Looking back

February 12, 2009 8:33 AM

Khomeini and the revolution A photo-essay. "I have a 30-year-old book of photographs of the revolution by a photographer named Hatami. I thought it would be interesting to reproduce them for the 30th anniversary of the revolution. I paid my nephew Nico $20 to scan the entire book."
posted by Abiezer (17 comments total)

these are amazing
posted by puckish at 8:57 AM on February 12, 2009

Speaking of Iran, any news about Hoder?
posted by PenDevil at 8:57 AM on February 12, 2009

Thanks for the post. For those interested, the BBC just came out with an excellent documentary on the revolution and Iran's relationship with the West. The first episode, "the man who changed the world" is online here.
posted by YouRebelScum at 9:06 AM on February 12, 2009

Some of the best photographs I've seen from the revolution are by Magnum photographer Abbas. Sadly, that photobook has been out of print for years and years.
posted by chunking express at 9:16 AM on February 12, 2009

And yeah, this is a very cool set.
posted by chunking express at 9:18 AM on February 12, 2009

fantastic. thank you for sharing.
posted by Heliochrome85 at 9:35 AM on February 12, 2009

Thanks for this. I don't know why I'm always surprised to see how familiar the cities, towns, and people in these images strike me. (Except that I was raised in an atmosphere where singing "Bomb Iran" and wearing t-shirts of Mickey Mouse giving the Ayatollah the finger were not only the norm, but expected.)
posted by not_on_display at 9:40 AM on February 12, 2009

Amazing book, Uncle Rico.
posted by gman at 9:47 AM on February 12, 2009

I wish they'd translated captions, too.
posted by QIbHom at 10:58 AM on February 12, 2009

Religion and politics aside, Khomeini struck a very iconic figure. Not only does he leap out of every frame he is in, but he looks like an icon even crossing the street.

I love this whole collection.
posted by paisley henosis at 10:59 AM on February 12, 2009

The sixth picture (identified as "revhat006.preview") shows someone who looks to be Ahmadinejad himself as one of the men who have linked arms to escort the Ayatollah during a street demonstation.

These are wonderful photos, most depicting brave men most obviously filled with the revolutionary zeal reserved exclusively to the young. It is hard to believe that the events depicted took place thirty years ago. I wonder how many of the young revolutionists are happy about how things turned out.
posted by rdone at 2:17 PM on February 12, 2009

A fascinating historical document. Thanks for sharing this link.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:17 PM on February 12, 2009

Chunking...Telex Iran is pretty much the only visual knowledge (oh, and Persepolis) I have of Iran during that time. It's one of the best bodies of work I know; so interesting that Peress couldn't find a market for the photos at the time, as evidenced in the telexes. Scored a copy a few years back and can't help but look through it every so often. Such great work.

Really great to see some new photos from the revolution. I could spend a long time looking at these pictures.
posted by msbrauer at 5:40 PM on February 12, 2009

Whoops, looks like I skimmed your comment too quickly, Chunking, thinking you were linking to Telex Iran. Missed the "Abbas" part, I guess...
posted by msbrauer at 5:50 PM on February 12, 2009

Telex Iran is another book I want, but it too is a bitch to find. They both took some great photos of Iran.
posted by chunking express at 5:53 PM on February 12, 2009

Is this the reason why Republican USA hates France ?
posted by adamvasco at 11:51 PM on February 12, 2009

Photo essay by Abbas on the journey from the Shah to Khomeini.
posted by chunking express at 11:55 AM on February 18, 2009