Kiarostami’s Snow White series contains several of his most meaningful works. Initially it seems to be more or less a retelling of what he has said in his films and other works, but this time through the medium of photography. At first glance we could take this collection of photographs to be a window into nature, i.e., landscapes with a special emphasis on snow, rain, trees and mountains. Yet, if we look deeper and pay attention to the symbolic approach to the phenomenon of nature in these photographs, a substantial difference between them and films or other ways of portraying nature becomes apparent. Compared to other works by Kiarostami, this series, with all its simplicity and optimism on a superficial level, achieves a more in-depth artistic perspective as well as a metaphoric point of view.
Kiarostami, with his unwavering persistence when it comes to nature’s beauty, chooses seemingly innocent images as his theme. These are metaphoric allusions that hint at his mindset and traverse the poetical attributes of the landscape and begin an excursion into a symbolic and abstract world. He thereby compels his viewers to push past the level of naturalistic understanding and move towards the interplay of meanings and hidden implications beyond the physical aspects of nature. In this work, mountains, as a natural phenomenon, are shown in a comparatively larger frame. Yet Kiarostami’s camera, from an angle the viewer is unaccustomed to, looks down at the subject in such a way that it gives us a feeling of dominance and brings about a fresh opportunity to find our place in ‘existence’ and a deeper understanding of our ‘unification with existence.’
For Kiarostami snow, rain, trees, mountains and other phenomenon are basically just raw materials rich in references and allusions; a secret device which stems from eternal wisdom. Therefore, if we were to follow the artist’s footsteps as we move through his work, we will find him in the hidden depths of it and not in plain view on the surface.
“Snow” is the unifying point within all the works in this series. It governs every image and in a very logical way is the general theme. More than his ‘road,’ ‘rain,’ ‘tree’ and ‘crow,’ Snow White is the best known of Kiarostami’s series of works, especially in the international art market, and he has also worked on it for a considerably longer period of time (over 20 years now). The important paradox in all these works is that even though ‘snow’ seems to be the central unifying point of the series, it is obvious that snow is never the focal point. Not in any of the images! In this photograph we can see that snow is just the background to exemplify another phenomenon which appears on top of it. It is as if snow is being presented as a special condition in nature whose only purpose is to reflect moonlight. The brightness that manifests itself in the scene is presented seemingly as a struggle with the contemplation of what is real within the layers of the work’s significance. In a way we leave what we know of snow behind and perceive it as a general understanding of life, of existence and of being; a significance that brims with the secrets of life.
It must be acknowledged that the attributes of Kiarostami’s style have never forced him to close his eyes to the aesthetics of form. His greatness lies in creating powerful images in a carefully planned framing of subject matter and its composition. This can be seen in all his works, including this one. The work on display here presents itself as ‘classic’ and differs from the rest of the abstract works in the series, yet still exhibits this systematic structure. Additionally, the composition, the scope, and the viewing angle all contribute in a major way to the strength of the subject.
The fundamental idea behind this work is not the glorification of a romantic post-card landscape, but rather the complex depths of our existence and how we conceive them. For Kiarostami, the confines of nature allow us to travel through the world of the mind. His pictures go beyond considerations of formalistic aestheticism and almost immediately openly bow to his personal symbolism, leading toward a new identity in the field of photography, ‘photo-art.’ The Snow White series, to which this work on display belongs, is a perfect example of this tendency.
Caption:
For Abbas Kiarostami snow, rain, trees, mountains and other phenomenon are basically just raw materials rich in references and allusions; a secret device which stems from eternal wisdom. Therefore, if we were to follow the artist’s footsteps as we move through his work, we will find him in the hidden depths of it and not in plain view on the surface.
The fundamental idea behind this work is not the glorification of a romantic post-card landscape, but rather the complex depths of our existence and how we conceive them. For Kiarostami, the confines of nature allow us to travel through the world of the mind. His pictures go beyond considerations of formalistic aestheticism and almost immediately openly bow to his personal symbolism.
