Untitled from the Qajar Series

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Untitled from the Qajar Series

Edition: 7/15
Descriptive: Two young girls and a guitar
1998
Photographs
Gelatin-silver bromide print
Image: 9 9/16 x 6 5/8 in. (24.29 x 16.83 cm); Sheet: 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.32 cm)
Purchased with funds provided by the Art of the Middle East Acquisition Fund, Art of the Middle East Deaccession Fund, the Ralph M. Parsons Fund, the Joan Palevsky Bequest by exchange, and Catherine Benkaim, with additional funds provided by Angella and David Nazarian (M.2008.35.29)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

This photograph is from a series of thirty-three portraits by Shadi Ghadirian, a contemporary artist who was inspired by the studio portraiture first introduced to Iran in the late nineteenth century ...
This photograph is from a series of thirty-three portraits by Shadi Ghadirian, a contemporary artist who was inspired by the studio portraiture first introduced to Iran in the late nineteenth century under the Qajar dynasty (1794–1925). In order to re-create the earlier setting, Ghadirian employs painted backdrops and dresses her models in vintage clothes to emulate the fashion of the day: headscarves and short skirts worn over baggy trousers, as well as thick, black eyebrows. She adds modern elements to these traditional scenes, such as a Pepsi can, a boom box, a bicycle and an avant-garde Tehran newspaper. She has said of her work, "My pictures became a mirror reflecting how I felt: we are stuck between tradition and modernity."

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Bibliography

  • Issa, Rose, ed. Shadi Ghadirian: Iranian Photographer. London: Saqi Books, 2008.