Urban Jealousy
5/21/2008 at 3:09 PM
Urban Jealousy
the 1st International Roaming Biennial of Tehran
30th May - 6th July 2008
Curated by Serhat koksal and Amirali Ghasemi
The theme of this biennial is URBAN JEALOUSY. A Jalousie * (“jealousy” in French) is a window that one can see through but not be seen; barriers that allow us to observe the world without being invited to the table. Iranian artists are given an understanding of what goes on in the world without being offered a single opportunity to communicate their thoughts—outside of our very own jalousie window: a rigid ethnic frame within an extremely politicized context.
Of all the huge urban areas around the world, Tehran stands out as a different kind of Megalopolis. It boasts one of the most dynamic art scenes in the Middle East even as the city itself deals with a rudimentary public transport system, an exploding population crisis, and an ever-increasing sprawl of mass housing; An unsightly city of experimental architecture that swallows entire villages and towns without offering them any sort of public services.
Despite its complicated urban situation—which according to experts has already spiraled out of control—artists’ societies in Tehran continue to hold numerous biennials in semi-tribal fashion. A great number of these events are government-sponsored projects whose outlook and also their premises can shift 180 degrees from one year to the next. Each community has its own set of ceremonies, as a result of which, any sense of solidarity among the artists is lost.
The Tehran Visual Arts Festival, The Calligraphy Biennial, The Sculpture Biennial, The Cartoon Biennial, The Painting Biennial of the Islamic World, The Graphic Design Biennial, The Children’s Books Illustration Biennial, The Painting Biennial, The Poster Biennial, The Poster Biennial of the Islamic World… the list is endless.
Although the legendary "TEHRAN BIENNIAL" goes back 50 years, not a single one of the above-mentioned events can be considered a biennial by prevailing and accepted international standards". An arts society recently published a call to boycott the upcoming Painting Biennial in order to demand a professionally curated exhibition, protesting the open call process and a “jury” they deemed unacceptable.
It seems impossible to have a proper Tehran biennial in Tehran, so our sprawling city and its elitist art scene remain excluded from the highly competitive art market in the region despite being surrounded from all sides by lucrative biennials and auctions. We may have great artists living and working in Iran, but we don’t have a chance to share the profits.
Tehran, as one may suppose, does not seem interested in presenting itself as a desirable destination for cultural tourism, by playing it ‘cool’ like other global cities, or scramble to be hip by coughing up the membership dues to be in the international art market.
So, to jumpstart the process, and after a long discussion with my friend, Serhat Koksal — a critic of the global biennialization process — we decided to curate a ‘mini’, on the move, Tehran biennial. To not only stop complaining about the current situation but to benefit from the advantages of it. An independent, low- budget, traveling exhibition which can be presented almost anywhere. We will travel like nomads, carrying artwork, objects, texts, and whatever, in a package no bigger than a medium-sized suitcase, preferably weighing less than 20 Kg., so it can be carried on any cheap flight.
Urban Jealousy will end its journey in May 2010,but Tehran’s Roaming Biennial will carry on.Feb 2008
http://www.biennialtehran.com/
the 1st International Roaming Biennial of Tehran
30th May - 6th July 2008
Curated by Serhat koksal and Amirali Ghasemi
The theme of this biennial is URBAN JEALOUSY. A Jalousie * (“jealousy” in French) is a window that one can see through but not be seen; barriers that allow us to observe the world without being invited to the table. Iranian artists are given an understanding of what goes on in the world without being offered a single opportunity to communicate their thoughts—outside of our very own jalousie window: a rigid ethnic frame within an extremely politicized context.
Of all the huge urban areas around the world, Tehran stands out as a different kind of Megalopolis. It boasts one of the most dynamic art scenes in the Middle East even as the city itself deals with a rudimentary public transport system, an exploding population crisis, and an ever-increasing sprawl of mass housing; An unsightly city of experimental architecture that swallows entire villages and towns without offering them any sort of public services.
Despite its complicated urban situation—which according to experts has already spiraled out of control—artists’ societies in Tehran continue to hold numerous biennials in semi-tribal fashion. A great number of these events are government-sponsored projects whose outlook and also their premises can shift 180 degrees from one year to the next. Each community has its own set of ceremonies, as a result of which, any sense of solidarity among the artists is lost.
The Tehran Visual Arts Festival, The Calligraphy Biennial, The Sculpture Biennial, The Cartoon Biennial, The Painting Biennial of the Islamic World, The Graphic Design Biennial, The Children’s Books Illustration Biennial, The Painting Biennial, The Poster Biennial, The Poster Biennial of the Islamic World… the list is endless.
