Role #4 of the Artist: Shirin Neshat

Role #4 of the artist is to give form to the immaterial, hidden or universal truths, spiritual forces or personal feelings. The piece I chose to write about is a photograph by Iranian Photographer Shirin Neshat titled, Rebellious Silence,1994. http://www.gladstonegallery.com/neshat.asp?id=624

This is a photograph of the artist herself dressed in a traditional Muslim covering called a chador. Her face is divided by a rifle and inscribed by a farsi poem written by Tahereh Saffarzadeh. This poem speaks of many Iranian women’s belief in Islam. They believe only within Islam are women truly equal to men. They say the chador, which prevents them from becoming a sex object by keeping them covered, is liberating. The gun represents the division of Islam from the west.

            Neshat was born in Qazvin Iran in 1957 to middle-class parents with western ideals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirin_Neshat

After the Iranian Revolution her parents lost everything and she returned to Iran. She began her body of work “Women of Allah” as a way to cope with the changes she’d experienced in modern culture compared to pre-revolution Iran which she grew up with. Her work is mainly focused on the lives of modern Islamic Women, their political and social roles in contemporary society and the spiritual and intellectual forces which guide them.

chester arnold

I recently visited the Chester Arnold exhibit at the Nevada Museum of Art. I was very taken by the size and beauty of his work. Arnold’s attention to detail is almost unfathomable. Some of his paintings almost look like photographs. I was mostly moved by the mine paintings, of the three pieces shown from 1996, I was drawn to “On Earth as it is in Heaven.” My Grandfather was a coal miner for over twenty years, and upon viewing these paintings, I felt closer to him.

The description of this painting mentioned Arnold’s religious intellectual awakenings, and how he now, basically, views religious narratives as creative opportunities. I find inspiration in religion as well; iconography is a huge part of my body of work. For me, art has to mean something, to tell a story or evoke human emotion. What is more intriguing than heaven and hell?

Looking more closely at this painting, beyond the composition and color, which draws one in. The brush strokes are not very impressive, almost thrown on the canvas in contempt. Especially when looking at “Grubstake” 2008, painted twelve years later. The brushstrokes seem to have more intent, or respect. I would like to know if this was intentional or simple technical growth.

I respect Arnold and his views on subject matter that have such a major impact on modern life. The environment and the effects humans have had on it. It would be amazing if work like this had the impact on modern civilization that it needed to.