Feb 2016

Feb 2016
Aziz
Art
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os
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t
K
ar
i
m
i
Competition
Tomoko Imashiro
photography
Artist
Shashin Kosha
IRAN
Lahijan
ELENA KOURENKOVA
cinema
P
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m
B
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ar
a
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1.Barbara Hepworth
8. Competition
9. Nosrat Karimi
13. Tomoko Imashiro
16. Competition
17. Lahijan
26. ELENA KOURENKOVA
Director: Aziz Anzabi
Editor and translator :
Asra Yaghoubi
Research: Zohreh Nazari
Arash poem By
Siavash Kasrai
Told or untold here
are so many points
The open sky
The rosy sun
The gardens of
flowers
The planes all wide
and open
The rise of flower
from under the
snow
The soft dance of
the fish in the
crystal glass
The smell of rainy
soil in the highland
The sleeping of the
wheat farms in the
moonlight
To come, to go, to
run
To love
To feel sorrow
Or to dance when
people are
delighted
http://www.aziz-anzabi.com

Barbara Hepworth
1

Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth
DBE (10 January 1903 – 20 May
1975) was an English artist and
sculptor. Her work exemplifies
Modernism and in particular
modern sculpture. She was one of
the few women artists to achieve
international prominence.
Along with artists such as Ben
Nicholson and Naum Gabo,
Hepworth was a leading figure in
the colony of artists who resided in
St Ives during the Second World
War.
Early life
Hepworth's Family of Man (1970),
bronze, Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was
born on 10 January 1903 in
Wakefield, West Riding
of Yorkshire, the eldest child of
Gertrude and Herbert Hepworth.
Her father was a civil engineer for
the West Riding County Council,
who in 1921 became County
Surveyor. An upwardly mobile
family, and a dominant father
determined her to exploit fully her
natural talents. She attended
Wakefield Girls' High School, and
won a scholarship to and studied at
the Leeds School of Art from 1920.
It was there that she met her fellow
student, Henry Moore.They
became friends and established a
friendly rivalry that lasted
professionally for many years.
Hepworth was the first to sculpt
the pierced figures that are
characteristic of works by both.
They would lead in the path to
modernism in sculpture.
Ever self-conscious as a woman in a
man's world, she then won a
county scholarship to the Royal
College of Art (RCA) and studied
there from 1921 until she was
awarded the diploma of the Royal
College of Art in 1924.
Early career
Following her studies at the RCA,
Hepworth travelled to Florence,
Italy, in 1924 on a West Riding
Travel Scholarship. Hepworth was
also the runner-up for the Prix-de-
Rome, which the sculptor John
Skeaping won.After travelling
together through Siena and Rome,
Hepworth married Skeaping on 13
May 1925 in Florence.In Italy,

Hepworth learned how to carve and edited by Nicholson, Naum
marble from the master sculptor, Gabo, and Leslie Martin.
Giovanni Ardini.Hepworth and Hepworth married Nicholson on 17
Skeaping returned to London in November 1938 at Hampstead
1926, where they exhibited their Register Office in north London,
works together from their flat. following his divorce from his wife
Their son Paul was born in London Winifred.The couple had triplets in
in 1929. Her early work was highly 1934, Rachel, Sarah, and Simon.
interested in abstraction and art Rachel and Simon also became
movements on the continent. In artists. The couple divorced in
1933, Hepworth travelled with 1951.
Ben Nicholson to France, where St Ives
they visited the studios
Hepworth, Nicholson and their
of Jean Arp, Pablo Picasso, and children first visited Cornwall at the
Constantin Brâncuşi. Hepworth outbreak of World War II in 1939.
later became involved with the Hepworth lived in Trewyn Studios
Paris-based art movement, in St Ives from 1949 until her death
Abstraction-Création.
in 1975.She said that "Finding
In 1933, Hepworth co-founded the Trewyn Studio was sort of magic.
Unit One art movement with Here was a studio, a yard, and
Nicholson and Paul Nash, the critic garden where I could work in open
Herbert Read, and the architect air and space." St Ives had become
Wells Coates. The movement a refuge for many artists during the
sought to unite Surrealism and war. On 8 February 1949, Hepworth
abstraction in British art.
and Nicholson co-founded the
Hepworth also helped raise Penwith Society of Arts at the
awareness of continental artists Castle Inn; nineteen artists were
amongst the British public. In 1937, founding members, including Peter
she designed the layout for Circle: Lanyon and Bernard Leach.
An International Survey of
Constructivist Art, a 300-page book
that surveyed Constructivist artists
and that was published in London

