Date of Award
2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art
Abstract
Shirin Neshat, an Iranian-born artist, uses photography and film to address issues of female identity. When the Islamic Revolution took place in 1978-1979, Neshat was living in the United States. Unable to return to her homeland, she was exiled for eleven years. The Islamic Revolution became a defining moment in Neshat's life and work. The profound change that took place in Iran inspired her to address the role of Iranian women in religion and society, which subsequently became the basis of much of her work. The hijab or veil became a symbol of repression and oppression after the Islamic Revolution. Images from the Women of Allah (1993-1997) photographs, and her film trilogy Turbulent, Rapture , and Fervor (1998-2000), as well as the second trilogy Pulse, Possessed, and Passage (all in 2001) show how Neshat uses the veil as an icon to illustrate the dualistic representations of the Iranian Muslim woman. At first glance the veiled women in the images seep oppressed, but Neshat juxtaposes them with guns which at the same time evokes a sense of power. Neshat's interest in the condition of life in post-revolutionary Iran reveals how the veil or chador embodies and references all of its ambiguities.
Recommended Citation
Dannawi, Heyam, "Women in Black: Shirin Neshat's Images of Veiled Revolutionaries" (2008). Theses and Dissertations. 177.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/177
