Iran, through a new lens
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
When some people think of Iran, images of the Ayatollah Khomeini or perhaps a stereotypical Persian villager dressed in traditional garb may come to mind.
Journalist and photographer Iason Athanasiadis has set out to alter how Westerners perceive Iran with his photo exhibition “Exploring the Other: Contemporary Iran” at L.A.’s Craft and Folk Art Museum today through March 29.
“I wanted to use this opportunity to show how varied Iran is — what it’s really like,” said Athanasiadis.
Athanasiadis was born and raised in Athens. The Oxford graduate and Harvard Nieman fellow has spent the last 10 years covering the Mideast as an independent journalist, contributing to media outlets such as the Christian Science Monitor, the Financial Times, the Guardian, BBC and Al Jazeera.
When he enrolled in Tehran’s School of International Studies, Iran’s only graduate program open to foreign nationals, he was shocked when he found the country to be radically different from what he had imagined.
‘He has positioned himself in a very unique and riveting situation,’ said Maryna Hrushetska, executive director of the museum, who found Athanasiadis through religious scholar Reza Aslan. ‘The mission of the museum is to develop common ground through art — to help people develop a greater understanding of other cultures.’
The nearly 60 photos on display capture rituals and customs, as well as everyday life. One photo shows multicolored rowboats lined on the shore of Lake Zarivar in western Iran’s Kurdistan Province. What the viewer doesn’t see is that Athanasiadis had just finished a tour of villages hit by poison gas two decades earlier by Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq war. The journalist had been talking with people still struggling with the effects of the gas when he came upon the lake, with its kitschy plastic swan boats. “It was strange to see all this beauty,” he said.
Nearly 70% of Iran’s population is under 30, and the majority of subjects in his photos are in the third generation of the Islamic revolution, which marks its 30th anniversary this year.
One photo shows two youths wearing an Iranian flag and a Metallica T-shirt at a Reformist rally during the country’s 2005 election. “It shows that they can be both a heavy-metal fan and fervent Iranian nationalist,” said Athanasiadis.
A resource center at the end of the exhibition displays videos of young Iranians discussing typical teenage angst such as fighting with their parents and weight problems, a seemingly universal commonality that can help others develop a more educated opinion about Iran.
— Liesl Bradner
Top photo: Lake Zarivar; bottom photo: snowboarders taking a lift in the mountains near Tehran. Credit: Iason Athanasiadis / Craft and Folk Art Museum