Guity Novin

Guity Novin, born as Guity Navran (born 1944) is an Iranian-born Canadian artist, she is known as a figurative painter, and graphic designer.[1] She classifies her work as "transpressionism" (trans- and impressionism), a term coined by Guity Novin in the 1990s.[2] Her works are in private and public collections worldwide.[3] Novin has served on a UNESCO national committee of artists.[4]

Guity Novin
Guity Novin
Born
Guity Navran

(1944-04-21) April 21, 1944
Kermanshah, Iran
NationalityCanadian-Iranian
EducationFaculty of Decorative Arts, Tehran
Known for
  • oil
  • watercolor
  • mixed media

Early life and education

Guity Navran was born in 1944 in Kermanshah, Iran. In the spring of 1953, the Navran family moved to Tehran.

About her academic experience, later on she wrote:

I did my undergraduate studies during the late '60s. In those days there predominated in academia a definite penchant for modern and post modern arts. My professors were mostly young Ph. Ds from Europe and North America who admired, and encouraged students to admire, artists like Kandinski, Miro, Mondrian and later on Andy Warhol among others. There thrived a culture that scorned figurative painting and representational arts. What mattered in arts was the appearance that could provoke a reaction from the observer. Beauty and the judgement of delight in the beauty were considered tolerable concerns; but the judgement about the generality of delight in the object was dismissed on the ground that it would lead to vulgarity. They questioned the validity of the painting as the artwork and to describe any kind of painting used a plethora of pejorative adjectives such as archaic, stale, or sterile. Decorative paintings were regarded as insipid, and any further experiment with impressionists' techniques was deemed futile. Since my undergraduate grounding at the Girls College of Fine Arts transpired from a philosophy that took painting very seriously, it was viewed as a liability, and therefore my academic projects had to do without, almost, any traces of technique, harmony and composition in order to be judged among the `avant-garde' works. I came by many `two-with-mention' marks for projects that included: gluing an old basketball shoe to a black canvas and pouring red industrial paint over it, discolouring a canvas by subjecting it to a slow electrical heat from the back and a number of other abstract happening projects. Later on, I noticed that the same kind of attitude prevails among many bureaucrats in charge of evaluating art works for various public or private institutions. These mandarins usually came to be excited from a piece that was provocative or irritating in appearance, and procured it for their institutions. This encouraged many enterprising individuals to produce irksome objects that were usually mundane and frivolous.[5]

Early period 1970–1976

After graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts with a BA in graphic design, Guity Novin was employed as a graphic designer in the Department of Graphic Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Arts (MCA) in Tehran, in 1970. However, as the first female graphic designer she immediately was confronted with various barriers and adversarial relationships. All the important posters were designed by the head of the department, who had at his disposal the services of many calligraphers, drawers, and other designers. Guity responded by creating her own innovative posters outside the MCA and for the private sector. The young film makers of the Free Cinema of Iran, under the management of Basir Nasibi, commissioned her to design the cover of their first two books, as well as some of their posters. Pretty soon her posters and line drawings was reproduced on the cover of cultural magazines, such as Negin. She also began to design the cover of magazines like Zaman, and various literally periodicals such as Chaapar, and Daricheh.[6] Fortunately for Guity, the late Hajir Darioush, a young new wave director of cinema, was assigned as the president of First International Film Festival of Tehran which was headquartered at the MCA. Noticing Guity's talent, Darioush invited her to join his team, and Guity produced the catalogs and posters of the festival.

Exhibitions of paintings, 1971–1976

In 1971 Afsaneh Hoveida, the French curator of the prestigious Negar Gallery, invited Guity to exhibit her works at the Gallery. Guity exhibited her paintings under the title of Expression of Silence, which was inspired by the poems of Omar Khayyám in 1971. Her next two exhibitions, Posthumous, a journey to the poetical spheres of Ahmad Shamlou in 1973, and Tana Naha Yahu, Songs of Dervishes in 1975 inspired by the poems of Rumi, were held at the Seyhoon Gallery.

