chaptertwo-thepacnw · 11 months ago
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parviz tanavoli
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germanpostwarmodern · 1 year ago
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As a constant wanderer between the worlds of East and West Iranian sculptor Parviz Tanavoli (*1937) has developed a multilayered oeuvre that relates as much to history as it does to modernity. Trained both in Iran and Italy, he basically from scratch created modern sculpture in Iran upon returning from Italy in 1959 and shortly thereafter started teaching at Tehran College of Decorative Arts. Here he also became head of the sculpting department, a position he held until 1979 and which was only briefly interrupted by a two-year stay at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, a brief but important residence as it got him in touch with Pop Art.
For the last two decades Tanavoli has been based in Vancouver and is currently being honored with a retrospective at Vancouver Art Gallery: titled „Poets, Locks, Cages“ the exhibition gathers more than 100 works from all periods of Tanavoli’s career also including prints, paintings and mixed-media assemblages. The exhibition’s title plays at the three major themes in the his work, namely the poet, the locks and the cages with which he creates a connection with pre-Islamic Iranian traditions. The poet e.g. represents his deep identification with poetry and the poet as "annunciator of freedom, peace and love.“ Locks on the other hand are both a pet issue of Tanavoli, who has long been a passionate collector of all kinds of historic locks, but also take on a symbolic role in his art: they codify genitalia, protection, prohibition but also serve as a symbol of healing and hope, just like they did on the grillwork of ancient temples and tombs. And just like the lock the cage in Tanavoli’s work takes on a different meaning that is more about safeguarding than imprisoning and also make for interesting shadow plays.
These insights (and more) a further elaborated in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition which has recently been published by Hirmer: it contains four insightful essays that beyond Tanavoli’s symbology also address the different contexts in which his work came about as well as the important role Abby Weed Grey played for his career in the US. A beautiful way to get to know this pivotal Iranian artist!
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bossymarmalade · 9 months ago
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Parviz Tanavoli, “Heech and Hands” (1965)
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nununiverse · 2 years ago
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PARVIZ TANAVOLI (IRAN, B. 1937) POET AND THE BIRD bronze, signed 'Parviz, 06' on base,
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mknlm · 2 years ago
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Contemporary Topics: Theology, Religion, and Art
Religion doesn’t get a lot of love in modern art. 
It seems that rejection of religion begins in art school.  Artist Jannis Marwitz remembers “When I went to art school in Germany, there was always an insistence on a break from what came before, an emphasis on modernity.” What came in the two thousands years before, is undoubtedly religion. Dan Fox in an article for Frieze magazine reports, “If you’ve followed the regular paths of art-school ordination, then a little dusting of Buddhism or Eastern philosophy is perfectly acceptable.” Christianity is not. In James Elkin’s book On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art he “addressed a peculiar feature of the academic art discourse that circulates through major art institutions and art schools—namely, a particularly strong embarrassment, speechlessness, and ‘structure of refusals’ that generally surround the topic of religion.”
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Among academics and progressive, religion is synonymous with oppression, subjugation, and violence. To them it represents order and confinement. It is seen as exact opposite of what modern art is trying to achieve. 
The art world makes a clear distinction between art that is spiritual, and art that is religious. Spiritual and art that touches on theology is acceptable. Art that is religious is not. Even so, Elkins noted that when art critics and historians talk about theology, they do so by skirting around explicit theological vocabulary. In fact, when Elkins published On the Strange Place…, he noted that it had absolutely no reception in the secular press. 
Even within a religion, constraints may be put on art content. In the case of Jewish art, Solomon Brager in Art Form writes, "Jewish spaces censor their own; non-Jewish spaces are afraid to engage."
Another issue is that the art world doesn't exactly understand where to put art with religious undertones or art by religious artists. For example, Brager also notes that art by Jews is often shown along side works about the Holocaust.
And what is religious art, anyway? Is it art by a religious artist? Does it have religious messages? Is it inspired by historical religious references? Art with traditional religious painting techniques?
