by The commemoration celebration and eighty-ninth birthday anniversary of Jalil Ziapour was held on Saturday, 25 April, at his birthplace—Bandar Anzali. This celebration took place at the Shahid Chamran Cultural Complex through the efforts of the “Caspino” Cultural Group, with the collaboration of the visual artists of Anzali, the “Khaneh-ye Honar” [Art House] and “Hajm-e Sabz” [Green Volume] free art schools, the Malavan Cultural and Sports Institute, and the Panorama Film and Photo Center. Below, we read a report on this ceremony.
As we had promised earlier, on behalf of the Caspino Cultural Group and with the collaboration of the visual artists of Anzali, the Khaneh-ye Honar [Art House] and Hajm-e Sabz [Green Volume] free art schools, the Malavan Cultural and Sports Institute, and the Panorama Film and Photo Center, we held the commemoration and birthday celebration of Master Jalil Ziapour—the father of modern painting and the pioneer of art criticism in Iran—in his birthplace, Anzali, on 25 April 2009. This gathering commenced at 19:30 (today, 25 April) in the amphitheater hall of the Shahid Chamran Cultural Complex. The exceptional turnout of professors, university students, school students, and the residents and enthusiasts of culture and art was the distinguishing feature of the ceremony compared to similar specialized programs.
At the start, after the screening of short videos, Arvin Ilyegi from the Caspino Cultural Group read an address to the late Ziapour: “Happy Birthday, Mr. Ziapour! Today is 25 April, and if birth certificates tell the truth, you have turned 89. I do not know if that robust stature and carefree hair are still with you or not. Are you looking closely and earnestly, or have you run a finger around your mouth and are laughing softly? I do not know in which corner of this cold amphitheater you are standing. But I want a smile to be with you a few hours from now, after these minutes pass, when you sit on the small roof of the Minaret watching the port. We want you to know that our spoken and unspoken presence in this gathering is solely because of you. Though we have gathered late, and though we had forgotten at the time, at least now we say with a louder voice: Mr. Ziapour! Living in the air that is the air of your birthplace makes the blood run in our veins. The shame is ours, that we had sixty years of opportunity but did not know how to gather somewhere even for a single day to listen to your words. That we did not, and still do not, know how to build even a small gallery in this city to host your dream. For a long time now, we have been building ugly buildings, treeless gardens, and poor libraries. That no street, alley, or square bears your name. Neither you, nor any of the fathers of art of this city, on whose shoulders the children of Anzali must stand if they wish to grow… Where is the street of Ahmad Ashourpour—the great modernist of Iranian music? Which cinema is named after Ebrahim Moradi—the pioneer of Iranian cinema? Where in this misty port reminds us that Anzali was the cradle of modern Iranian theater?
They say the human soul returns to a place it once loved. It is a pity that when you walk in the streets of Anzali at sunset, no one can see you and embrace you anymore. Alas, the opportunity to study under you did not reach the children of Anzali… Mr. Ziapour, happy day to you! We want to believe, like you, that it is still morning, if the rooster crows.”
Then, with the screening of a short documentary film about Master Ziapour, Hasan Khoshdel, the veteran songwriter and composer of Anzali, took the stage to give an official performance after many years.
Master Khoshdel played several pieces with his garmon, which was warmly received by the audience.
Amin Haghrah, who hosted the event, invited Dr. Esmail Bani-Ardalan to begin his speech. Dr. Bani-Ardalan, former dean of the Faculty of Cinema and Theater, managing director of Niavaran Cultural Center, and head of the Art and Philosophy Department of the Academy, while expressing his delight at attending this gathering, spoke of Master Jalil Ziapour as the initiator of modern art, one of the pioneers of art criticism in Iran, the person who raised the issue of the confrontation between modernity and tradition, as well as an artist who was interested in Iranian thought and Iran’s past and who possessed vast and deep knowledge of his own heritage.
Esmail Bani-Ardalan, while noting that we are still extremely weak in the field of art criticism, examined the state of painting in the pre-Kamal-ol-Molk era and after it, as well as the course of developments in the art of painting up to the present day. Subsequently, the characteristics and elements of Iranian painting and its integration with modern art were among the other topics analyzed before the audience by the author of the book *Milestones of Reasoning on the Path of Iranian Painting*. The conference continued with the screening of short films of Master Ziapour’s remarks (expressing his views and opinions) and videos of the future cultural programs of Anzali.
The second part of the music performance was dedicated to Ali Haghrah and his young group to sing memorable pieces by Master Ahmad Ashourpour and others.
Then Siavash Yahyazadeh, art instructor and director of the ‘Pouya’ free gallery of Rasht, delivered an engaging speech on modern art, its origins, and its characteristics.
The congratulatory video from Anzali artists to Dr. Ziapour and a spectacular clip of images of Anzali accompanied by the voice of Soheil Nafisi, the latest productions of the Caspino Group for the screening segment of the ceremony’s program, were very well received by the guests.
Throughout the conference, Rahim Rahimzadeh—a painter from Anzali—who was sitting on the left side of the stage, started and completed a portrait painting of Master Ziapour right there. This work and another painting by Naser Ramezani—another painter from Anzali—were presented as a memento to the representative of the late Ziapour’s family.
Esmail Bani-Ardalan and Siavash Yahyazadeh also returned to the stage amidst the applause of the audience to receive two paintings by Naser Ramezani as mementos.
Photos by: Radin Babari
Source: Caspino Website
