Morehshin Allahyari

Open Door 7 Exhibition

2012-01-28T16:20:00.003-07:00

I will be part of the Open Door 7 exhibition at Rosalux gallery Juried by Steve Dietz.

Iran via video currents at Thomas Erben gallery

2011-12-23T19:00:00.002-07:00

I went to NYC last week for the opening of a group show I was part of called "Iran via video current" at Thomas Erben gallery. I had the amazing privilege of seeing many of my friends in NY who came to the show and also meet many new amazing people:

Iran via Video Current

A project of OtherIS, curated by Amirali Ghasemi (Tehran) and Sandra Skurvida (New York)
Project space: Raha Raissnia and Behrouz Rae

December 13 – 17, 2011
Opening Reception: Tuesday, December 13, 6-8:30 pm

Thomas Erben Gallery presents Iran via Video Current, a project of OtherIS – a curatorial initiative conceived to address cultural production and exchange with countries under international sanctions.

The main question in transnational art production is who represents whom and for whom? This project engages the problem of representation via an ongoing exchange among participants in Iran and elsewhere, as conveyed in the two distinct, yet co-related video programs focused on Iran — one by Tehran-based artist and curator Amirali Ghasemi and another by New York-based curator and scholar Sandra Skurvida. Both curators started their research from their respective locales, yet both programs include artists who live in Iran and elsewhere around the world.

In her program entitled 1979/1357-, Skurvida revisits the sightlines of the most prominent, controversial Western observer of the Iranian Revolution, Michel Foucault. Both his advocacy and the ensuing critique of it reverberate in the appraisals of the recent and current events. The year denoted equally as “1979” and “1357” signifies the difference in time borne out of the societal spaces that are not the same. This negotiation unfolds in the works by Abbas Akhavan, Morehshin Allahyari, Amir Bastan, Bahar Behbahani, Kaya Behkalam & Azin Feizabadi, Barbad Golshiri, Arash Fayez, Mirak Jamal, Farhad Kalantary, SohrabKashani, Gelare Khoshgozaran, Amitis Motevalli, Nosrat Nosratian, Anahita Razmi, Jinoos Taghizadeh, Negar Tahsili, and Katayoun Vaziri.

Ghasemi anchors his purview in the present moment and a worldwide network associated with Parkingallery, Tehran, which he founded in 1998. His program, entitled If We Ever Meet Again… (With a Hidden Track), introduces a generation of artists raised after 1979. This generation may be characterized by its responsive attitude — as if it “had no plans,” according to Allahyar Najafi’s video — yet it holds forth a conscious presence in the environment of impositions, sanctions, apprehensions, and expectations. Such a presence asserts an unconditional attachment to the specificity of the origin — apart from the conventions established by the diaspora — yet it extends this original stance towards other contexts, as communication in the personal mode is shared in the featured works by Naghmeh Abbasi, Mehraneh Atashi, Setareh Jabbari, Anahita Hekmat, Payam Mofidi, Shay Mazloom, Amirali Mohebinejad, Allahyar Najafi, Nassrin Nasser, Shadi Noyani, Ramin Rahimi, Shirin Sabahi, Sona Safaie, Bahar Samadi, Hamed Sahihi, and Zeinab Shahidi.

Your Night/My Day project- In progress

2011-11-14T13:43:00.001-07:00

I have been updating our Your Night/My Day's blog. I just added some images from the Round Two of our Iranian and American artists. Super excited about this project:

http://yournightmyday.blogspot.com/

The Streaming Festival

2011-11-03T20:22:00.002-06:00

Over There Is Over Here is selected to be screened on the Streaming Festival website from 1 till 18 December 2011. The complete program and additional screening information will be announced around 15 November on their website:
http://www.streamingfestival.com/

The Streaming Festival is an art event for independent artists exhibiting unconventional audiovisual art from all over the world. This event takes place once a year.

"Eshgh" (love)

2011-10-27T09:30:00.001-06:00

Eshgh is a collaborative installation that I worked on last Spring with my friend Arnoldo Escobar. I was trying to figure out a way to approach and critique the fascination of many people in the west with the exotic art works that include persian fonts, motif, and hijab (orientalism). The expectation and pressure I feel as a Middle-Eastern female artist working in the West, etc. This is something I wrote for my talk at CAA 2011 which relates to these series of work: "having researched many works from Tehran which have been displayed and sold in art auctions and displayed in many galleries, I have seen a conformity of similar styles with the same elements, symbols, and content. Women wearing chador (Hijab art-Chador art) and Persian fonts and motifs are some of the most common and apparent examples. Because of the “exotic” characteristics of these kind of works, specifically through the eyes of Western audiences, there is a large market for this art, regardless of how repetitive or cliche it is. There are a lot of works that use these elements without a necessary or clear conceptual purpose. They are simply used because there is a market for them outside of Iran. This is what the Art Correspondent in the Tehran Bureau calls “westernized oppositions of 'postmodern' Iranian art” CAA 2011.I am still not sure what would be the best way to approach this issue. Although my work is very much related to Iran and political issues of the country, I strongly detest the use of these persian-arabic-islamic elements in the art works for the sake of their "exotic"ness. Eshgh ("the expensive persian word") was the first experimentation of these thoughts and concerns. Arnoldo and I repeated this tradition, by making a 10 feet sculpture (big is always good!), and we put black and red lights inside the sculpture (oh lights!). Eshgh (love) was the only meaningful word that was chosen. The rest were just pretty and didn't make sense (candles, spoon, and wheel). My idea was to examine the process of making such works, and criticize them by repeating the same practice. I really loved the reaction of the audience when they asked what the words were. So this was the first attempt. After my M.F.A show, I'm going to try it again! **The name of this piece was originally "Fashionable None-Sense".

