Book on contemporary Iranian art introduced in Tehran

TEHRAN,Nov. 14 (MNA) -- A pictorial book on contemporary Iranian art and artists entitled “Amidst Shadow and Light” was introduced during a ceremony held at Tehran’s Mohsen Gallery here on Saturday. Compiled by the Iranian Art Tomorrow Quarterly chief editor Hamid Keshmirshekan, the book contains 15 articles delivered at the 2005 Oxford conference along with 350 images of artworks by Iranian artists. In October 2005, St. Antony's College of Oxford hosted a panel of experts in the art world to discuss the lines of continuity between modern and contemporary art in the last half a century in Iran. At the conference, Keshmirshekan delivered a speech on Iranian contemporary art; many other Iranian and foreign artists also talked about Iranian art. Keshmirshekan had observed new traditionalism in the art of the 1960s and 70s and in the saqqakhaneh movement of the period, an artistic movement that began in Iran during the 1960s. This movement sought to integrate popular symbols of Shia Muslim culture in art. The book developed out of the conference held at Oxford but most of the material in this volume has been thoroughly updated and in some cases rewritten. Prominent sculptor Parviz Tanavoli who was among the participating guests regarded Keshmirshekan a critic who seriously follows criticism in art. He added that many reviewed and discussed Iranian art in the conference including Aidin Aghdashlu who talked about the murals after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. "But I believe this can be the first book published on Iranian contemporary art," Tanavoli said, hoping that the book will be translated into Persian soon. Keshmirshekan also said, "Since these articles were only offered at the conference, I decided to compile them in a book to make it more accessible to interested readers."