Iran - Caged
Destination: Iran
Book: Inge Morath: Iran Additional text by Monika Faber and Azar Nafisi and edited by John P. Jacob. Review copy provided by the publisher, Steidl, Germany.
Traveling alone, Inge Morath (who later would marry Arthur Miller and collaborate on various projects) toured Iran and took photographs for various clients in the United States. She died in 2002, and the Inge Morath Foundation has assembled photographs and records of this trip taken in 1956 for [amazonify]3865216978::text::::Inge Morath: Iran[/amazonify].
Monika Faber, from the Albertina Museum in Vienna, who explains Morath’s techniques in a text, quotes Morath.
I always preferred territories: Iran in the Middle East…Spain and Mexico, Russia and China, countries whose influence extended beyond their borders, ‘mother cultures,’ she wrote.,[...]Most of the time it was literature that raised my enthusiasm for a certain place, visual and popular art that stimulated my eye…”
Iran Marketplace - broom seller
Ah, yes, that sounds familiar doesn’t it? “Literature than raised my enthusiasm for a certain place”?
The reader is not only treated to a beautiful presentation of the black and white photos of an Iran that does not exist any more, but details such as her letters of assignment and minutiae of the journey that make it easier to understand the circumstances of her travel.
It is difficult to convey the fascination of these photos–a marketplace in a village of sand-blown mud huts, a Zorastrian ceremony inside a home, ordinary people in traditional costumes posing unselfconsciously for the camera. You can look at these photographs for sheer enjoyment, for a history lesson, or if you love photography, as a lesson in technique. You don’t have to be traveling to Iran to enjoy poring over these 320 images.
Iran: Little Girls Weaving Rugs
An interview with Azar Nafisi, author of [amazonify]0812979303::text::::Reading Lolita in Iran[/amazonify] and [amazonify]0812973909::text::::Things I’ve Been Silent About[/amazonify], relates the historical Iran with today’s realities. This afterword and the one by Monika Faber, make this book more satisfying to me–because I like a story–than books with ONLY photographs in them.
The photos shown here are copyright by the Inge Morath Foundation. DO NOT COPY. Shown by courtesy of Magnum Photos.
Some lucky reader of A Traveler’s Library will win a copy of this book (list price $59.95) when we do our next giveaway. I should mention that I frequently put links to Amazon with book titles. It makes in convenient for you to buy the books, but also provides a few cents to A Traveler’s Library. Please use my links when you buy ANYTHING at Amazon. Thanks!
PDF Tags: BlogSherpa, culture, Inge Morath, Iran, photography
Sounds awesome. I’d read it for sure. Especially if there are many photos.
Recently read Nicolas Bouvier’s The Way of the World describing this part of the world, including a portrait of village life, in about the same time period. Thought to share. -r
Twitter: JenniferMiner
says:
It makes me sad to think of art, architecture and entire cultures that don’t exist any more. Your review just brought to mind those giant Buddhas in Afghanistan that the Taliban dynamited.
.-= Jennifer hopes you will read blog ..Travel to SE Utah Beyond Monument Valley =-.
What a fabulous book- your review really makes me want to purchase this gem.
Twitter: chezsven
says:
We have a book of photographs of Russia by Inge Morath. You made me want to explore her book on Iran. We have enjoyed movies about Iran because it provides a window into a country and culture that are so different from ours.
.-= Alexandra hopes you will read blog ..P-town Invites President Obama to Celebratation =-.