The Unwritten History Project Detail Record

Detail Record for Shirin Neshat

Event Title: Unveiling: Face to Face
Series Title:
Location: Franklin Furnace
Date: 4/2/1993 - 5/1/1993
Event Type: Installation

Event Documentation:

Unveiling: Face to Face	Unveiling: Face to Face	Unveiling: Face to Face	Unveiling: Face to Face
Unveiling: Face to Face	Unveiling: Face to Face	Unveiling: Face to Face

Artist Statement:

Bio:

Press Release: For Immediate Release: March 22, 1993 For Press Information Contact: Barbara Pollack (212) 608-5912 FRANKLIN FURNACE PRESENTS "UNVEILING" Installation by Shirin Neshat April 2nd to May 1st, 1993 Opening April 2nd, 6-8PM "Unveiling," an installation of recent work by Iranian born artist Shirin Neshat, explores the emotional and psychological state of living behind 'the veil' for women in Islamic countries. Neshat's focus is the ability of a piece of garment to dictate such extreme boundaries that a woman's self-image and public identity are distorted. Interestingly, this installation succeeds not only in conveying the experience of women in Islamic countries, but in undermining the presumed "freedom" of nudity prevalent in the West. Neshat has created a complex, multi-media installation, which uses as a recurring theme super-8 films of a nude female body transposed over traditional Islamic static sculptures. The artist is well aware of the profound complexities behind the significance of veil within the Islamic cultures and does not intend to deny its traditional values to many contemporary women. However, the fundamental question of what creates the female experience - the form or the body - confronts the viewer from a rare multi-cultural perspective. The problems of transposing Western presumptions of feminist artistic expression to another culture is also raised in this exhibition. References to Persian culture, Islamic religious icons and contemporary Iranian propaganda interact, creating surprising new meanings and challenging stereotypes about the female experience in Iran. For example, Neshat shows the irony in the "eye of Fatimeh," a single eye in the palm of a hand and a symbol for good luck in Iran. The popularity of this symbol inadvertently grants widespread status to women because Fatimeh is one of the only female saints recognized in Islamic culture. On the other hand, Neshat uses text from Furugh Farrukzad, the prominent modern Iranian poet whose life and public statements are considered one of the most radical expressions of female sensuality and independence. Shirin Neshat was born in Qazvn, Iran in 1957 and moved to the United States in 1974. She returned to visit Iran in 1992, experiencing the profound changes in daily life first hand. In New York City, she is co-director of STOREFRONT for Art & Architecture.

Proposal Information:

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