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Kiarostami's Visual Style and the Influence of Iranian Painting

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Kiarostami's Visual Style and the Influence of Iranian Painting Kiarostami’s Visual Style and the Influence of Iranian Painting Khatereh Khodaei A Thesis in The Department of Film Studies Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements or the Degree of Master of Arts (Film Studies) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada June 2011 © Khatereh Khodaei, 2011 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Khatereh Khodaei Entitled: Kiarostami‘s Visual Style and the Influence of Iranian Painting And submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts (Film Studies) Complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respects to originality and quality. Read and approved by the following jury members: Setrag Manoukian External Examiner John Locke Examiner Peter Rist Supervisor Approved by Date Graduate Programme Director Date Dean of Faculty Abstract Kiarostami‘s Visual Style and the Influence of Iranian Painting Khatereh Khodaei This thesis investigates the visual style of filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami through the lens of Iranian art. Kiarostami‘s films are widely noted by Western critics for their originality and poetic sensibility, both evident in a distinctive aesthetic approach that harkens back to Iranian painting. In order to explore this connection, my research draws upon a variety of sources—including Iranian art history, aesthetic theory and criticism, along with interviews with the filmmaker—that situate Kiarostami‘s films within a wider cultural and historical context. I argue that, while there has no doubt been a significant European influence upon Iranian painting, Kiarostami‘s work represents a deliberate attempt in Iranian modernism to develop more distinctive visual approaches outside of the European tradition. iii Acknowledgements Woven into the heart of this dissertation, with every word and line, is a palpable sense of gratitude towards an artist without whose original angle of perspective, the sheer joy of research would not have manifested itself. To my dear friend and life-long mentor, Abbas Kiarostami. I am heartily thankful to my supervisor, Peter Rist, whose encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final stages enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject. My parents deserve special mention for their support and prayers. My Father, Hossein Khodaei, is the person who laid the foundation for my inquiring nature, showing me the joy of intellectual pursuit ever since I was a child. My Mother, Parvaneh Foroughi, raised me is sincerely with her caring and gentle love. Alireza, Taraneh, and Shahrzad, thanks for being supportive and caring siblings. Words fail me in expressing my appreciation to my friends, Farshid Solimanpour, Farbod Honarpisheh, Alireza Tadjalli, Shani Hormozi, Denis Wong and Abigail Lapell who supported me in different periods of my study. I am indebted to my friend Hassan Yazdi, who has made available his support. And I would like to dedicate this thesis to my dear friend Omid Yaghmazadeh. Lastly, I offer my regards and blessings to all of those who supported me in any respect during the completion of the project. iv Table of Contents List of Figures……………………………………………………………………… vi Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter 1: Persian Art and Perspective……………………………………………. 6 Chapter 2: And Life Goes On……………………………………………………... 18 Chapter 3: Feeling Reality in a Poetic Way………………………………………... 41 Chapter 4: Conclusion………………………………………………………………69 Appendix A: Interview with Abbas Kiarostami…………………………………… 72 References………………………………………………………………………….. 79 v List of Figures FIGURE 1: Why Is That Sufi in the Hamam 9 FIGURE 2: Naser e_Din Shal in the Mirror Hall (Golestan Palace) 12 FIGURE 3: Shahrestanak, by Kamaal-al-Molk 13 FIGURE 4 18 FIGURE 5 20 FIGURE 6: The Monk and the Peasant 21 FIGURE 7a. / FIGURE 7b. 23 FIGURE 8 24 FIGURE 9 25 FIGURE 10: Sindokht talks to Saam 26 FIGURE 11: Manzareh Arefaneh 28 FIGURE 12: Golgasht 29 FIGURE 13: Golchin e Eskandar Soltan 29 FIGURE 14. 30 FIGURE 15 31 FIGURE 16: A young monk is visiting the dervish 33 FIGURE 17 34 FIGURE 18 35 FIGURE 19 35 FIGURE 20: The murder of Uayna and Raiya 37 FIGURE 21 38 FIGURE 22 38 FIGURE 23 39 FIGURE 24: A painting by Reza Abbasi in 1637 40 FIGURE 25 42 FIGURE 26: Khosro and Shirin 44 FIGURE 27: Rostam and Rakhsh 45 FIGURE 28: Alexander in a banquet 46 FIGURE 29 49 FIGURE 30: ―Moragha Golshan‖ 50 FIGURE 31: The Court of Gayumarth 52 FIGURE 32 56 FIGURE 33: Miniature from Klileh Demneh 57 FIGURE 34 60 FIGURE 35: Majnun Eavesdrop on Layla‘s camp 61 FIGURE 36: Aidin Aghdashloo‘s Intercession of Anggels 62 FIGURE 37: Farah Osuli‘s A Glance of Love 63 FIGURE 38: Nasser Oveisi‘s Five Bowls Dans 63 FIGURE 39: Jalil Ziapour‘s My Father Applies Henna 64 FIGURE 40: Sohrab Sepehri‘s Trees and Houses 66 FIGURE 41: Sohrab Sepehri‘s Trees 67 FIGURE 42: Sohrab Sepehri‘s Abstraction 67 FIGURE 43: A photo by Abbas Kiarostami (Snow White) 68 FIGURE 44: A painting by Abbas Kiarostami 68 vi Introduction Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has captured the attention of Western audiences and critics for a number of reasons, including the originality of his films, his poetic sensibility and his distinctive visual style. In all of these elements, especially the visual style, the influence of Iranian art is evident. My thesis explores this connection in order to create a better understanding of the relationship between Iranian visual art and film. This research focuses primarily on three of Kiarostami‘s films: And Life Goes On (1991), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), and Five Dedicated to Ozu (2003). In order to conduct this research, I draw upon Iranian art history and aesthetic theory, as well as criticism and scholarly analysis inside and outside of Iran. Using a variety of approaches allows me to highlight Kiarostami‘s visual style and his relationship with painting. The aesthetics of Kiarostami‘s work has been a central theme of my research on Iranian cinema. It is well known that Iran enjoys one of the most productive film cultures of our times; what is less appreciated by contemporary audiences, however, is the relationship between Persian1 art and cinema. While film scholars and critics have written extensively on Kiarostami‘s cinema, there is currently no English-language research documenting the connection between Iranian painting and Iranian film. This project contributes to current research on Iranian cinema in two ways: first, by analysing Western sources along with 1 The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanian era (6th century B.C.) (Mackenzie 1998), and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was widely known as Persia (Kianush 1998). 1 Persian art and reception theory, my thesis represents an original approach to the work of a contemporary filmmaker. Second, because there are currently no studies exploring the relationship between painting and film in an Iranian filmmaker‘s work, this research provides a basis for future work in this area. This research uses a variety of methodological approaches. Interviews with the filmmaker are complemented by a literature review of Iranian and Western critical reception and aesthetic theory. I also draw upon the history of Iranian art, further contextualizing the contemporary investigation. Using an empirical approach has allowed me to consider the director‘s personality and the intentions behind his aesthetic choices. Comparing the use of perspective in Iranian painting and European painting after the Renaissance, we find a marked difference in the approach to frontality, depth and perspective. While there has no doubt been a significant European influence upon Iranian painting, Kiarostami‘s work represents a deliberate attempt in Iranian modernism to develop more distinctive approaches outside of the European tradition. Maybe Kiarostami did not intend to reconstruct Persian paintings in the scenes of his films, but it is certain that he has lived in the atmosphere of Persian art, with Persian poetry and culture, and has felt a Persian carpet under his feet. In addition, he is also influenced by a Haiku-style Far-Eastern look. Like any other Persian artist, Kiarostami does not take his gaze away from the sky, sunlight, wind and clouds and his heart beats for that hidden eternal element in the sky; this desire and quest influences all his works. As an artist faithful to both nature and human nature, Kiarostami has transformed the direction of film, through experimentation and innovation, by raising questions and inspiring dialogue, and by breaking expectations and intermingling simplicity and depth 2 (Kiarostami, Ten on 10). As a result of these efforts, Kiarostami moves passive film viewing into active experience, allowing audiences to create meaning and participate in the overall significance of his films. And at the core, the philosophy of Persian artists is deeply interwoven into the image and content of his film. As Kiarostami has noted in Jean-Luc Nancy‘s book, The Evidence of Film (2001), his work may be seen as sharing certain affinities with Persian miniaturist art, something he attributes to the shared natural and national landscapes of Iranian artists (Nancy, 82). Kiarostami frequently employs a ‗perpendicular‘ angle, approaching the subject at 90 degrees. In the next chapter, we will see that perspective did not exist in Persian paintings up to the 11th century AH (17th AD)2. Paintings dating back to that time all have a 90 degree position towards buildings and nature. It was only later, under the influence of Western painting, that Persian painters learned perspective. However, they very soon returned to their Eastern/Persian identity as seen in the works of contemporary artists returning to original Persian painting in the post-modern period. On one hand, Persian arts and literature are interconnected; the artist and poet describe with a similar language a world whose general form they have inherited from their ancestors.
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