The Romantic Self-Exiles- Proposal for M.F.A Show

2011-10-19T14:24:00.000-06:00

The Romantic Self-Exiles is a body of work which explores the relationship between the self and the home. It presents the life of self-exiled citizens with no sense of belonging ; the life of those who live in-between, those who choose self-exile over a “home” in which they are not tolerated or welcome. I am one of the many of Iranian self-exiled citizens. I come from a generation of an unsuccessful revolution, an ugly war, childhoods filled with bombs, taped windows, and happiness that was short lived and rare. My generation (and I) grew up surrounded by doubt, humiliation, hate, and unknown futures. Today, I have friends in almost every country in the world and I have a “country” with no friends, no “house”, and no “hope” to go back to. In The Romantic Self-Exiles, I use 2D and 3D animation, installation, narrative, text, and 16mm film to present these ideas. More importantly, on a more personal level, I intend to build a land; an imaginary home for myself, to push the limits of real and unreal, memory and imagination, locality and universality, self-censorship and self-exile, time and space. How much, in this process, I can succeed or fail in building this unbuilt (non-existing) home is my painful yet romantic challenge.

The Romantic Self-Exiles I- Animation- In Progress

The Romantic Self-Exiles II- Documentation

2011-10-19T13:56:00.001-06:00

A new project filmed in 16 mm, where the map of Tehran is overlapped on the map of Dallas by two projectors. Filming and performance are in progress.

WATCH IT! Video Art Exhibition at The Taubman Museum of art

2011-09-30T15:20:00.004-06:00

I'm honored and super excited to be part of WATCH IT! video art exhibition at The Taubman Museum of Art, December 2, 2011 to February 26, 2012.

Over There Is Over Here @ the 24th Dallas Video Festival

2011-08-28T21:47:00.002-06:00

"Over There Is Over Here, has been named an official selection of the 24th Annual Dallas VideoFest. As festival producers, we admire the talent, skill, and effort that you and your associates devoted to the work, and we’ve scheduled it to be screened in Dallas, TX at the Angelika Film Center."

http://www.videofest.org/

Over There Is over Here @ Busan International Video Festival

2011-08-28T21:36:00.002-06:00

http://busanvideo.com

My Interview with VOA

2011-08-19T12:04:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHt72ja07E8

Over There Is Over Here in Beirut

2011-08-19T11:20:00.001-06:00

Announcing new showing for "Close To My Heart":

August 2011: Videoart from the Middle East
Aug 30 - September 3, 2011
CologneoFF 2011 Beirut (Lebanon) @ Sunflower Art Center
http://coff.newmediafest.org/blog/?p=1607

Video Art Channel:

http://vad.nmartproject.net/img/iran-feature.html

Allahyari builds bridge between U.S. and Iran with art

2011-07-14T18:59:00.000-06:00

http://blogs.du.edu/today/news/allahyari-builds-bridge-between-u-s-and-iran-with-art

نوستالژی برای زمان هرگز نداشته

2011-07-05T10:49:00.002-06:00

An Article by Gelare Khoshgozaran, which was published on June 2nd at Mardomak, analyzing and criticizing the image of "Iranian woman" in the works of Morehshin Allahyari and Shirin Neshat after Neshat's TED talk and Morehshin's TEDx talk. The whole article will be translated into English soon.

شنبه ۱۱ تیر ۱۳۹۰ - ۱۴:۵۱ |گلاره خوشگذران

‎گلاره خوشگذران، دانشجوی کارشناسی ارشد هنرهای زیبا، به نقد و تحلیل تصویر «زن ایرانی» در تصویرگرایی دو هنرمند، شیرین نشاط و موره شین الاهیاری، میپردازد.

‎چندی پیش ویدئویی از سخنرانی شیرین نشاط از مجموعه «تد تاکز» در اینترنت پخش شد و به سرعت توسط کاربران ایرانی فیسبوک بارها به اشتراک گذاشته شد.

‎چند روز پس از آن ویدئوی دیگری از هنرمند زن ایرانی دیگری، موره شین الاهیاری از سری «تد-اکس» پخش شد که گرچه به دفعات ویدئوی نشاط به اشتراک گذاشته نشد، اما توجه بسیاری را به خود جلب کرد.

‎شیرین نشاط،، پنجاه و اندی ساله، در لباس تیره رنگ و آرایش و ظاهر همیشگیاش آمده بود تا داستانش را با مخاطبان تِد در میان بگذارد و الاهیاری که تقریباً نیمی از سن نشاط را دارد، با لباس و موهای چند رنگ با لبخندی مدام روی لبهایش و لحنی که ترکیبی از طنازی، تلخی، تمسخر و کنایه بود از کارکرد اجتماعی هنر به عنوان پلی برای اتصال دو کشور با دولتهایی که در نزاع هستند سخن میگفت.

‎آنچه در هر دوی این ویدئوها و دغدغههای هر دوی این دو هنرمند زن ایرانی دیده میشد، چالش هنرمند در تبعید برای تغییر دادن تصویر ایران و ایرانی، به ویژه زن ایرانی در دید غربیان بود و نارضایتی و احساس نیاز به خلق و ارائهٔ تصاویر جدیدی از آنچه ایران حقیقتاً هست یا نیست.

