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Collections

Shadi Ghadirian
Untitled from the Qajar Series 1998; printed 2008

Not on view
Sepia-toned studio photograph, full-length portrait of a seated young woman in a dark head covering, embroidered jacket, printed white skirt, and wide-leg trousers, against a painted backdrop
Artist or Maker
Shadi Ghadirian
Title
Untitled from the Qajar Series
Date Made
1998; printed 2008
Medium
Gelatin-silver bromide print
Dimensions
Image: 9 x 6 in. (22.86 x 15.24 cm); Sheet: 9 7/8 x 8 in. (25.08 x 20.32 cm)
Credit Line
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
Accession Number
M.2008.35.10
Classification
Photographs
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Contemporary
Curatorial 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 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."



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