In the fields of empty days

Filled with vibrant examples of painting, photography, sculpture, video, and other media, this book reveals how Iran's leading artists weave the country's past into the fabric of its contemporary art. The catalogue includes essays written by Linda Komaroff, curator of Islamic art and department head of Art of the Middle East at LACMA, and contributions from Sheila R. Canby, Sheida Dayani, Hamid Keshmirshekan, Hani Khafipour, Vali Mahlouji, Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, Shadi Shafiei, and Sandra Williams. The book also explores how pre-Modern artists first began to manipulate time by visually shifting the past into the present as demonstrated by Persian miniature painting, in particular illustrated versions of the Shahnama, or Book of Kings, the Iranian national epic. Statements from prominent contemporary artists consider the creative means by which they evoke the past to address present-day social and political concerns. Designed to promote fluid movement between the historical and the modern, this wide-ranging book offers a unique and important exploration of a country with a rich and complicated heritage.