Shirin Neshat

Jackie Henson-Dacey2012 FAEA Annual Conference

This workshop sponsored by Blick Art Material

Woman of Allah

• Lives in New York City• Born in Iran• Explores issues of her

native Islamic society• Feminist perspective• Investigates background

culture to create images with universal ideas about loss, meaning, and memory

Woman of Allah Series• Created between 1993-97• After her first trip back to Iran

after the Revolution.• Black and white photography• Woman in chadors often

bearing firearms, mimics newspaper clippings depicting the involvement of women in the Iran-Iraq War

• Comments on violence – women’s role repression and restriction.

Guardians of the Revolution• Includes feminist poetry as

an important source of inspiration

• Verses handwritten on the photographs reinforce Neshat’s beliefs

• Usually the presence of writing on the faces, hands, and feet of women depict to the silencing of women in Muslim society.

Birth Mark• The written word acts as an

analogue to the spoken word.

• Her work aims to incorporate an examination of the common perceptions and stereotypes popularized by the media.

• Ambiguities of the stereotype of Muslim women

Speechless

• The covered woman have different meanings, according to context and the way it is presented.

• Uncovering a multiplicity of possible meanings embedded in the images

Colonialization• Messages communicated in

the Qur’an are rooted in social equality between the sexes.

• Spoken by the prophet Mohammed : the rights of women include right to inheritance, the right to own a property, the right to file for divorce.

• Revolutionary ideas in the in the 7th century and today.

From the Series

More examples from the series

NeXt Generation Sunshine State Standards in the Visual Arts

• Big Idea: Skills, Techniques, and Processes• Enduring Understanding #3: Through

Purposeful Practice, Artists Learn To Manage, Master, And Refine Simple, Then Complex Skills and Techniques.

• Benchmarks: VA.912.S.3.1: Manipulate materials, techniques, and processes through practice and perseverance to create a desired result in two dimensional artworks.

Process• Prepare a canvas panel with a

wash of color• Begin examining the available

xeroxed images• Select images to form a

composition with a social message

• Use gloss medium or citrus strip to adhere the images to the canvas panel

• You may also elect to use tape transfer of the image.

Street artist: Asbestos

Assessment Criteria• Imaginative Expressive– At the highest level of achievement, the student explorations

are consistently and intelligently presented in an adverturous manner.

• Purposeful Exploration– At the highest level of achievement, the student has explored

ideas related to personal or cultural contexts.• Technical and Media Skills– At the highest level of achievement, the student shows a

outstanding technical competence, highly appropriate for the use of media in relation to the intended expressive purpose.