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Works by Shirin Neshat
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Shirin Neshat is one of those artists whose work sticks with you.
This is probably because her art centers on issues of femininity in relation to Islamic fundamentalism, one of those hot button issues that is sure to grab the public’s attention. Neshat was born in Iran and came to the US at the age of seventeen. Due to the Islamic Revolution, she was unable to return to her homeland for almost twenty years.
Early on in her career, Neshat had a tendency to destroy almost everything she made, so little is known from the beginning of her artistic life. Since then though, she has become quite a sensation winning countless art awards and even snagging the title of “artist of the decade”.
When you listen to her speak, it becomes clear why so many people revere her and her role as a crusader for Islamic women around the world. Plus, she rocks some pretty dope eyeliner if I do say so my self. Take a listen to Neshat’s Ted talk on Islamic vs.Western culture and art.
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Shirin Neshat
Shirin Neshat (Persian: شیرین نشاط; born March 26, 1957) is an Iranian photographer and visual artist who lives in New York City, known primarily for her work in film, video and photography. Her artwork centers on the contrasts between Islam and the West, femininity and masculinity, public life and private life, antiquity and modernity, and bridging the spaces between these subjects.
Since the Islamic Revolution, she has said that she has "gravitated toward making art that is concerned with tyranny, dictatorship, oppression and political injustice. Although I don’t consider myself an activist, I believe my art – regardless of its nature – is an expression of protest, a cry for humanity.”
Neshat has been recognized for winning the International Award of the XLVIII Venice Biennale in 1999, and the Silver Lion as the best director at the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009, to being named Artist of the Decade by Huffington Post critic G. Roger Denson. Neshat is a critic in the photography department at the Yale School of Art.
Check out the full Wikipedia article about Shirin Neshat
