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 : 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 16 th ): Shah and family forced into exile 1979 (February 1 st ): 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 4 th 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)