Hepworth was also a skilled
draughtsman. After her daughter
Sarah was hospitalized in 1944,
she struck up a close friendship
with the surgeon Norman
Capener.At Capener's invitation,
she was invited to view surgical
procedures and, between 1947-
1949, she produced nearly eighty
drawings of operating rooms in
chalk, ink, and pencil.Hepworth
was fascinated by the similarities
between surgeons and artists,
stating: "There is, it seems to me,
a close affinity between the work
and approach of both physicians
and surgeons, and painters and
sculptors."
In 1950, works by Hepworth were
exhibited in the British Pavilion at
the XXV Venice Biennale alongside
works by Matthew Smith and John
Constable. The 1950 Biennale was
the last time that contemporary
British artists were exhibited
alongside artists from the past.
During this period, Hepworth
moved away from working only in
stone or wood and began to work
with bronze. Hepworth often used
her garden in St Ives, which she
designed with her friend the
composer Priaulx Rainier, to view
her large-scale bronzes.
Death of son Paul
Her eldest son, Paul, was killed on
13 February 1953 in a plane crash
while serving with the Royal Air
Force in Thailand. A memorial to
him, Madonna and Child, is in the
parish church of St Ives.
Exhausted in part from her son's
death, Hepworth travelled to
Greece with her good friend
Margaret Gardiner in August
1954.They visited Athens, Delphi,
and many of the Aegean Islands.
When Hepworth returned to St Ives
from Greece in August 1954, she
found that Gardiner had sent her a
large shipment of Nigerian guarea
hardwood. Although she received
only a single tree trunk, Hepworth
noted that the shipment from
Nigeria to the Tilbury docks came in
at 17 tons. Between 1954-1956
Hepworth sculpted six pieces out of
guarea wood, many of which were
inspired by her trip to Greece, such
as "Corinthos" (1954) and "Curved
Form (Delphi)" (1955).

Late career
The artist greatly increased her
studio space when she purchased
the Palais de Danse, a cinema and
dance studio, that was across the
street from Trewyn in 1960. She
used this new space to work on
large-scale commissions.
Hepworth also experimented with
lithography in her late career. She
produced two lithographic suites
with the Curwen Gallery and its
director Stanley Jones, one in 1969
and one in 1971.The latter was
entitled "The Aegean Suite" (1971)
and was inspired by Hepworth's
trip to Greece in 1954 with
Margaret Gardiner. The artist also
produced a set of lithographs
entitled "Opposing Forms" (1970)
with Marlborough Fine Art in
London.Barbara Hepworth died in
an accidental fire at her Trewyn
studios on 20 May 1975 at the age
of 72.
Recognition
Hepworth was awarded the Grand
Prix at the 1959 Sāo Paolo Bienal.
She also was awarded the Freedom
of St Ives award in 1968 as an
acknowledgment of her significant
contributions to the town. She was
awarded honorary degrees from
Birmingham (1960), Leeds (1961),
Exeter (1966), Oxford (1968),
London (1970), and Manchester
(1971).[10] She was appointed CBE
in 1958 and DBE in 1965.[10][44] In
1973 she was elected an honorary
member of the American Academy
of Arts and Letters.Following her
death, her studio and home in St
Ives became the Barbara Hepworth
Museum, which came under
control of the Tate in 1980.In 2011,
the Hepworth Wakefield opened in
Hepworth's hometown of
Wakefield, England. The Museum
was designed by the famed
architect David Chipperfield.In
January 2015 it was announced
that Tate Britain was to stage the
first big London show of
Hepworth's work since 1968. It
would bring together more than 70
of her works, including the major
abstract carvings and bronzes for
which she is best known. It would
also include unseen photographs
from the Hepworth archive, held by
the Tate, including a selfphotogram
created in the 1930s
and experimental photographic
collages.

