Saffron, Saint of Spices, 2023 & 2024

The University of California, San Francisco Library Fellowship Artist Residency Project

Solo Exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art, CA, 2023

Solo Installation at Euphrat Museum of Art, CA, 2024

This exhibition was supported by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and the UCSF Library Award.

Pantea Karimi was the Artist in Residence at the University of California, San Francisco Library, from July 2021 to July 2022. During her residency, Karimi explored the botanical archives, preserved in the library’s Archives and Special Collections. Among all the plant species she studied, the saffron crocus stood out because it has deep roots in Iranian culture, cuisine, and medicine.

To produce 1 kilogram of saffron spice, 150,000 crocus flowers must be hand-picked. The labor-intensive harvesting process is mainly done by women in Iran, for three weeks in the late fall each year. Iranian saffron farmers struggle due to suffocating economic sanctions, endemic drought due to global warming, and the rise of shipping and labor costs. For Karimi, the above attributes make the saffron a symbol of contemporary economic and agricultural challenges, convolved with ongoing political issues under theocracy in Iran.

Saffron, Saint Of Spices, a solo exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art in 2023 and Euphrat Museum of Art in 2024, explores the saffron crocus from historic, medicinal, pictorial, and socio-political angles in a religious context. Through various media from bottled saffron extracts, and handprinted marbling to handmade religious objects, Karimi assigns sainthood to saffron crocus and celebrates this ancient Iranian quintessential spice, visually and conceptually.

Videos

The Saffron 3-D sculpture and the upper section of the Triptych were manufactured at the UCSF Library Makers Lab, in collaboration with Scott Drapeau & Jenny Tai, Makers Lab Designers.

Iranian women harvesting saffron crocus in Khorasan province, where 90% of its global production grows. The delicate flower sprouts for just 10 days a year. But its harvest and distributions are now in jeopardy because Iran has been suffering from sanctions and a devastating drought for the past two decades. Video by Agence France-Presse, Nov 2018.

Pantea Karimi draws a saffron crocus using diluted safflower liquid on paper, 2022. Inspired by the depiction of the saffron crocus from Mattioli’s 16^th c. book at the UCSF Library. Video by Pantea Karimi, March 2022.

Artworks Labels

Triptych:

A Divine Allegory, triptych, 2022, digitized hand-printed marbling on paper, digital collage and print on wood, hand-made wood frame, hinges, and hasp, 43 x 40 x 5 in.

Triptych, an object of reverence since medieval times, allows for storytelling and interactivity. The triptych, A Divine Allegory, is composed after the 18th c. religious triptych, hilya-i-sherif (a noble description of the Prophet Muhammad’s moral qualities), from the Ottoman period. My triptych features archival images of the saffron crocus, paired with Persian text describing the flower’s healing properties. The background showcases my hand-printed marbling patterns, digitized and printed onto archival wood panels. The layout and composition of the triptych are inspired by an original 18th-century version, while the handcrafted back case—assembled entirely with nails—echoes the construction techniques of the medieval era.

Translation of texts on the triptych:

Left panel: Alzheimer’s disease. Oral saffron might modestly improve cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Right panel: Anxiety. Small clinical studies suggest that oral saffron might improve anxiety.
Middle panel: Depression. The oral saffron extract seems to improve symptoms of depression when used alone or as an adjunct to conventional antidepressants.

Works on paper:

Saffron Crocus, Tradition, (Sonnatee in Persian), 2022
Saffron Crocus, Aphrodisiac, (Mayleh-Jensee in Persian), 2022

Hand-printed marbling, gold acrylic, and gouache on paper, each 36 x 24 in

I use images of the saffron crocus, originally printed from hand-carved woodblock plates, which I extracted from the 17^th and 18^th c. UCSF Library’s books. By painting saffron crocus in gold, I intend to highlight its exceptional nature. The marbling patterns, suggesting fragmented landscapes, incorporate my drawings and hand-written healing properties of the saffron crocus, in Persian, having both cultural and religious connotations. Marbling refers to decorative paper traditionally used for binding manuscripts throughout the history of bookmaking.

Pious Readings i, ii, iii, prayer pages, 2022, hand-printed marbling prints on paper stretched on wood panels, gold paint, watercolor, and gold leaf, each 15 x 10.5 x 1/4 inch

The shapes of the works are inspired by designs from the pages of old illuminated prayer books, often embellished with vibrant botanical imagery in gold. Here, my hand-written Persian texts describe the healing, anti-depressant properties of saffron crocus.

Cartographical Re-Shapes, 2022, diluted safflower on handmade paper, wood hangers, and screws, each 27 x 21.5 inches

On handmade papers, I use diluted safflower to draw the map of the Khorasan province, where most saffron is cultivated in Iran. I started drawing the map within defined boundaries, but gradually the natural liquid spread into the rugged paper and re-shaped the map organically. The new shapes are a metaphoric reminder of water staining the rugged-dried grounds where saffron crocus grows. Safflowers are occasionally used in cooking as a cheaper substitute for saffron.

Shrines:

Sacred Threads i & ii, shrine-Saqqaakhanaa, 2022, Iranian style shrine-facades, watercolor on boards,
3-D saffron crocus sculpture, light, threads, prayer beads, and metal, 37.5 x 24 x 10 inches

The shrine objects are designed after the Iranian shrines and Saqqaakhanaa – the (religious) water fountain. The visitors would leave votive items on the gridded exterior, which is often decorated with beads. Either inside or outside of the structure, there is a fountain for drinking. The votive red threads are symbols for healing wishes, and the 450 saffron threads make up the 1-gram saffron spice. The illuminated 3-D saffron crocus flower sculpture was manufactured in collaboration with the UCSF Library Makers Lab in 2022.

Cube installation on the Persian rug:

Healing Chroma, 2022, diluted saffron spice in glass bottles, cube structure, and board, 30 x 30 x30 in

In Platonic philosophy, Earth was associated with the cube—a form that also echoes the Kaaba, Islam’s most sacred site. At the center of a hand-made cubic structure, I’ve placed a platform holding medieval-style bottles filled with diluted saffron in varying chromatic concentrations, evoking both ritual and reverence. The Persian carpet beneath the cube, woven with geometric botanical motifs, was a gift from my father when I was five years old. It was handwoven by women of the Qashqai tribe near Shiraz, the city where I was born.