In addition she participated in numerous group exhibitions such as the Women artists exhibition during Asian Games of 1974. As well, She exhibited in the Salon d' autumn, Paris.[7]

Firoozeh Mizani interviewed Guity for Tamasha:

Our interview with her shed light to the fact that the painter had a sincere attempt to explore the poet images, and the poet himself have attested that she has succeeded in her endeavors. Guity says: when I decided to work on poems of Shamlou, the fear of not succeeding in conveying his poetical spaces, and of observers judgment that I have abused Shamlou's fame to attract publicity was always with me. But, after a while I realized that the poetical spaces can also be painted like a vase. Anyhow what is painted is a feeling and the power of brush. I have tried, to the extent that was possible, to depend on the poems and yet create a distinct character that in its isolation from poem has something to say... I ask her about her motives in choosing her colour schemes, and she says: Although my color compositions are in the same tonality, yet they are different and distinct. None of the different blue hues are similar to other blues but if you are asking about their relation to poetical spheres, I have to say that this is my sense of Shamlou's poems, and my own psychological state of mind or personal judgment have not impacted the color composition of the paintings.[8]

European period, 1975–1980

In 1975 Novin moved to The Hague, the Netherlands, studied at Vrije Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten, and exhibited in 1975 at Noordeinde Gallery. She named ths exhibition Melodious Spheres. She moved to Manchester, England, in 1976, exhibited her "In Essence" show at Didsbury Library and was selected in 1979 for the E.C.A Exhibition at National Theatre, London. She also participated in several group exhibitions.

Early Canadian period, Kingston, Ottawa, and Montreal, 1980-84
Guity Novin (1981) in her studio at Kingston, Ontario

In 1980 Guity settled in Kingston, Ontario. Her first exhibition in 1981 at the Brock Street Gallery in Kingston was called Lost Serenade. The Whig-Standard magazine, published her work "Flute Player" on the cover of its October 3, 1981, issue, and Don McCallum reviewed it in the same issue. He wrote:

The oil paintings of Guity Novin, whose exhibition Last Serenade opened Monday evening at the Brock Street Gallery, shows the influence of her artistic heritage... The artist uses the natural colors of the Persian scene, the turquoise of the mosques, the intense blue of the sky, the reddish brown of the old clay cities.[9]

Frank Berry wrote:

The paintings of Guity Novin are steeped in ancient tradition. The philosophical underpinning of her work is the intense experience of divine, of the human, and of human emotion. It is the home from which we in the west have long ago strayed.[10]

During this period she also exhibited at galleries in Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto.

Ottawa period 1984–1997

Guity spent 1983 in Montreal, and then in 1984 she and her family relocated to Ottawa, where she worked and exhibited until 1997. With a couple of her artist friends, including Raku potters Huc Wee and Adrianne Lamoreaux, Novin established the Artex Gallery at the Byward market in Ottawa where she painted and exhibited her works. At the same time, she started to produce graphic art drawings for the Breaking the Silence, a feminist periodical. Her illustrations were published in Le Carnaval de la licorne (2001),[11] and her work Pears in Blue was published in Abnormal Psychology.[12] Chapters bookstore exhibited her works in their main bookstore in Ottawa in 1995, and she participated in the National Capital Fine Art Festival at Aberdeen Pavilion, Landsdown park in March 1996.

Vancouver period, 1996 onwards

Guity Novin moved to Vancouver in 1996. She worked and exhibited as a resident artist in the Guthenham Gallery in Granville Island during 1997–2000. From 1996 onwards in a series of shows, she called her style as Transpressionism, and viewed it as a new initiative in art. Solo shows in this period include The Bliss of Solitude (2004), And Yet the Menace of the Years Find, and Shall Find, Me Unafraid (2006), Whispered of peace, and truth, and friendliness unquelled (2007), 'She opened her door and her window, And the heart and the soul came through" (2008), and "but love is the sky and I am for you, just so long and long enough" (2009) (All at North Vancouver Community Arts Council, "Art in Garden").[4][13] She also participated in a number of group shows, including two shows at the Ferry Building Gallery in 2006 and 2008,[14] and in the CityScape gallery in 2009.[15]

