Solo Exhibition June 2023 | latest paintings of Zahra Noori Zonouz
“Kelardashti bird!”
“Afterwards, we spent some time reading the papers with Amin-Khalvat and the special adjutant. Then, we went inside; Shams al-Dawla was reciting a Rawda for men. When we arrived, he, the Bouquet of Violets, was reciting while on the pulpit. And then, we went outside and walked for a while. Near the sunset, we went to the greenhouse to see the gallery, and then returned at dusk. The archer was in the courtyard and we shot some arrows at the beautiful and good-looking Kelardashti birds that were sitting on the branches of the cypress trees. When we arrived at the entrance of the Diwan-Khaneh, a little higher up, we saw another Kelardashti bird sitting on a cypress tree. Although it was dark and the bird was almost fifty steps away, I aimed and shot an arrow at it. We gathered that our arrow hit something soft. We realized it must have hit it. We went closer and the arrow fell down with the bird; we observed that the arrow had hit the bird and had passed through its stomach, skewering it. We were very surprised. Others who were with us and are present here were these: Amin Khaghan, Bashi, Nayeb, Hajib al-Dawla, General, Aziz Khan, Agha Mohammad Khan, and trustworthy people. They were all amazed. Then we took the bird with the arrow still through it, and showed it to the women and everyone was deeply amazed; and we had indeed fired an amazing shot. We wrote this down as a record of today because this interesting event happened.” Naser al-Din Shah Qajar’s note on Saturday of the Qarreh of the month of Rajab al-Murajjab [December 1895] * The day before, he had had lunch in the Photo Room and then a French doctor had examined his eyes saying “apparently, they are very good”. After the incident, he gave the bird that had been shot by an arrow to the former court painter, and as he put it, “we ordered Kamal-ol-Molk to make it into a painting”. It was a strange day, a perfect day for the king, concluding in him ordering a painting. The French doctor had told him that his eyes could see perfectly. Perhaps his confidence had been fed from that encounter, resulting in shooting an arrow from fifty steps away, skewering the Kelardashti chaffinch bird. What was the effect of listening to the Rawda that day? “Bouquet of Violets” is such a strange name to give to a reciter! Or the effect of news and reading the papers in the morning and speaking French with the French doctor? And the cold of that day that took the Center of the Universe from the Hall of Kings to the Photo Room to have lunch and enjoy the warmth of the sun-facing hall. Perhaps if he had the patience, he would have painted the poor Kelardashti bird on a skewer himself. He was not unskilled in painting. However, why would the Sultan of Sahebgharan who can order it to be painted spend hours doing it himself? He knows that the idea is his! He could even order the bird own bird to skewer itself and then make a self-portrait! Naser al-Din Shah Qajar lived much more Iranian than us much earlier than we ever did. That is, he started his mornings with reading the news and hour by hour, newer events came to him or he went to them. But, at that time, access to news was not like today when we encounter catastrophes all the time, paralyzing us. Even the strangest events have become normal and believable. Now, more than a century later, Zahra Noori Zonouz has painted, ordered by herself, the same Kelardashti bird that was shot by an arrow and ordered by the king to be painted by Kamal-ol-Molk, alongside thirty other birds and a cat from the court painter’s paintings. Shabahang Tayyari, Spring 2023 * From the memoirs of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, edited by Majid Abd Amin, published by Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Endowment, [1397].“بعد قدری با امین خلوت و آجودان مخصوص کاغذ خواندیم. بعد رفتیم اندرون؛ شمس‌الدوله روضه‌ی مردانه می خواند. وقتی رسیدیم که دسته بنفشه روی منبر بود، میخواند. بعد آمدیم بیرون، قدری راه افتادیم. نزدیک غروبی رفتیم گل‌خانه که گالری را تماشا کنیم، مغرب بود که برگشتیم. تیر‌کماندار توی حیاط بود. چند تیر کمان به این مرغ‌های کلاردشتی که خیلی قشنگ و خوب است و توی درخت‌های سرو می‌نشینند انداختیم. تا آمدیم دم در دیوان‌خانه قدری بالاتر، آن خیابان‌های کوچک، دیدیم یک مرغ کلاردشتی توی درخت سرو نشسته است. با این که تاریک بود و به قدر پنجاه قدم هم میشد، با تیر و کمان نشانه گرفته و انداختم. همین قدر که ملتفت شدیم تیر ما به جای نرمی خورد. فهمیدیم باید خورده باشد. گفتیم برویم نزدیک، دیدیم تیر با مرغ به زمین افتاد و طوری تیر به او خورده بود که از شکم مرغ گذشته و مرغ را به سیخ کشیده بود، خیلی تعجب کردیم. سایرین هم که همراه ما بودند و این جا حاضر هستند، این اشخاص هستند: امین خاقان، باشی، نایب، حاجب‌الدوله، جنرال، عزیزخان، آغامحمدخان، خود صدق‌دارها و جمعی بودند، همه تعجب کردند. بعد همان‌طور گنجشک را با تیر به اندرون بردیم، زن‌ها و هرکس دید کمال تعجب را نمودند و واقعا هم خیلی خوب زدیم. چون امروز روزنامه‌ی بامزه‌ای داشت نوشتیم.”
یادداشت ناصرالدین شاه قاجار، روز شنبه غرّه‌ی ماه رجب المرجّب [۱۳۱۳]
همان روز قبل‌تر نهار را در اتاق عکس خورده بود و بعد یک حکیم فرنگی چشم شاه را معاینه کرده بود و گفته بود “ظاهرا بسیار خوب است”. بعد از این ماجرا هم گنجشک به تیر کشیده شده را به نقاش باشی سابق داد و به زبان خودش؛ “به كمال الملك فرموديم صورت او را در پرده كشيد” روز عجیب که نه روز کاملی بود برای شاه تا در انتهایش یک نقاشی ثبت سفارش شود. دکتر فرنگی به او گفته بود که چشمش بسیار خوب می‌بیند. شاید این اعتماد به نفس از همانجا آمد که از پنجاه قدمی تیر را انداخت و مرغ کلاردشتی یا همان سهره‌ی جنگلی را به سیخ کشید.
