Essay on Shirin Neshat: Unveiling the Role of Race and Religion in Contemporary Art

Introduction

Shirin Neshat is one of the most admirable contemporary female artists who have made a significant impact on the work of arts. As a visual artist, Shirin's artworks expose a significant role played by race and religion in the contemporary works of art. These come clearly from a vast collection of her visual arts such as Women of Allah, Unveiling, and Women Without Men, all adding unlimited flavor to the understanding of the race and religion's role in contemporary art. Below is a detailed discussion of some of Shirin's great works of art that deal in some way with contemporary non-Western cultures, specifically the relationship between modern and indigenous cultures, race and ethnicity, politics of post-colonialism, the impact of digital technology, status of religion, as well as the tension between center and periphery. The paper explains how these artworks change our view of contemporary conditions and why this matters.

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The Relationship between Modern and Indigenous or Folk Cultures

According to Heartney (2013), the "Women of Allah" is one of the most famous Shirin's collections of artworks. In this collection, Shirin presents a paradoxical reality by creating a suite of black and white images of Muslim women with four symbols representing western ideology concerning the Muslim world such as the veil, the text, the gun, and the gaze. In this piece of artwork, Shirin inscribes calligraphic Farsi texts onto her visible body parts such as the face, hand, and eyes. The artwork shows the conceptual presentation of female warriors during the Iranian Islamic Revolution in the year 1979, the culture that has undergone a great evolution to the modern state. In her artwork, Shirin attempts to show the reality of the Muslim culture, shedding light into the true meaning of the women clothes as opposed to the interpretations of the western culture (Torshizi 17). For example, western culture considers the veil as a form of suppression subjected upon Muslim women. This is due to the ideologically based belief of the people of the modern western world whereby women are allowed to choose what fits their interests, tastes, and preferences. In modern culture, women wear clothes that show their nudity and expose their body to the world. The clothes reveal the beauty of women and their sexuality which serve as their treasure. On this basis, modern women clothing is considered as full of social and religious freedom (Khosravi 12). On the other hand, the folk culture of the Muslim world expects women to wear the veil for various reasons that are morally and ethically sound according to their culture. The veil serves as the protection to the women from displaying their sexuality to the world. The veil hides women from the stringent stares of men (Sayre 32). Wearing veils keeps women from provoking lusts of men, therefore, helps keep the Muslim society holy and free from sexual sins. The "Women of Allah" changes our view of contemporary conditions in such a way that we learn to accommodate all cultures among us having had an in-depth understanding of how they operate and reasons behind such activities. The artwork brings harmony between modern and indigenous or folk cultures striking a balance between them to unleash a better understanding of morality in both sides (Watenpaugh 8). This is significant because it helps in eradicating unnecessary discrimination that might exist between people of the modern cultures and the indigenous culture (Sayre 32).

Race and Ethnicity

Some of Shirin Neshat's artworks such as Unveiling, and Women of Allah are presented in black and white (Heartney 43). The pictures do not show any particular racial identity and remain largely neutral. However, a lot of ethnic representations are highly indicated in both of them. The ethnic symbols of the Iranian people, their behavior, as well as cultural heritage. Most of these are shown through clothing representation, use of veils, Farsi texts, and weaponry. Unveiling, for example, reveals the Iranian ethnic culture behind women in the veil giving a clear view of morality and sense. The women's adornment presents their unique ethnic characteristics identifiable with the Muslim cultures and the rendition for their beauty. Shirin's Unveiling and Women of Allah presents a unique presentation that is free from racial discrimination due to their black and white color which never reveals the skin color (Torshizi 17). The black and white artwork presentation brings a form of uniformity of characters in the art making it less discriminatory, and instead, convey relevant information to the audience in the ambiance of their scenes, styles, and presentations. These artworks are significant in addressing contemporary racial developments in the most amicable manner. Therefore, Shirin successfully used these artworks to achieve the clarity of racial and ethnic congruence in the contemporary world (Watenpaugh 28).

The Politics of Post-Colonialism

The politics of post-colonialism is another theme clearly presented in most of Shirin's artworks (Heartney 43). Neshat's "Women of Allah" photographic series feature a vivid presentation of the role of women in the Iranian Islamic Revolution. The pictures indicate political evolution that took place in the Iranian culture especially during the post-colonial period. The woman wearing the veil and carrying a gun pointed directly to the camera indicates the confidence of women and their significant roles in protecting their stand (Sayre 32). A lot of representations are visibly presented such as the calligraphic Farsi texts which are a combination or prose works and poems done by the contemporary Iranian women writers. The Farsi texts entail messages addressing some of the political ideologies and views, from Islamic slogans of self-sacrifice and martyrdom to poetic, sexual and even sensual meditations (Heartney 43).