‎جالبترین تفاوت رویکردهای این دو هنرمند به چنین مسألهٔ پیچیده و چند لایهای، شکاف عظیم بین دو نسل است. سخنان شیرین نشاط مملو از نوستالژی برای گذشتهای است که نسل الاهیاری قصد دارد با دیدی انتقادی به آن نگاه کند. ادعای نشاط بر اینکه «روزگاری ما در ایران جامعهٔ سکولار داشتهایم، ما دموکراسی داشتهایم و این دموکراسی توسط دولت آمریکا و بریتانیا از ما ربوده شد» این شکاف بین دو نسل را هرچه روشنتر میکند؛ اینکه نسل ما تمایلی به احیای دوبارهٔ «آنچه در گذشته داشتیم» ندارد، بلکه سعی دارد با صرف امور در زمان حال، یاداوری مدام گذشته و مدد از حافظهٔ تاریخی، به «آنچه شاید روزی داشتیم» به دیدهٔ انتقاد نگاه کند تا آیندهٔ بهتری بسازد.

‎نشاط این را رسالت اجتماعی خود میداند که «صدای یک ملت» باشد گرچه امکان دسترسی به آن سرزمین و آن مردمان را ندارد. اما آیا امکان این وجود دارد که هنرمندی صدای نسلی باشد که این همه از آن فاصلهٔ فرهنگی، جغرافیایی و تاریخی دارد؟

‎او که از تصویری که غرب از ما ساخته ناراضی است، بخش عظیمی از کار هنریاش را به انتقادی بر این تصویر ظاهراً اشتباه از هویت ایرانی اختصاص داده است. آنچه نشاط و پیروان پرشمار او به سادگی نادیده میگیرند این است که «تصویری که غرب از هویت ایرانی دارد» تصویری نیست که بیواسطه، طی روندی طبیعی و خنثی شکل گرفته باشد—بررسی اینکه این تصویر طی سالیان از کجا به دست آمده و چگونه مخابره، دریافت و پذیرفته شده است در این مقال نمیگنجد—اما سوال این است که تصاویر نشاط به عنوان جایگزینی برای تصاویر کلیشهای زن شرقی ایرانی، چه سیمای جدیدی از این هویت را ارائه میدهند؟ و چگونه و تا چه حد این کلیشهها را به چالش میکشند؟

‎تصویر زن ایرانی پوشیده در چادر با انگشتانی که روی لبهای نیمه باز گذاشته و روی دستش با حنا نوشته شده: «یا قمر بنی هاشم»... آرایش دست و صورتی که حتی اگر نمادین هم باشد باز اگزوتیک و بیگانه است، زیبا است اما دهشتوار است. زنان آثار نشاط، برای من به عنوان یک زن ایرانی،‌ همان تصویری را ارائه میدهند که به قول ادوارد سعید «شبیه هیچ یک از کسان من نیست»؛ تصاویری از تضادهای بارزی که هم زمان زیبا به چشم میآیند و آزارنده، اغراقهای مکرر و عناصری که از کنار هم گذاشتنشان چیزی به دست نمیآید جز کلیشهٔ آزاردهندهتر از بازنماییهای اورینتالیست از هویت شرقی.

‎نشاط در سخنرانیاش میگوید این عکسها را پس از بازگشت به ایران بعد از دوازده سال دوری از وطن خلق کرده بود؛ زمانی که با ایرانی مواجه شده بود که به گفتهٔ او از «پارسی» به «اسلامی» تغییر یافته بود: «... ایران را کشوری یافتم که کاملاً ایدئولوژیک شده بود و هیچ شبیه ایرانی نبود که من میشناختم.» هم زمان با این جملات او روی پردهٔ پشت سرش تصاویری از زنان سپاهی و بسیجی و نیروی انتظامی پدیدار میشوند که برخی از آنها متعلق به زمان جنگ و برخی دیگر متأخرتر هستند. «موضوع برایم جالبتر شد، چرا که در آن زمان داشتم با سوالها و درگیریهای ذهنی شخصی خودم دست و پنجه نرم میکردم. به این ترتیب غرق در بررسی انقلاب اسلامی شدم و اینکه چگونه و تا چه حد باورنکردنیای زندگی زنان ایرانی را متحول کرده بود.» این بار تصویری از نشاط در چادر سیاه به چشم میآید که به دوربین نگاه میکند در حالی که اسلحهای را که در دست دارد به سمت بیننده نشانه گرفته است...

‎کابرد واژهٔ «پارسی» توسط او یاداور همهٔ آن چیزهایی است که واژهٔ «فرهنگ» را برای من گنگتر و پیچیدهتر میکند؛ در حالی که آن ایران «اسلامی شده» همانی بود که از وقتی چشم باز کردم دیده بودم. نسل من و الاهیاری روزی‌ همان دختران عجیب-نمایی بودیم که میل احیای گذشتهای متفاوت از آنچه نشاط در ایران یافته بود را در او بیدار کرده بود؛ زنان کوچکی تربیت یافتهٔ جامعهای که روزی به چشم او بیگانه و موحش میآمد، امروز نسل جوان زنان جنبش سبز شدهاند که به گفتهٔ خودش الهام بخش او هستند: «زنانی که آگاه، آزاداندیش، موافق با آزادی جنسی، بیباک و جداً فمینیست هستند». شنیدن این جمله از زبان نشاط مثل ضربهای نهایی بود که بعد از آن توانستم یک نفس راحت بکشم: خانم نشاط هیچگاه تعریف صحیح و مشخصی از واژهٔ «فمینیسم» ارائه نمیدهد.