Camera USA 2016: National Photography Exhibition and Award
Call for Entry - Deadline: March 16th, 2016
All photographers residing in the United States are invited to submit one
photograph taken in the United States after January 1, 2012 for Camera USA
2016: National Photography Exhibition and Award. The photography exhibition
will be installed in the Naples Art Association's Frederick O. Watson Gallery at
The von Liebig Art Center from June 20 through August 5, 2016. The Naples Art
Association is located in Naples, Florida in the heart of the 5th Avenue South
shopping, dining and entertainment district.
Exhibition and Award A maximum of 50 photographs will be included in the
Camera USA 2016 exhibition. One photographer will be nominated for the
$5,000 National Photography Award. The award nominee will be notified by
telephone or email on May 18, 2016. In order to qualify for the award, the
nominee must hand deliver his or her exhibit-ready photograph to the von Liebig
Art Center by 2 pm on May 16, 2016 or ship the photograph to ARTMove LLC in
Naples, Florida by May 9, 2016 and attend the June 17, 2016 preview reception
for the Camera USA exhibition at the von Liebig Art Center in Naples, Florida.
An award nominee residing in Florida will receive a $300 travel stipend and two
nights hotel accommodations in Naples, Florida. An award nominee residing
outside the State of Florida will receive domestic round-trip economy class
airfare for one and two nights hotel accommodations in Naples, Florida.
Eligibility
Eligibility Photographers residing in any of the fifty States in the United States of
America are eligible to enter one photograph taken in the United States after
January 1, 2012 and not previously exhibited at The von Liebig Art Center.
Accepted photographs must remain on display for the duration of the Camera
USA 2016 exhibition.
Entry Fee
Entries will be accepted online until March 16, 2016. The non-refundable entry
fee is $32 (for current and new Naples Art Association members the entry fee is
$27) and is payable online by credit card within three days of starting your
application and before the March 16, 2016 entry deadline.
For More Information:
http://www.juriedartservices.com/index.php?content=event_info&event_id=10
26
8

Nosrat Karimi
born 1925 is an award winning Iranian actor, director, make-up artist,
University professor, scriptwriter and sculptor. His career spans 6
decades. He is best known for his role as Agha Joon in My Uncle
Napoleon and The Carriage Driver.
Career
After finishing elementary school, Karimi attended the German
Polytechnic Institute. He then registered at the only drama school
existing at that time in Tehran. There from 1938 to 1941 he studied
dramatic art, the art of make-up and stage design.
9

In 1940, Karimi worked as actor,
make-up artist, and as stage
designer in various
Tehran theaters. At the beginning
of 1953, Karimi travelled to Europe
in order to complete his art
degrees. In Rome, where he spent
the first months of his stay, he
became acquainted with famous
Italian film directors Luchino
Visconti and Vittorio De Sica. The
neo-realistic films of De Sica
("The Bicycle Thief", "Miracle in
Milan "... ) made an impression on
him.After approximately six
months, Karimi traveled to Vienna
and finally to Prague. There he
studied film direction and TV
production, specializing in puppet
and animation movies. His most
important teacher
at The Academy of Arts in Prague
was Karl Zeman, the famous Czech
animation artist. After Prague, he
returned to Rome and stayed there
for three years. He worked as
assistant director for Vittorio De
Sica, performed on the stage,
appeared in musicals and dubbed a
number of Italian movies for
distribution in Iran.
In 1964, after eleven years in
Europe, Karimi went back to Iran.
In 1965, he was engaged by The
Ministry of Art and Culture to run
and extend the state workshop for
animated cartoons. A little later,
Karimi began his activity as
professor at The Faculty of Fine Arts
at Tehran University, as well as at
The Academy of the Dramatic Arts,
where he taught different art styles
for more than twenty years.
At the same period, Karimi
produced two TV series: "Mr.
Plaintiff", a puppet show and "The
Marriage", a twenty-part family
series about married life. Through
these popular series, Karimi
became known to a wide section of
society of Iran.In 1969, Karimi
began shooting the film The Thief
and the Policeman - a Persian
adaptation of the story of cops and
robbers. However, after having
finished the film for the most part,
he gave up the direction due to
interference from the producer. In
the same year, the British director
Terence Young shot some scenes of
the film Poppy is also a Flower in
Iran. He engaged Karimi as make-up
artist for his lead Yul Bryner and
other actors.