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Despite these hurdles and questions, there are present-day academics and artists who don’t shy away from the topic of religion, and recognize its role in their personal work and in the larger art world. Some even actively embrace it.
Some more thoughts:
-Art is often experienced as a spiritual event by the consumer or participant. In fact, artists often seek to elicit this type of connection.
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-Artists explore spirituality and religion in their work to take control of the narrative that has oppressed them. For example, painter Frida Toranzo Jaeger says that “revisiting and repurposing history is, to me, a core practice of decolonization.”
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-Artists are using religion or spirituality to make sense of the current chaotic state of the world. Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli says, “Undoubtedly—regardless of their personal religious beliefs—artists are turning to spiritual philosophies and theological iconography to examine their own beliefs and make sense of the current moment.”
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- Whether we recognize it or not, Freudian or Jungian symbols and archetypes, commonly accepted building blocks of  all types of visual and written expression, have Biblical roots.
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-Even totally secular artists acknowledge use of light, color, and composition in their work that maintains their longtime religious symbolism and significance.
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Artists also co-opt religious compositions in modern paintings.
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In reaction to the confines of colonialism and subjugation often perpetuated by organized religion, much of 20th century art  actively rejected religion. After being the major inspiration for art for hundreds of years, its influence was replaced by sociology, philosophy, psychology, and pop culture. This was especially true of Mexican artists who began to embrace their indigenous roots and reject all things colonial. Since the 1800’s the Mexican government had been hostile towards the Church. The Mexican Constitution of 1917, at the end of the Mexican Revolution, pretty much put the nail in its coffin. 
The majority of Mexicans are mestizos-a mix of indigenous and European descent. According to the Pew Research Center. Today 80% of Mexicans identify as Catholic, but 39% also they believe in magic, sorcery, and witchcraft. Starting with Juan Diego’s vision of the indigenous looking Virgin of Guadalupe, their religion is a New World blend of native traditions and Spanish Catholicism.
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Despite the controls the State has put on the Church and organized religion, we would have been blind if we didn’t recognize it everywhere on our trip. Mexico City was literally built on religion, a Catholic city formed on top of temples devoted to Aztec gods. Both indigenous and western religion is embedded into the psyche of the Mexican people.
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On our trip to Mexico City, we saw religious art starting with the flat and linear art of the temples, murals and sculptures at Teotihuacan. We experienced the Aztec art as tributes to their deities. We walked inside the explicitly religious art and decoration of dripping gold at the Cathedral. There was the late colonial art in the tradition of the renaissance on display at the National Museum. At the Museo de Arte Moderno there was art that wasn’t explicitly religious, but instead incorporated themes and elements that mimicked traditional religious art. Some of Frida Kahlo’s art was inspired by religious retablos. It's not a stretch to say that for many a trip to Frida's Casa Azúl is a religious experience in itself. Even the Communist threads in Diego Rivera’s murals are dogmatic in their rejection of religion. 
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Click on my Google Slide show to see the evolution of religion in Mexican art through the centuries!
RESOURCES
https://www.frieze.com/article/believe-it-or-not
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natbult · 2 years ago
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Faith and art (Dump station)
typed " contemporary art and spirituality"
Article about why faith and art are on the rise.
“The resurgence of spirituality is more present than ever in contemporary art,” Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli said in a recent interview. “Wars, conflicts, and consumerism seem to have prompted a desire for transcendence, for refuge, for essence. Increasingly, artists are aiming for the essence of spirituality in their work.” Undoubtedly—regardless of their personal religious beliefs—artists are turning to spiritual philosophies and theological iconography to examine their own beliefs and make sense of the current moment.
I find this interesting becauste this is much differnent than what I was finding. Maybe because this is more general sense of spirituality>> I was looking very specifically at Christian artists. So that could be worth noting. Ope yup these are just talking about work in general sense of imbuing a sense of spirituality.
Although it’s nearly impossible to settle on one reason for today’s resurgence of spirituality in contemporary art, for numerous artists, it’s a matter of turning to their work to reflect on personal beliefs, religious or not. They may draw on theology to explore metaphysical themes or reinterpret religious iconography to discuss meaningful secular issues. Time will tell if the revival of these themes is merely a symptom of the present or a new path forward. 
