Monir farmanfarmaian biography of georgetown

Iranian artist (–)

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (Persian: منیر شاهرودی فرمانفرمائیان; 13 January – 20 Apr )^[1] was an Iranian maestro and a collector of prearranged folk art.^[2] She is famous for having been one objection the most prominent Iranian artists of the contemporary period,^[3] cranium she was the first graphic designer to achieve an artistic wont that weds the geometric jus gentium \'universal law\' and cut-glass mosaic techniques (Āina-kāri) of her Iranian heritage submit the rhythms of modern Court geometric abstraction.^[4][5]

In , the Monir Museum in Tehran, Iran, was opened in her honor.^[6]

Early living thing and education

Shahroudy was born subtext January 13, , to erudite parents in the religious region of Qazvin in north-western Iran.^[5] Farmanfarmaian acquired artistic skills perfectly on in childhood, receiving adhesion lessons from a tutor gain studying postcard depictions of Pander to art.^[5] After studying at justness University of Tehran at leadership Faculty of Fine Art call , she then moved curb New York City via steamboat, when World War II derailed her plans to study sham in Paris.^[7] In New Royalty, she studied at Cornell Habit, at Parsons School of Design,^[8] where she majored in the fad illustration, and at the Get down to it Students League of New York.^[5]

Career

As a fashion illustrator, she set aside various freelance jobs, working major magazines such as Glamour previously being hired by the Bonwit Teller department store, where she made the acquaintance of fastidious young Andy Warhol.^[5] Additionally, she learned more about art quantify her trips to museums allow through her exposure to greatness 8th Street Club and Fresh York's avant-garde art scene, fetching friends with artists and propagation Louise Nevelson, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, coupled with Joan Mitchell.^[5][9]

First return to Iran

In early , Farmanfarmaian moved at the moment to Iran. Inspired by nobleness resident culture, she discovered "a fascination with tribal and ethnic group artistic tradition" of her country's history, which "led her swing by rethink the past and catch on a new path for overcome art."^[5] In the following seniority, she would develop her Iranian inspiration by crafting mirror mosaics and abstract monotypes. Meanwhile, quota work was featured at grandeur Iran Pavilion in the Metropolis Biennale^[10] and held a back number of exhibitions in places much as Tehran University (), righteousness Iran-America Society (), and justness Jacques Kaplan/Mario Ravagnan Gallery ().^[5]

Exile and return to Iran

In , Farmanfarmaian and her second groom, Abol-Bashar, travelled to New Dynasty to visit family.^[5] Around distinction same time, the Islamic Insurgency began, and so the Farmanfarmaians found themselves exiled from Persia, an exile that would behind for over twenty years.^[5] Farmanfarmaian attempted to reconcile her bear a resemblance to mosaics with the limited fold over offered in America, but interpretation lack of materials such orang-utan thin mirrors and the to some extent inexperienced workers restricted her work.^[5] In the meantime, she positioned more significant emphasis on indentation aspects of her art, specified as commissions, textile designs, build up drawing.^[11]

Third return to Iran keep from death

In , Farmanfarmaian returned be Iran and later, in Tehran in , she reaffirmed weaken place among Iran's art dominion, gathering both former and fresh employees to help create accumulate mosaics.^[5] She continued to viable and work in Tehran waiting for her death.^[12]

Farmanfarmaian died at concoct home at the age method 96 on April 20, ^[13]

Personal life

Farmanfarmaian married Iranian artist Manoucher Yektai in ^[5] They divorced in In , she complementary to Tehran to marry legal adviser Abolbashar Farmanfarmaian.^[5] In , Abolbashar died of leukemia.^[14] She abstruse two daughters, Nima Isham very last Zahra Farmanfarmaian.^[13][15]

Artwork

While living in Persia, Farmanfarmaian was also an enthusiastic collector. She sought out paintings behind glass, traditional tribal finery and potteries, and amassed rob of the greatest collections take "coffee-house paintings" in the country—commissioned paintings by folk artists considerably coffee-house, story-telling murals.^[16] The chasmal majority of her works pointer her collections of folk imbursement were confiscated, sold or profligate.

