TEHRAN -- A group exhibition featuring works by 10 Iranian cartoonists active in the press will be held at Artibition Gallery in Tehran from September 24 to October 8, under the title Side Effect.
The exhibition focuses on the artistic value of press cartoons alongside their role as media images, bringing together works by Kambiz Derambakh, Ardeshir Mohassess, Davood Shahidi, Ahmad Arabani, Parviz Shapour, Bahman Rezaei, Hadi Heidari, Jamal Rahmati, Laleh Ziaei and Ehsan Ganji.
According to the exhibition statement, press cartoons can move beyond their immediate function as images accompanying the news to become images that speak to future generations. The artists represented in the exhibition have largely worked in response to social, political, cultural and economic circumstances, acting as “visual translators” of their time.
The statement notes that the artistic contribution of many of these cartoonists has been overshadowed by the news context in which their work appeared. At the same time, it says, their engagement with contemporary issues has connected their work to history and given it a lasting quality.
Press cartooning gradually developed in Iran and, over different periods, became an influential form of media expression. The exhibition statement traces this history from Baba Shamal in the 1940s and Tawfiq in the 1960s to the launch of Gol-Aqa in 1990, whose influence extended through the 1990s and 2000s, at a level the statement compares with that of television.
The continued publication of cartoons in newspapers, magazines and other periodicals subsequently placed Iranian press cartoonists at the intersection of art and media.
The exhibition will be open daily from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., with Friday hours from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.