Sunday, January 27 at 4pm
MoMA/PS1
4601 21st Street, Long Island City, NY 11101
Free with museum admission
Join the Facebook event

A screening of Jack Kevorkian’s public access television program The Door (30 min); presented by Anna Della Subin
A screening of Shridhar Bapat’s video feedback fantasia Aleph Null (12 min, 1971); presented by Alexander Keefe
Sex talk and group consciousness exercises;presented by Conner Habib
Plus: Transcendental listening in the dome

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Jack Kevorkian
Dr. Jack Kevorkian — also known as Dr. Death — was a pathologist, euthanasia activist, poet, composer and instrumentalist. In Bidoun #27 (Diaspora), Anna Della Subin told the profoundly strange story of this child of genocide survivors through his curiously compelling paintings. Here, Subin will introduce_ The Door_, a public access TV show on the nature of consciousness and some “very hazy realms of human existence,” which Kevorkian produced, wrote, and hosted in California in the early 1980s.

Shridhar Bapat
In the late 1960s Shridhar Bapat was a key figure in the emerging video scene. The first video curator at The Kitchen in its most freewheeling period and the “finest feedback camera turner in New York City,” Bapat worked on the New York Avant Garde Festivals, the first Women’s Video Festival, Shirley Clarke’s TeePee Video Space Troupe, and many of Nam June Paik’s major installations before falling out of the scene to live underground; he died, homeless, in 1990. Alexander Keefe reconstructed Bapat’s story in Bidoun #27 (Diaspora). Keefe will be presenting a rare screening of Aleph Null, one of Bapat’s original video compositions — “all these mandalas going all over the place,” in Bapat’s words — created with Charles Phillips in 1971. First shown at the Whitney Museum’s 1971 “Video Tape Special,” Aleph Null was last screened at the Mudd Club in 1981.

Conner Habib
Conner Habib is a writer, philosopher, sex advice columnist, and gay porn star, based in San Francisco. An adherent of Rudolph Steiner’s Anthroposophy, Habib lectures on the Western esoteric tradition. He has been featured in such films as Man Up, Night Maneuvers, and Arabesque 2: From Tales of the Arabian Nights; his essay, “The Virtues of Being an Object,” appeared in Exploring the Edge Realms of Consciousness, edited by Daniel Pinchbeck & Ken Jordan. Anna Della Subin’s conversation with Habib is forthcoming in Bidoun #28 (Interviews).

We are really pleased to announce Bidoun is the proud recipient of a generous grant from the Kindle Project Fund of the Common Council Foundation. The Kindle Project supports “creative thinkers, artists, activists, doers, and paradigm pushers.” It is kind donations like this as well as gifts from individuals and the support from our subscribers that enables us to continue our work.

December 15, 2012 — February 15, 2013
Point Centre for Contemporary Art
Megaron Hadjisavva,
2, Evagorou Street,
1057, Nicosia, Cyprus

For this Cypriot iteration of the Bidoun Library, we are presenting a thematic version of the Library built around espionage, the legacies of state-sponsored publishing, and the cultural Cold War. A site-specific subsection will be built around the assassination of the Egyptian writer Yussef el Sebai — himself the General Secretary of the Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Movement among many other roles — at the Hilton Hotel in Nicosia on February 18, 1978.

More on the Bidoun Library
The Point Centre for Contemporary Art website

Friday Late: Record, Reframe, Resist
Friday November 30, 2012 from 6:30 – 10pm
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL

This Friday evening at the V&A in London, as part of its ongoing investigation of lost and/or neglected cultural artifacts, Bidoun will be presenting a selection of trailers from the little known genre of Iranian-American “B Movies.” Produced mainly in Los Angeles in the years after the revolution, these resolutely un-canonical (and often un-watchable) low budget films feature mainly American casts with a few Iranian actors. They are the direct descendents of filmfarsi, the vernacular B Movie genre that dominated popular Iranian cinema before 1979, and which employed many of the same directors. Of course, with their new locale, language, and themes, much was lost in translation. These films — unlike their Iranian predecessors — have very limited potential for popular appeal.

And yet some of these films were exported to the Third World; others have become cult hits among pulp connoisseurs. Seen together, they shape a bizarre picture of what these diasporic directors once imagined the formula for a successful Hollywood action film to be — including confusing representations of self (ambiguous Middle Eastern villains, terrorists, and belly dancers in varying states of veiling) and hilariously outmoded and offensive representations of others (Arabs, Japanese, African Americans, women).