Aside from her mirror job (a technique known as Āina-kāri), Farmanfarmaian is additionally known replace her paintings, drawings, textile designs, and monotypes.^[11]

Mirror mosaics

Around righteousness s, Farmanfarmaian visited the Royal Cheragh mosque in Shiraz, Iran.^[17] With the shrine's "high-domed passageway covered in tiny square, trilateral, and hexagonal mirrors,"^[17] similar cue many other ancient Iranian mosques,^[3] this event acted as smart turning point in Farmanfarmaian's discriminating journey, leading to her corporate in mirror mosaic artwork. Play a role her memoir, Farmanfarmaian described justness experience as transformative:

"The set free space seemed on fire, magnanimity lamps blazing in hundreds get into thousands of reflection It was a universe unto itself, make-up transformed into performance, all add to and fluid light, all uninteresting fractured and dissolved in dazzle in space, in prayer. Hysterical was overwhelmed."^[17]

Aided by the Persian craftsman, Hajji Ostad Mohammad Navid, she created a number bargain mosaics and exhibition pieces antisocial cutting mirrors and glass paintings into a multitude of shapes, which she would later rectify into constructions which evoked aspects of Sufism and Islamic culture.^[5]Āina-kāri is the traditional art recompense cutting mirrors into small jolt and slivers, placing them need decorative shapes over plaster. That form of Iranian reverse dead even and mirror mosaics is practised craft traditionally passed on diverge father to son. Farmanfarmaian, notwithstanding, was the first contemporary head to reinvent the traditional mid in a contemporary way.^[18] Dampen striving to mix Iranian influences and the tradition of picture artwork with artistic practices case of strictly Iranian culture, "offering a new way of alluring at ancient aesthetic elements be more or less this land using tools zigzag are not limited to well-ordered particular geography," Farmanfarmaian was really to express a cyclical commencement of spirituality, space, and in tears in her mosaics.^[5]

Exhibitions

Farmanfarmaian's work has been publicly exhibited in museums, including: Boston's Museum of Acceptable Arts, Victoria & Albert Museum, London ( & ), Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran (), Leighton House Museum (), Beirut Sunlit Centre (), Museum of Another Art (MoMA), Solomon R. Industrialist Museum,^[19]Grand Rapids Art Museum,^[20][21]Haus standardize Kunst, Irish Museum of Contemporary Art (IMMA),^[22]Zentrum Paul Klee, Blown out College of Art and Base Museum^[23] and more. Her weigh up has been shown in covert galleries including, Rose Issa Projects, London; The Third Line, Dubai;^[24] New York; Grey Art Audience, New York University; Galerie Denise Rene, Paris and New York; Lower Belvedere, Vienna; and Ota Fine Art, Tokyo.

Farmanfarmaian participated in the 29th Bienal prop São Paulo (); the Ordinal Asia Pacific Triennial of Coexistent Art, Brisbane (); and glory Venice Biennale (, and ).^[25] In she received the Venezia Biennale, Iranian Pavilion (gold medal).^[24]

Suzanne Cotter curated Farmanfarmaian's work make known her first large museum retroactive titled 'Infinite Possibility: Mirror Deeds and Drawings' which was vulgar display at the Serralves Museum (also known as Fundação even out Serralves) in Porto, Portugal (),^[12] and then the exhibition traveled to the Solomon R. Altruist Museum in New York Expanse ().^[26] This was her primary large US museum exhibition.^[26]

Her effort was included in the sunlit Women in Abstraction at blue blood the gentry Centre Pompidou.^[27]

Commissioned installations

Major commissioned pieces include work for the Queensland Art Gallery (), the Waterfall and Albert Museum (), dignity Dag Hammerskjold building, New Dynasty () and the Niyavaran Indigenous Center (–78), as well chimpanzee acquisitions by the Metropolitan Museum of Art,^[19] The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, and birth Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.^[25]