‎کاربرد واژهٔ «فمینیست» در زبان ما به جای واژهٔ «فمینین» یا «زنانه» اشتباهی رایج است؛ هرچه را که با زن و زن بودگی سر و کار داشته باشد، هرچه تصویری از زن داشته باشد را بیمهابا «فمینیست» خطاب کردن بیهیچ توجهی به پیشینه و چیستی و چگونگی جنبشی که با بسیاری از باورها و ساختارهایی که چنین تصاویری را شکل میدهند اساساً در تضاد است. شاید این یکی از بزرگترین سوء تفاهمهای حاصل از خوانش نادرست تصاویر نشاط باشد: زنان زیبای اگزوتیک، نیمی با آرایش، نیمی در حجاب، سیاه پوش با لایهای از غمی که در بیننده احساس دهشت و انس را هم زمان بیدار میکند. تصاویر نشاط نه تنها تصویری از نقد یا خوانش فمینیستی از هویت زن ایرانی ارائه نمیدهند، بلکه بر بسیاری از کلیشهها و ساختارهایی که فمینیسم اساساً با آنها مقابله میکند صحه میگذارند

Resource: http://www.mardomak.org/story/63222

“OVER THERE IS OVER HERE” SELECTED AS “BEST ANIMATED SHORTS” AT SAN FRANCISCO FILM FESTIVAL, WILL BE SCREENED AT ROXIE THEATER, JULY 8, 2011.

2011-06-16T18:49:00.001-06:00

June 16, 2011

Directed by Morehshin Allahyari, “Over There Is Over Here” explores the dialectics of time, space, real and unreal to define and juxtapose the position of those who have left Iran in the last 5 years with the current political prisoners in Iran. The project uses 3D animation and data glitch to illustrate presence-less presence and to show the passage and collapse of time.

“In my recent trip to Iran, I found a picture of political prisoners in my grandmother’s album, which is at least 100 years old. Looking at the prisoners chained to each other, I saw a tragic relationship between the past and the present of Iran; a shared pain from the same soul, generation after generation. In my animation, the concept of time is used as a non-linear and collapsed concept in which the past and present have come together in order to create an “unreal” reality.”

The animation starts with the images of previous political prisoner but calls the names of those prisoners who are currently in solitary prison in Iran. They also happen to be in Azadi square (azadi meaning freedom), the most important site of the anti-government movement protests in 2009, in which many of protesters were killed by the government. Through a self-reflexive narrator, “Over There Is Over Here” alternates between the literary definition of a third person narrator to Morehshin’s actual, physical “third person” role outside Iran as narrator of the story. The narrator explores her relationship with imprisoned friends and classmates. In this relationship, she is the outsider who will always fail to understand the reality of a prisoner’s life. The more she lives outside Iran, the more she will forget details of the “reality” of life inside Iran. For these reasons, the animation is a deliberate mix of real and unreal, fake and genuine.
For more info please see:
http://www.frozenfilmfestival.com/pages/lineup11.php
http://morehshin.com

# # #
Media Contact: Morehshin Allahyari
 morehshin@gmail.com 

Iranian Art: Self-Exile, Self-Censorship

2011-06-02T10:51:00.002-06:00

We are going to have a panel in Currents Festival at Zene Bennett Gallery, Santa Fe, new Mexico:

I am interested in bringing together the young Iranian new media artists who have left Iran in the last 4-5 years. Looking at the works of these artists, there are many similarities in the themes they use and issues they address and concern. Topics such as womanhood, censorship, body, religion, and politics are some of the most common ones. Although each of these artists explore these topics from a different perspective there is one thing that they all ,more or less deal with in the process of making art: Self- censorship.
With the rising number of the young elite leaving Iran in the hope of a better life, education, and future in the other countries, this self-exiled generation still deal with self-censorship regardless of the country they choose to live at. There are artists who plan to go back to Iran after they are done with school therefore they have to watch what they make and whether they should publish their work or not. Even if they choose not to go back to Iran, they still have to self-censor because of the cultural taboos. For example a subject such as nudity, is not only a taboo for the government but is also a taboo in the Iranian culture. What it means to live in a so-called “free” society like United States but still deal with self-censorship? What it means to make art but not even be able to share it with your parents who might dishonor you for talking about something they consider “un-accepted”? What it means to have self-censorship as the consistant process of your art making whether you live inside or outside Iran?

Moderator/Panelist: Morehshin Allahyari

Participating Artists:
1. Noushin Rostami : http://nooshinrostami.com/
2. Gelare Khoshgozaran: http://towardstranslucence.tumblr.com/
3. Negin Ehtesabian: http://noghtehart.blogspot.com/

Over There Is Over Here @ Currents Festival

2011-06-02T10:42:00.000-06:00

I'm really excited that Over There Is Over Here will be part of a group show at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, Opening Friday June 10, 6 pm-Midnight.

More details Here:

http://www.currents2011.com/

Over There Is Over Here @ Unlike Gallery

2011-06-02T10:35:00.002-06:00

Over There Is Over Here will be screened at Unlike gallery June 4th. Here is more details:

"Unlike Gallery will present a selection of video art with contributions by artists from around the world, including work by Berlin based film maker Reynold Reynolds, a result of an open call for video art online. For the full program see attachment.