Watch trailer on youtube	Cat in the Cage Tony Zarindast 1978 Directed by Tony (Mohammad) Zarindast, this film stars the undisputed leading man of Iranian film, Behrouz Vossoughi, in his first non-Iranian production. Vossoughi, whose accent must have been too thick for American audiences, is the only actor in the film to have his voice dubbed. The film co-stars Playboy cover girl Sybil Danning (August 1983) and Samson the Cat.
Watch trailer on youtube	Treasure of the Lost Desert Tony Zarindast 1984 Another Zarindast film, this time starring himself as “Eagle,” a freedom fighter from an ahistorical Dubai who must defeat a heroic US Army Green Beret, “Claude Servan,” in order to reach the hidden desert booty he intends to barter for weapons…
Watch trailer on youtube	Hollywood Cop Amir Shervan 1987 The first American production from the legendary trash director Amir Shervan, Hollywood Cop was followed by Samurai Cop, Killing American Style, Gypsy, and Young Rebels. Peter (Petros) Palian, who produced Bidoun favorite An Esfehani in New York (1972), acted as Director of Photography on all of Shervan’s American films, as well as John S. Rad’s Dangerous Men.
Watch trailer on youtube	Terror in Beverly Hills John Myhers 1989 Produced by Moshe Bibiyan and written by his brother Simon, Terror in Beverly Hills also stars Behrouz Vossoughi, this time as a Palestinian terrorist who kidnaps the US President’s daughter. The opening sequence was shot on location in Jerusalem and Persianesque pseudo-Arabic sparkles throughout.
Watch trailer on youtube Watch trailer on youtube	The Nuclear Baby and 1999 Jalal Fatemi 1990 From the B Movie avant-garde comes Jalal Fatemi’s The Nuclear Baby, a surreal video feature about a pregnant woman navigating a post-nuclear war nation called “Caspiana” while being hunted by a dream terrorist. Although Iran is never named, the village doctor has all the familiar physical trappings of a filmfarsi jaheli character, and the remaining canned goods in this post-apocalyptic world seem to consist mostly of ghormeh sabzi mix and pickles. The short film 1999 is built upon a conceptual framework of bowel-based imagery. A US Marine with digestive problems ponders his past and future while trapped in an oil refinery on the cusp of the new millennium and the discovery of an alternative fuel source.
Watch trailer on youtube	Dangerous Men John S. Rad 2005 It took John S. Rad, aka Jahangir Salehi Yeganehrad, about two decades to patch together Dangerous Men, which is frequently described as completely indescribable. The official tagline promises an unforgettable comedy suspense, mystery drama and Bret Berg of Los Angeles’ Cinefamily passionately crowns it “THE holiest of all holyfuckingshits.” In a 2006 interview with Rad, the director pondered the response of some audiences during the film’s theatrical run: “They laughed, screamed, clapped, and got up and sat down, almost with any scene. I was wondering, some scenes in my opinion were not funny to laugh at or be so excited.”

Wednesday, October 24th – Sunday, November 4th, 2012
Miguel Abreu Gallery
36 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002

Bidoun is pleased to be participating in Book Week II: In Translation, with Collages by Raha Raissnia, presented by Miguel Abreu Gallery and Sequence Press. The gallery floor will be arranged as a bookshop and reading room with recent titles from mostly local publishers. In addition, selections will be on hand from the Lower East Side Heritage Collection, a unique archive of specialized, noncirculating books at the Seward Park branch of the New York Public Library. Participants include:

• Archipelago
  
• Bidoun
  
• Dalkey Archive Press
  
• Halmos
  
• New York Review Books
  
• Open Letter Books
  
• Seven Stories Press
  
• Verso
  
• New York Public Library’s Lower East Side Heritage Collection
  

See press release for more information

Michael Rakowitz and Robert Christgau in conversation
+ Launch of the record Sabreen — Live in Jerusalem 2010
Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 7pm
Lombard Freid Gallery
518 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011

Lombard Freid Gallery is pleased to present an evening with artist Michael Rakowitz and legendary rock critic Robert Christgau, discussing the breakup of The Beatles as history and as metaphor, inspired by Rakowitz’s “The Breakup"—a set of works that includes radio broadcasts, film, a live concert in Jerusalem, memorabilia, and a deluxe limited edition LP produced in conjunction with Bidoun Projects.

The evening will be hosted by Sukhdev Sandhu, director of the Colloquium for Unpopular Culture at New York University and author of the lead essay in the liner notes for Live In Jerusalem 2010, which will be on sale at the event and from Bidoun.

Michael Rakowitz’s “The Breakup” was originally commissioned for The Jerusalem Show IV by Al Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art, Jerusalem.