From 1971 to 1973, Nosrat Karimi
made three feature films: The
Carriage Driver, The Solution and A
Bed for Three where he not only
acted as director, but also wrote
the film scripts and played the title
roles.
The Carriage Driver was a great
success and went down well with
the critics
. This movie was chosen as the
Iranian contribution for
international film festivals.
However, film authorities banned it
from being shown abroad. Only
years later could the film be
performed in European cinemas.
The internationally acclaimed
Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami,
honoured with The Golden Palm of
Cannes 1997 and numerous other
international motion picture
awards, praised the film as an
important work of the Iranian
Cinema.
Karimi’s fame and great success
resulted in attractive offers from
many producers. Thus in the 1970s
he played in a number of
commercial films that were
directed by others. He also played a
supporting role in a Japanese-
Iranian co-production. In 1975, the
director and actor made his fourth
and last movie The Miserable One.
Again, he wrote the screenplay. The
film, a satire about the mounting
tensions in the 1970s in Tehran,
went down well and received
notable reviews.

In 1976, Karimi played one of the
main characters of the TV series My
Uncle Napoleon. This is regarded as
the most successful series ever run
on Iranian television. A year later,
the artist produced the TV series
Khosro Mirsa II. This 16-part series
was a grotesque comedy about an
aristocratic family descended from
the Qajar dynasty. He then wrote
another film script and was
preparing his next movie, but for
the time being film production was
stopped during the Iranian
Revolution.
After the Revolution
After the Iranian Revolution Karimi
was banned, for a long period, from
working as a filmmaker or actor.
during that time, he rediscovered
his former interest for making
sculptures. He made many mimicsculptures
which were shown in
numerous national and
international exhibitions. In
addition, Karimi wrote a number of
screenplays for movie and TV
productions; a few of them were
commercialized under the name of
others and others have not been
realized until this day.
Not until 1987, was Karimi allowed
to perform a puppet piece again –
The Uninvited Visitor. Then, he
made the animated cartoon
Playmate. In 1996/97, he produced
for a private channel the puppet
show Unruly, a TV series that has
been re-run repeatedly at the
request of the spectators. His other
works in the post-revolutionary era
include the production and
direction of a series of short TV
films about pollution control and
health care, as well as books about
theatre and cinema. Nosrat Karimi
currently lives with his wife Parvin
Teymouri in the north of Tehran.

Tomoko Imashiro photography
Artist
13

About Shashin Kosha
Tadashi Yanagisawa founded
Shashin Kosha in 1950. Leaving Fuji
Film Company, Yanagisawa set up
his own professional lab
specializing in black & white prints
for new Fuji products, as well as
exhibition prints for Japanese
photographers. Located in Kanda (a
central Tokyo business district),
Shashin Kosha incorporated a large
shooting studio and photo lab into
its headquarters building.
Shashin Kosha made big news with
its huge groundbreaking color
prints (20m X 30m) created for the
Osaka Expo in 1970. Shashin Kosha
received a special award for its
achievements and contributions to
photography in 1976 from the
Japan Photographers Society (JPS).
To this day, we are the only photo
lab to ever receive the prestigious
JPS award.
Since 1980, Shashin Kosha, in
cooperation with JPS, the Tokyo
Metropolitan Photo Museum, the
Yokohama Museum, and the
Kawasaki City Museum, has
produced a special annual calendar,
“A Collection of Photographs.” This
calendar project is an ongoing
effort to preserve and share the
masterpieces of early Japanese
photography from the Taisho and
Showa Eras (1912 until 1945). We
continue searching for unknown
masters of Japanese photography
for these finely printed calendars.
Shashin Kosha opened a new sixstory
company headquarters in
Kanda in 1989, bringing our entire
services together under one roof.
That year we published a beautiful
limited edition book of early
Japanese photography from the
calendar series, also entitled “A
Collection of Photographs,” in
celebration of our 40th anniversary.
In 1990 Takuji Yanagisawa became
the second company president of
Shashin Kosha. He continues the
traditions begun by his father, and
brings a deep appreciation of
photography and art, as well as
international understanding to
Shashin Kosha. The company
expanded in 1993, establishing a
service center for Shashin Kosha
labs in Tokyo’s famous Ginza
district. The Ginza location also
includes our ArtGraph Photo
Gallery and ArtGraph Photo School.

