Morteza Momayyez died at age 69

Morteza Momayyez (1936—2005), a distinguished figure of Iran's graphic arts and the founder of the graphic design curriculum in Iran's higher education system, died in Aban Hospital in Tehran at the age 69.

He graduated in painting from Tehran University's Faculty of Fine Arts in 1965. He later attended the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Paris to study interior architecture and design. After returning home, Momayyez started his activities in graphics and illustration.

For more than 45 years, he was the art manager and chief graphic designer of many distinguished cultural and literary periodicals. He also functioned as set and costume designer for 14 plays and two films. He compiled six books on painting and graphic design and received several international awards. He demonstrated his brilliant talent in the graphic illustrations of 'Ketab e Hafteh' a weekly magazine edited by renowned poet Ahmad Shamlou. Beside his graphic design activities, he made three short films, one of which (A Green Point) won the honorary diploma of Moscow's festival in 1973.

Momayyez has left an undeniably profound influence on the younger generation of graphic artists. He initiated a series of individual and distinctive techniques in the Iranian graphic arts. He played a leading role in the establishment and development of graphic arts colleges as well as training top artists and designers. The 5,000 and 10,000 Rial banknotes currently in use have also been designed by him.

He had been a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) since 1975, having joined the group at the invitation of American graphic designers Milton Glaser and Walter Allner and Polish graphic artist Roman Cieslewicz. He was the chairman of the board of directors of the Iranian Graphic Designers Society since 1988, and was honoured by the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA) with a lifetime achievement award in April 2004.

Roohash Shaad.

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