Shoja Azari ( fa, شجاع آذری) is an Iranian-born visual artist and filmmaker based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
He is known for his films and multimedia installations.
Early life and education
Azari was born in
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
, Iran. Azari trained as a filmmaker in New York in the 1970s before returning to Iran during the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
in 1979.
He then permanently returned to the U.S. In 1997, he first met artist
Shirin Neshat
Shirin Neshat ( fa, شیرین نشاط; born March 26, 1957 in Qazvin) is an Iranian visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and th ...
when she was assembling a team to create her first video, “Turbulent”.
Azari and Neshat became artistic and romantic partners.
He is divorced and has one son, Johnny B. Azari, a musician.
Film
Azari is known for films such as ''
Women Without Men'' (2009), ''Windows'' (2006), and ''
K'' (2002). These were based on three of
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
's short stories: "The Married Couple", "
In the Penal Colony
"In the Penal Colony" ("") (also translated as "In the Penal Settlement") is a short story by Franz Kafka written in German in October 1914, revised in November 1918, and first published in October 1919. As in some of Kafka's other writings, th ...
", and "A Fratricide", respectively. He co-directed with Neshat the film ''
Land of Dreams'' (2021), which won the Golden Peacock Award at the
52nd International Film Festival of India
The 52nd International Film Festival of India opened on 20 November with ''The King of All the World'' (''El Rey de Todo El Mundo'') by Carlos Saura in Goa. Like 51st edition this edition was also held in hybrid format, that combined online an ...
.
Multimedia installations and art
According to Carol Kino of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', Azari's "multimedia installations have been increasingly showcased in galleries and museums around the world."
His first solo exhibition in New York occurred in 2010 at the Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery.
His video installation work, ''Idyllic Life'' (2012), was part of the exhibition ''In the Fields of Empty Days: The Intersection of Past and Present in Iranian Art'' (2018) at the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 19 ...
.
See also
*
Iranian modern and contemporary art
A cursory glance at the history of art reveals that social, political and economic conditions have always played a major role in the emergence of new artistic currents and styles. As an example ''Flight'' by Morteza Katouzian is showing the margi ...
*
List of Iranian Americans
This is a list of notable Iranian-Americans of all Iranian ethnic backgrounds, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
''To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia ...
*
List of Iranian artists
The following list of Iranian artists (in alphabetical order by last name) includes artists of various genres, who are notable and are either born in Iran, of Iranian descent or who produce works that are primarily about Iran.
Cinema artists
Ac ...
References
External links
Shoja Azari at the Leila Heller Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azari, Shoja
1957 births
Living people
Iranian contemporary artists
Iranian film directors
Iranian emigrants to the United States