It’s All True!

I have lived and worked as an arts professional in Los Angeles for decades. My exhibitions have helped launch and/or advance the careers of many artists. I have worked with a very diverse group of artists both in Los Angeles and abroad. In 2011 ‘My Super Hero, New Contemporary Art From Iran’ showcasing the works of 35 contemporary artists from Iran was the first of its kind in Los Angeles for more than one reason.

My Super Hero
New Contemporary Art From Iran
March 5 – April 30, 2011
Morono Kiang Gallery

A collaboration with Aaran Gallery in Tehran, It was the first major art exhibit coming directly from Iran. It was also the first and to my knowledge the only time an exhibition opened and ran concurrently in Tehran and Los Angeles. Like my first exhibit coming directly from Iran in 2009, ‘from The Streets of Iran’ (street art from Iran), it was very well received by audiences and the press alike. The featured publicity image for ‘My Super Hero’ was Newsha Tavakolian’s (pictured). Twelve years later, this is one of two photographs of Newsha’s that keeps getting attention on a regular basis. It has been included in many exhibitions since its debut in ‘My Super Hero’. The same image is on the cover of a new book on Iranian women photographers. ‘ Breathing Space: Iranian Women Photographers’ was just published by Thames & Hudson that features works by 23 women photographers. I have included some recent screenshots. I have always been grateful to Eliot Kiang, the owner of Morono Kiang Gallery, for his generous support to make that exhibit possible. I’m also grateful to Nazila Noebashari Owner and curator at Aaran Gallery whose persistent visionary work has been a very important part of the history of contemporary Iranian art. 

Larissa Sansour In the Future…

In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain (trailer) from larissa sansour on Vimeo.

In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain is the latest and final installment of Larissa Sansour’s sci-fi trilogy. This latest project follows A Space Exodus and Nation Estate which have been exhibited in numerous venues across the world.

I was introduced to Larissa Sansour’s work when I came across Soup Over Bethlehem – Mloukhieh (2006) while researching artists for one of my exhibitions. I was fortunate enough to have A Space Exodus as part of my exhibit It’s All True which debuted Larissa’s work in Los Angeles in 2011. I hope we get to see her new work in LA soon.

In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain is on view at Lawrie Shabibi in Dubai through March 3, 2016.
To learn more about Larissa Sansour please visit her website. You can also read Abdellatif R. Abdeljawad’s interview with her in the REORIENT magazine’s website.

Sarah Elgart and Dancers

Sarah Elgart and Dancers
I photographed some of Sarah Elgart dances in the 1980s. Sarah has always been a very inspiring artist. Sarah’s choreography sets off my imagination with every move. She is one of the greatest artists I have known. This still was shot during one of the rehearsals.

©Shervin Shahbazi

With Chris Francis

With Chris Francis I

Don’t miss Chris Francis: Shoe Designer at Craft & Folk Art Museum! ‘Chris will be relocating his shop to the museum. Stop by to view the exhibition, meet Chris, and see him in action.” Click here to view the information about Chris Francis’ exhibition and up-to-date schedule on CAFAM’s website.

 

Featured photo: Chris Francis by Shervin Shahbazi

Charles Dickson

Charles Dickson, Planting the Fist

I took this photo of Charles Dickson while he was working on one of his pieces he created for Listen With Your Eyes at Morono Kiang Gallery.

The title of the artwork is Serving It Up and it was a great sculptural piece that was interactive. Listen With Your Eyes was an idea I came up with because both Eliot [Kiang] , the owner of the gallery, and myself love jazz and we had been talking about doing an exhibit inspired by jazz music. In order to make this happen I approached a diverse group of artists and had great conversations about how we can visualize our love of jazz into physical artworks that are created much the same way a jazz musician makes his/her music. The result was a Celebration of Jazz in L.A. that included a fantastic exhibit and other events that involved several institutions including California Jazz Foundation, Catalina Bar & Grill, Culture Ireland and several other venues.

If you like yo see more pics you can visit MKG’s website here.

Once Upon A Time in Los Angeles

On Tuesday April 8, 1980 the majority of the Iranian population in the U.S. and specially in Los Angeles were students. Some were here before the Iranian revolution and many came after, but almost all were receiving money for school tuition and other living costs from back home. The U.S. government’s decision to block these particular funds had a very long lasting effect on the lives of a lot of young people. For some this might have even been a turning point. This was the beginning, if not the beginning of the end of a chapter in these students’ lives.

Once Upon A Time in Los Angeles has its roots in this day! It is one of my projects that’s been eating dust for so many years. I will be posting images from this project here and if you care to share any of them please include proper credit and links to the source.

Note: The featured image is a bad photographic reproduction of the from page of LA Times from a time when even Fax machines were not yet available for purchase! So please excuse the quality..

 

Iran Students' Funds Blocked Los Angeles Times Front Page April 8, 1980
Iran Students’ Funds Blocked
Los Angeles Times Front Page
April 8, 1980

Remembering Shamlou

Shamlou
Ahmad Shamlou
© Shervin Shahbazi
1989

 

I took this photo when I saw Ahmad Shamlou in 1989. He was very gracious. I had asked him to give me a few minutes before his reading (a fundraiser in support of the victims of an earthquake in northern Iran). When he arrived he wasn’t feeling well but didn’t say anything about it. I noticed just the same and told him that it would be OK if he was not up to it. I explained that I didn’t want to impose on him and we could take photos another time. He insisted that I do it as long as I didn’t take too long. So I respected his wish, and this and other photos are the result of that day.

He returned a year later to do another reading, this time in support of the Kurdish refugees. He was in much better health and his sense of humor was back. I gave him a couple of prints of this photo in the dressing room. He took them out of the envelope, and after he saw this photo, he said: “you made me look like Emamzadeh” (a saint) and laughed. Aida, his wife who was standing right beside him smacked him playfully on his shoulder and said “is this how you treat young artists?” to which he replied “I’m kidding, he gets it…”

I know I’m not the only one wishing that he was still around… There will never be another Shamlou.