Hossein Nuri
Painted 47 canvases in 1997 using a brush held in his mouth, an Iranian artist who established the first professional theater company for disabled performers in West Asia.
Born 1954 (age 72)·Iranian artist and filmmaker·Birthday: July 1·Baby Boomers
Biography
Hossein Nuri completed the '47 Portraits of Silence' series in a single year, depicting figures in moments of isolated contemplation. A motorcycle accident at age 19 left him quadriplegic; he began painting by gripping a brush with his teeth. Nuri founded the 'Mithra Theater Group' in Tehran in 1989, casting actors with physical disabilities in roles not written as disabled. His 2001 film 'The Third Word is Silence' premiered at the Fajr Film Festival and won the UNESCO Award for promoting disability rights. Nuri’s play 'The Blind Owl,' adapted from Sadegh Hedayat’s novel, ran for 73 performances in 1995, a record for an independent Iranian theater production. He served as the visual arts editor for the journal 'Did' (Sight) for a decade. The University of Tehran commissioned his mural 'Dialogue' for its Faculty of Social Sciences in 2010. Nuri’s work forced a redefinition of capability in Iranian arts, creating institutional pathways for disabled artists as directors, painters, and playwrights, not subjects.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Hossein was born in 1954, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Hossein Was Born
The biggest hits of 1954
#1 Movie
White Christmas
Best Picture
On the Waterfront
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Hossein's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1954Born
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1959Started school
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1967Became a teenager
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Could drive
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1972Could vote
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Turned 21
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1984Turned 30
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 40
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 50
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 60
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 70
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 72 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- His painting 'The Blue Window' sold at the 2005 Christie's Dubai auction for $52,000, a record for a living Iranian disabled artist.
- Authored and staged 'Conference of the Birds' (2008) using wheelchair movement as primary choreography.
- Designed the accessible art studio complex 'Khaneh-ye Mithra' in Karaj, operational since 2012.
Did You Know?
Nuri can type 55 words per minute using a mouthstick and a customized keyboard.
He has a black belt in Zen martial arts, which he adapted for upper-body mobility.
Nuri’s studio contains a collection of over 200 antique inkwells, which he draws.
““The body is a location, not a verdict.””
