IN-PERSON: Prague – Section B

Abstract

The 1979 Iranian Revolution, also known as the Iran’s Revolution, was a significant political, social, and cultural upheaval that took place in February, 1979. It involved the participation of various segments of the population resulted in the overthrow of the Pahlavi regime. It is not an exaggeration to say that photography was rediscovered with the incidents leading up to the Revolution and the cultural events that followed. Photography, which was previously seen as a decorative, suddenly turned into a committed social and cultural activity. Of course, this does not mean that before the revolution, photography was never used as a tool to display inequalities and was not generally committed. Rather, this interpretation of photography was a peripheral discourse and perspective. This paper is intended to examine the impact of the Cultural Revolution, the 8-year war, the establishment of the Photography Faculty, and the subsequent impact of cultural contraction policies that led to the restriction of intellectual, social, and cultural activities of dissidents and liberals, and formation of various movements in Iran, on photography. Actually, this paper examines how the meaning of photography has been influenced by cultural conditions during these years and how this perspective has been reflected in the photos of Iranian photographers. To do so, the photos of Iranian documentary photographers including Kaveh Golestan, Bahman Jalali, Mohammad Sayyad, Nasrollah Kasraian, and Reza Deghati will also be studied. Additionally, the works of some contemporary photographers who considered artistic approach and emphasized formalism in their works will also be examined.