Performing the Iranian State

Staci Gem Scheiwiller

Description

“Performing the Iranian State: Visual Culture and Representations of Iranian Identity” explores what it means to “perform the State,” what this action means in relation to the country of Iran and how these various performances are represented. 

This book discusses what it means to “perform the State,” what this action means in relation to the country of Iran and how these various performances are represented. The concept of the “State” as a modern phenomenon has had a powerful impact on the formation of the individual and collective, as well as on determining how political entities are perceived in their interactions with one another in the current global arena.

Acknowledgments; A Note on Transliteration; 1. Introduction: Setting the Stage – Staci Gem Scheiwiller; I – THE QAJAR DYNASTY: 1786–1925: 2. The Photographic Source for a Qajar Painting – Donna Stein; 3. Cartographic Desires: Some Reflections on the “Shahr-e Farang” (Peepshow) and Modern Iran – Staci Gem Scheiwiller; 4. Takkiyeh Dowlat: The Qajar Theater State – Babak Rahimi; II – THE PAHLAVI DYNASTY (1925–1979) AND TRANSITIONAL PERIOD AFTER THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION (1978–1979): 5. For the Love of her People: An Interview with Farah Diba about the Pahlavi Programs for the Arts in Iran – Donna Stein; 6. Shaping and Portraying Identity at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (1977–2005) – Alisa Eimen; 7. Seismic Shifts across Political Zones in Contemporary Iranian Art: The Poetics of Knowledge, “Knowing” and Identity – Abbas Daneshvari; III – THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC: 1979–PRESENT: 8. Performativity and Ritual Space in Postrevolutionary Tehran – David Simonowitz; 9. Reclaiming Cultural Space: The Artist’s Performativity versus the State’s Expectations in Contemporary Iran – Hamid Keshmirshekan; 10. Female Trouble: Melancholia and Allegory in Contemporary Iranian Art – Andrea D. Fitzpatrick; IV – THE IRANIAN DIASPORA: 11. Performing Visual Strategies: Representational Concepts of Female Iranian Identity in Contemporary Photography and Video Art – Julia Allerstorfer; 12. Painted and Animated Metaphors: An Interview with Artist Alireza Darvish – Mina Zand Siegel and Carmen Pérez González; 13. In the House of Fatemeh: Revisiting Shirin Neshat’s Photographic Series “Women of Allah” – Staci Gem Scheiwiller; Illustrations; List of Contributors

Sujets

• Islam
• Iran
• General
• Social sciences
• General officer

Informations

• Publié par: Anthem Press
• Date de parution: 15 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780857282941
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 16 Mo

Extrait

Performing the Iranian State

Anthem Middle East Studies

TheAnthem Middle East Studies series is committed to offering to our global audience the finest scholarship on the Middle East across the spectrum of academic disciplines. The twin goals of our rigorous editorial and production standards will be to bring original scholarship to the shelves and digital collections of academic libraries worldwide, and, to cultivate accessible studies for university students and other sophisticated readers.

Series Editor

Camron Michael Amin – University of Michigan-Dearborn, USA

Editorial Board

Benjamin Fortna – School of Oriental and African Studies, UK John Meloy – American University of Beirut, Lebanon Lisa Pollard – University of North Carolina at Wilmington, USA Mark L. Stein – Muhlenberg College, USA Renée Worringer – University of Guelph, Canada

Performing the Iranian State

Visual Culture and Representations of Iranian Identity

Edited by Staci Gem Scheiwiller

Anthem Press An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company www.anthempress.com

This edition first published in UK and USA 2013 by ANTHEM PRESS 75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK and 244 Madison Ave. #116, New York, NY 10016, USA

© 2013 Staci Gem Scheiwiller editorial matter and selection; individual chapters © individual contributors

The moral right of the authors has been asserted.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

British Library CataloguinginPublication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Performing the Iranian state : visual culture and representations of Iranian identity / edited by Staci Gem Scheiwiller. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-85728-293-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Arts and society–Iran–History–20th century. 2. Arts and society–Iran–History–21st century. 3. Arts, Iranian–Political aspects. 4. Group identity in art. 5. Group identity in the performing arts. I. Scheiwiller, Staci Gem, editor of compilation. NX180.S6P444 2013 700.1’030955–dc23 2012047460

ISBN-13: 978 0 85728 293 4 (Hbk) ISBN-10: 0 85728 293 X (Hbk)

This title is also available as an eBook.

Cartographic Desires: Some Reflections on theShahre Farang (Peepshow) and Modern Iran Staci Gem Scheiwiller

C

TS

N

O

101

TEN

Acknowledgments

vii

23

2.

123

Introduction: Setting the Stage Staci Gem Scheiwiller

I

3.

A Note on Transliteration

75

83

Takkiyeh Dowlat: The Qajar Theater State Babak Rahimi

III The Islamic Republic: 1979–Present

33

8.

The Qajar Dynasty: 1786–1925

Seismic Shifts across Political Zones in Contemporary Iranian Art: The Poetics of Knowledge,Knowingand Identity Abbas Daneshvari

Performativity and Ritual Space in Postrevolutionary Tehran David Simonowitz

The Photographic Source for a Qajar Painting Donna Stein

4.

55

The Pahlavi Dynasty (1925–1979) and Transitional Period after the Iranian Revolution (1978–1979)

Shaping and Portraying Identity at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (1977–2005) Alisa Eimen

II

For the Love of her People: An Interview with Farah Diba about the Pahlavi Programs for the Arts in Iran Donna Stein

7.

6.

5.

1

x

i

1.

vi

9.

10.

I

V

11.

12.

13.

PERFORMING THE IRANIAN STATE

Reclaiming Cultural Space: The Artist’s Performativity versus the State’s Expectations in Contemporary Iran Hamid Keshmirshekan

Female Trouble: Melancholia and Allegory in Contemporary Iranian Art Andrea D. Fitzpatrick

The Iranian Diaspora

Performing Visual Strategies: Representational Concepts of Female Iranian Identity in Contemporary Photography and Video Art Julia Allerstorfer

Painted and Animated Metaphors: An Interview with Artist Alireza Darvish Mina Zand Siegel and Carmen Pérez González

In the House of Fatemeh: Revisiting Shirin Neshat’s Photographic SeriesWomen of Allah Staci Gem Scheiwiller

Illustrations

List of Contributors

145

157

173

193

201

221

247

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the contributors who made this anthology possible. They put in much time and hard work into producing the highest quality of essays. I am especially indebted to fellow contributor David Simonowitz who looked over preliminary drafts of the proposal and introduction and offered unending encouragement. Thank you so much. I am also grateful to those at Anthem Press for their support and patience, including Camron Michael Amin, Tej Sood, Janka Romero and Rob Reddick. Finally, I appreciate the efforts of Michael Jerryson at Eckerd College. In 2008, our dissertation group had conceived of the idea “Performing the State,” and later, he gave his blessing to pursue the idea on my own and in my own field. He has been a great inspiration and the truest, most loyal colleague. I am privileged to know him. Thank you.

A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION

For the transliteration of Persian words in this volume, I have decided to Romanize them as closely to the spoken Western Persian in Iran as possible. I did consider the guidelines according to theMiddle Eastern StudiesInternational Journal of , as well as the Bahai system of transliteration developed by Shoghi Effendi, but opted for the simplest forms that match the vernacular.