shepherd of the forest ABBAS KIAROSTAMI profile Over 40 films, three books and 50 photo exhibitions later, Iran’s resplendent scenery continues to feed the creativity of this Iranian filmmaker, poet and photographer. Myrna Ayad meets the legendary Abbas Kiarostami and discusses his trees, crows and roads, as well as the spirituality that links them altogether. L ike sturdy pillars of elephant feet, a row of five tree trunks stands in a silent, solemn procession. They are witnesses of a time past; their wide trunks, vaults of secrets; their agedness, a command for respect; their stat- ure, dignified. And within Abbas Kiarostami’s Untitled work from his Trees and Crows series, sits a titular crow, bathed in sunshine. A crow? That vengeful creature, a cousin of vultures, known to lurk above battlegrounds which reek of death? That menacing bird, owed its black feathers, ac- cording to Greek mythology, by Apollo – who, having given his lover a white crow to guard her – discovers her infidelity and in his wrath, curses the bird, charring its feathers black. A crow? Com- panion of witches and malevolent crones? Even in the English language, the collective noun for a group of crows is a ‘murder’. And yet, in whatever ominous and sinister guise crows are present- Opening spread: Untitled from the Roads series. 1978–2004. Photographic print on canvas. 140 x 220 cm. Edition one of one. Image courtesy the artist and Meem Gallery. This spread: Untitled from the Snow White series. 1978–2004. Photographic print on canvas. 164.5 x 257 cm. Edition one of one. ed as – in religious texts, mythology, literature and lore – in one fell swoop, Kiarostami seeming- Image courtesy the artist and Meem Gallery. ly inverts Apollo’s curse and, bathed in sunlight, the crow is now absolved of all evil. For Kiaros- tami, it is not a disturber of the peace but rather, an essential element in this serene, idyllic setting. Fragile Creatures All of the above may hold true, but it is not Kiarostami’s intention to impose a narrative. “The sym- bolism is inherent in the being of the tree and the crow, but I don’t approach them as symbols,” he explains, “I approach them for the purity of their being, observing the interaction between them.” Ad- vertising theory states that the most challenging task for advertisers is altering perception and then modifying behaviour as a result. And yet, in his rendering of the crow, altering perceptions seems to come all too easily for the internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker, photographer and poet. He admits that it is a “completely cerebral process and relationship”, but he humbly maintains that 170 he is a mere “observer”. One could argue that Kiarostami believes in the psychological con- cessity of harmony in universal interaction and how, through “looking at things with a different “I wanted to cept of conditioning. I recount a childhood story, when, frightened at the sight of a crow sitting on set of eyes”, we can “treat the world differently and see things beautifully”. He laughs. “If an item memorise a pole, I threw a stone at it. It had never forgotten it. “It would have been very different for you, if of luggage is valuable enough to put a ‘fragile’ sticker on it to warn people of its fragility, then the moment the moment before you threw that stone, some- one explained to you that the crow is sensitive,” human beings are all the more fragile and so is the crow.” and then smiles Kiarostami, “throwing a stone at any other being would have gotten the same reaction.” If share it. this is the case, Apollo’s crow is not a culprit, for it was erroneously blamed for not causing harm Beholding Beauty Known for this expansive photographs depict- Through this, to the adulterer and not for anything it actually did. “This is not just about the crow, it’s about a ing nature, particularly trees and roads, Trees and Crows, while a wistfully evocative message that a dialogue way of life,” adds Kiarostami, “if it didn’t forget the stone you threw, then it wouldn’t forget your harks at the passage of time, was the first series in which Kiarostami did not reveal the sky. Strange, is born.” kindness either.” He goes on to explain the ne- perhaps, since the sky is the crow’s territory and, 171 profile “I couldn’t bear the burden of witnessing [beauty] alone.” as viewers, its absence seemingly makes the crow native land. The scenes he observed were over- a mysterious creature to us, one almost confined whelming and photographing them necessary to the ground. The series is shot from the ground, to “share the beauty” he beheld. “There were mo- and more specifically, from Tehran’s Saadabad ments that would bring me so much awe,” he says, Palace, home of the Shahs of the Qajar Dynasty “I couldn’t bear the burden of witnessing it alone and later, the Pahlavi monarchy. Kiarostami re- and that is probably the main purpose of my Facing page: Above: Untitled from the Life Through Windows gales me with an anecdote involving an actor he photography – to capture a moment and share series. 2008. Photographic print on canvas. 140 knew, who was playing the role of Nasser Al-Din it because its beauty is unbearable to witness on x 220 cm. Edition one of one. Image courtesy the artist. Shah and took a stroll around the Palace grounds, your own.” A photograph is the physical imprint Below: Untitled from the Life Through dressed as the Qajar ruler. Suddenly, crows gath- of a memory, which in turn, triggers a multitude Windows series. 2008. Photographic print on canvas. 140 x 220 cm. Edition one of one. ered around him. These birds have an impressive of other memories. “That is exactly how it started. Image courtesy the artist. lifespan – some living up to 50 years. In a sense, I didn’t want to forget,” Kiarostami smiles, “I want- This page: Untitled from the Trees and Crows like the trees, they become observers of history, ed to memorise the moment and then share it. series. 2007. Photographic print on canvas. 