The 45min video of The Breakup will screen at 6pm.

Longtime Village Voice writer-editor Robert Christgau has covered popular music for many publications, including Esquire, Newsday, Creem, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and Blender. His ” Rock & Roll &“ column appears monthly in the Barnes and Noble Review and his ” Expert Witness“ blog twice weekly at msn.com. Michael Rakowitz is an artist based in Chicago and New York City. His work has appeared in venues worldwide including P.S. 1, the Museum of Modern Art, MassMOCA, Tate Modern, the 10th Istanbul Biennial, Sharjah Biennial 8, Asian Art Biennial, and, most recently, dOCUMENTA (13) . His work is in many private and public collections including MoMA, UNESCO in Paris, and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago.

Frieze London
October 11-14, 2012
Regent’s Park

Find our booth at the Frieze Art Fair and check out our latest issue, subscribe, or pick up our limited edition Tehran City Guide, with very Bidounish advice about where to go and (mostly) where to eat in Iran’s capital.

Tehran City Guide
Two color risograph
16pp
4.25x11in
Numbered edition of 100

September 13-16, 2012
Station-Berlin
Luckenwalder Strasse 4—6
10963 Berlin

Visit our table at Art Berlin Contemporary this week as part of the Artists Space Bazaar and pick up a copy of our latest issue, #27 DIASPORA.

For more information please visit: http://www.artberlincontemporary.com

Amal Kenawy
October 1, 1974 - August 19, 2012

Your bravery was unsurpassed. Your art was unforgettable. We will miss you.

Bidoun is an award-winning independent magazine covering the arts & culture of the Middle East and its Diaspora. It is published quarterly, under the larger umbrella of Bidoun Projects.

We are looking for an experienced advertising salesperson to oversee global advertising and business development for Bidoun.

Responsibilities
• Maintain and expand advertising base.
• Research and identify opportunities for growth, and prospects for new business.
• Maximize revenue, while developing creative and strategic solutions for advertisers.
• Conduct rate negotiations with clients, and lock in long-term advertising programs.
• Track advertising performance, and measure sales goals.

Required Experience & Skills
• Bachelor’s Degree.
• 1-3 years experience at a print publication or in a related role.
• A demonstrated understanding of media sales.
• The ability to work independently, and to think strategically about growing advertising for the magazine.

Additional Skills
• A motivated self-driven individual with a positive, can-do attitude.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills, with a friendly ability to engage and build relationships with prospective advertisers.
• The ability to work independently and on deadline.
• Fluency in Farsi or Arabic a plus but not required.
• Interest in Middle Eastern culture a plus.

Please submit your resume along with a brief letter expressing your interest to: [email protected].

Una colaboración entre El Eco, Bidoun y Tomo
※ Algunos ejemplos de que puedes donar/prestar: libros sobre petróleo, revistas de viajes, novelas románticas, ensayos, …
※ Las donaciones se pueden entregar en el museo dentro de sus horarios o por favor de contactarnos para solicitar que se recoja el material.
※ Todos los libros, material impreso y/o revistas proporcionados serían devueltos al concluir el evento — ¡al menos que se done!

A collaboration between El Eco, Bidoun, and Tomo
※ Some examples: books on oil and gas, magazines about travel, pulp romances, …
※ Donations may be delivered to the museum during opening hours or contact us to arrange for pick up.
※ All books, printed material and / or magazines provided will be returned at the conclusion of the event — unless being donated!

Preguntas/Questions: [email protected]

Book launch party
& “Real Talk”
with Super Models contributors
Babak Radboy (Bidoun)
& Andy Pressman (Rumors, Bidoun)
moderated by Harry Gassel
Thursday 12 July at 7 PM
Bidoun
47 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
www.gdnyc.org/supermodels

Friday, May 18 at 7pm
155 Freeman Street, Brooklyn, NY
$5 suggested donation

A celebration of the publication of Bidoun #26, Soft Power, hosted by Triple Canopy at 155 Freeman

Featuring a conversation between Iman Issa and Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, readings by Anand Balakrishnan and Michael C. Vazquez, and music by Tiffany Malakooti

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Join us in celebrating the twenty-sixth issue of Bidoun, which considers art and patronage, state-sponsored media, cultural diplomacy, revolution and counterrevolution, nation and/or corporate branding, and potato chips as public relations.

Artist Iman Issa will discuss monuments and mysteries, among other things, with Bidoun contributing editor Kaelen Wilson-Goldie , who writes about Issa in “ Radical Subtraction.” Issa’s work, which was part of the recent New Museum Triennial, “The Ungovernables,” creates an eloquent language of forms to address unruly questions about place, power and memory.

