Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The paper investigates the contribution of photography in socio-political developments in decades preceding the 1979 revolution. In other words, the study tries to show how the political battle over power found a resonance in debates over the conception of photography in Iran in the Pahlavi era. As the founder of Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Shah’s coming to power accelerated the formation of political discourses, especially the Pahlavism. With the increasing thrust for change, Iran’s political scene was actually divided in two main categories namely revolutionaries and pro-Pahlavism, known as forces loyal to the regime. The competing political forces began to develop their own version of photography in representing the social realities. Trying to depict Iran as a progressive, modern country, the Pahlavist agenda utilized photography to promote western ideals as well as pre-Islamic icons. Representing an idealized Iran, the Pahlavist-inspired photography represented Shah as mighty leader and depicted booming cities, modern-looking Iranians with no sign of poverty and inequality at sight. On the contrary, the opposition used photography to highlight social inequalities and sufferings to both denounce the Pahlavi regime and to agitate the masses in their path towards revolution.