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Edinburgh Historical Studies of Iran and the Persian World

The Art of Iran in the Twentieth and Twenty-first CenturiesTracing the Modern and the Contemporary

By Hamid Keshmirshekan

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About this book

Explores and theorises the modern and contemporary art of Iran from the mid-twentieth century to the present
  • Critically rereads the concepts of modern and contemporary art in the context of Iran
  • Discusses discourses such as nativism, nationalism, anti-westernism or Gharb-zadegi (Westoxification), modernism, secularism, Islamicism, identity versus cultural globalisation, cultural essentialism, global market demands and exoticism
  • Looks at the representation of these discourses in art and artistic movements such as Saqqā-khāneh, revolutionary art and diasporic art or artistic strategies such as humour, criticism of cultural past, deconstructive and subversive language, etc.
  • Shows how globalisation and its attendant cultural transformations and alternative visions of cultural particularities have emerged as new themes for Iranian artists
  • Based on primary sources including interviews with artists, curators, art critics and cultural activists from a range of disciplinary media such as painting, sculpture, photography, video, performance, installation, and participatory projects
  • Examines how political events such as the 1979 Revolution, its aftermaths and the so-called Reform period (1997-2005) impacted cultural and artistic modes in Iran

This book deals with the exploration and theorisation of Modern and Contemporary art of Iran through the examination of art movements and artistic practices in relation to other cultural, social and political discourses during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It focuses on discourses and their impact on art movements and practices and aims to selectively explore certain prevailing debates in action during this time. To come to grips with the way that artistic trends in Iran can be traced within the intellectual and political landscape of the country mainly from the 1940s to the present, Keshmirshekan articulates new ideas for relating art to its wider context – whether social, cultural or political – and to bring together critical and historical evidence in order to provide an insight into current artistic concerns. The book explores these underlying themes and discourses through a series of case studies, including through close scrutiny of works of artists.

Reviews

This book serves as an essential foundational text for those seeking to deepen their knowledge of the development and trajectories of modern and contemporary art in Iran.
Very few people can write about the Iranian art scene and its global context with the same critical authority and depth of knowledge as does Hamid Keshmirshekan. The Art of Iran in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries: Tracing the Modern and the Contemporary is perhaps his maturest and most probing prose into the field yet. It is impossible to imagine our understanding of modern and contemporary Iranian art without Keshmirshekan’s sustained body of work. This book is the pinnacle of his lifetime scholarship.
Hamid Keshmirshekan’s writings have been foundational in the analysis of the modern and contemporary art of Iran. This collection of insightful essays engages with Persian and English sources, and covers both pre- and post- 1979 developments from the mid-twentieth century into the present. It will be an indispensable resource for future scholarship on the subject.
This book will serve as a valuable grounding text for those who seek to know more about the trajectories of modern and contemporary art in Iran.
Few scholars of contemporary Islamic art, a seriously underdeveloped field, exhibit both range and staying power. Keshmirshekan, the outstanding specialist on its richest subset, Iranian art, does just that. In good, plain, jargon-free English and with clear, concise arguments and passionate commitment, he highlights the treasures of modern and contemporary art in Iran and beyond.
Table of contents

List of Figures Note on Transliteration Acknowledgements Introduction Part I Defining the Framework and Developing Conceptual Definitions1 Challenging Points of Entry: Theorising ‘Modern’ and ‘Contemporary’ Art of Iran 2 Historiography of Modern and Contemporary Art of Iran Part II Discourses on Modern and Contemporary Art3 The Discourse of Neo-traditionalism: Reflecting the Past into the Present 4 Discourses on Post-revolutionary Art: The 1980s and Early 1990s 5 The Paradigms of Contemporary Art: The Contemporary versus the Specific Part III Art Practice and Socio-cultural Discourses6 The Politics of Art Practice in Contemporary Iran 7 Artists’ Attempts to Reclaim Cultural Space versus the State’s Cultural Prescriptions 8 Exhibiting Essentialism: Exoticism and its Attendant Uniformity 9 Humorous Art Practices: A Strategic Response to Stereotyping General Bibliography Index

About the author

Hamid Keshmirshekan

Hamid Keshmirshekan is an art historian, art critic and Senior Teaching Fellow at the Department of History of Art and Archaeology, School of Arts, SOAS, University of London and Research Associate/Barakat Senior Scholar at the Khalili Research Centre, Oxford University. He was previously Senior Lecturer and head of History of Art department at the Advanced Research Institute of Art (ARIA), Iranian Academy of Arts (2013-17), Research Associate at the London Middle East Institute (2013-2019), Associate Fellow at the Faculty of Oriental Studies and History of Art Department at Oxford University (2004-12) and Chief Editor of the quarterly Art Tomorrow – the bilingual (English-Persian) journal on modern and contemporary art of the Middle East and its diaspora (2009-13). He received his PhD in History of Art from SOAS, University of London in 2004 and was post-doctoral fellow at KRC, Oxford University (2004-5, 2011-13) and the British Academy, AHRC and ESRC (2008-9). Since 1994 he has taught art history and theory in British and Iranian universities, has organised several international conferences and events on aspects of modern and contemporary art of Iran and the Middle East, has acted as a keynote speaker in museums and academic conferences, has curated a number of contemporary art exhibitions and has contributed extensively to various publications. His latest publications include Humorous Art Practices in the Contemporary Middle East: Reacting to Cultural Stereotyping, (forthcoming-2022),Cultural Essentialism in the Context of Neo-Orientalism: The Exposure of Contemporary Art Practices from the Middle East (2019), Kankashi dar Hunar-i mu’asir-i iran (Contemporary Iranian Art), 2nd edition (2017), Contemporary Art from the Middle East: Regional Interactions with Global Art Discourses (ed.) (2015).

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