Kamran Adl seeking safe haven for his photos at Harvard
Veteran Iranian photographer Kamran Adl plans to send his photos to Harvard University in hopes of providing better conditions for their preservation.
He made the plan after he found out that most of his works, currently kept by certain Iranian institutes and organizations, have been damaged and many of them have been discarded, the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday.
Adl has a massive collection of photos depicting artifacts on display at various Iranian museums.
He also has taken photos of various rituals as well as historical Iranian architecture as depicted by monuments such as bazaars, mosques, and other ancient sites.
In addition, a number of his works focused on Iranian arts including carpet weaving and glassmaking.
“Many of the photos, currently in the possession of certain Iranian institutes and organizations, have been damaged through ignorance and by inappropriate conditions for their preservation,” Adl told the MNA.
“Even a large number of the photos no longer exist and unfortunately, I no longer have their negatives to make additional prints,” he added.
The 69-year-old photographer has retrieved a number of his photos since 2006 and scanned them for his archive.
“I plan to send the originals to Harvard University after the scanning is completed,” he stated.
He criticized Iranian photo archives for their disregard shown toward their treasures. He said that he has regularly asked cultural officials to provide digital albums from the ‘matchless photos’, which are kept at the photo archive of the Niavaran Cultural Historical Complex.
He said that the photos are decaying as a result of people handling them.
Photo: Shahzadeh Garden of Mahan in Kerman Province in an undated photo by Kamram Adl (kamranadle.com)
Sources: tehrantimes.com
