Shirin Neshat is Persian and was born in Iran in 1957. She was raised in a wealthy family where her father was a physician. She was schooled in Tehran and then in Los Angeles. During her time in L.A., the Iranian revolution occurred and this isolated her from her family. She graduated from UC Berkeley with her BA, MA and MFA. She then moved to New York and Married a Korean curator, Kyong Park.
She began taking photographs in the early '90's after her visit to Iran and experiencing the major changes in society since her childhood there...especial the change in people's physical appearance and public behavior. The role and dress of women had changed with Islamic standards. One of her earlier series of photographs was "Women of Allah" in the mid '90's.
Her work is described as emotionally and politically charged. In 2009 she won the "Silver Lion" for best director at the Venice Film Festival for her direction of "Women Without Men." She said about the movie "This film speaks to the world and my country." The film shows the 1953 British-American backed coup in Iran, which supplanted Iran's democratically elected government with a monarchy.
She stated "Art is a way of finding meaning in life." She said that it can be powerful when people are moved. She also said that artist in directorships struggle for expression...they are motivated to change systems...art transcends communication with the people and can become the voice of the people. She said that artists are narcissists, longing for praise, approval and acceptance. In the West, she says, capitalism is ruining art as everything must be branded...Western artist may loose their souls for money.
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| Shirin Neshat |
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| "Rapture Series," 1999 |
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| "Tooba Series," 2002 |
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