Graphic design work

Guity Novin worked as a graphic designer. She has created posters and magazine covers in Iran during the 1960–70 period. From the inception of the contemporary Iranian communication design activities in the 1960s, Guity Novin, was among its early practitioners which included graphic designers like Morteza Momayez, Farshid Mesghali, and Ghobad Shiva. These artists looked at graphic design as a conduit for the expression of their artistic aestheticism in the context of the Iranian visual grammar. Of course, for the male pioneers, like Momayez and Shiva, the path was somewhat smoother, as they were fortunate enough to work for institutions that allowed them a considerable level of artistic liberty. But for Novin, as a female practitioner the path was much harder. The number of such progressive institutions were very limited and most of the private sector clients, motivated only by profit, were satisfied by the work of visual designers who were just plagiarizing the prevailing styles in the western media. In fact, for many bureaucrats and business managers the notion of female artists at the helms of a graphic design department was a hard concept to swallow. For instance, soon after Novin started her career at the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Art, she was confronted with the fierce opposition of the head of the graphic design department. A graphic designer himself, the head expected Novin to assume the administrative tasks of the department. It was the late Hajir Darioush, a New-Wave Iranian film director, who noticed Novin's talent and offered her the position of the graphic designer in his department. It was there that she produced the posters, leaflets and the catalog of the First Tehran International Film Festival.

Novin has illustrated the covers of magazines like Negin and Zaman; and the publications of the Free Cinema of Iran. She was also the graphic designer of the First Tehran International Film Festival. In Ottawa her illustrations were published in the Breaking The Silence Magazine during the 1980s.[16] In Canada, Novin continued to produce posters for various social causes. She also has authored A History of Graphic Design, an online eBook.

  • Poster protesting hunger, 2010
  • Poster protesting homelessness, 2010
  • Poster protesting the treatment of Roma gypsies by France

Backlash

In the early 2012, a widespread campaign in a large number of Iranian media against Guity Novin started, attempting to create doubt about her as an existing real person. These articles distorted a report by the Jerusalem Post[17] entitled "The World's 50 Richest Jews", published[17] September 7, 2010, with an altered heading that read Introducing the World's Richest Zionists. The doctored article claimed that: "The ninth richest Zionist is Carl Ichan, of Iranian origin, whose Persian name is Guity Novin (Navran), who was born in Kermanshah, and now resides in Canada with a worth that is announced at more than $14 bn." However, the ninth person in the Jerusalem Post article was actually John Paulson, and Carl Ichan name was not in the list.

In her response Guity Novin wrote on her blog:[18] "I admit that I have many Jewish friends who do like my works, but the last time I checked this was not illegal. I admit that I am a woman painter. I admit that I am among the first graphic designers in Iran, I was one of the first instructors of graphic design who trained many students. I was the graphic designer of the first Tehran International Film Festival -- that's before the late Morteza Momayez, the father of graphic design in Iran. I designed the cover of Negin before he did his" and demanded "can somebody please let me know why am I subjected to these kinds of misinformation?". None of the aforementioned media retracted.