Since 1995, Shashin Kosha has added digital services to its hi-quality
black & white and color work. We pride ourselves on meeting every
challenge of modern photography for our clients. Shashin Kosha’s
company policy remains unchanged: to offer the best quality photo
services, staying on top of technical innovations, while deepening our
understanding of the wonderful creative culture of photography.

Competition
ARTERIMINI 2016 - OPEN CALL
ARTERIMINI
15 to 18 April 2016, Exhibition Centre of Rimini - Italy
Ufofabrik seeking four artists to be exhibited for the 2016 edition.
First edition of ArteRimini, exhibition of modern and contemporary art,
dedicated to all forms of artistic expression, from the beginning of the
'900 to the latest contemporary currents.
The event of 2016 will be held 15 to 18 April, at the Rimini Expo Centre.
In the new spaces of the fair in Rimini, we get to work for the first
edition of ArteRimini, in an area rich in stimuli on the contemporary, art
and culture; a location that not only collects the basin of Romagna, but
also the etroterra, the Marche region, the city of Bologna: areas rich in
culture, traditions and interests.
For the direct participation is required a ethics fee.
Participation is limited to all emerging artists with a resume and a
professional-level production.
To submit your work to send a short biography and five photographs of
recent artworks: prixrimini@gmail.com
LABORA PRIZE RIMINI
iscrizione entro 18 febbraio/register by 18 february 2016
prixrimini@gmail.com
16

Lahijan
17

Lahijan is a Caspian sea resort in
and the capital of Lahijan County,
Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006
census, its population was 71,871,
in 21,518 families.
The resort Lahijan has both
traditional and modern
architecture. The town, which has
an Iranian-European urban
structure, lies on the northern
slope of the Alborz mountains. Its
culture and climatic favorable
condition have made Lahijan a
major tourist hub in northern Iran.
The city is basically founded on the
sediments remaining from big
rivers in Gilan, including the Sefid-
Rud (White River). Historically, the
city was the major business center
and of course the capital of East
Gilan during the time of special
rulers. Lahijan has also been a
tourism hub of the Islamic world
during different eras in Iran's
history.
Etymology
The word "Lahijan" is originated
from the economic stance the city
had during its historical periods.
"Lāhijān" is formed by two words:
Lah, means silk and "Jan or Gan"
means a place where something is
done. Therefore, by compounding
these two parts, the word "Lahijan
or lahigan" was made, which means
"a place to obtain silk fiber".
Professor Bahram Farah'vashi who
is an Iranian expert in ancient
languages says that in the Middle
Persian Language; Lah refers to silk,
and in Decisive Argument; Lah
means the red silk. Therefore,
Lahygan (today, Lahijan) is an area
where silk is obtained.
Lahijan and languages
Lahijan at night
In Gilan there are two major Iranian
language groups, namely Gilaki and
Taleshi, and pockets of two other
groups, Tati and Kurdish. The non-
Iranian languages include Azeri and
some speakers of Gypsy (Romany,
of Indic origin).
Gilaki is spoken by possibly three
million people as a first or second
language, and has had a budding
literature and fledgling prose
publications, including newspapers.

The five Iranian languages in Gilan
belong to the north-western
branch of Iranian. Gilaki,
which has two main dialect types,
eastern and western, with the
Safid-rud Riveras the general
border, is a member of the Caspian
subgroup. Tati and Taleshi (Talyshi)
together make up the larger
dialect chains which together make
up the larger Tatic family (not to be
confused
with Tat-Persian spoken in pockets
north of the Baku area).
Among these, the two Tati pockets
in Gilan, Kalasi and Kabataʾī, have
their closest relatives in Upper
Tarom in Zanjan province.
Taleshi is a dialect chain of three
main types, southern, central, and
northern; and southern Taleshi is
closer in type and mutual
comprehension to some forms of
Tati than it is to central or northern
Taleshi. Rudbari may originally
have been a subgroup of Tatic that
has largely adapted structurally to
Gilaki.There are many subdialects
of Gilaki, and, progressing to the
east, it gradually blends into
Mazandarani (Tabarestan). The
intermediate dialects of the area
between Tonokabon and
Kalardasht serve as a transition
between Gilaki and Mazandarani.
The differences in forms and
vocabulary lead to a low mutual
intelligibility with either Gilaki or
Mazandarani, and so these dialects
should probably be considered a
third separate language group of
the Caspian area.
Since the time depth between
south-western Iranian and northwestern
Iranian is greater than that
of, for example, English and
Swedish within the Germanic
languages, Gilaki and Persian differ
on almost all grammar points. Time
depth within western Iranian,
however, is not an absolute
measure of distance, since northwestern
Iranian and south¬western
Iranian have coexisted within the
same cultural zone for millennia,
during which Persian has
consistently been by far culturally
dominant. All Caspian languages
contain many lexical items (e.g.,
dan- “to know,” xast “to want,”
guft- “to say,” tanest “can”) and
certain grammatical features (the
loss of the conjugation of transitive
verbs and the use of ra) that most
likely show quite early influence of
Persian.