تاثیر شنیدن روضه در آن روز چه بود؟ “دسته‌بنفشه” عجب اسم عجیبی است برای یک روضه‌خوان! یا تاثیر اخبار و کاغذ خواندن صبح و فرانسه حرف زدن با حکیم فرنگی؟ و سرمای آن روز که قبله‌ی عالم را از تالار سلاطین به اتاق عکس کشاند تا ناهار را در آنجا میل کند و از گرمای اتاق عکس که رو به آفتاب بود لذت ببرد. شاید اگر حوصله داشت نقاشی مرغ‌کلاردشتی بینوای به سیخ کشیده شده را خودش میکشید. کم مهارت نداشت در نقاشی. اما خب سلطان صاحبقران که میتواند دستور دهد تا نقاشی را که میخواهد برایش بکشند چرا باید ساعت‌ها وقت صرف کند. او که می‌داند ایده از آن اوست! او حتی می‌توانست دستور دهد که پرنده خودش خودش را به سیخ بکشد و خودنگاره‌ای هم ثبت از خودش کند! ناصرالدین شاه قبل و بهتر از همه‌ی ما ایرانی زندگی میکرد. یعنی صبح را با اخبار شروع میکرد و ساعت به ساعت اتفاقهای تازه‌تر به سراغش می‌آمد و یا او به سراغ آنها میرفت. اما خب دسترسی و رویارویی فجایع مانند امروز نبود که کمر را خم کند و یا غریب‌ترین اتفاقها عادی و باورپذیر شود.
حالا که بیش از یک قرن گذشته، زهرا نوری زنوز همان مرغ‌کلاردشتی به تیر کشیده شده را که کمال‌الملک به سفارش شاه کشید را به سفارش خودش در کنار سی‌مرغ دیگر و گربه‌ی دیگر نقاشی‌های نقاش باشی نقاشی کرده است.
۱۴۰۲شباهنگ طیاری – بهار
منبع متن یادداشت شاه از کتاب از روزنامۀ خاطرات ناصرالدین شاه قاجار، به کوشش مجید عبد امین، انتشارات موقوفات دکتر محمود افشار، ۱۳۹۷
“Gallery Hopping” Solo Exhibition
In front of big pictures showing off ,they look like a mass, similar and equal. they just keep looking , sometimes to each other and sometimes to paintings. What are they seeking, discovering the secrets behind the artworks and decoding the painters world or trying to be a part of it? Whatever it is the strange and attractive atmosphere made by this “seeing” ceremony and the discourse between artworks and viewers encouraged me to create these paintings.در مقابل خودنمایی تابلوها بینندگان انگار به توده ای بدل شده اند، یکسان و یکدست، فقط نگرنده اند ، نگاه میکنند و خیره می شوند. گاهی به هم و گاهی به نقاشی های روی دیوار نگاهشان به دنبال چیست؛ رمز گشایی اثر و کشف دنیای نقاش یا یکی شدن با آن؟ هرچه است فضای عجیب و جذاب حاصل شده از این مراسمِ”نگریستن”و رسم هفتگی دیدار و گفتگوی آثار با مخاطبان، مرا برای خلق مجموعه “گالری گردی” ترغیب کرد
ABOUT
Zahra Nouri Zonouz Born tehran 1986 2005 painting diploma , Fine arts school .tehran 2010 B.A in painting , Sooreh art university.tehran. 2014 M.A in painting ,Tehran art university. Solo shows “Self and selfless” 2015, Tarahan e Azad art gallery. “Gallery hopping” 2017, shiraz.naranj art gallery. “In-Between” , 2018, Shiraz, Naranj art gallery. “Beginning of the landscape” , Delgosha gallery, 2019. “Birds micing, cats birding” , Delgosha gallery, 2023. Two works of “Gallery Hopping” series in LACMA Museum of Los Angeles permanent collection since 2017. 2009, 4th annual painting exhibition “collected new generation” .Mellat pardis 2010,3rd Damunfar art festival. Mellat pardis. 2010,the 5th annual painting exhibition “collected new generation”.Mellat Pardis. 2011 the 6th annual painting exhibition”collected New generation” homa art gallery. 2011 group painting exhibition,” key hole” Mohsen art gallery. 2012 group painting exhibition , “special zone” haftan art gallery. 2012 group painting exhibition, “amnesia” Lale art gallery. 2012 group painting exhibition , “small pictures” Aria art gallery 2013 group painting exhibition, “shemage”. Homa art gallery. 2014 group painting exhibition, Jorjaani art gallery. 2014 group painting exhibition, Home sweet home, Mehrva art gallery. 2015 parsonline young artists festival , As art gallery. 2016 group painting exhibition , grays ,Delgosha art gallery. 2016 9th montakhab-e nasl-e no biennial, Shirin art gallery. 2018 “BADHA” group show, Delgosha gallery. 2019 “untamed” group show curated by Fereydoun Ave, Delgosha gallery. 2019 group painting exhibition,455 kilometres , Aknoon gallery, Isfahan. 2020 Selected artist to participate China’s Red gate Residency by Kooshk Residency, April 2018. 2020 group painting exhibition “5th episode “ Mohsen gallery 2021 online Tir art fair , presented by Delgosha gallery 2021 group painting exhibition, ghoul’e Farsi, curated by Shabahang Tayyari, Delgosha gallery