Contemporary Art and Critical Spatial Practice
by Pamela Karimi
- Author(s)
- Pamela Karimi
- Publication, year
- Stanford (CA) : Stanford University,
- Scope
- 445 Pages, illustrated, 25.5 cm.
- ISBN
- 9781503631809
In 'Alternative Iran' Karimi investigates how Iranian artists engage with space and site amid the pressures of the art market and the state's regulatory regimes. Since the 1980s, political, economic, and intellectual forces have driven Iran's creative class toward increasingly alternative forms of artmaking not meant for official venues. Instead, these art forms appear in private homes with "trusted" audiences, derelict buildings, leftover urban zones, and remote natural sites. While many of these venues operate independently, others are sanctioned by the state. Drawing on interviews with over a hundred artists, gallerists, theater experts, musicians, and designers, Pamela Karimi throws into sharp relief the extraordinary art and performance activities that have received little attention outside Iran. Attending to nonconforming curatorial projects, independent guerrilla installations, escapist practices, and tacitly subversive performances, Karimi discloses the push-and-pull between the art community and the authorities, and discusses myriad instances of tentative coalition as opposed to outright partnership or uncompromising resistance.
- Keywords
- counter culture , visual culture
- Geographical location
- Iran
- Location
- Cabinet 29 - 2: Expanded Space ; Global Art ; diverse locaties
- Remarks
- Includes notes, bibliography, index