The Impact of Digital Technology

The impact of digital technology has been expressed very well in most of Shirin's films through the use of unique and fantastic presentations to address various themes. "Turbulent," for example, is one of Shirin Neshat's films that is acclaimed critically by many analysts. The "Turbulent "film received Lion d'Or Venice Awards in 1999 for its magnificent presentation and was rated the best for its excellent artistic production. Shirin produced this film in a very unique manner. Using the effects of digital technology, "Turbulent" was produced as a dual presentation film displayed on the opposite walls making it difficult to watch both of the presentations concurrently (Heartney 13). Hence, one has to choose what direction to direct their attention while watching it. The setting and scenic presentation is done in a very unique and artistic way that creates the bustle in the artwork. Neshat also created "Fervor," another film that is equally unique in characteristic as Turbulent. Fervor film was a dual-channel video that gained publicity in 2000 (Sayre 31). In this film, the duality that was expressed was much more complex and artistic than the physical display, having the very fine focus to details and themes for which she intended to convey to her audience. In these and other films, Shirin displayed very extensive creativity and artistic manipulations in her presentations to come up with a technical view of the films in a much broad and artistic manner (Watenpaugh 8). Apart from that, other works of Neshat such as "I Am Its Secret" also presents a wide range of technical application in presenting the theme and message to her audience. For example, the artwork presents a Muslim woman in a veil staring directly at the camera. The woman is in black and white with melancholic beauty. Sayre (2016), in his article entitled "AWorld of Art," describes the woman's face as having an inscription of Farsi texts beautifully drawn with resin-coated print. Shirin notes that the thickly drawn Farsi texts have significant meaning as they are comprised of combined prose texts and amalgams of poems written by contemporary women in Iran. The artworks convey a significant impression implying a wide range of opportunities in technological exploitation of creative arts and innovative developments. The artworks unveil these possibilities in a much significant way causing the drive and vigor to comprehensive applications (Sayre 62).

The Status of Religion

The status of religion is another theme that is much addressed in most of Shirin's artworks. In almost all her works, Shirin Neshat presented the culture of Iranian women with sharp advocacy and appeal for an understanding of their values, culture, and significance. The veil, for example, indicates the Muslim code of dressing for women. The veil serves as protective clothing to women from the stare of men. The veil hides women's nudity thereby, making them maintain their sexuality as well as sensual privacy from the public (Torshizi 17). The religious beliefs of Muslims are presented to take a center stage in dictating the way of life for both men and women in Iran with such a striking difference between the two genders. Turbulent and Fervor films, for example, present vivid positions of men and women as dictated by the Muslim religion. In Turbulent, men have a great opportunity and unlimited freedom to act, sing, and perform in public while women are not allowed to do so. Instead, they can sing, or perform their interested arts in private away from the eyes of the public. Despite their sweet and admirable voices and tones, women lack that opportunity to exploit their talents in public as these have been mandated to men alone. Apart from that, Shirin's artwork can be said to show a significant display of religion. The veil, for example, is distinctly known to be used by Muslim women. These clothes have been used in most of Shirin's artworks including Women of Allah, Unveiling, I Am Its Secret, among many others. These artworks indicate religious dominance of the artwork in a very special way (Watenpaugh 8).

The Tension between Center and Periphery

Additionally, some of Shirin's artworks display a tension between center and periphery. This applies to most of her themes where she tries to explain the core reasons why things appear the way they are. Shirin goes to an extent analyzing the peripheral connections to what she communicates across. For example, the tension arising from the veil perception by people of the modern culture has been addressed well by Shirin in some of her famous artworks such as Women of Allah, Unveiling, Turbulent, and Fervor, among many others (Torshizi 17). These artworks present a very satisfactory display indicating the boundary between the central and peripheral perspectives. For that reason, Shirin's artworks have made a significant contribution to achieving a congruent understanding of the contemporary non-Western cultures through unveiling them vividly in a very fantastic manner. This is a very important exposure to the contemporary understanding of cultures, ethnicity, and the general world of how things are across the world. Therefore, Shirin Neshat's artworks have provided a significant impact on the contemporary world society through establishing harmony and mutual understanding of modern and non-Western cultures (Watenpaugh 8).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Shirin Neshat's artworks have significantly changed our view of contemporary art from discriminatory perceptions to congruent understanding for both modern and non-Western cultures. This is very significant because it enhances harmony and unity among people from different cultures, having got an understanding of each other.

Works Cited

Heartney, Eleanor. "Shirin Neshat: Living between Cultures." After the Revolution: Women Who Transformed Contemporary Art (2013): 230-51.

Khosravi, Mojgan. "Shirin Neshat:...