Friday 8 November 2013

Introducing curators and artists: part II


Hello everyone,

today we're presenting one of our three guest curators, Farhad Bahram and the artist that he chose to feature, Mahmoodreza Nourbakhsh. We asked our curators to answer two questions for us - you can find the answers below. 

Farhad Bahram  

Born in Tehran and as a citizen of the Middle East, I have been able to observe the effects of governmental mistrust of traditions, which in Iran results in the attempt to control every aspect of communication. Having grown up under such stringent regulatory control, I developed a profound desire to examine different ways in which I could deconstruct what I refer to as the despotism of communication.

In my recent practices I focus on proliferation of both participatory and process-based works that engage with the idea of social relations outside of the conventional art spaces and through different modes of communication such as intervention and collaboration.

Farhad studies for an MFA in photography at San Francisco Art Institute. He is a graduate teaching fellow in the Department of Art at the University of Oregon and has been awarded Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff) for International Research. 

You can find out more about Farhad and his work on his website

What do you look for in photographs?

In ‘Camera Lucida’ by Roland Barthes, he wrote about this dialogue between Kafka and Janouch: 
“'The necessary condition for an image is sight,' Janouch told Kafka; and Kafka smiled and replied: 'We photograph things in order to drive them out of our minds. My stories are a way of shutting my eyes.’”  
I think a sight in your mind is part of your memory. It has a symbolic value which belongs to the past. But the moment you press the shutter on your camera you are actually removing that passive sight from your memory and bringing it to the present, a permanent active present. I actually believe that photography is an interaction with your past. It is a reviving attempt for bringing a relieved dead memory back to the catastrophe of the present! And that's what I am looking for in a photo. A revived memory!


Why did you choose these specific photographs and this artist?

Mahmoodreza is a very talented photographer and right after seeing some shots from your space at the Kickplate I thought his minimal photos would be a good fit in that space. There is always a sense of humor in his visual narration that I like so much. He knows the light and composition very well which makes him a good story teller with camera!


Mahmoodreza Nourbakhsh


Mahmoodreza Nourbakhsh is a frelance photographer living and working in Iran. 

I was born in 1980 in Urmia, Iran. I graduated from University of Kashan with master's degree in Mechanical Engineering and started photography as a freelance photographer in 2000, working as photographer in industrial publications, and also working in artistic cultural magazines as a writer and art secretary. At the same time I began to study courses in Art History and Artistic photography with some well-known artists like Aydin Aghadashlo, Bahman Jalali, Nasrolah Kasraeyan and Farshid Azarang. Alongside my practices, I had some individual and group photo exhibitions, art projects and also have published 2 books up to now.

You can find Mahmoodreza's photos on his portoflio page.









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