Farshid Mesghali (b. July 1943; ,) is an Iranian

animator An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...

graphic designer A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

, painter, sculptor and printmaker who has lived in the United States since 1986. He received the international

Hans Christian Andersen Medal The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 1974 for his "lasting contribution" as a children's illustrator.

Biography

Mesghali was born in

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

, Iran, in 1943. Studying painting at

Tehran University The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

, he began his professional career as a

and

in 1964. After graduation in 1968, he was supported by the

Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults Center for the Intellectual Development of Child and Adolescent (CIDCA, , ''Kānoon-e Parvaresh-e Fekri-e Koodakān va Nojavānān'', better known as Kanoon or Kānoon) is an Iranian institution with a wide range of cultural and artistic activiti ...

in Tehran. From 1970 to 1978, he made many of his award-winning animated films, movie posters, and illustrations for children's books under its auspices. In 1979, he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In the next four years, he worked as an artist, creating paintings and sculptures, which were presented at Sammy King Gallery in Pairs. In 1986, he moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. He opened his graphic design studio, Desktop Studio, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. From 1990 to 1994, he created a series of digital artworks based on snapshot photos. They were exhibited in some galleries and later in the L.A. County Museum of Modern Arts. For the past years, he has been continuing his artistic career, focusing on his sculptural and installation projects in his studio in Tehran.

Exhibitions

* A number of exhibitions in Tehran, Paris, and Los Angeles. * Solo show at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. * Solo show at Bratislava Museum. * His works have been exhibited in Los Angeles County Museum of Contemporary of Arts.

Awards

The biennial

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

conferred by the

International Board on Books for Young People International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. Mesghali received the illustration award in 1974. He has been recognized many times for particular works: * First Graphic Prize, Sixth International Children Books’ Fair in Bologna, for "Little Black Fish" (1968) * Honorary Diploma, Bratislava Biannual, Czechoslovakia, for "Little Black Fish" (1968) * Honorary Diploma, Bologna Book Fair for "Hero" (1971) * Special Prize, Venice Film Festival, for "The Boy, The Bird & The Musical Instrument" (1973) * Special Prize, Cannes Film Poster Exhibition (1974) * Special Prize, Moscow Film Festival, Short Films for Children for "Look Again" (1975) * Grand Prize,

Giffoni Film Festival The Giffoni International Film Festival is an Italian children's film festival which takes place annually in Giffoni Valle Piana, Campania. It began in 1971. The Giffoni International Film Festival typically has around 100,000 guests and has ...

, Italy for "Look Again" (1975) * 3rd prize Biennial of Warsaw, Poland (1977) * Noma Awards for "My Hedge Hog, My Doll and I" (1985)

Publications

For Farsheed Mesghali as an illustrator, the U.S.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

catalogs five

Persian-language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken ...

(Romanized) picture books, and English-language editions for two of them. All published early in Mesghali's career, with other writers and translators. The Romanized Persian editions were published by the

(aka Kanoon) (Tehran). * ''Māhī siyāh-i kūchūlū'', by Samad Bihrangī, 1968 : ('' The Little Black Fish'', Samuel Bahrang, Carolrhoda Books, 1972) * ''Jamshīd Shāh'', by Mehrdād Bahār, 1970 (''Jamshid king'', Mehrdad Bahar) * ''ʻAmū Nawrūz'', by Farideh Farjam and M. Azad, 1970 : (''Uncle New Year'', Faridah Fardjam and Meyer Azaad, Carolrhoda Books, 1971) : (''Uncle Noruz'', Mazda Publishers, 1983)"Uncle Noruz"
(Lexington KY: Mazda Publishers, 1983). LCC record. Retrieved 2013-02-28. * ''Shahr-i Mārān'', by Farīdūn Hidāyatʹpūr, 1970 (''The city of snakes'', Fereydoun Hedayatpour) * ''Qahramān'', by Taqī Kiyā Rustamī, 1970 (''The hero'', Tequi Kiarostami) WorldCat lists two more early works published by the same institution (among more recent works): * ''Ārash-i kamāngīr'', by Sīyāvush Kasrāʼī, 1971 * ''Pisarak-i chashm-i ābī'', by Javād Mujābī, 1973 (''The blue-eyed boy'', Javaad Mojaabi)

Animations

* ''Mister Monster'', 1970 * ''Misunderstanding'', 1970 * ''The Boy, the Bird and the Musical Instrument'', 1971 * ''The Grey City'', 1972 * ''A Very Good Worm'', 1973 * ''Look Again'', 1974 * ''From Different Appearances'', 1979 * ''How and Why'', 1985 * ''A Drop of Blood, a Drop of Oil'', 1986

References

External links

farshid mesghali Instagram- page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mesghali, Farshid Iranian children's book illustrators Iranian contemporary painters Iranian animators Iranian animated film directors Artists from Isfahan Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration winners University of Tehran alumni Film people from Isfahan 1943 births Living people Iranian poster artists Iranian printmakers