Kiarostami, Tanavoli holding joint exhibit in Dubai
Tehran Times Art Desk

TEHRAN -- Artworks by Iranian filmmaker and photographer Abbas Kiarostami, and sculptor Parviz Tanavoli are on display during a joint exhibition at Dubai’s Meem Gallery.

The exhibit, which runs until February, showcases 13 photos by Kiarostami and 30 sculptures by Tanavoli during the event.

“I did not think of myself as a photographer when I took these photos, let alone a professional one,” Kiarostami mentioned standing beside one of his earliest works during the opening ceremony on Sunday.

The black and white photos are part of his “Snow, Rain and Road Series” that he took 35 years ago while on the road leading to the Caspian Sea, he said.

He went on to say that he has taken some of the photos when he was looking for locations for shooting his films and sometimes, he took one or two days off to take photos.

“Anyway, I’m a photographer when I take pictures and a filmmaker when I direct a film,” he added.

Some of Kiarostami’s poems have been placed alongside his photos as complements to the artworks.

Tanavoli’s brilliant sculptures including Poet in Love, Poet Turning into Heech, Big Heech Lovers, Standing Heech 1 and 2, and Van Gogh’s Ear are on display during the event.

At the ceremony, gallery managing partner Charles Pocock announced that the prices of works have decreased due to the global financial crisis.

According to organizers, the highest price paid on the first day for one of Kiarostami’s exhibits was around 100,000 dollars.

Meem Gallery will also be holding a book launch event for the retrospective monograph on Parviz Tanavoli in January 2010.

The publication, presented in both English and Arabic, features color plates displaying a vast range of the artist’s work, and essays by several artists including Parviz Tanavoli, Kamran Diba, Shiva Balaghi, Gisela Fock, Tandis Tanavoli and Maryam Masudi.

Photo: A photo from the “Trees and Crows” series (L) by Abbas Kiarostami and Parviz Tanavoli’s “Ibex” sculpture (R)

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