Morteza Momayez
“Imagination of a Century” A Hundred Years of Iranian Visual Arts
(Part Five)
Image Source: Morteza Momayez, 2005-1957
Graphic Design, Photography, and Painting, 2005
Imagination and Image, Illustrations by Morteza Momayez, 1989
Writer and Director: Amir Soghrati
Research Assistant: Najwa Erfani
Motion Graphics: Masoud Talebani
Text Narrator: Amir Soghrati
Logo Design: Mohammad Fadaei
Editing: Mojtaba Fallahi
Project Manager: Harf-e Honar Studio
Producer: Institute for the Development of Contemporary Visual Arts
Supported by the General Directorate of Visual Arts, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Islamic Republic of Iran
Morteza Momeyez was born on September 4, 1936, in Tehran. His grandfather was a painter, and his paternal uncle, Mosi Khan, was a renowned newspaper cartoonist. After the state newspaper of Iran, Sheref, the second illustrated newspaper in the history of Iranian journalism, was published for ten years from 1981.
Momeyez began his career with cartoon drawing in 1951, but one of his most significant works was the illustration and cover design of the Book of the Week magazine, which he did from the age of 25 to 27.
His enduring works later influenced Iranian visual art, which can be seen in his book covers and posters. Book of the Week, founded in October 1961, was one of the most important literary publications in Iran. Momeyez, at the recommendation of Ahmad Shamlou, joined Book of the Week. In this magazine, besides having numerous works published, he managed to have the role of the magazine’s designer and layout artist acknowledged in the magazine’s masthead for the first time in Iran.
During this time, Ardeshir Mohassess, who was two years younger than Momeyez, published his first significant works in this magazine. Art critics consider the cartoon “Lion Daughters,” published in issue 72 of this magazine in 1963, as the first professional step in establishing the new Iranian cartoon. Momeyez, who entered the Tehran University Faculty of Fine Arts to study painting in 1956, graduated from the university in 1965.
At that time, graphic design was not taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts, but from 1960, with the establishment of the Decorative Arts Faculty, graphic design was taught by Houshang Kazemi at this faculty. In 1968, Momeyez received certificates in booth design and interior architecture from the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.
In the same year, his close friend, Farshid Mesghali, illustrated the book “The Little Black Fish.” The following year, Morteza Momeyez, who was still under 32, succeeded in launching the Graphic Design program at the Tehran University Faculty of Fine Arts.
In 1962, at the request of the Amir Kabir Institute, Momeyez illustrated Quranic stories. He created 22 images using the engraving technique in black and white, which later continued in the illustration of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and the animation “The Black Bird,” becoming memorable images in Iranian visual art.
Among Momeyez’s important works is his involvement in the founding of two important art groups in Iran, Iran Hall and Azad Group. In July 1964, Iran Hall was founded by Royin Pakbaz, Faramarz Pil A’aram, Morteza Momeyez, Sadeq Tabrizi, Mohammad Reza Joodat Ghobad Shiva, Masoud Arabshahi, Mansour Ghandriz, Cyrus Malek, Farshid Mesghali, Parviz Mahallati, and Hadi Haza.
Later, figures like Saeed Shahlapour, Farshid Maleki, and Hassan Vahedi were added to this group, and Shahlapour presented the Center for Visual Arts at the hall in 1974 and began archiving visual documents. In 1965, Mansour Ghandriz, one of the founders of this hall, passed away in a car accident, and his friends renamed the gallery in his memory to Ghandriz Hall. In this new art space, Morteza Momeyez held exhibitions of his works, which were well received.
In 1965, Azad Group was founded by Gholamhossein Nami, Morteza Momeyez, Abdolreza Daryabi, Marco Grigorian, Masoud Arabshahi, and Faramarz Pil A’aram. That year, the first international art exhibition in Tehran was held. Additionally, Iranian artists participated in the Art Basel exhibition in Switzerland for the first time this year. Two years later, the same event happened in Art Basel 1976. The exhibitions of the Azad Group were the first exhibitions of conceptual art in Iran.
Whether before or after the revolution, Momeyez established important exhibitions to unite and unify the graphic design profession. Establishing the graphic design program at the Faculty of Fine Arts and then holding exhibitions and eventually founding the Graphic Designers Guild of Iran were all part of this effort. Therefore, he was like a strict and diligent father who wanted graphic artists to stand together and united.
According to his long-time friend, Ebrahim Haghighi, Momeyez was a stronghold for professional graphic artists. A man who, on December 26, 2005, left the Iranian graphic community alone and spread his wings to the wider world, leaving behind thousands of images, art critiques, films, and books as a legacy to Iranian art.
