Persian Visions

In the first survey of contemporary Iranian photography to travel to the United States, Persian Visions features 20 artists who use the camera as a tool for cultural expression and self-exploration. Organized by the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and the University of Minnesota Department of Art, this exhibition of 58 works builds a bridge between cultures, introducing some of Iran’s most celebrated photographers—Kourosh Adim, Esmail Abbasi, Shakoufeh Alidousti, and others—to American audiences. These nuanced, resonant images offer striking contrasts to Western representations of Iran, which tend to envision the ancient land as homogeneous and purely exotic.

Persian Visions offers a glimpse into those aspects of existence—family, history, place, mortality, language, memory—that engage us all. Some of the artists embrace photojournalism or traditional portraiture; others manipulate the image to create vivid contrasts or stylized effects, or use unusual spatial rendering to comment forcefully on an aspect of Persian culture (such as the chador). These photographers offer a poignant reminder that in the midst of political turmoil there can be humanity as well; and that a keen eye attuned to the tensions of modern life need not be blind to its poetry.

The exhibition is supported in part by the ILEX Foundation, the University of Minnesota McKnight Arts and Humanities Endowment, and by the Department of Art, Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota.