Saturday 8 August 2009

Persian art, Iranian artists in london

Hey art lovers bit of news I have just read for you:-

In London, a group of Iranian artists are displaying their works. The show highlights sub-cultures that are flourishing within the Iranian society.

The Iranian exhibit is proving so popular, its London run has been extended. “Made In Iran” is on display at Asia House and has attracted much attention in recent weeks.

The exhibit is unusual because it features artists who have all chosen to stay in Iran, rather than relocate to Western cities. These artists use modern mediums and take a tongue-in-cheek approach to modern culture in Iranian as it clashes with the ancient traditions of the past.

Arianne Levene, art consultant said, “All of the artists are extremely young, most of them were born around the time of the revolution, around 1978 and 1979 and they are in their early 30’s or in the late ’60’s and they are in their mid-30’s, and they are more influenced by what they see and experience around them as opposed to what the traditions were, which is not something they’ve experienced because Iran’s changed a lot and the Iran they know, the one where they live is Iran today.”

None of the artists were able to leave Iran to attend the London show, due to the recent domestic situation. Efforts are now being made to arrange for “Made In Iran” to go on tour in France and Canada. The London show ends July 10.


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Thursday 30 July 2009

The history of Persian art

The long prehistoric period in Iran, is known to us mostly from excavation work carried out in a few key sites, which has led to a chronology of distinct periods, each one characterised by the development of certain types of pottery, artefacts and architecture. Pottery is one of the oldest Persian art forms, and examples have been unearthed from burial mounds (Tappeh), dating back from the 5th millennium BC.
The "Animal style" which uses decorative animal motifs is very strong in the Persian culture first appearing in pottery, reappearing much later in the Luristan bronzes and again in Scythian art.
During the Achaemenian and Sassanian periods, metal-work continued its ornamental development. Some of the most beautiful examples of metal-ware are gilded silver cups and dishes decorated with royal hunting scenes from the Sassanian Dynasty.
The earliest known distinctive style of Persian painting dates back to the Seljuk period, which is often referred to as the "Baghdad School". Early painting was mainly used to decorate manuscripts and versions of the Holy Koran, though some 13th century pottery found near Tehran indicates an early, unique Persian style of art. During the Mongol period, paintings were used to decorate all sorts of books.
Persian architecture has a very long and complex history, and is often regarded as the field in which Persia made its greatest contribution to the world's culture. Although Persian styles differ sharply from any other Islamic architecture, they have strongly influenced buildings throughout much of the Islamic world, especially in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
The art of the Iranian world from its earliest beginnings exhibited a constant and unmistakable characteristic, in spite of the many trends and currents and the abundance of foreign influences.
[Thanks to art arena for this history]
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Persian art

The blog is dedicated to Persian art in all its forms. I will be adding work from a number of Iranian artists. So if you have an interest in art then please come back again to see how we are progressing. Alternatively follow us on RSS to keep up date.

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