More recently, however, due to geo system.
both the economic importance of
the Caspian and the Gilān’s
proximity to Tehran, Gilaki has
been under¬going a massive,
indelible Persian imprint: heavy
influx of vocabulary (e.g., Pers.
pəsər, duxtər, damad, negah kudən
have replaced the native rey, kor,
zama, fəndərəstən), significant
syntactic interference (e.g., eżāfa),
changes in vowel pronunciation,
and even morpheme borrowings.
One thus gets the erroneous
impression that Gilaki is merely a
dialect of Persian. Yet it is a mixed
language, and is becoming even
more mixed. Virtual one-to-one
correspondences between Gilaki
and Persian are commonplace,
and often unavoidable: Gil.
“they were busy providing and
making dinner.”
Zahed Gilani's Shrine
Lahijan enjoys a climate known as
"moderate Caspian". This weather
pattern emerged from the
influence of the currents of both
the Alborz Mountain slopes and the
Caspian Sea. But before knowing
about this weather pattern, we
should discuss the model of climate
system and of course Gilan's spacial
Gilan includes the north-western
end of the Alborz chain and the
western part of the Caspian
lowlands of Persia. The
mountainous belt is cut through by
the deep transversal valley of the
Sefid-Rud between Manjil and
Eemamzadeh Hashem near Rasht,
the capital of Gilan Province. To the
northwest, the Talesh highlands
stretch a continuous watershed
separating Gilan and Azerbaijan.
Except at their northern end, where
the Heyran pass at the top of the
Āstārāčāy valley does not exceed
1600 m, they are over 2,000 metres
(6,600 ft) high, with three spots
over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft)
including the Baqrow Daḡ, the Ajam
Daḡ, and the Shah Moʿallem or
Masouleh Daḡ.

Their eastern and north-eastern
side is deeply carved by parallel
streams flowing down towards the
Caspian, resulting in a combshaped
pattern. The western Alborz
itself, to the east of the Safid-rud
valley, is wider and more intricate,
with three parallel (WNW-ESE)
ranges; the southernmost and
lowest one is represented in Gilan
by the Asman-sara Kuh in the
Ammarlu district; the medium one
is the most continuous, from the
Kuh-e-Dalfak to the Keram Kuh,
whereas the transversal valley of
Polrud clearly divides the northern
range into Kuh-e-Natesh and Kuh-e-
Somam or Somamus, the highest
spot of Gilan. All these mountains
have a very complicated geological
structure and tectonic history
which connects them to the
structural complex of central Persia.
Though all those mountains cover a
greater area than the plains, these
are the most specific feature of the
province, and locally, the word
Gilan often refers to the plain areas
or particularly to the central plain.
This large parallelogram of
lowlands is heterogeneous and can
be divided into two main parts: the
delta of the Safid-rud in the east
and the Fumanat plain in the west.
The former has been entirely built
by the Safid-rud, a river with a high
discharge and a high alluvial
content. The higher part is made
out of coarse ancient alluvial
material, whereas in the lower part,
north of Astaneh-e Ashrafiyyeh, the
river often changed its course
through thin silty and clayey
material; it has thus abandoned its
former northeastward course,
which flowed into the sea at the
prominent angle of the plain near
Dastak, and presently flows
northwards and builds a smaller
living delta jutting out into the
Caspian between Zibakenar and
Bandar kiashahr.
The Fumanat plain to the west
intermingles marine alluvial
deposits and former sandy beachlines
with abundant alluvial
deposits from the numerous rivers
draining the southern part of Talesh
highlands. They do not reach
directly the sea, but converge into
the lagoon of Anzali with a single
outlet to the Caspian through the
dune-covered sandy coastline. The
lagoon is constantly getting smaller
and shallower under the effect of
silting