140 x 220 cm. Edition one of one. Image courtesy and so, they remember. Kiarostami marries the Through this, a dialogue is born.” the artist and Meem Gallery. symbolism of both subjects – trees and crows are silent observers of the passage of time. In 2005, the V&A staged Kiarostami’s first-ever exhibition in the UK, showcasing the photograph- ic series, Trees in Snow, alongside the installation, Trees Without Leaves, especially made for the show. Kiarostami plastered massive, hollow tubes with life-sized images of tree trunks. In doing so, he took the trees out of the forest and brought the forest to the V&A and, in taking nature out of its context, forced viewers to observe it with much more attention than they perhaps other- wise would. Trees in Snow, like all of his series, was a result of Kiarostami’s long walks in search of film locations. The turmoil that enveloped Iran follow- ing the Islamic Revolution in 1979 threatened to halt Kiarostami’s work, a development which, in turn, afforded him the time to travel around his 173 174 This spread: Untitled from the Snow White series. 1978–2004 (signed and dated 1987). Photographic print on canvas. Triptych, total size: 164 x 255 cm. Edition one of one. Image courtesy the artist and Meem Gallery. 175 profile “I have continued to work as I was working before the Revolution, just like the trees in Pahlavi Street in Tehran have not changed and they still blossom.” The Perpetual Nomad He trails the roads of Iran, often taking images The works in Trees in Snow instantly evoke sensa- of rain-splattered windscreens (Life Through Win- tions of solitude and contemplation – perhaps a dows) or of walls blanketed with undergrowth; reflection of a state of being. An overriding emo- others of a solitary figure, almost dwarfed in the tion is suggested: through the recurring presence scenery (Roads), and some which feature scat- of the tree, a notion of meditation manifests itself, tered shadows. The images are always printed in calling to mind a saying by the Arab Sufi philoso- large format – Kiarostami cannot bear to contain pher and mystic, Ibn ‘Arabi, which Kiarostami cites the immensity of nature. To confine it would al- – ‘the tree is the sister of man’. I ask Kiarostami if, most rob it of its worth. through his photographs, he intends on com- municating a poem or a haiku. “If that happens, there would be a magnetism and it would be an Deep-Rooted achievement,” he says, “perhaps through these I tell Kiarostami that the minimalism and simplicity This page: Untitled from the Snow White series. 1978–2004. Photographic print on canvas. 164.5 x works, there would be a greater appreciation for in his photography, bring to mind Japanese aes- 257 cm. Edition one of one. Image courtesy the artist. haikus.” Stirred by the poetry of the late Modern theticism. “It hasn’t been conscious,” he says, “but Facing page: Untitled from the Trees and Crows Iranian painter and poet Sohrab Sepehri, whose is one of the reasons why I was censored in Iran, series. 2007. Photographic print on canvas. 140 x 220 cm. Edition one of one. Image courtesy the artist oeuvre was largely inspired by nature, Kiarostami the accusation being that I am ‘Western-minded’.” and Meem Gallery. published a collection of his own poems in 1999. In 2002, Harvard University Press published Ki- arostami’s Walking with the Wind, a bilingual (Farsi and English) collection of over 200 of his poems. Poetry is a profoundly inherent aspect of Iranian society; almost a literary ‘rite of passage’, it is the fabric which binds together the various genres of art – from the visual and performing arts to mu- sic and beyond. Our conversation veers towards Iran’s revered poets – Hafez, Rumi and Khayyam, among others – and Contemporary Iranian so- ciety. “Rumi, for example, has more than 40,000 lines in one poem,” he says, “today’s youth don’t have time to read or appreciate this poetry.” In response, Kiarostami published his haikus in his books “because they are the essence” but more importantly, “to make them accessible, more of our time, thanks to their rhythm”. 176 Kiarostami is a celebrated figure in the West, hav- continued to work as I was working before the ing won accolade after accolade, including the Revolution, just like the trees in Pahlavi Street in Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the 2008 Ven- Tehran have not changed and they still blossom, ice Film Festival; the Palme d’Or for Best Film for their leaves live each season.” Taste of Cherry at the 45th Cannes International Recently however, Kiarostami has announced Film Festival (the film was also awarded Best Film that the political climate in Iran is forcing him to of the Year by Time magazine in 1997) and Presi- work overseas. It was a situation, he added, which dent of the Jury for the Caméra d’Or Award at the “saddened” him. That in no way means that he has Cannes Festival in 2005. This year, Juliette Binoche given in to censorship; on the contrary. “I would won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film never accept for censorship to stop me from Festival for her leading role in Kiarostami’s Certified working or have to make certain films dictated by Copy, set in Tuscany. And yet, despite conferred the censors,” he says, “you have to continue work- awards of his work at some of Iran’s film festivals, ing and find a way round it.” What of the artists the Iranian government has, for over a decade, who have fled Iran due to tighter restrictions? “I banned the screening of Kiarostami’s films in Iran. don’t think it’s acceptable that one would leave I remind him of something he once said: “When the country because of censorship, because then you take a tree that is rooted in the ground and what would resistance mean?” he asks. Perhaps transfer it from one place to another, the tree will one man’s resistance is another man’s exile. But no longer bear fruit and if it does, the fruit will not more importantly, Kiarostami is intrinsically tied be as good as it was in its original place. This is a to the Iranian landscape – just as he is a part of it, rule of nature. I think if I had left my country [after the photographs are, by default, a part of him. the Revolution], I would have been the same as the tree.” He smiles, nods his head in agreement Abbas Kiarostami is showing Roads at Galerie and takes his trademark dark spectacles off for Pangée in Montreal until 15 November. a second to rub his eyes. “I have taken the least For more information visit influence from the Revolution,” he says, “I have www.galeriepangee.com and www.meem.ae 177
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