Jamshid Moradian and one of his artworks

TEHRAN, Dec. 11--Well-known Iranian sculptor Jamshid Moradian has been invited to Alaska to take part in the International Symposium on Mountains slated for March 2005.
Speaking to ILNA, Moradian said that he is the first Iranian, who has received an invitation from the symposium organizers.
"I will attend the event as representative of the Iranian sculptors," he noted.
Commenting on his entry for the symposium, he said that he would create an ice statue in the form of a winged cow with a human head featuring one of the sculptures standing in Perspolis, Fars province.
"I as an Iranian intend to present a symbolic work at the event," Moradian noted.
However, he noted that while the invitation letter has officially come from Alaska but due to financial difficulties and exorbitant expenses for the visit, he may not be able to take part in the event, scheduled for March
1-13.
Turning to the support extended by the artistic centers including Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, Moradian said "the museum has extended much assistance to me in the past years".
"But I cannot seek the museum's aid for any trip. So I may not manage to visit Alaska in view of financial constraints," he added.

TEHRAN, Dec. 11--A Birjand woman artist, Khadihjeh Khodashadizadeh, has woven a decorative wall carpet depicting the third phase of the famous Rostam-Sohrab battle, ISNA reported.
She noted that the wall carpet was woven without using any particular design and with the help of a poster she discovered in one of books of grand maestro Mahmoud Farshchian.
"Dimensions of the wall paper are 1.5 meter and 1.25 meter. The wall carpet contains more than 1.4 million knots," Khodashadizadeh added.
"I spent four months weaving the carpet. I have used 15 natural colors and 150 artificial colors in the carpet," she added.
Criticizing the prevailing recession in the carpet market, the artist asserted that carpet weavers have suffered a great deal because they do not have the necessary capital for supporting their industry.

TEHRAN, Dec. 11--A 100-second short film will be enduring only if it is compatible with the Iranian culture and makes proper use of the cinematic capabilities.
Expressing this view, Director of the Iranian Youth Cinema Association Mohammad Afarideh told Mehr News Agency that a short film with a profound outlook would be popular and appealing.
Most of the people prefer to watch a rich short film rather than a feature film without content, he noted.
Afarideh also said, "In my opinion, the maxims and fragments are the brainchild of the experienced people."
Commenting on the capabilities of 100-second films, he also said that such films do not deal with the quantity of values; rather they focus on the quality, which is the manifestation of wisdom.
Given the fact that in the present era where human beings need peace of mind, a short film can breathe tranquility into human life like a breeze, Afarideh said.
"That's for the same reason that a 100-second film can be more enduring than a feature film," he noted.
Afarideh also pointed out that fortunately, the culture for watching short films is improving and holding festivals such as "Film 100 Festival" will promote the culture.
Short films should not be viewed as a transition period for feature films, he said, adding that a film producer, who regards each of his or her works as the last and most important, will be successful.

TEHRAN, Dec. 11--Relations and not regulations, influence book publication in Iran, an Iranian writer has said.
Fathollah Biniaz told ILNA that a question, which has remained unanswered in recent years, is why those who are successful in the field of literature are not treated in the same manner as others who are successful in sport and scientific fields.
"An internal parameter that disappoints writers in Iran is the low income of writers," he added.
Biniaz asserted that all people have the right to criticize works of others, but no criticism takes place in the country about the works already published.
"Another problem that writers are currently facing is the lack of a pragmatic distribution system in the country," Biniaz noted.

TEHRAN, Dec. 11--Festival for Documentary Films on Cultural Heritage and Tourism titled 'Legacy' will be held here in May next year, said managing director of the Center for Experimental and Documentary Cinema.
Mohammad Afarideh told IRNA on Friday that following the establishment of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, the festival would for the first time be held at the international level.
Terming cultural heritage and tourism as an international concept, he said that cinema directors from different countries could take part in the event with entries on cultural heritage and tourism.
Afarideh also said that the call for entries for the festival would be made in January.
The selected films at the festival will be screened on Tourism Day, he noted.
He called for paying attention to natural attractions and cultural treasures in the field of producing short and documentary films.

TEHRAN, Dec. 11--The biography and works of the outstanding musician and calligraphist of the 13th century, Safyaddin Ormavi will be soon published.
According to ISNA, secretary of the seminar on Safyaddin Ormavi, Iraj Naeimaei said the Arts Academy plans to publish Ormavi's biography and works concurrent with the event, which would be held on January 15-18.
He further stated that a book by Ormavi titled 'Adwar Al-Sharafieh' would be translated from Arabic into Persian. His biography also would soon be rendered into several living languages in the world.
In addition to introducing Ormavi's calligraphy works, all the works by his students would also be presented because all the outstanding calligraphists in the 14th century learnt the skills from him, he said.
Turning to the manuscript works by Ormavi, Naeimaei also said that they are mainly exhibited in the US, Russia, England, France, Germany and Turkey.
"But we are planning to gain access to the manuscripts via scanning and films in order to correct his books based on the manuscripts", he said.
The seminar on Ormavi will be held concurrently in Tehran and Urumiya in cooperation with the Arts Academy, French Iranology Foundation in Iran, Iran's Music Association and Roudaki Foundation.

Some of the returned Kuwaiti artifacts

TEHRAN, Dec. 11--An exhibition of Kuwait's cultural artifacts returned from Iran opened in Kuwait on Dec. 8, ISNA reported.
Iranian charge d'affaires in Kuwait Abolqasem Shashai, Iran's cultural attachŽ Hassan Khakrand and secretary-general of Kuwait's National Council of Culture, Art and Customs, Badr Al-Rifai attended the exhibition's opening ceremony.
Al-Rifai asserted that cultural documents and works are part of the cultural heritage of nations and countries try very hard to preserve them.
"Cultural works that are displayed in the Kuwait exhibition went missing in 1990 during the invasion of Kuwait by former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. However, they were returned to Kuwait in August with Iran's assistance," he added.
Al-Rifai thanked Iran for helping return Kuwait's cultural artifacts.
Meanwhile, Iranian charge d'affaires in Baghdad, Shashai said that Iran has fulfilled its duty by returning the artifacts to its real owner.

A gold mask which represents the sea god Naylamp from Sican culture. (Reuters Photo)

LIMA, Peru, Dec. 11--A gold mask dating back more than 1,000 years to a pre-Inca civilization in northern Peru will be returned home next year after being turned in to police by a collector in Italy, a museum official said on Friday.
The well-preserved mask, measuring 14 inches (35 cm) long by 8.7 inches (22 cm) wide, represents the sea god Naylamp from the Sican culture, Carlos Elera, director of the National Sican Museum in Peru told Reuters by telephone.
"It's authentic. It's classic Sican, gold with deep red mercury sulfide which had religious importance in the beliefs of the ancient Peruvians," Elera said. The Sican, or Lambayeque, culture flourished on Peru's northern coast 1,200 years ago. Countless archeological finds made the area a magnet for looters for many years.
There is no record of the mask having been stolen from any museum or private collection in Peru and Elera said it could have been taken out of the country in the 1960s or 1970s after being sold to foreign collectors by grave-robbers.
Peru's embassy in Italy said the mask was handed over by its owner after joint diplomatic and police efforts. It gave no further details. "It's very likely it will be returned at the end of January 2005," Elera said. The mask will then be displayed in the National Sican Museum alongside some 250 other gold artifacts.