I stubbled on this Iranian-American contemporary artist named Sherin Neshat at Barnes and Nobles. She's provokes a much needed feminist voice in her photography. The work "Allegiance to Wakefulness" caught my attention the most. This particular photography artwork communicates the issues of woman in the eastern world in controversial way through writings and pictures. Controversial because woman are in Iran are normally covered from head-to-toe. But Ms. Neshat and other woman exposed body parts that are normally covered by tradition and covered them with poetry that expressed concerns, trials and violence the woman of Iran face daily. She has strong contract black and white photography which has been said to be symbolic of the innocence hidden in violence driven society.
http://avarysspot.blogspot.com/2010/10/shirin-neshats-allegiance-with.html
I love this series. She made them when she went back to Iran after many many years and faced the effect of war between Iran and Iraq. The poems are from famous female political poets. Shirin Neshat tries to portray what was the role of women at the time in Iran. The Gun and the rose that she used in her series, which are called “women of Allah”, was the symbol of war at the time. I found so many interpretation of this series but the viewer should be able to understand the poems on the skin in order to have the best benefit.
ReplyDeleteAs an Iranian I like to comment on some areas. It is true that you can still find areas in Iran that women are covered head to toe, (which means covering part of their face as well) but I personally haven't seen them in in person in my life. That is mostly in Arab countries that normally females are covered head to toe . Traditionally, in Iran, chador (not black ) with flowers were something you could see on females. “The 20th century Pahlavi ruler Reza Shah banned the chador and all hijab in 1936, as incompatible with his modernizing ambitions.” Wikipedia. The face of Iran changed and moved toward modernization in fast speed. I found this blog very accurate: http://ritemail.blogspot.com/2012/07/iran-in-1960s.html
Farah Pahlavi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farah_Pahlavi the former Queen and exiled Empress of Iran ( 1959-1979) had a very active role in “promoting culture and the arts in Iran.” During her time, artistic expression was widely encouraged.
After revolution, everything changed. It is normal to see women in chador but their face is showing. On the other hand it is also normal to see women wear hijab in a very fashionable ways: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201206290019
Are the young women pushing the boundaries of Hijab? Absolutely, and that is one-way for them to let their voice to be heard. They want freedom and they push the boundaries. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXxH3n6hT0Y