iran Heritage Foundation. 

For more information on BIPS and grant opportunities please see 

The School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at the University of Manchester invites 250 word proposals for individual papers of 20 minutes on topics related to themes in the list below.

Please submit proposals to iranianartconference@gmail.com by February 28, 2018.

Suggested general areas for topics:

1. Traditionalist discourse
One theme of this Conference is to consider the so-called ‘Traditionalist’ discourse which occupied all academic study of art in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. Such a ‘Traditionalist’ mode of interpreting culture, with its anti-modern essentialism and particular reading of history, sufficed as the desired conceptual apparatus for the newly-revolutionised Iran to build a new identity. However, traditionalism is not a water-tight and clearly-defined concept and contains variations from extreme right to far left approaches. This is one of the ‘shadows’ of the title of the Conference. 

2. Romanticism
From historical and modern perspectives, another shadow looms, which is that of romanticism. Different intellectual tendencies, such as, among other things, nationalism, nostalgia, ‘Golden Age’ constructions of the history of art, and the necessity to come to terms with the perceived decadence of the past, have resulted in the construction of a ‘Classical Persian’ art and a ‘modern Iranian’ art. Romanticisation of the people, history, and the land of Iran (‘Persia’ to the ‘West’), was a common trend in art historical writing by Western scholars, and then by Iranian writers and artists themselves. How do romanticist trends contribute to historical and modern/ contemporary ‘Persian’ and ‘Iranian’ self-perception through art?

3. Imitation and Xenophobia
‘Neither East nor West’, as the main slogan of the Islamic Republic, was not a completely strange and novel definition for Iran. Iran had always been a contradictory site of both welcome and also fear of foreigners and foreign powers. Art, too, is in a love-hate relationship with the West, also based on the ingrained attitudes of, respectively, welcoming influence, imitation, and borrowing, alongside suspicion and xenophobia of the foreigner.

4. Contradictory Historiographies 
The Conference seeks to map the diverse historiographies of Iranian art inside Iran and abroad with regard to their socio-political context: it is hoped that papers that take up this theme will discuss innovative ways which highlight the role of art historical narratives in different educational, social-psychological and political levels in modern Iran.

5. In addition
Winvite proposals on any topic related to art historiography in Iran, regardless of its exact fit with the theme. Our aim is to encourage dialogue between scholars working on the art history of Iran from all disciplines.

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The iconic and historic John Rylands Library, Deansgate in central Manchester will be the location for this two-day conference. There will be an opportunity to view some examples of the John Rylands Collection of a thousand Persian manuscripts

Scholars from Iran and elsewhere are being invited to attend the conference.

For further information contact the main convener of the Conference, Dr Aida Foroutan at aida.foroutan@manchester.ac.uk

Reminder: The deadline for submissions is Wednesday 28 February 2018

events.manchester.ac.uk