Red, Light, and Hafez: The Spirit of Yalda Night

Waiting excitedly behind the door of my grandmother’s house, each family member wears a piece of red clothing. The door opens to the warm, loud gathering. We’re greeted with kisses and hugs, our faces still ice-cold from the winter chill outside. Inside, relatives with red-stained hands peel mountains of pomegranates, snacks are piled high on…

2 days ago160Views 0Comments

Berklee and Beyond: Independent Journeys in Music

Art is an echo of origins. It thrives on experiences, beliefs, and the spaces where we first find our voice. In The Roots Issue of The Persian Magazine, we’ve journeyed into the creative minds of three extraordinary musicians connected not only by their shared experience at Berklee College of Music but also by their distinct…

2024-12-05284Views 0Comments

From Abandoned Brewery to Contemporary Art Hub at Argo Factory

As the preservation of architectural heritage and a ‘reuse’ mindset has gained popularity in arts infrastructure globally, repurposing abandoned spaces into museums and galleries is increasingly commonplace. One such example is Argo Factory in Tehran’s downtown, a rundown brewery that had sat abandoned for over forty years. During that time, parts of the building and…

2024-11-30216Views 0Comments

Grikor Pourhartoun

On 2022-09-05, 10:47

Ehsan Rasouli Explains The Change In His Approach To The Street Photography

As a photographer, it has happened to you that you don’t find enough courage to press the shutter button during photography. In the “Neither now nor never ” series, Ehsan Rasouli explains the change in his approach to street photography. He who once was searching for a safe subject to frame in the streets of Tabriz has now decided to turn his mental images into photographs, even if it has consequences.

In one of his photos which he calls “Rape” he sees a man in solitude, and after capturing the photo, he decides to make sure that the light is adequate and suitable by taking another photo. This is how he describes it:

“I decided to recapture that moment with a flash, I went back, and I took the photo again. The flashlight illuminated the alley, there was a shock, the man attacked me right away and there was a chase through the streets, I was accused of rape.”

There have been many opinions on the issue of freedom in street photography so far but, capturing the moments in which there is a tension between the subject and its surroundings, and the photographer is not easy. Just as taking a photo of a little girl in the streets of Tabriz caused shock and insecurity to the parents and created some problems for Ehsan, which is one of the consequences we talked about earlier. Of course, in such a situation nothing but aggressive and defensive reactions is expected and photographers are well aware of this, but a frame is just a frame and the artist’s purpose is nothing but art.

The problems of an analog photographer don’t end here. One of the other concerns of Ehsan and many analog photographers is the limited equipment and the exorbitant economic costs. While in other countries artists have the opportunity to use the best Kodak films, here most artists are forced to use expired rolls of films. Importing new films isn’t economical and the number of available films is decreasing every day. We hope one day the limitations and obstacles are removed so that artists can work freely and many talents can flourish in this field.