On the contrary, the streams of
northern Talesh and eastern Gilan,
even the more abundant Polrud, do
not bring alluvium enough to
counterbalance the action of a
coastal current going eastward,
and thus could not build more than
a narrow ribbon of lowlands, only a
few kilometers wide between
Astara and Safid-rud and to the
east of Qasemabad
[disambiguation needed], and
some 10 km wide at the mouth of
the Polrud around kelachay.
Tea
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material may be challenged and
removed. (August 2012)The history
of tea culture in Iran started at the
end of the 15th century. Before
that coffee was the main beverage
in Iran. However, most of the coffee
producing countries were located
far from Iran, making shipping very
difficult. With a major tea
producing country, China, located
on a nearby trading path, "the silk
road", and the shipping of tea was
much easier. That was a main
reason why tea became much
popular in Iran. As a result, the
demand for tea grew, and more tea
needed to be imported to match
Iran's consumption.Iran failed in
their first attempt to cultivate tea in
their own country in 1882 with
seeds from India. In 1899 Prince
Mohammad Mirza known as
"Kashef Al Saltaneh" who was born
in Lahijan, imported Indian tea and
started its cultivation in Lahijan.
Kashef, who was the first mayor of
Tehran and an Iranian ambassador
to India under British rule, knew
that the British would not allow
him to learn about the secrets of
tea production, as it was their
biggest business in India at the
time. So being fluent in French, the
prince pretended to be a French
laborer and started to work in the
tea plantations and factories to
learn how to produce tea.
Ultimately his plan was to take back
some samples of this tea to Iran to
cultivate. He was successful in this
endeavor only because of his
diplomatic immunity which
stopped the British from searching
his secretly stashed sample. At the
time, Kashef brought 3000 saplings
into his country from the Northern
part of India, Kangra.

He started the cultivation in the
region Gilan, south of the Caspian
Sea. The climate there was well
suited for tea cultivation, and the
tea industry quickly expanded in
Gilan and Mazanderan region.
Kashef’s mausoleum in Lahijan is
now part of the
"Iran's National Tea Museum".
Iran's National Tea Museum.
In 1934 the first modern style tea
factory was built. Now there are up
to 107 tea factories and a total of
32,000 hectare of tea farms.
Most of the farms are located the
hillsides of Iran like the farms in
Darjeeling. These farms produce
an orthodox style of black tea.
The color of Iranian tea is red and
taste is fairly light, and it is
delicious without adding any milk
or sugar. The total production of
black tea in 2009 was
approximately 60’000 tons.
Tea in Lahijan
A statue in Lahijan
Historically, Lahijan is the
first town in Iran to have tea
plantations. With its mild weather,
soil quality and fresh spring water,
Lahijan stands to have the largest
area of tea cultivation in Iran. One
of the most notable families
involved in the tea industry was the
Fallahkhair family, owning hectares
of tea farms controlling a vast
majority of the industry's export.
But today the country's tea industry
is deep in trouble and the verdant
gardens that once sustained
millions of farmers and their
workers are used only for grazing
sheep and other personal
purposes. Despite having one of
the world's most avid tea drinking
populations, the Iranian tea
economy is reeling from an influx of
foreign imports and smugglers who,
local traders complain, often have
close family ties to powerful figures
in the Islamic government. The
consequences are plain to see. In
Lahijan, the historic capital of Iran's
tea industry, land that was once a
lush vista of tea bushes is now
occupied by houses and flats, built
by tea factory owners who have
moved into the building trade in
response to their industry's decline.
Several of the town's tea mills are
derelict.

Others are at a stand-still or operating at half capacity. Some 40% of the
half-million tea farmers in tea-rich Gilan province have gone out of
business, because the factories are no longer buying their crops.
Hundreds of thousands of pickers have been forced out of work.