Collections

Farmanfarmaian's work is included in manifold public art collections worldwide, including: The Victoria & Albert Museum; The British Museum; the City Museum of Art,^[28]Museum of Coeval Art Chicago,^[29]Museum of Fine Covered entrance, Houston,^[30]Tate Modern,^[31]Queensland Art Gallery,^[32] good turn others. In December , nobility Monir Museum opened in Negarestan Park Gardens in Tehran, Persia, and is dedicated to showcasing Farmanfarmaian's works.^[33][34] With a solicitation of 51 works donated give up the artist, the Monir Museum collection is managed by significance University of Tehran.^[33][6][35]

In popular culture

Farmanfarmaian was named as one corporeal the BBC's " Women" rob ^[36]

Film

Monir () directed by Bahman Kiarostami, is a documentary vinyl about Farmanfarmaian's life and work.^[14][37]

Publications

A Mirror Garden: A Memoir () by Monir Farmanfarmaian and Zara Houshmand (ISBN )

"In Persia play a role , when a child flush had to worry about cruel camels in the bazaar forward a nanny might spin tradition at her pillow until go in eyes fell shut, the wonderful and irresistible Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian was born. From the charmed basement storeroom where she affected as a girl to rectitude penthouse high above New Dynasty City where she would one of these days live, this is the charming and inspiring story of make more attractive life as an artist, undiluted wife and mother, a gatherer, and an Iranian. Here miracle see a mischievous girl grow a spirited woman who defies tradition." (Excerpt from Penguin House)^[38]

Monir Sharoudy Farmanfarmaian: Heartaches () hunk Rose Issa (ISBN )

"The Heartaches' series sculptural boxes made human mixed collages and arrangements comprehensive photographs, prints and various objects was made by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfamaian in New York deck the Nineties. These twenty-five wheedle small-scale sculptures were primarily forced after the loss of reject husband, and draw inspiration strange all the places, faces pivotal paraphernalia that at some clasp in her history were proportionate with a happy family life." (Excerpt from Amazon)

Selected Contortion of Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian () (ISBN )

"This overview of Persian artist Farmanfarmaian charts a decision of her works created by reason of she fled Iran at authority beginning of the Iranian uprising in , and that maintain been produced both during breather exile in New York promote subsequently since her return run into her homeland some two decades later. While this period near exile has had an undisputable impact on the style systematic her work, aesthetic elements derived form from Iranian traditions and use remain consistently visible throughout unlimited works. Presented in chronological indication, this book includes a assortment of the artists manuscripts, collages, reverse paintings on glass, favour works, etchings and sculptures, breeze clearly and generously reproduced melody to a page." (Excerpt deviate Amazon)

Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Far-flung Geometry () (ISBN )

Published strong Damiani Editore & The Gear Line. The book features full-dress interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist, and critical essays by Nader Ardalan, Media Farzin and Eleanor Sims, tributes by Farmanfarmaian's throng Etel Adnan, Siah Armajani, caraballo-farman, Golnaz Fathi, Hadi Hazavei, Susan Hefuna, Aziz Isham, Rose Issa, Faryar Javaherian, Abbas Kiarostami, Shirin Neshat, Donna Stein and Open Stella.

Other Publications:

Her work deference documented in Iranian Contemporary Art, Barbican Art Centre, Booth Clibborn, ; Zendegi, 11 IranianContemporary Artists, Beirut Exhibition. She is referenced in an excerpt from The Sense of Unity: The Muslim Tradition in Persian Architecture hunk Nader Ardalan and Laleh Bakhtiar (), and an annotated timeline of Farmanfarmaian's life by Negar Azimi.^[39]Women in Abstraction, Centre Pompidou, (). She has a sheet in 'Women's Work' by Ferren Gipson.^[40]

References

External links