Screenings will start at 21:00 pm sharp, so don’t be late. Rather come early, have a drink with us and check out the drawings by Danish artist Karla Marie Bentzen, still on display."

www.unlikegallery.com

TEDxDU Morehshin Allahyari -- Collaborative art in countries of conflict

2011-05-26T17:03:00.002-06:00

Radical Collaborations/ TEDx Talk

2011-05-08T17:47:00.000-06:00

I will be one of the speakers of this year's TEDx conference at the University of Denver. "TEDxDU 2011 celebrates Radical Collaboration with a bold mix of humor, science, history, technology, music and more. It's where ideas and passion unite in new and unimagined ways. Where cooperation is redefined and inspiration is fueled by unlikely sources. Where collective will can cultivate change and you’re challenged to rethink what you think you know. Coming May 13, 2011."
See here for more info:
http://tedxdu.com/bios/

Athens International Film and Video Festival

2011-04-12T22:35:00.001-06:00

Over There Is Over Here will be screened at Athens International Film and Video Festival:

Showtime:
Saturday, April 23, 2:15 PM, Athena Cinema

http://www.ohio.edu/orgs/athensfest/showtimes.cfm

Over There Is Over Here will be screened in Finland and Poland

2011-04-12T22:16:00.002-06:00

Over There Is Over Here will be traveling as part of CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea (Nordic Tour around the sea):

CologneOFF 2011 Baltic Sea
12-14 May 2011
Szczecin, Poland

Please see 14 May - Saturday 15h-20h screenings @ Galleria Rajatila
May 28, 2011; Saturday 17h-18h
Tampere, Finland
CologneoFF 2011 Tampere is collaboration between Cologne International Videoart Festival, artvideoKOELN; Le Musee di-visioniste - the new museum of networked art - and Arteles & Galleria Rajatila - Tampere

All details on MI's site:
http://manipulatedimage.com/CologneOFF2011.html

***Videoart from Iran
“Close To My Heart”
compilation curated by Alysse Stepanian.

Currents 2011

2011-03-21T20:26:00.001-06:00

My animation Over There Is over Here will be part of the Currents 2011 exhibition (July 10-19th). The 2nd annual Santa Fe International New Media Festival is a citywide event held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. currents 2011 will explore the role of technology and the diverse application of new media in the arts.

More info here.

Close To My Heart curated by Alysse Stepanian by invitation for CologneOFF 2011

2011-03-02T13:37:00.003-07:00

1st stop: April 2, 2011, Saturday 18h - 19h
Arad Art Museum, Romania

(Over There is Over Here will be screened at Arad Art Museum, Romania).

by Alysse Stepanian

In selecting work by Iranian artists for this compilation, I have looked for experimental videos that were informed by the relationship of the artists with their place of birth. I grew up in Tehran and moved to the US at the age of eighteen after the Revolution of 1979, so curating this collection is close to my heart. On a personal level, this has been a valuable opportunity for me to reconnect with my roots and to interact with contemporary Iranian artists.

The videos vary from the political, as in Morehshin Allahyari's "Over There Is Over Here," to Hamed Sahihi's sensually metaphorical, "Sundown." Looking through these selections, one senses the magical quality of Persian poetry that pervades this culture. They share a slow sense of rhythm, rife with reflection, fortitude and forbearance. Each communicates social awareness and responsibility in a unique way.

A deep sense of longing and fear of the subversion of reality permeates the work of the self-exiled. Laleh Mehran's ritualistic video suggests the futility of attempting to revive the past. Gelare Khoshgozaran commemorates her family reunion in Iran as her last experience of happiness. Morehshin Allahyari is obsessed with remembering the "reality" of political life in Iran. Maneli Aygani speaks of the suicide of the true self, as it sensors itself in order to become accepted as a social being.

Some of the artists use the idea of feminism and creation as a way to either express, criticize, or change negative social forces. Neda Darzi speaks against war and its destructive fury. Samira Eskandarfar questions the idea of womanhood and her reproductive powers and choices. Parya Vatankhah expresses her hidden anguish and resentment against the stifled voices of women.

Interestingly, Payam Mofidi, one of the only two participating men in this collection, uses the viewpoint of a woman in his animation, "Poéticide (shaér koshi)." She finds herself in a surreal, nightmarish setting abstracted from her memories.

While historically Iranian filmmakers have captured world audiences through their powerful work, Iran now produces artists who have crossed disciplines and have found a niche in video art, empowered by its ability to have their voices heard globally.

Read more here

The 7th Berlin International Directors Lounge and CologneOFF 2011

2011-02-14T14:59:00.008-07:00

My animation Over There Is Over Here got in The 7th Berlin International Directors Lounge (the festival for contemporary media and film). If you are in Berlin, go watch it on Tuesday, 15 February 8 pm. See more here.

It also got into CologneOFF 2011 festival "Close to my heart" curated by Alysse Stepanian. See more here.

Website

2011-01-03T22:48:00.001-07:00

I spent my winter break to build and design my website. So yes!! It's finally up and running. Works fine on every browser except for Chrome. CHECK IT OUT!!
http://morehshin.com/

Your Night/My Day

2010-12-15T18:54:00.003-07:00

The first round of topics and instructions for Your Night/My Day project has started. Read about our project's description and process here and meet the artists. More to come!!

http://yournightmyday.blogspot.com/

[Meta] Mentors: Great Art Cities

2010-11-25T18:59:00.002-07:00

I was invited to present a paper on Art in Tehran in a panel in CAA conference in NY. The session is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, February 9, 12:30 - 2:00 pm in ARTspace, which will be in Murray Hill Suite, Second Floor, Hilton New York.

CAA Services to Artists Committee:

[Meta] Mentors: Great Art Cities
Chairs: Reni Gower, Virginia Commonwealth University; Melissa Potter, Columbia College Chicago; and Vesna Pavlovic, Vanderbilt University

Dublin, Ireland/London, England
Nigel Rolfe, Royal College of Art

Tehran, Iran
Morehshin Allahyari, College of Art and Design, University of North Texas.

