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Collections

Noureddin Zarrinkelk
Amir Hamza the Lover and the Dancing Zebra1977

Not on view
Print with two fantastical cartoon figures: a round striped creature facing a spotted, winged beast seated on a throne, separated by a decorative pillar, against a patterned tile floor and blue background
Film still or illustration showing a small rabbit-like figure in black-and-white horizontal stripes gesturing toward a large seated horned creature with spotted markings, against a blue patterned background with stylized trees at left.
Artist or Maker
Noureddin Zarrinkelk
Iran, born 1937
Title
Amir Hamza the Lover and the Dancing Zebra
Date Made
1977
Medium
Single-channel video
Dimensions
Duration: 00:22:21
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Accession Number
M.2017.240
Classification
Time Based Media
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Contemporary
Curatorial Notes

This animation presents a traditional tale of magic, villainy, and thwarted love, and visually blends nineteenth-century furnishings and costumes with contemporary (1977) elements. It includes a segment of a dancing zebra, actually an enchanted princess, whose stripes move uncannily with her body. The figure of the horned demon who bewitched the princess was based on Amir-Abbas Hoveyda, Iran’s prime minister from 1965 to 1977.

Selected Bibliography
  • Komaroff, Linda. In the Fields of Empty Days: The Intersection of Past and Present in Iranian Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Munich; New York: DelMonico Books-Prestel, 2018.
Copyright
© Noureddin Zarrinkelk