Visual Representations of Iran

The Department of Social Anthropology, the Institute for Iranian Studies and the Centre for Film Studies of the University of St. Andrews and the Iran Heritage Foundation
with the support of
Centro Incontri Umani, Documentary & Experimental Film Center, Documentary Filmmakers Society, Farabi Cinema Foundation, Houtan Scholarship Foundation, Iran Cultural Heritage Organisation, Iranian Young Cinema Society, Bank Julius Baer, Ravayat-e Fath Institute, Visual Media Institute, Young Filmmaker House.

Prof. Ali Ansari (Professor in Modern History and Director of Institute for Iranian Studies, University of St. Andrews)
Prof. Roy Dilley (Head of Department of Social Anthropology, University of St. Andrews) (Chair)
Mrs. Mahboubeh Honarian (President of Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Society, Iran)
Prof. Dina Iordanova (Professor and Chair in Film Studies, University of St. Andrews)
Dr. Pedram Khosronejad (Department of Social Anthropology and Research Fellow in The Institute for Iranian Studies, University of St. Andrews)
Prof. Hamid Naficy (Professor of Communication, Department of Radio, TV, Film, Northwestern University)
Mr. Morteza. Rezvanfar (Head of Anthropological Research Centre of Iran Cultural Heritage Organisation).

In recent years, there has been a steady growth in, and global recognition of, the innovative qualities of Iranian cinema and visual arts. Yet, at the same time, Iran occupies an ambiguous place in the imagination of the West. As a field of academic inquiry, contemporary Visual Anthropology opens up a range of possibilities for examining the ambiguities that surround the imaginations and representations of Iran. Drawing from the broad spectrum of theoretical approaches that span the poetics and practice of filmmaking, photography as well as the art and politics of representation, Visual Anthropology poses a series of questions that may be the basis for dialogue and debate over images of Iran between scholars from a variety of disciplines. A four day programme will investigate these issues within the context of a conference, a film season and a photographic exhibition (the exhibition will remain on view after the conclusion of the four day programme).

University of St. Andrews.

13-16 June 2008 (conference and film season), 5-18 June 2008 (exhibition)

CONFERENCE

The Department of Social Anthropology, University of St. Andrews.

Prof. Roy Dilley (Head of Department of Social Anthropology, University of St. Andrews)
Dr. Pedram Khosronejad (Department of Social Anthropology and Research Fellow in The Institute for Iranian Studies, University of St. Andrews).

Incorporating both Iranian and non-Iranian visualisations, the goal of this conference is to explore anthropologically the wide range of filmic representations of Iran. This is not exclude, of course, the particular genre of ethnographic documentary, but rather the aim is to incorporate it as an object of analysis within a wider understanding of Visual Anthropology.

The conference will gather together anthropologists, ethnographers, film-makers, photographers and artists from Iran and elsewhere, who are interested in the visual representation of Iran. It aims to bring these experts into dialogue to interpret and theorise visual representations of Iran.

It is the intention of the organisers that the proceedings of the symposium will later be published in a book and/ or other forms. Participants must therefore commit themselves not to publish the papers presented at this conference elsewhere.

FILM SEASON: ANTHROPOLOGICAL FILMS ON IRAN

The Department of Social Anthropology and the Centre for Film Studies, University of St. Andrews.

Dr. David Martin-Jones (Lecturer, Centre of Film Studies, University of St. Andrews)
Dr. Pedram Khosronejad (Department of Social Anthropology and Research Fellow in the Institute for Iranian Studies, University of St. Andrews).

This film season will enable visual anthropologists and filmmakers to present their films about Iran and open a debate about their work. An international jury made up of academics and specialists will select the films.

EXHIBITION: KAVEH GOLESTAN - RECORDING THE TRUTH IN IRAN

The Department of Social Anthropology and the Institute of Iranian Studies, University of St. Andrews.

Ms. Hengameh Golestan

Kaveh Golestan was the photojournalist with the longest continuous presence in Iran from before the Revolution until his death in 2003. This retrospective exhibition of his stark black and white photography covers the period from 1975 to the late 1990s, beginning with his iconic social realism of Tehran's disenfranchised. Golestan was an eyewitness to the Iranian Revolution and his photographs not only capture the major political upheavals that radically changed his country into an Islamic Republic; they are an intimate portrayal of a people and society in rapid transition. His photographs of Ayatollah Khomeini's arrival in 1979 and his riotous funeral a decade later were published in magazines and newspapers around the world. As Carlos Guarita wrote in Golestan's obituary published in the Independent newspaper, wars came to Golestan's door. He has an unrivalled body of work concerning conflict and war, including the Iran-Iraq War, uprisings in Kurdistan and both Gulf wars. He documented the immediate aftermath of Saddam Hussein's chemical attack on Halabja in Kurdistan in 1988. Being so close to death made him celebrate life and his photographs champion the power of ordinary people in the unique spiritual and cultural heritage of his country.

Photography brought Golestan worldwide acclaim. In 1979 he received a Robert Capa Award. However due to the political climate in Iran, it was a prize he collected only thirteen years later. A regular contributor to Time magazine, he became a noted documentary filmmaker. In 1991 he released the acclaimed film Recording the Truth, about the situation of journalists in Iran. He lectured at the Art College at the University of Tehran, where he ended up inspiring a generation of Iranian fine photographic artists and photojournalists who have gone on to international recognition. During this period he continued a life-long project, photographing the city's dispossessed - this time an asylum for mentally ill children, a challenging expos� that was published by the Observer. By 1999 he joined the BBC's Tehran bureau as a cameraman. On 2 April 2003 on assignment, covering war in the way he always did - close up and without fear - he stepped on a landmine and died in Kifri in northern Iraq. He was 52 years old.

The exhibition catalogue Kaveh Golestan 1950-2003: Recording the Truth in Iran (Malu Halasa and Hengameh Golestan, eds.) contains all the images in the exhibition plus additional works by Golestan. It is published by Hatje Cantz, Munich, and the Prince Claus Fund Library, The Hague.

Click here for the conference programme

Click here for the biographies of speakers who will be presenting papers at the conference

Click here for the abstract of the papers that will be presented at the conference

Click here for the film season programme

Click here for the synopses of the films being shown in the film season

Click here for registering at the above events

Click here for travel and accommodation details