Cleveland, Ohio
Holly Morrison, Virginia Commonwealth University

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Peter Dykhuis, Dalhousie Art Gallery, Dalhousie University

Seattle, Washington
Rebecca Cummins, University of Washington

Sao Paulo, Brazil
Ana Maria Tavares, University of Sao Paulo

For more information see:
http://conference.collegeart.org/2011/artspace/artspacesessions.php

Over There is Over Here

2010-08-28T12:32:00.016-06:00

Over There Is Over Here is an animation that uses the concept of time and space to define and critique the situation of the current political prisoners in Iran and the position of those (like myself) who have left the country in the last 4-5 years:

Timeless Time: In my recent trip to Iran, I found a picture of political prisoners in my friend's grandmother’s album, which at least belongs to 100 years ago. Looking at the prisoners, chained to each other, I see a tragic relationship between the past and the present of Iran (there and here, then and now); a shared pain from the same soul...generation after generation.

Presence-less Presence: Using a narrator who talks about “being a narrator”, Over There Is Over Here goes from a universal definition of the third person narrator to my “third person” role outside of the country as the narrator of this story in order to explore the relationship of me with my imprisoned friends, classmates, and factions.

Some still images from my animation. One more week to go and it will be done.

Your Night/My Day- Your Day/My Night

2010-08-28T11:24:00.005-06:00

I'm currently co-curating a project with Eden Unluata called "Your Night/My Day- Your Day/My Night". This project is another art project between American and Iranian artists with a focus on cultural disconnections.
More and more to come...

iTehran2

2010-07-22T08:19:00.000-06:00

iTehran

2010-05-30T04:56:00.003-06:00

iTehran is a project that refelects my daily and personal life in Tehran as a middle class woman. Through recording some of the moments of my daily life I hope to present a balanced, non-political view of life in Tehran. Much more to Come!

Iran, Family, etc.

2010-05-04T11:52:00.003-06:00

So my "active" life -almost- will stop at this point, especially updating my blog as I'm going to Iran due to my father's illness and will spend the summer with my family. If I have enough energy to work while I'm there, I will keep on posting news and photos from my daily life in Tehran.

The above illustration is created by my lovely talented friend, Negin Ehtesabian. These days, I identify with this piece of work more than ever before.

Panel Discussion: WidowsWeave

2010-04-16T10:46:00.002-06:00

I'm proud to be in Panel Discussion of WidowsWeave show by Kevin Valentine. Come to Kevin's Thesis Exhibition and our panel and help raise awareness of Iraqi Widows and hear about women artists in Muslim societies. Participate in drawing 3 million lines to represent widows form 30 years of turmoil. Come and draw a line, or a thousand or just watch. Events planned as well. Part of the departmental thesis show of 14 artist's work!

1104 S Wabash, Chicago
2nd Floor Raw Space (towards the back of the building)
Opening Reception:
April 23, 5-7

Panel Discussion:
Women Artists in Muslim Society
April 30, 5:15-6:45

7th Anniversary of "Mission Accomplished" Program
May 1st, 3:30-5

Manifest - Arts Festival
May 14th All Day

Gender Fusions Performance with LPN

2010-04-15T15:33:00.006-06:00

This Saturday, April 17th, I will be performing with LA POCHA NOSTRA in this year's Gender Fusions show.
Columbia College Chicago
Saturday, April 17, 2010
5pm–11pm

For more Info click here.

Digital Incarnate: THE BODY, IDENTITY AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA

2010-04-03T15:52:00.003-06:00

UPCOMING SHOW: Digital Incarnate: Student Response Show | 4/8 - 4/29

FEATURING:
Morehshin Allahyari
Hale Ekinci & Eden Unluata
Michael Johnson

The Project Rm.
Interactive Arts & Media / 916 S. Wabash 1st Floor / Chicago, Il 60605

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday April 8th, 2010 from 4-7pm w/ performances on the hour and half-hour.
DISCUSSION w/ ARTISTS: Friday April 9th at 1pm

Partners:
The Dance Center, Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, Critical Encounters: Fact & Faith, Interactive Arts and Media Department, Department of Exhibition and Performance Spaces.

Rosenblum Award

2010-03-14T19:58:00.005-06:00

I've also been awarded Rosenblum Award for my trip to the Open Engagement conference. Thanks to Columbia College Chicago!

$500 Department Grant

2010-03-08T22:32:00.003-07:00

I won $500 department grant for my heaviness and lightness videos. Here is a wonderful feedback on my work from the judges of this grant:

“In the review of the 14 applications for the InterArts prize we considered the clarity of the written proposal, the quality of the previsualizations and the effect the funding would have on the ability to complete the project. In the end we selected Susan Kwon’s Submit Secret Project and Moreshin Allahyari’s Heaviness and Lightness video objects.
Ms. Kwon and Ms. Allahyari are engaged with concerns that have resonance to our current political and artistic context.
Ms. Allahyari’s video work addresses censorship [internal and external] of women in Iran from the position of an insider. Her proposal places the videos within miniature theatrical contexts and will create a sense of intimacy and reliquary. In her book On Longing, Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir and the Collection, Susan Stewart, in considering miniatures and toys, states that

“The toy world presents a projection of the world in everyday life; this real world is miniaturized or giganticized in such a way as to test the relation between materiality and meaning.”

It is this kind of perceptual change that offers a potential lens into an experience of an individual; making the unknown less distant.”

Open Engagement Festival/Conference

2010-02-21T11:31:00.002-07:00

I will be presenting my thesis on IRUS art at the Open Engagement Conference (Portland State University) on May 15th.

Here is some information about the panel:
Global Perspectives on Art and Social Practice
Moderator: TBD
Dino Mangini
Emilia Javanica and Sudandyo Aprilanto
IRUS (Morehshin Allahyari and Andrew Blanton)

http://openengagement.info/

CAA Blogging Team

2010-02-05T10:21:00.007-07:00

I feel lucky for being in Chicago this year! CAA is coming to our city and I have gotten selected as one of the blogging team members of Columbia College to report, photograph, , and video both the panels and the artists and scholars.Read more about our blogging team.

and my introduction as CAA+Columbia blogging team member.

