Coffee shop Ladies 2004-2005
An Interactive program in 7 pages accompanied by fifteen 30x40cm photos + A mouse & a head phone that allows user/ visitors to explore what's behind the hidden faces of coffee shop Ladies . The program was presented for the first time in amirali's solo exhibition in cafe aks as a part of Concealed & exposed [coffee shop series] exhibition in Sep 2005,in Cafe Aks then in Oct 2005 was shown as a part of A human being, Different ways of looking at Baran Art Gallery Tehran.
Created by Amirali Ghasemi Programmed by Salman Khoshro Sound Recording by Raha Faridi Photo/video by amirali Ghasemi Poster By Iman Raad
Coffee shop Ladies These are my Documentary photos from Tehran 's most popular cafes (or coffee shops as we call them here in Iran ). Coffee shops in Iran are the symbol of social freedom to some degrees due to the absence of a proper public space. It's a place where both splendidly motivated youngsters & intellectual brains gather, it's also a meeting place for the journalists as well. The faces of young ladies in these photos are hidden by blank spaces (stickers). By reducing the level of information that each photo can offer to the visitors, the artist has tried to prevent the Media from easily misusing, manipulating or interrupting the image in a mass global scale. But the connection isn't lost completely as visitors (users) are let to explore an interactive program based on the photos to know more about these ladies by clicking & listening …
[Voice 1, audio transcript:] Outside the cafe, I went there to see one my friends, Natasha who recently came back from India, … you see most of the time no one pays attention to your good ideas, no one pays a penny for them, the client always wants to use you to produce his concepts … I got 4 out of 20 because I didn't listen to his stupid ideas for my presentation …
[Voice2, audio transcript:] Let me see your nails! They're gorgeous! Did you do them yourself!? Great..!
[audio transcript:] These days, Saleh & I do most of our work in cafes but we prefer quiet ones so that no one interrupts us when we're working. We work across a variety of areas including creative writing & illustration & we focus on artworks that don't require a computer… the problem is that many cafes limit the time of sitting to 45 min or charge extra money if we want to stay… then we add text later to those illustrations … it seems like if you don't have money you can't do any thing in this town so it's better to stay at home … because everywhere you want to go you have to buy something, a meal, coffee, a film… yes there are parks where we sometimes go like Saei Park. We buy a cup of tea & we draw!
[audio transcript:] But I believe that if we change we can change everyone around us, it depends on how we know ourselves & if we know ourselves well, it is we who consciously change our environment or else we just get mixed up in it.
[audio transcript:] There are some special stones created inside Lava they normally have a crust, but this was like a crystal, I told my friend that it was crystal and let's take it to the lab & see what it is. Then she called me from the lab screaming: it is CHALCEDONY!! So I suggested a trip in the middle of the week to collect precious gems from the river side! And I found a jeweler who'll polish the stones & we can ask for any designs we want on them..
[audio transcript:] Last summer, no it was in the spring, they called from the Graphic Design Society & said ‘we want give a few 3 month scholarships at the Berlin University of Art to talented young members of the society.' I accepted straight off & they gave us updates on the process each week by phone. Every thing was on schedule, even the accommodation, flight, meals were set, but 2 weeks before our departure they turned us down & they sent him instead … I like the atmosphere but I don't like to sit in the cafe every day since it doesn't make me feel happy… yeah …. I agree with you completely…
[audio transcript:] I've heard from her, I was chatting to her last night and I talked to her a few days ago … She's fine! … Haven't you heard about her new boyfriend…? Some one you don't know! ...then they [University security] said boys aren't allowed in [they kept them at the front door because their names hadn't been registered, & said ‘you all want to go in there? it's not some kind of party!!' Then the session started, RAKHSHAN [head of the department] never came down, he was afraid, he said ‘I'm not coming to your presentation'… I don't know maybe he has an old problem with my Dad from university days … then the front door security called my name twice but I didn't hear! Thanks god or I'd have been scared to death!