Writer Anand Balakrishnan will read from his story “The Serendipity of Sand,” which ponders the ultimate civilizational soft-power gambit — the monumental ruin — and what that might have to do with the zebra’s beguiling stripes.

Bidoun senior editor Michael C. Vazquez will present outtakes from his essay “ The Bequest of Quest,” which contemplates the curious legacy of Cold War magazines funded by the American CIA, including the Indian literary magazine Quest and the African journal Transition.

A slide show of covers of nation-state self-help books, drawn from Shumon Basar and Parag Khanna’s article “Soft Readers Prefer Hard Covers,” will be shown.

Throughout the evening, Bidoun’s Tiffany Malakooti will play Iranian wedding trance and Lebanese happy softcore.

Join the Facebook event!

Bidoun Bookshelf Launch
Sunday May 6th from 6-9pm
47 Orchard Street between Grand and Hester

Join us for the launch of the Bidoun Bookshelf, a micro-bookshop in our storefront space on the Lower East Side in which we present and sell unique, rare, or otherwise compelling books from across the Bidouniverse.

Presented in conjunction with Frieze NY’s Downtown Night

Negar Azimi speaking at the Global Art Forum, Dubai

Much of team Bidoun has spent the past week in the Gulf, with Negar Azimi and Tiffany Malakooti presenting at the March Meeting in Sharjah; Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, Michael Vazquez, Alexander Provan, Yasmine El Rashidi, Sophia Al-Maria, and Negar Azimi participating in the Global Art Forum in Doha and at Art Dubai, curated by Shumon Basar; all in addition to our regular booth at the fair and screenings of two great archival documentaries on Ardeshir Mohasses and Parviz Tanavoli and his founding of the sculpture department at the University of Tehran.

Come say hello if you’re in Dubai, or follow us — or someone with superior social-networking skills — on Facebook and Twitter.

Ebrahim Goelstan, still from Yek Atash (A Fire), 1961

Revolution vs Revolution,
March 14, 26, 28
Beirut Art Center
In the context of Beirut Art Center’s exhibition “Revolution vs Revolution,” Bidoun’s Tiffany Malakooti presents two curated film programs around Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979 and Negar Azimi gives a talk entitled “Iran in Pictures: Social Suffering and Three Sets of Images.”
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 8pm
Ebrahim Golestan,_ Yek Atash (A Fire), 1961, 24’
Kamran Shirdel, _Tehran Is the Capital of Iran, 1966, 18’
Parviz Kimiavi, Ya Zamene Ahu (O Guardian of the Deer), 1970, 20’

Monday March 26, 2012 at 8pm
Kianoush Ayari,_ Tazeh Nafas-ha (The Newborns)_, 1979, 45’
Wednesday March 28, 2012 at 8pm
Iran in Pictures: Social Suffering and Three Sets of Images by Negar Azimi
http://beirutartcenter.org

Bidoun’s space at the Independent last year

The Independent
March 8-11th
548 West 22nd Street
New York
Bidoun is one of three publications invited to present at the Independent Art Fair this weekend. Visit our rooftop space to browse Bidoun past and present, talk to our staff and interns, and drink Persian tea.
http://www.independentnewyork.com

Kianoush Ayari, still from Tazeh Nafas-ha, 1979

Kianoush Ayari
Tazeh Nafas-ha (The Newborns)
1979
45 min
In Farsi with English subtitles

Kianoush Ayari’s documentary captures rare scenes of everyday life on the streets of Tehran in the months following the revolution of 1979 — that somewhat utopian period between revolutionary violence and the formation of a full fledged Islamic Republic when a bright future seemed possible, if not probable.

In this Tehran, we witness books carrying conflicting ideologies sold openly on the streets, laborers debating as to the wages they have been promised, and young men donning Arab garb to have their portrait taken with a Yasser Arafat backdrop. We also witness extended scenes from three different political plays, along with street theatre in a park where a performer imitates various iconic pop singers, political figures, and even the Shah himself.

Still, images from slums in the south of the city remind us of lurking problems in the background, and while the film ends on an optimistic note — with footage of youth energetically campaigning for upcoming elections — 33 years later and in light of current events, that optimism seems misplaced, if not bittersweet.

Kianoush Ayari’s Tazeh Nafas-ha on UbuWeb

This upload is part of the BubuWeb project — a partnership between Bidoun and UbuWeb which aims to make available rare audio and visual materials from the Middle East.