The Chelsea Art Museum is pleased to announce the opening of its upcoming exhibition Iran Inside Out. The groundbreaking exhibition features 35 artists living and working in Iran alongside 21 others living in the Diaspora. The result is a multifarious portrait of 56 contemporary Iranian artists challenging the conventional perceptions of Iran and Iranian art.
In Iran Inside Out, 210 works comprising painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation come together, in a rare moment which allows visitors an intimate look into the people, both inside and outside a country that is more complex than images of veiled women, worn out calligraphy and what a handful of other emblematic images would suggest.
Curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, Iran Inside Out is an examination of the means through which a young generation of artists is reconciling the daily implications of cultural and geographical distances with the search for individual artistic expression. The exhibition offers an unexpected insight into the artistic energy of a culture that is constantly evolving as Iranians living both in and out of the country, come of age living and working in contentious societies. While half of these artists such as Vahid Sharifian, Barbad Golshiri, Farideh Lashai and Jinoos Taghizadeh reside in Iran, the other half including artists such as Shirin Neshat, Shahram Entekhabi, Mitra Tabrizian and Shoja Azari has been interspersed in the Diaspora.
Iran Inside Out explores the process of deconstruction and reinvention of both, self and art that has resulted from this cultural schism, often swinging between openness and dialogue, or seclusion and separatism. Ironically, contrary to one’s expectations, the artists living abroad often draw more on their cultural heritage, while those on the inside focus more on issues of everyday life without much regard to what ‘the outside’ views as specifically Iranian references. Yet, within these disparities, one element stands strong: the recurrent references, sometimes ambiguous, at times emotional, often nostalgic and on occasion satirical and even tragic to Iran the country, Iran the past, the Iran which has been lost and that which could be found.
The exhibiton will be traveling to the Farjam Collection/Hafiz Foundation in Dubai in March 2010. The exhibition is the second of three exhibitions under CAM's EastWest Project in 2009 which aims to promote and foster cross cultural dialogue.
A satirical, comic and at times tragic
exploration of the vilifying of a nation and its people by politicians and the
Media
Section
2 From Iran to Queeran
and Everything in Between
On Gender and Sexuality
An intimate revealing of notions of
Masculinity and Femininity within Iranian culture both, on the inside and the
outside
Section
3 The Culture Shop:
Special Sale on Stereotypes – All Must Go!
On Culture as Commodity
A “supermarket-like” installation of works
by various artists who comment on the redundant stereotypes associated with
Iranian artists and art at large
Section
4 Iran Recycled: From
Vintage to Vogue
On Reinventing the Traditional Art Forms
A display of works by contemporary artists
who are revisiting the traditional genres of miniature, arabesque and calligraphy
and representing them in a revolutionary way in both media and content
Section
5 Where in the World:
City Quiz
On Street Culture within Tehran
A group of works by various artists is
installed to create the impression of through a street in Tehran in an attempt
to reflect on the city’s street culture
A virtual tour of Iran Inside Out
II. Public Programs
1. Dance
Contemporary ballet performance by Cedar Lake with live music performed by Reza Derakshani
Photo courtesy of Erez Sabag
Open Rehearsal: August 27 6 – 8pm
Performances: September 1, 2, 3 at 7:30pm
Tickets: $25 general admission, $20 students / seniors, $15 CAM members
A spectacular contemporary ballet performance by Cedar Lake based on Iran Inside Out. Artistic Director Benoit-Swan Pouffer creates a new performance experience interpreting the artworks exhibited in Iran Inside Out. Using the visual artworks as points of inspiration, the collaboration will incorporate movement, art and live music by Iranian visual and performance artist Reza Derakshani, whose paintings are also included in the Iran Inside Out exhibition. Cedar Lake is a contemporary ballet company dedicated to the development of dance by providing choreographers a comprehensive environment for creation.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by emailing programs@chelseaartmuseum.org with "Cedar Lake Tickets" in the subject line.
2. Panel discussion
Tuesday, July 14 at 7pm
Free with museum admission
In collaboration with the Persian Arts Festival, Chelsea Art Museum is proud to present a panel discussion to contextualize its groundbreaking exhibition, Iran Inside Out. The panel will be comprised of artists that are being featured within Iran Inside Out, as well as the exhibition’s curator.
Panelists:
• Livia Alexander – Executive Director of ArteEast (moderator)
• Sam Bardaouil – curator, Iran Inside Out
• Samira Abbassy – Featured artist
• Pooneh Maghazehe – Featured artist
• Darius Yektai – Featured artist
Attendees of the exhibition’s opening reception were also encouraged to submit questions, some of which may be addressed by the panel. The panel’s questions and answers will be transcribed and available for further commentary online on www.persianartsfestival.org blog. The discussion will be followed at 9pm by a performance by Hypernova, an indie-rock band from Tehran.
3. Iran Inside Out Film Series
Chelsea Art Museum is proud to present the Iran Inside Out Film Series in collaboration with ArteEast.This film series will present brilliant feature and short films as well as documentaries by well-established and emerging Iranian directors that are designed to compliment CAM’s ground-breaking exhibition, Iran Inside Out. All screenings will start at 9 pm and will take place within the museum's magnificent gallery space.
