Banavan Magazine featuring Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, April 4, 1979; Ferdosi Magazine featuring Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, February 19, 1979 Photo by Nazy Nazhand
A few days after the opening of the New Museum’s "Museum as Hub: The Bidoun Library Project" -- a high-low mix of periodicals, historical books, propaganda manuals, state-sponsored children’s books, romance novels and other printed materials from and about the Middle East -- the New York TimesMagazine published an article on "Physical books’ bright future -- as decorative objects and props" by Rob Walker. The article was a clever take on the many uses of books (remember books?) as materials in the age of Kindle, from intricately carved works of art to a source of wallpaper (the book pages). The parallels were uncanny.
