Women's Work

1st December 2009

Post with 5 notes

Shirin Neshat

Shirin Neshat, Still from Women Without Men, c. 2005-2009

Shirin Neshat, born on March 26, 1957 in Qazvin, Iran, is a contemporary visual artist most known for her work in both film and photography. While she now resides in New York, her Iranian roots play a highly influential role in her work.  Her photographs often depict the social, cultural, and religious aspects of Muslim societies. She emphasizes the woman’s experience in contemporary Islamic societies.

Shirin’s home in Iran was very westernized, and her father had a very fanaticized conception of the west. She attended a Catholic boarding school as a part of her family’s attempts to adopt western practices. Her father also encouraged Shirin and her sisters to step outside of gender barriers and find their own success.

Shirin Neshat, Untitled, 1996

Shirin studied art in California during the time of the Iranian Revolution. Due to the political restructuring associated with the revolution, her family began to struggle economically. Despite the issues in her home country, Shirin continued her studies in California and eventually moved to New York after graduate school.

Shirin Neshat, Grace Under Duty, 1993

A return trip to Iran in 1990 served as an inspiration for her first major works. Her difficulty coming to terms with the unfamiliar post-revolution Iran lead to her Women of Allah series.  Shirin is interested in the contrast between men and women, which she depicts through various other contrasts, such as white and black, east and west, and traditional and modern.

Shirin Neshat, Still from Women Without Men, c. 2005-2009

Her work entitled, ‘Women Without Men’ is a multimedia project including photographs and a series of five films. In this work, Shirin focuses on the complexity of life for women in Iran. She depicts an interesting interpretation of the diverse historical, and sometimes tragic experiences of these women. This body of work is highly political and follows Iran’s recent overthrow of their government, backed by the U.S. and England. She recognizes the complexity within the religious aspects of the lives of these women paired with social and political forces.

Shirin Neshat, Selection from Women Without Men, c. 2005-2009

Each of her five films represents a unique perspective on the woman’s experience in Iran. The different characters offer various interpretations of the plight of women. The magic-realist novel, Women Without Men, by Shahrnush Parsipur, inspired Shirin’s films. The films capture the lives of five women in 1953, a year filled with political turmoil. Rather than providing a summary of the novel, the films represent her interpretation of the situation. Shirin says her message is not about women ‘against’ men, but rather about women on a journey, independent from men.

- - Nicole Harvey