Barbad Golshiri
&
Iran
History
• 636: Arab invasion brings start of
Islamic rule
• 9th century: Emergence of modern Persian
language (Farsi)
• 1501: With the support of Shia warrior tribes, Shah
Ismail I becomes first ruler of Islamic Safavid
dynasty; Shia Islam declared state religion.
• 1907: Introduction of constitution limits
absolute powers of rulers
• 1926: Military commander Reza Khan
crowned. His oldest son, Mohammed, is
proclaimed Crown Prince.
History
• 1935: Formerly known as Persia, Iran is
adopted as the country's official name
• 1941: The Shah's pro-Axis allegiance in
World War II leads to the deposition of the
Shah in favor of his son
• 1950: Mohammad Mossadeq becomes
prime minister after the assassination of Ali
Razmara
• 1951: Parliament votes to nationalize the oil
industry. A power struggle between the
Shah and Prime Minister Mossadeq ensues
and the Shah flees the country in August
1953.
• 1953: Mossadeq is overthrown in a coup
engineered by British and American
intelligence services. The Shah returns.
History
• 1963: The Shah embarks
on a campaign to
modernize and
westernize the country
• 1978: The Shah's policies
alienate the clergy and
his authoritarian rule
leads to riots, strikes and
mass demonstrations.
Martial law is imposed.
History
• 1979 (January 16th): Shah and
family forced into exile
• 1979 (February 1st): The Islamic
fundamentalist, Ayatollah
Khomeini, returns to Iran after
14 years of exile in Iraq and
France for opposing the Shah’s
regime
• 1979 (April): The Islamic
Republic of Iran is proclaimed
after a referendum.
Government
• Iran is a theocratic republic,
with a Supreme Leader
determining and
supervising the general
policies
• Political parties are
relatively new, formed
before elections and
disbanded soon after
• Most conservatives prefer
working through political
pressure groups
Current Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Economy
• Iran’s economy is a mix of
central planning, state
ownership of oil and large
enterprises, village agriculture,
and small-scale private ventures
• Unemployment and
underemployment are high
• Educated youth seek jobs
outside Iran, causing a “brain
drain”
Censorship in Iran
• The government has tried to stop political
movements among the youth by not allowing
students with opposing views to attend
universities
Censorship in Iran
• Iran is the 4th most censored country in the
world
• “Non-Islamic” websites are censored by the
government
• Online journalists are harassed and put in jail
Bio: Barbad Golshiri
• Born in 1982, Tehran, Iran
• Lives and works in Tehran
• 2004 – BA, Painting, The
School of Art and
Architecture, Azad
University, Tehran
• Installation art
• Conceptual art
• Art and Language
• Art and Philosophy
Early Influences: A Family of Intellectuals
Barbad’s Golshiri’s Father:
Houshang Golshiri, Author
Barbad Golshiri’s Mother:
Farzaneh Taheri, Literary Critic
Portrait of the Artist as a One Year Old Child (2005)
What Has Befallen Us, Barbad? (2002)
The Distribution of the Sacred System (2010)