The photographic art of Abbas Kiarostami

The photographs of Abbas Kiarostami – recently exhibited at New York City’s Andrea Rosen Gallery – illustrate a powerful connection to this acclaimed Iranian director’s films. In both, the focus is on nature; specifically the stretched, panoramic landscape of Iran. But in his precise and haunting way, the photos tend more toward the surreal than the scenic. As Kiarostami remarked to French film writer Michel Ciment, "If dreaming consists of fleeing the city and its constraints, if dreaming means going back to sources – and therefore to nature – then photographing nature can be considered an incitation to dreaming." – P.B.