My article on Iranian photography is this month's Art & Auction cover story! 

Read it here  - but if you can get a copy of the magazine, even to browse through (try Barnes & Noble; they usually have it), you should, as the images are just stunning!

Okay. This one has been making me crazy all day, and I'm now at the point where I can't possibly keep quiet about it - so here we go.

  Over a month ago, when I was writing an article on Iranian photography,  I requested a catalogue from Bonham's auction house for their most recent sale of Middle Eastern contemporary art.  They sent me 20, yes, 20 catalogues, all for other sales, but not the one I requested, despite several repeat requests.  Only yesterday, after twice informing them that I did not want their other catalogues and that it was too late to send me the one I'd asked for in the first place, did the Middle Eastern art catalogue arrive.

So, you know, I looked it over.

And to my astonishment, I found, among its pages, a lot for a sculpture by Arman.

Now, that might have made sense if Arman were from the Middle East, or worked in the Middle East, or had been Islamic.  But Arman was born in France. In the 1970s, he became an American citizen.   He lived in New York, Paris, and Vence.  And he was Jewish.  So why, I asked Bonham's, did they include one of his works in a sale of Middle Eastern art -- and not only that, but one that their staff specifically referred to (despite its actual title) as a sale of "contemporary Islamic art"?

I've just received word back. The answer: because its a sculpture made from  a lute, which is a Middle Eastern instrument, and therefore the expert in charge of the sale thought that it might be interesting to Middle Eastern buyers.

To which I can only say: "oh." 

(Actually, I could say a lot more, but I think it pretty much all speaks for itself.)

The good part is: it got me back to blogging.

Happy new year.

Oh, I've been terrible about keeping this up, and I know it...even as the world increasingly notices the richness of these works, with events like the focus on Arab and Iranian photography at Paris Photo in November, and an exhibition at the Quai Branly along with it.  Am now just finishing up an article on Iranian photography to be published in the spring, and along the way have encountered works by artists I hadn't known before, with one in particular having taken my breath away: Parastou Farouhar.  Have a look and a read.

and a glorious exhibition of Iranian photography opens in Paris.  I was not even aware that Iran had been at the forefront of photography as early as the 1930s - and as far back as 165 years ago...

Arab and Iranian Art at Sotheby's London

Sotheby's London pioneered the Arab & Iranian art sales, and they deserve much of the credit for bringing this work to the attention of the Western art public.  Now they've gone a step further, and incorporated Arab & Iranian art into their  general Contemporary Art sale, scheduled for October 16.  Okay, so it's possible they couldn't locate enough good work to produce an exclusive Arab & Iranian art sale again -- much of it continues to be marketed in the Middle East -- but somehow, I doubt that's the case; and even if it were, the fact is, Sotheby's has taken what had been a niche movement and integrated it into the global art scene. No longer is Islamic contemporary art a kind of isolated species; the best of these works belong exactly where Sotheby's has put them: side by side with sculptures by Arman (and the ones coming up in October are stunning), and works by Anselm Kiefer, Anish Kapoor, and Christo.

And oh, those gorgeous calligraphies: works by Ehsai,  and by Koorosh Shishegaran (an artist whose work I did not know previously but am definitely going to find out more about!) and Nasrollah Afjei.  Of course, there are the requisite Shirin Neshats, 

but they become increasingly monotonous and, well, weak, once one becomes familiar with other Iranian and Middle Eastern artists. The top lot (if not my own favorite): Mona Hatoum's "Untitled (Baalbeck Birdcage),"  a

 122 x 117-inch cage which explores and entraps space, leaving the viewer, as it were, isolated and alone.   Viewings are from Sunday 11th -  Thursday 15th October at 34-35 New Bond Street.

Top: Mohammed Ehsai, "Untitled"

Right: Shirin Neshat, "Bonding"

Left: Mona Hatoum, "Untitled (Baalbeck Birdcage)"

Arab and Iranian art sales hit Paris

The latest from Artinfo.com :

>>On Oct. 24 the house will signal "its commitment to this part of the world," auctioneer François Tajan says, by holding its first sale of Iranian and Arab modern and contemporary art in Paris.<<

Meantime, Sotheby's London is a step ahead - they've been doing those sales for a few years already, and are now planning to incorporate Arab and Iranian art into their other contemporary art sales later this month: an acknowledgement, as it were, that these artists, and the glorious art that they produce, has become a part of the global art scene.  More on the Sotheby's sale to come.

Iranian Contemporary Art - Book Review in Wallpaper

Worth reading - with a summary of the history of Iranian contemporary art (newer than you'd imagine):

>>The Islamic Republic, which took power in 1979, immediately rejected all modern art as decadent, excluding any discourse. It didn’t help that most forward-thinking artists immediately fled the country for Europe and the US. What replaced the vacuum was reminiscent of Socialist Realism, an art form dominated by the large propaganda murals that for years decorated the urban landscape. This so called ‘Irano-Islamic’ art also included the return of calligraphy, albeit using only religious texts.

Contemporary Iranian art was born at the close of the 20th century under the reformist president Mohammad Khatami. He actively encouraged an external dialogue with western artists as well as with the large Iranian diaspora, for example inviting New York-based artist Shirin Neshat to exhibit in Iran. The internet opened the window for Iranian artists to join the global debate. A new generation of artists, many of them women, emerged and began expressing themselves through other mediums such as video installation and art photography.<<

Me, I'm ordering the book.