Photos From IRUS Art in Chicago

2010-02-02T21:27:00.012-07:00

Recent Press Coverage on IRUS Art

2010-01-30T10:26:00.003-07:00

Read the article about IRUS art on Chicago Art Magazine

Read the article about IRUS art on Chicago Weekly

IRUS Art becomes top in Top 5 weekend Picks at bad at sports

IRUS art show at the Co-Prosperity Sphere Gallery in Chicago

2010-01-02T23:40:00.006-07:00

Come check out our IRUS art show at the Co-Prosperity Sphere Gallery:

Monday January 18, 2010
Phone: 720.289.6769
Dialogue: Presented by IRUS Art (an intercultural collaborative art show between artists in Iran and the U.S.)
Opening: 7-10 PM, Friday, January 29th Panel Discussion: 5-7 PM, Saturday, January 30th The Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219-21 South Morgan Street, Chicago. Free Admission.
Two teams of artists, one in Tehran and another in Denver have assembled under one name: IRUS (Iran - United States). Starting with our mutual respect for art, we have established collaborative projects between our groups. During a one-year period, each group initiated a creative piece and mailed incomplete works back and forth through completion between our two cities: either directly or through friends, relatives or acquaintances who were traveling between the U.S. and Iran.
This show demonstrates the fruit of that one-year period: a vibrant collection of intercultural pieces designed to celebrate cultural differences and find harmony through art. Using “Dialogue” as our theme, it is our goal to present the perspectives of each group in a respectful, trusting and encouraging manner. In this process, we not only develop art but also participate in a functional dialogue with each other as artists and individuals. One component of the show is the Persian story of Scheherazade (of 1,001 nights) alongside the stories of Mark Twain as a conceptual framework for the art thereby promoting the exploration of and interaction between the two cultures.
For the first time in Chicago we will be displaying our “Dialogue” to the public beginning January 29th until February 4th at the Co-Prosperity Sphere gallery. A panel discussion with five of the IRUS art artists will be held on January 30th, 5-7 PM.
For more information please see: http://www.irusart.org or contact irus.arts@gmail.com.

Sponsored by:

Heaviness

2009-12-06T20:51:00.005-07:00

Heaviness is a video about women who are born and raised in Iran where censorship is forced to them not only from the government but also from a culture of secrets and judgments. Being aware of self-censorship, for the last hundreds of years we constantly have struggled with censoring or not censoring our thoughts, emotions, and identities.
This video will be completed with another piece called Lightness.

My photo at Fact and Faith Exhibition, Critical Encounters.

2009-11-25T12:43:00.002-07:00

Fact and Faithjavascript:void(0)

Fact and Faith Exhibition

2009-11-04T10:36:00.008-07:00

La Pocha Nostra: Corpo Illicito: The Post-Human Society #69

2009-10-28T20:08:00.003-06:00

Come check out my/our collaborative performance with La Pocha Nostra:

La Pocha Nostra: Corpo Illicito:
The Post-Human Society #69
Date: Friday, October 30th
TIME: 7 - 9 p.m.
Stage 2, 618 S. Michigan Ave., 2nd floor

Join us for a debut performance by members of La Pocha Nostra, the acclaimed Mexican-American "trans-disciplinary organization" and 2009-2010 Critical Encounters Artists-in-Residence. "Corpo Illicito" is the third in the group's Mapa-Corpo series and will feature Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Violeta Luna and Roberto Sifuentes. The new piece tackles this historic moment of reinvention by looking into the past and attempting to prognosticate a possible future without resorting to quick fixes and false hopes. Using performance bodies as sites for political reinvention and poetic prophesying, La Pocha Nostra explores both the legacy of fear of the Other, the criminalization of the brown body inherited by the Bush administration, and the emerging culture of hope, imagination and faith that has developed in response to the former world order. Presented by: The Center for Teaching Excellence Ellen Stone Bellic Institute for the Study of Women & Gender in the Arts & Media Center for Community Arts Partnerships LGBTQ Office of Culture & Community National Performance Network.

Self-Dictatorship

2009-10-19T16:50:00.003-06:00

a still image from my video art that I am currently working on related to the concept of secret and self-censorship.

LA POCHA NOSTRA

2009-10-19T15:30:00.004-06:00

I've been awarded one of the coveted spots in the 2009/10 Critical Encounters Artist-in-Residence Program: La Pocha Nostra! This is a very exciting opportunity to work with renowned Mexican-American performance artists Guillermo Gómez Peña, Violeta Luna & Roberto Sifuentes in an intensive artist workshop comprised of twenty participants.

http://www.pochanostra.com/

For more information about the Critical Encounters La Pocha Nostra Residency, please visit:
http://www.colum.edu/criticalencounters/Students/artistinresidence.php

For more information about La Pocha Nostra, please visit:
http://www.pochanostra.com/

IRUS ART'S WEBSITE

2009-09-28T16:13:00.002-06:00

IRUS art finally has a website:

http://irusart.org

Enjoy!

ABOUT IRUS ART SHOW

2009-03-24T22:38:00.002-06:00

IRUS art opening was a great success! There were many people who were interested in Persian culture and the process of our collaboration. Something that was very interesting for me was that some people still wanted to talk about politics. It is so weird that anytime the name of Iran comes up, many people in America think political not cultural. I started IRUS project because I was frustrated with the one sided, dark image of Iran that American media continues to promote. I wanted to break down the cultural barriers and help to give a more balanced view to Iran. When I look at our art works in our show, all I see is the cultural exchange that we tried to deal with. Some people in our opening asked me what I think would happen between Iran and United States. I just don't know what will happen and honestly, all I care is presenting my country and my culture without the media or political bias. I just hope this project continues to happen so there are more people in America who can understand Persian culture and see the beauty of Iranian art. I also want to say: IF YOU EVER DECIDE TO DESCRIBE IRUS ART SHOW FOR OTHER PEOPLE, DESCRIBE IT AS IT IS, NOT THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO BE!!