Notes and references
  1. "Artists in Canada" National Gallery of Canada. Accessed January 6, 2007
  2. Thomas F. Oltmanns, Robert E. Emery, & Steven Taylor, Abnormal Psychology, Canadian Edition, Prentice Hall, Toronto,2002, p. 713. See also: Joice Goodwin, Art in the Garden, Arts Alive Magazine, Vol. 12, No. 3, May–June 2007.
  3. "Iran Chamber Society: Iranian Visual Arts: Guity Novin". IranChamber.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  4. "Articles" guitynovin.com – click "articles" then "resume". Accessed January 6, 2007
  5. Iran Chamber Society Iranian Visual Arts: Guity Novin
  6. Ramin Mahjouri, Guity Novin: the Quiet Artist, Paivand, Vancouver, Vol. 6, No. 228, August 18, 2000
  7. First Teheran International Art Exhibition, by M. Pirnia Kayhan, December 22, 1974, No. 9444, p. 5
  8. Firoozeh Mizani, A Review of the Exhibition of Guity Navran: A Journey to the Poetical Spheres of Shamlou, Tamasha, Third Year, Vol. 114, 24th, Khordad 1352 (June 14, 1973)
  9. Don McCallum, A Heritage from Ancient Persia The Whig Standard Magazine, Kingston, Ontario, October 3, 1981, p. 10
  10. Frank Berry, Artistic Underground Surfaces on Brock Street, The Queens Journal, October 9, 1981. p. 15
  11. "Le Carnaval de la licorne" by Julie Huard, Les Edition L'Interligne, 2001 Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Julie Huard web page. Accessed January 6, 2007
  12. Oltmanns, T.F., Emery, R.E., and Taylor, Steven, p.335, p. 713, Prentice Hall, Toronto, 2001
  13. "Joyce Goodwin - arts alive, Vol. 12, No. 3, May/June 2007, p. 14". Arts-alive.ca. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  14. "Heres loooking at you" exhibition at the Ferry Building Gallery Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "North Vancouver Community Arts Council presents Longing – Jun 18". Artsy-Dartsy.com. June 16, 2009. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011.
  16. See for example: Breaking the Scilence, a feminist quarterly, June 1988, ISSN 0713-4266, pages 4, 6, 11, 12.
  17. "The world's 50 Richest Jews: 1-10 | JPost | Israel News". JPost. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  18. "ArtAct: Am I the world's 9th richest Zionist?". Artreact.blogspot.ca. Retrieved September 26, 2013.

Further reading
  • L'actuelle exposition des painture de Guity Novin a la Galerie Negar, Nichole Van de Ven, Journal de Teheran, 2 Dec.
  • Whispering of A Woman Painter, By Florence, Ayandegan, 23rd, Azar 1350, November 1971, p. 4
  • A Critique of Guity Novin Exhibition, in Negar Gallery, by Mansooreh Hosseini, Kayhan, November 1971
  • Expression of Silence, Negin, 30th, Mehr 1350, September 1971. No. 77, 7th Year. p. 19.
  • Expression of Silence, by F. Hajir, Ettelaat, No. 13666, 16th, Azar 1350, 1971, p 11.
  • The rapture of Young Painters, Zan-e Rooz, No. 352, Azar 1350, October 1971.
  • Exhibition of Paintings by Guity Novin—A journey into the Poetic Spaces of Shamloo, in Seyhoon Gallery, Ayandegan, Khordad, 1352, May 1973, p. 4.
  • "I'm the Painter of Poetical Spaces" – A Conversation with Guity Novin, Ettelaat, 17th, Khordad 1352, May 1973, No. 14119. p. 7.
  • A great quest in an exhibition, Ettelaat-e Banuvan, 6th, Tir 1352 July 1973.
  • " A poetic cry in painting" – on Exhibition of Guity Navran (Novin) in Seyhoon Gallery, Zan-e Rooz, 30th, Tir 1352, June 1973. No. 431.
  • A review of Guity Navran exhibition – a Journey into the poetical spaces of Shamloo"', by Firoozeh Mizani, Tamasha, 26th, Khordad 1352, May 1971, No. 114.
  • "A Heritage from Ancient Persia," a critique of Guity Novin's exhibition Lost Serenade at the Brock street Gallery by Don McCallum, The Whig-Standard, Vol. 2, No. 51, Kingston, Ontario, October 3, 1981.
  • "Artistic Underground Surfaces" on Brock Street, by Frank Berry, The Queen's Journal, October 9, 1981.
  • "Circles of Time, A Conversation with Guity Novin", by S. Motazedi, Shahrvand, Toronto, Vol. 10, No. 532, November 2000, p. 30.
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