The opening will feature a performance by the band Electric Black at 8pm
Tickets: $15 general admission / $10 students and seniors / CAM Members free
Program:
July 15 My City, Pizza (2008)
Length: 26 mins
Director: Ala Mohseni
Synopsis: This light-hearted, amusing, fast-paced documentary about eating habits in modern Tehran offers a kaleidoscopic view of Iranian society. We see young people, old people, progressive and conservative Iranians who all reveal their identity by telling us what they think of Italian fast food in the capital.
Tehran TV Disoriented (2003)
Length: 21 mins
Directors: Farhad Moshiri and Shirin Aliabadi
Synopsis: In this short piece, the directors reedit scenes from Iranian soap operas to show the influence that these seemingly innocent mediums have on Iranian society.
July 22 Sex My Life (Khastegi) (2008)
Length: 76 mins
Director: Bahman Motamedian
Synopsis: Sex My Life is the story of seven Tehran transsexuals who live pieces of their own lives on the screen. Blurring the lines of documentary and fiction, director Motamedian evocatively explores their journey in finding their true identity and manages to avoid the obvious trap of sensationalism and victimization.
July 29 Best in the West (2006)
Length: 71 mins
Director: Maryam Kashani
Synopsis: Director Kashani’s first-person documentary focuses on her father and his close-knit group of male friends who maintained their tight bonds after emigrating from Iran to San Francisco in the 1960s and ’70s. Their personal stories are interwoven with a political and industrial history of Iran and the struggle to control the country’s most coveted natural resource: oil.
August 5 The Lizard (2004)
Length: 115 mins
Director: Kamal Tabrizi
Synopsis: Reza is a petty thief who escapes jail by posing as a mullah. When he has to stay in disguise longer than he expected, he accidentally becomes the revered leader of a small-town mosque.
August 12 Glass House (2009)
Length: 92 mins
Director: Hamid Rahmanian
Synopsis: This ground-breaking documentary follows four girls striving to pull themselves out of the margins by attending a one-of-kind rehabilitation center in uptown Tehran. The girls of The Glass House take us on a never-before-seen tour of the underclass of Iran with their brave and defiant stories.
August 19 The Queen and I (2008)
Length: 90 mins
Director and Producer: Nahid Persson Sarvestani
Synopsis: When Nahid Persson Sarvestani, an Iranian exile, sets out to make a documentary about Farrah, the wife of the shah of Iran, she plans to challenge the shah’s ideology. Instead, she must rethink her own.
4. Music Performances
Performance by renowned vocalist, composer and visual artist, Sussan Deyhim
July 30th, 2009 at 9:00pm on CAM’s newly inaugurated roof deck
Tickets: $45 general admission, $35 students/seniors, $25 CAM members
VIP Tickets: $75 general admission, $65 students/seniors, $55 CAM members
VIP tickets include a reception with the artist following the performance.
Photo courtesy of Virgo Paraiso
Sussan Deyhim is a composer, vocalist and performance artist who has been at the forefront of experimental music internationally for over three decades. Incorporating the ancient mystical music of the Middle East, with the wizardry of modern technology, Deyhim creates a deeply moving fusion of East and West. Her personal and poetic, sonic signature is imbued with a sense of ritual and the unknown. The New York Times notes that her "thrilling music...sounds in the ear long after you've left the show."
Performance made possible with the generous support of Bijan and Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani
5. Guided Tours
Every Saturday at 3:00pm, beginning July 4
Curator/Docent led tours. Additional tours can be scheduled upon prior request.
The exhibition Iran Inside Out and its Public Programs are in collaboration with:
Arte East
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet
Reza Derakshani: Iranian composer/performer
Electric Black
Farjam Collection/Hafiz Foundation
Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller
Hypernova
PAAIA Foundation
Persian Arts Festival
Sotheby's Art Institute, London
Farjam Collection Hafiz Foundation is also the Title Sponsor for Iran Inside Out in Dubai
Iran Inside Out in New York is made possible through the generous support of:
Main Sponsor
Nader Ansary
Farjam Collection/Hafiz Foundation
Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller
Maryam Homayoun-Eisler
Sara Nainzadeh
Yasmine Nainzadeh
Sponsor
Mr. Hassan and Mrs. Sheila Nemazee
Nazila Noebashari
The Soudavar Foundation
Donor
Faranak, Mahyar, Alex and Cyrus Amirsaleh
Mohammed Afkhami
Carlo Berardi
Laya and Hamid Biglari
Farbod Dowlatshahi
Roya and Massoud Heidari
Lot 71
Francis Najafi
Nazgol and Kambiz Shahbazi
Showman Fabrications
Isabelle van den Eynde
Supporter
Hello World Communications
Le Book
Whole Foods
Associate
Nejla and Mokhtar Asaadi and Family
Nazem Family Foundation
Nazi Batmanglich and Rodman Klotz
Friend
Nahid Ahkami
Elizabeth Ross
Media Sponsors
Art Net
Canvas Magazine
Flavorpill
The Make Agency
Alcohol Sponsor
Heller Estate Organic Vineyards
556 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011
tel 212.255.0719 e-mail contact@chelseaartmuseum.org
fax 212.255.2368
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Thursday 11am to 8pm
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