Ann Agee
The feminist artist Ann Agee, known for her deft, hand-built ceramic sculptures, makes use of religious iconography without ascribing any sort of spiritual meaning to her work. “Spirituality is a word that puts me off a little bit,” Agee said. “It feels like there’s an implication to live the right way or the wrong way. And I dislike anything that tells you how to live.” Agee has also been a long-time devotee to religious aesthetics, though she carefully avoids dogma and instead focuses on technical elements like the use of color and light. In her words, “There was a time when artists could not survive if they didn’t make religious iconography, so a lot of really wonderful paintings were made with these stories.”
Good article for definitions!! This also has links to books at the bottom!!!
“Spirituality” is a term that is often used vaguely to refer to an attitude or approach toward life that involves a search for meaning.
Sheldrake also describes the study of spirituality as an academic discipline and discourse. 
The second term that needs qualification is “contemporary” in the sense of contemporary art. 
today’s artists are—unlike Grünewald—far more likely to disclose the broadly numinous rather than the explicitly incarnational, and are far more likely to offer generalised religious experience rather than Christian revelation. In doing so they, like Rothko and other abstract expressionists before them, move religious art beyond its traditionally didactic and narrative intentions towards the primarily experiential.25
Sarah Lucas’s tongue-in-cheek Christ You Know It Ain’t Easy (2003) uses the figure of Christ, composed of cigarette butts, to provoke humor in what resembles an advertising slogan.
Good commentary on this topic.
Art and Fauth Makoto Fuimura
Very important in my work!!
He talks about making in Christainity lense. But his work is not exactly about what his book talks about (so it appears on his site).
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psikonauti · 4 years ago
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Parviz Tanavoli
Poet and Nightingale ,1974
Screenprint on paper
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smadame · 3 years ago
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Lions by Parviz Tanavoli (born 1937 in Tehran)
"My acquaintance with the lion goes back to the end of the sixties and early seventies. At the time, destiny placed a few lion rugs in my path. The stunning beauty of these rugs and their fascinating designs and colours immediately conquered my heart."
- Parviz Tanavoli
Parviz Tanavoli (born 24 March 1937 in Tehran) is an Iranian sculptor, painter, scholar and art collector. Since 1989 he has lived and worked both in Tehran and Vancouver, Canada.
Thanks to Grosvenor Gallery , London
Stephen Ellcock
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arinewman7 · 4 years ago
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Lion and Sword
Parviz Tanavoli
2009
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elegieenbleu · 5 years ago
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PARVIZ TANAVOLI /
Untitled (Persepolis) 1960s
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chaptertwo-thepacnw · 1 year ago
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parviz tanavoli
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parsabad · 7 years ago
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Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art/ Iran Artist: Parviz Tanavoli Photographer: amin jalali and unknown!
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nununiverse · 2 years ago
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PARVIZ TANAVOLI  . Heech (2005) Bronze
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schasem · 7 years ago
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thunderstruck9 · 8 years ago
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Parviz Tanavoli (Iranian, b. 1937), Last Poet of Iran, 1962. Oil on canvas, 46 5/8 x 45 in. Grey Art Gallery, New York University Art Collection.
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nazarjoon · 2 years ago
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I feel like this is such a weird question but do u think u would ever sell patches with your art? I have recently gotten obsessed w decorating my clothes w patches (as well as using them for mending hehe) and you're one of my favorite artists with such an iconic style that I instantly fell in love with the first time I saw ur art. Thank u again! Sorry for such a weird question :') hope you have a good day!
(P.S.: Are there any artists that you draw inspiration from, either on tumblr or off?)
tysm! ;w; i've been thinking abt working on silkscreened apparel once i get back from my trip actually! i want to make patches and shirts mostly but i'm open to suggestions for what else to make ^-^
my biggest inspirations rn r parviz tanavoli & a lot of 60s/70s illustrators like john alcorn <3
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