Looking 101: Block Museum - Northwestern University

2.

Alireza Shojaian (Iranian, born 1988)
Sous le ciel de Shiraz (Sharok & Arthur) (Under the Sky of Shiraz [Sharok & Arthur]) 2022
Acrylic and color pencil on wood
Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase, 2023.16

Alireza Shojaian makes work to reflect on the queer history of West Asia and his own experiences as a queer Iranian. Under the Sky of Shiraz (Sharok & Arthur) presents a portrait of two bearded men wearing traditional clothing associated with Pahlevani and Zourkhaneh rituals— a form of martial arts originally used to train warriors in ancient Persia and heavily influenced by spirituality. Their pose offers a gentle version of a typical stance taken by Persian wrestlers when posing for photographs (right). Shojaian explains he made the work to “reclaim and redefine [Pahlevani and religious] ideologies [that] have historically been used against individuals like Sharok and Arthur. Both of them [are] openly gay—with one of Persian Iraqi origin and the other French—[and] have backgrounds in the gay adult fi industry and have encountered discrimination.”

Unknown photographer. Pahlavan-e Bozorg Razaz with his student Haj Bagher Mivehchian, date unknown.

The scene behind the men depicts a nighttime garden with birds, plants, and mythical creatures, all of which symbolize heavenly paradise for the artist. The style of this surrounding scene refers to traditions of Persian miniature painting (below), a genre with origins extending back to the 13th century and significantly shaped by Chinese painting. The pavilion-like structure in the background is reminiscent of the Eram Garden in Shiraz, an Iranian city famous for its poets, literature, and gardens.

Manuscript illustration from Falnama (Book of Omens): Angel of Death (Azrael) slays king Shaddad outside the gates of paradise, mid 1550s-early 1560s. Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper. National Museum of Asian Art, S1986.252.