Series V: Photographic Prints
Scope and Contents
This series includes personal photographs for May Muzaffar and Rafa Nasiri from their childhood and adulthood years until Rafa Nasiri's late years when he was a cancer patient, as well as professional photographs covering Baghdad's social and artistic milieu from the 1960s to the 1990s. The collections show the couple's different houses in Baghdad, including meetings and gatherings at each one of them, interiors at the Institute of Fine Arts, trips made with friends around Iraq, meals and events with friends and guests, travel to Morocco, Germany, Portugal, and other countries, and Nasiri's Graphic Studio. During the Iran-Iraq War, Nasiri's Graphic Studio, known as Al Muhtaraf, was actively printing works for Nasiri and his fellow artists while also presenting exhibitions, keeping the art scene in Baghdad alive despite the grimness of war. Additional photos pertain to Nasiri and Muzaffar's years of exile in Amman and Manama from 1991 to 2013.
V.A. May Muzaffar, 1940s–c.1991
Scope and Contents
Photographs of May Muzaffar from her childhood, family, education, college years, and early active years as a young poet. The subseries also includes images from her workplace at the Iraq Reinsurance Company and trips with literary figures to poetry festivals in Iraq
V.B. Rafa Nasiri, 1940s–c.2010
Scope and Contents
Photographs of Rafa Nasiri from his childhood, family, education in Iraq and abroad, artistic initiatives and groups, his education at the Institute of Fine Arts, Baghdad, his printmaking training at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing (1959–1963), his diploma years in Portugal.
V.C. Rafa and May Muzaffar's Wedding, Baghdad, December 31, 1973
V.D. Homes in Iraq, 1974–1991
Scope and Contents
Photographs of the two houses where May Muzaffar and Rafa Nasiri lived in Baghdad, one in the Al Qadisiyah neighborhood, 1974–1985, and the other in al-Khadra neighborhood, 1985–1991. The photographs show the interiors, furniture, printing press, library, and art housed in their residences.
1. Al Koukh (The Cottage), Al Qadisiyah, Baghdad
2. House in al-Khadra, Baghdad
V.E. Time in Iraq, 1969 - 1980s
Scope and Contents
General photos from the couple's life and work in Baghdad between 1974 (first year of marriage) until 1991, when they relocated from Iraq to Jordan. Includes images of gatherings at their house in Al Khadra neighborhood, Nuha al-Radi's house, Maath Alousi's house in Baghdad, exhibitions and events at the Al Riwaq Gallery (1986), as well as trips around Iraqi towns and archeological sites.
1. Exhibitions, Baghdad, 1969-1986
2. Nasiri Printing in Workshop, c.1986
3. Gatherings, 1980s
V.F. Nasiri Graphic Studio, "Al Muhtaraf Nasiri," 1986–1989
Scope and Contents
Photographs of interiors and events taking place at Nasiri Graphic Studio (aka Al Muhtaraf Nasiri) in the Al-Mansour neighborhood in Baghdad. These events included lectures and exhibitions such as one for artist Ismail Fattah.
1. General Views
2. Ismail Fattah's Exhibition, 1988
3. Dia Azzawi's Exhibition, 1989
4. Rafa Nasiri's Exhibition, 1990
V.G. Travels, 1974–2013
Scope and Contents
Photographs compiled by the couple from their solo or joint travels for purposes of participating in exhibitions, symposiums, conferences, residencies, tourism, and other. The pictures also feature the couple's arrival at the moment of the announcement of an award for Nasiri at the Norwegian International Print Biennale, Fredrikstad, in 1978, encounters with Arab and international artists and intellectuals such as Mahmoud Darwish and Nizar Qabbani, and images of European and Arab cities they have visited.
1. The Graphic Art Exhibition at The Gravura, Lisbon, 1968
2. Salzburg, 1974
3. Iraq, c.1970s
4. 4th Norwegian International Print Biennale, Fredrikstad, 1978
5. Solo at Sultan Gallery, c. 1980s
6. Trips to Asilah, Morocco, c.1980s
7. Nineveh and Samarra, c.1980s
8. Ahwar, c.1980s
9. Kurdistan, Iraq, c.1980s
10. Assyrian Ruins, 1987
11. Berlin, 1987
12. Etel Adnan Hommage, Beirut, 2010
13. Different locations, n.d.
V.H. Homes, 1991–2013
Scope and Contents
Photographs of the interiors of the couple's residences outside of Iraq, namely in a one-bedroom apartment on campus of Yarmouk University in Jordan (1991-1997), and a villa near the University of Bahrain in 1997. The pictures show the interiors, furniture, guests and Nasiri's artworks housed in their residences.
1. Campus of Yarmouk University, Irbid, 1991–1997
2. 3rd Circle, Jabal Amman, 1992
3. 5th Circle, Jabal Amman, 1992–1995
4. Sweifieh, Amman, 1995–2000
V.I. Jordan, 1991–2013
1. Rafa Nasiri with Students in Jordan, 1992
2. Art Events in Amman, 1992 and 2001
3. Rafa Nasiri and George Bahgoury in Amman, c.2000s
V.J. Bahrain, 1997–2003
V.K. Undated Artworks by Rafa Nasiri and Other Artists
Scope and Contents
Numerous works in this subseries appear to have been created during the cultural seasons in Asilah, Morocco, some in 1979, others in 1984, and other dates and locations.