Although the legendary "TEHRAN BIENNIAL" goes back 50 years, not a single one of the above-mentioned events can be considered a biennial by prevailing and accepted international standards". An arts society recently published a call to boycott the upcoming Painting Biennial in order to demand a professionally curated exhibition, protesting the open call process and a “jury” they deemed unacceptable.
It seems impossible to have a proper Tehran biennial in Tehran, so our sprawling city and its elitist art scene remain excluded from the highly competitive art market in the region despite being surrounded from all sides by lucrative biennials and auctions. We may have great artists living and working in Iran, but we don’t have a chance to share the profits.
Tehran, as one may suppose, does not seem interested in presenting itself as a desirable destination for cultural tourism, by playing it ‘cool’ like other global cities, or scramble to be hip by coughing up the membership dues to be in the international art market.
So, to jumpstart the process, and after a long discussion with my friend, Serhat Koksal — a critic of the global biennialization process — we decided to curate a ‘mini’, on the move, Tehran biennial. To not only stop complaining about the current situation but to benefit from the advantages of it. An independent, low- budget, traveling exhibition which can be presented almost anywhere. We will travel like nomads, carrying artwork, objects, texts, and whatever, in a package no bigger than a medium-sized suitcase, preferably weighing less than 20 Kg., so it can be carried on any cheap flight.
Urban Jealousy will end its journey in May 2010,but Tehran’s Roaming Biennial will carry on.Feb 2008
http://www.biennialtehran.com/
Insomnia Visions Is Now Online !
12/2/2007 at 11:26 AM
Insomnia Visions was a photograpy project started on Summer of 2005 by Arash Khosronejad;
It was based on the daily events around our life. Photos were shown with a piece of poem, haiku or something. This Project was stopped after 6 months of taking pictures and making more than 100 photos online. That was just a short interrupt for the project that unfortunately continued till some months ago. Now after more than two years, once again, Insomnia Visions and Arash Khosronejad started their project of photography on a new space, new face, with some new feelings.
find out more about Insomnia Visions by this URL> http://insomnia-visions.com
It was based on the daily events around our life. Photos were shown with a piece of poem, haiku or something. This Project was stopped after 6 months of taking pictures and making more than 100 photos online. That was just a short interrupt for the project that unfortunately continued till some months ago. Now after more than two years, once again, Insomnia Visions and Arash Khosronejad started their project of photography on a new space, new face, with some new feelings.
find out more about Insomnia Visions by this URL> http://insomnia-visions.com
My Official Blog Launched !
5/4/2007 at 8:23 AM
this is my official blog >> http://sketchspace.blogspot.com nothing more to say :D
My Artworks For The Alternative Rock band
5/4/2007 at 8:21 AM
Some days ago i designed some artworks for the band "Poem On Pyre", from Karlsruhe, Germany. they play Alternative Rock / Grunge. i like their music very much. "Poem On Pyre" released an EP in 2005 titled "Spoonlight" and now they are planning to release their debut album in the near future.
http://www.poemonpyre.de/
http://www.myspace.com/poemonpyre
http://www.poemonpyre.de/
http://www.myspace.com/poemonpyre
Something I Should Say !
4/2/2007 at 3:15 PM
hello my friends. i have some changes in my HumbleVoice page and the changes are in the layout of my page. and i add another artwork in my HV page. you can see that artwork in Featured Work 1 box. anyway i have some new ideas to put some new artworks in my page but i'm so busy with my office works, i hope i add some new artworks in here. and i should say i'll have a exhibition in the future with one of my friend. currently i'm working on some new ideas for this exhibition. thanks for your attention.
My Online Photo Gallery Is Now Up !
3/19/2007 at 9:39 AM
my online photo gallery on Picasa is now up and you can find my very 1st photo album in there. click this link > http://picasaweb.google.com/arashkhpix
I'm Working so Hard
3/19/2007 at 9:36 AM
i'm currently working on two projects. the first project is drawing some human figures mixed with diagrams and handwritings. this project makes me a real good feeling because i return to my past days of drawing with hand (and not computer generated drawings), and my second project is a big project of photography and that is shooting some photos from an angel-like, gothic style woman. and this project is something really new for me and it's a good experiment. maybe you find the results of these project in this page ;).
Yeeeeeeaaaaaah !
3/16/2007 at 2:35 PM
Now I Have Some Really Good Friends and hope i have some more...love u all
Now I'm Up !
3/16/2007 at 7:17 AM
hey friends, after a challenge with myself to collect some artworks to put in this profile, now i'm here, with some of my latest artworks. hope u like them.
I Just Want To Say Hell-O !
3/15/2007 at 6:55 AM
hi to all creative artists through HumbleVoice. i'm so happy because i find this "very cool" , "powerful" & "creative" art community. you will find some more about me in this page and if you like some literature stuffs please check out my official blog "insomnia times" by this URL > http://insomnia-times.blogspot.com with lots of love & respect.