ELENA KOURENKOVA
Born in Volgograd (formerly
Stalingrad), Russia, in 1966.
Graduated from an Architectural
institute in 1989 and moved to
Moscow, where worked as an
architect until the beginning of
Gorbachev’s Perestroika, then
worked as an interior designer.
Moved to Glasgow, UK, in 1996.
Self-taught, although studied arts
as part of degree as an architect.
Exhibited at the Royal Glasgow
Institute, Paisley Art Institute and
Aspect Prize Annual exhibitions.
Was represented by established
galleries at the Art Fairs in London,
Battersea, Glasgow, Edinburgh,
Chelsea, Birmingham, Aberdeen,
Ireland etc; and have works in
private and corporate collections
throughout the UK, Australia, USA,
Greece, Germany, Spain, Sweden
and Russia. There were a number
of articles in local and national
press concerning my work and
images had appeared in the TV
Channel 4's Grand Design. Works
exhibited in established galleries
throughout the UK. ARTIST’S
STATEMENT Growing up under the
authoritarian Soviet regime, when
ordinary Russians had to wear that
drab look of obedience and selfsuppression,
I had always wanted
to escape from that total uniformity
and find the way to express my
vision of life in a different way,
reflecting happier, funnier side of
everyday life. My subjects are
loosely based on own experiences
and observation of life-and are
therefore recognisable, which often
provokes a smile or a laugh (much
desired effect). I try to reflect
everyday events in a different,
lighter way; my subjects (although
at times seemingly emotionally
isolated, even when they are
clustered in groups) are not lacking
emotions, they only express them
in their own way. They are content
and happy, yet do not take
themselves too seriously, they just
go about their business as if no-one
is looking. Their self-sufficiency is
their freedom… Sometimes my
characters might look quite realistic
and recognisable, but their
grotesque figures make them look
ironic-we see one thing but they
tell us another. Like many things in
life-things are not always the way
they seem
26

In other words, I try to reflect life as we
see it but don't always notice. I want to
provoke a comment, a reaction, an
emotion. I want to make you smile.
Russians are guided by their emotions,
not by common sense, and this has an
effect on all my work (whether I am
paying myself a compliment here, I am
not sure)... Selected galleries and
exhibitions: Royal Glasgow Institute of
Fine Art RGI Kelly gallery Paisley Art
Institute and Aspect Prize Home and
Interiors Exhibitions, SECC Glasgow
Scottish Contemporary Art Auction,
McTears' Auctioneers Affordable Art
Fairs London, Battersea, Glasgow (GAF),
Chelsea, Birmingham, Aberdeen First
Contemporary Art Fairs Edinburgh
Karen Tailor Contemporary Fine Art,
Twickenham, London Colomb Art
Gallery, Marylebone, London Enid
Lawson Gallery, London Off The Wall
Gallery, Cardiff Regent Gallery,
Somerset, Weston-super-Mare Rowan
Gallery, Drymen, Loch Lomond and
Helensburh Christo's Gallery, Glasgow
Arteries Gallery, Glasgow The Annan
Gallery, Glasgow, West End McGregor
Fine Art, Glasgow Scotlandart.com,
Edinburgh and Glasgow Hanover Fine
Art, Edinburgh Westminster Gallery,
London The Jerdan Gallery, Crail Tartan
Gallery, Edinburgh Alpha art, Edinburgh
Daisy Frame Gallery, Biggar
Fotheringham Gallery, Bridge of Allan
Devorgilla Gallery, Dumfries The storm
Studies Gallery, Moffat High Street
Gallery, Kirkudbright Frameworks
Gallery, Troon Macmillans Cancer Relief
Charity Exhibition, Glasgow and
Edinburgh Hancel Foundation Art
Auctions Retail Trust Charity Exhibition,
Glasgow Marie Curie Cancer Relief
Charity Auction The Preshal Trust
Charity Auction Children's First Charity
Auction University of Glasgow CHAS and
Cancer research Charity Exhibition and
Auction Auction Sale in Aid of Yorkhill
Childrens' Hospital Tolquhon gallery, by
Tarves, Aberdeenshire Castle Gallery,
Inverness Frames Gallery, Artesan
Gallery, Perth, and Perth Festival Central
House of Artists, Moscow, Russia Tracey
McNee Fine Art, Glasgow The Queens
Road Gallery, Aberdeen e-gallery,
Bearsden, Spring Art Fair, Sweden

http://www.aziz-anzabi.com