Elton John AIDS Foundation Photography Portfolio One
Shirin Neshat: Untitled (from 'Women of Allah' series), 1995
24 x 20 inch silver gelatin print
Edition of 40 + 12AP
Edition of 40 + 12AP
All works are printed and signed by each artist
This image is 1 of 4 that was taken in Iran before she was banned from the Country Iranian born, Shirin Neshat is a contemporary visual artist that lives and...
This image is 1 of 4 that was taken in Iran before she was banned from the Country
Iranian born, Shirin Neshat is a contemporary visual artist that lives and works in New York. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, just as the Iranian revolution began. She found herself stranded in a strange country, hardly speaking the language. "Psychologically, I really had a difficult time. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was really lost. I was very young, without any support, and so most of my time was spent trying to survive. I feel those first 10 years of my life in the U.S. were the most difficult years of my life. I got physically sick. And then when we had the hostage crisis in Iran, well, I felt emotionally unstable and I developed a lot of anger. But I survived." Neshat's Women of Allah series was created between 1993 and 1997 after the artist's first trip to her homeland after the Iranian Revolution. The aesthetic of these black-and-white photographs, in which women (the artist and others) appear in veils (chadors), often bearing firearms, mimics newspaper clippings she gathered that depicted the involvement of women in the Iran-Iraq War. “I was very interested in understanding the Islamic revolution and the subject of martyrdom, which is very closely defined as terrorism. I had done a lot of reading and research, especially about women who had been active in the revolution, and I found this an extremely interesting phenomenon. On the one hand, women were supposed to be repressed, and yet they were heavily armed just before and during the revolution.” Neshat used these images to comment on the violence of the Iranian Revolution, after which she was barred from entering the country, and later on post-Revolution society in Iran. Historically, the role of women in Iran is fraught with repression and restriction. Thus, feminist poetry was an important source of inspiration for Neshat's series of photographs. The verses handwritten on some of her photographs reinforce Neshat's feminist beliefs. Visually the presence of writing on the faces, hands, and feet of the women depicted alludes to the silencing of women in Muslim society.
Iranian born, Shirin Neshat is a contemporary visual artist that lives and works in New York. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, just as the Iranian revolution began. She found herself stranded in a strange country, hardly speaking the language. "Psychologically, I really had a difficult time. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was really lost. I was very young, without any support, and so most of my time was spent trying to survive. I feel those first 10 years of my life in the U.S. were the most difficult years of my life. I got physically sick. And then when we had the hostage crisis in Iran, well, I felt emotionally unstable and I developed a lot of anger. But I survived." Neshat's Women of Allah series was created between 1993 and 1997 after the artist's first trip to her homeland after the Iranian Revolution. The aesthetic of these black-and-white photographs, in which women (the artist and others) appear in veils (chadors), often bearing firearms, mimics newspaper clippings she gathered that depicted the involvement of women in the Iran-Iraq War. “I was very interested in understanding the Islamic revolution and the subject of martyrdom, which is very closely defined as terrorism. I had done a lot of reading and research, especially about women who had been active in the revolution, and I found this an extremely interesting phenomenon. On the one hand, women were supposed to be repressed, and yet they were heavily armed just before and during the revolution.” Neshat used these images to comment on the violence of the Iranian Revolution, after which she was barred from entering the country, and later on post-Revolution society in Iran. Historically, the role of women in Iran is fraught with repression and restriction. Thus, feminist poetry was an important source of inspiration for Neshat's series of photographs. The verses handwritten on some of her photographs reinforce Neshat's feminist beliefs. Visually the presence of writing on the faces, hands, and feet of the women depicted alludes to the silencing of women in Muslim society.