IRUS art in Denver Post

2009-03-22T18:26:00.003-06:00

Here is an article about IRUS art in Denver Post. Yesterday was our opening and it was so exciting to hear people's comments about our show. I will post photos soon.

http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_11963091

READ ABOUT IRUS ART SHOW IN NEWS

2009-03-19T13:06:00.002-06:00

http://www.du.edu/today/stories/2009/03/2009-03-18-iran.html

NEWS

2009-03-18T01:25:00.003-06:00

IRUS ART'S IRANIAN TEAM BLOG IS NOW PUBLIC: HERE

IRUS art: an intercultural collaborative art show between artists in IRAN and the U.S.A

2009-03-09T00:20:00.004-06:00

Host:
Andenken gallery
Street:
2990 Larimer Street

Denver, CO
Email:
irus.arts@gmail.com

Description
Hello Friends!! After one year of effort, I am proud to invite you to our exhibition called "Dialogue" presented by IRUS art: an intercultural collaborative art show between artists in Tehran (IRAN) and Denver (United States).
The show will run from March 21 to March 29, with an opening reception on Saturday, March 21st at 6:00 PM, and a closing party on March 28th at 5:00 PM, at the Andenken Gallery.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!

For more information: http://www.irusart.org
http://irusart2.blogspot.com/

IRUS ART COLLABORATION

2009-03-09T00:18:00.001-06:00

2009-02-06T12:36:00.003-07:00

Estlow Event Speech at the University of Denver
5 February

Here is some pictures from me presenting IRUS project in a panel called "Narratives Across Cultures" at Estlow Event at the University of Denver! People were excited about our IRUS project! YAY!

IRUS

2008-11-21T12:24:00.005-07:00

Photos from IRUS artists:

CHECKOUT THE IRUS WEBSITE:

http://irusart2.blogspot.com/

Some Photos

2008-08-13T15:49:00.006-06:00

Photo by: Morehshin Allahyari
The mirror, Puna, India (2007)

Photo by:Morehshin Allahyari
Memory, Istanbul, Turkey (2006)

Photo by: Morehshin Allahyari
Ameneh at House, Kordestan, Iran (2006)

Photo by:Morehshin Allahyari
Priyanka trying to smile, Goa, India (2007)

"Dominant Social Discourses" Video Art by: Morehshin Allahyari

http://www.denveropenmedia.org/node/6020

Channel 57 / Denver Open Media

2008-08-10T23:51:00.003-06:00

DigVid Art Show at DOM on Channel 57:

http://www.denveropenmedia.org/node/6020

DOM Glam Camp Presentation

2008-08-10T16:05:00.001-06:00

Here are some photos from Bailey and I, presenting our works and our Iran & U.S Collaborative art project. Here is also a link to IRUS ART website and more details on our project with Iranian Artists:

http://irusart2.blogspot.com/

Photos by: Andrew Blanton

Video Art Show Photos At Shag Lounge

2008-07-23T20:09:00.000-06:00

VIDEOSCAPES upcoming show!

2008-07-15T15:09:00.000-06:00

Here is a FLY for my collaborative upcoming video art show on July 21 at Shag Lounge. I'm going to perform my "Dominant Social Discourses" and "Pressure:Against Method" Videos. For more information contact my email: morehshin@gmail.com

Student Alumni Juried Exhibition

2008-07-15T14:58:00.000-06:00

This photo which is called "Ameneh at House" got accepted in this show which was being held in Victoria H.Myhren Gallery at the university of Denver(January 10-February 28, 2008).
I took it when I traveled to Kordestan, Iran. Here is a link for more information:

http://www.du.edu/art/galleries/myhren/exhibitions/Alumni%20Exhibition.html

DigVidArt show FLY

2008-07-14T11:41:00.001-06:00

DigVidArt Show

2008-07-13T21:31:00.000-06:00

DigVidArt show was a collaborative video art show with Josh Fishburn at Denver Open Media, where I performed my "Dominant Social Discourses" Video Art(2008).

Dominant Social Discourses Video Art Statement

Commercial and sexual view to women’s body and women’s view to their own bodies, are two areas of my interest. Environments like strip clubs have always fascinated me with promoting and publicizing this view. I wonder if in places like strip clubs strippers feel weaker or more powerful about themselves and their bodies. How they feel about dancing on the same stage every night and doing the same things with their bodies.

In my video, I have tried to criticize this by putting two screens next to each other. One of the screens is from the camera that I had around my waist shooting Saturday night clubs, and women in bars and the stripper who is dancing during the day, in a bar. The second screen is the camera that the stripper has around her waist while she is dancing in an empty place, without any one, except me watching her. The audio is from my camera, playing “Magdelena” by “A Perfect Circle” (a song which is well-known as a song for strippers).

Public [i] Exhibition

2008-07-13T21:13:00.001-06:00

Public[i] exhibition was a collective and invitational exhibition at Denver West(2008) where I performed my "Recursion" Video art.

In the surveillance or control society we are constantly followed by cameras and the security organizations which gather information about us and our behaviors.
In "Recurion" I am the only controller of myself. Filming myself watching and monitoring myself in a loop. The audio is also a loop of senteces like "we don't need them to follow us", "We are able to "monitor" ourselves ourselve.", etc.