Introduction:
The name of this piece is "Speechless" and it is an image that has been digitally edited. The artist who created this is Shirin Neshat, and she created the piece in 1996. The dimensions are 167.6 centimeters by 133.4 centimeters. I decided to use this piece because it is relevant to me because of the artist's origin. She is from Iran and that is relatively close to Oman and they do share some culture similarities. It also relates to my project because it is an image, and photographs are the starting point for this project. When we will go to the Souq and take photographs. Memory:
I am lucky enough to have never experience anything that would make me feel captive or in danger like the woman in the picture. It does however remind me of stories I have seen in the media of women in abusive relationships that they cannot escape. In these situations, women are speechless, like the title of the piece. *All of the images used are cited at the end of the analysis in the citations section |
Emotional:
This work of art makes me fear not for me but for the woman in the picture, it makes me feel sad because I can see the misery and all she has suffered in her eyes. Most of all this artwork makes me feel respect, when I look at it, it feels like I should be silent to respect the woman in the picture, to respect her because of all she has gone through. I think these emotions are generated within me because they are all solemn emotions and the use of only black and white brings a seriousness to the art work that would not be as prominent if it were in color. Visual:
My first reaction to this artwork is silence, because of the power this artwork carries. The first word that comes to mind when I look at this piece is danger. I think this is because of the gun barrel that is next to the face in the image and how it stands out because it contrasts the darkness of the background. The gun is the first thing I see and it immediately rings warning bells in my head, hence the word danger. After looking at the barrel the next thing that catches my eye is her eye. These two objects are the focus point of the piece when I first look at it and they generate such a strong response because of what they represent. |
Composition:
In the artwork there are three main objects, her face, her veil and the barrel of the gun. These are arranged in a way that her face is the foreground and her veil is the background. Finally the gun barrel makes up the foreground but emerges from the darkness of the background. The background is extremely simple consisting of just her veil, making it pitch black besides the two ripples we see in her veil next to her eyebrow. The background is extremely important because the darkness of it provides the extreme contrast it creates with the gun, allowing it to be the focus point of the piece. The foreground consists of her face and the gun and takes up the right hand side of the painting and a little more. Her use of background and foreground creates an asymmetrical work in which the two half contrast each other strongly because of the light and dark effect going on. This use of asymmetry works with the piece because instead of focusing on the symmetry of the art work Neshat uses rule of thirds (having the foreground be two-thirds of the piece) so the art work is more aesthetically pleasing. The central object of this art piece is the gun barrel and the objects are arranged around this by having the black background to the left of the barrel and the gray/white foreground on the right of the barrel. So once again to emphasize contrast is the most important technique used to make the gun barrel stand out, as well as her eye. The contrast is not as obvious because it is not a black and white contrast. But her eye is the only part of her face that does not have Arabic script making it stand out on her face. Therefore Neshat uses contrast to bring out the important parts of the art piece. I think the design was selective and was not just a random shot taken with a camera. Everything on this piece has been thought out, from the ripples of the veil to where the Arabic script begins and ends. All of this planning resulted in such a powerful and striking piece. Mood/ Atmosphere/ Environment:
This artwork creates a somber mood. Some other words to describe what feel this work of art creates are; silent, serious, danger, quiet, captive, fear, constraint, sadness. I think Shirin Neshat wants us to feel stunned by the artwork, she wants us to be so impressed and to feel the emotions conveyed so deeply within us that we are speechless, but for a completely different reason than the woman (Neshat) in the picture. I think Neshat wants us to feel shocked by the image, she wants it to take us by surprise because of how contrasting it is, how the first message within it is so straightforward. Neshat hopes that the artwork takes us by surprise, rendering us speechless. This mood is created by the emotion we can see in her eyes and the sense of danger we get from the gun. This feeling of danger is only intensified by her use of black and white, creating a serious atmosphere with no room for the liveliness colors bring to an art work. The use of Neshat herself in the art piece further allows the audience to be silenced because it creates a personal atmosphere knowing that Neshat is portraying something straight from her heart. I think that if I were able to be within the picture I would not be able to hear anything, within the image there would be complete silence. Maybe I could see where the gun is coming from and who is holding it, and this would take away from the interpretations that could be made about the painting. If I could see where the gun was coming from then my interpretation that the gun is a symbol of the Iranian culture and how it is restraining women. The smell that would resonate within that scenario for me would be the metallic one from the gun. As for Neshat herself, I would most likely feel awkward around her because I would be in a situation where I can sense the danger she is in and I would not know how to help her. |
Label:
The artist of this piece is Shirin Neshat, it's an edited photograph, the medium used is print and ink. The title is "Speechless" and it was created in 1996 and has the dimensions of 167.6 x 133.4 cm. Subject Matter:
This work of art consists of the right side of a woman's face (the model is actually Shirin Neshat herself), the woman is veiled so there is a large contrast between her skin tone and the pitch black of the veil. From the darkness of the veil emerges a gun and it is placed to the right of the woman, at a level where in a quick glance it might almost appear like an earring. On top of it all her whole face is covered in Arabic script, all of her face but her eye. This can be clearly seen on the image to the left. I believe that in this art work there are two focus points, the barrel of the gun, and her eye. Immediately when one looks at it your eyes are drawn to the gun because it contrasts the darkness of the veil so well. However when the initial shock is over your eyes travel to hers because, much like the gun, it contrasts the rest of her face, as it is the only part of her without writing on it. Neshat has depicted a woman who is captive in her work "Speechless". It may be interpreted as literally captive, because of the gun next to her, but it can also be interpreted as a different kind of captive. The woman in this picture could be captured by her religion, this is proven by the fact that she is wearing a veil, and that this piece is part of a series of photographs called, "Women of Allah". The picture used in the artwork is a close up, so there is not much room for a narrative to occur. We, as the audience, can see that there is a dangerous situation happening in the artwork, and can assume where it is taking place. We can assume that it is somewhere in the middle east because of the Arabic script and the veil on the woman. The art does not tell a story in its traditional sense, the art tells a story of the woman in the picture and how she is speechless, like the title. It does not represent a specific event, but it does represent an issue the Nishin Nerat faced in her return home to Iran. Nerat returned to Iran after the Islamic Revolution and found it to be a place that was harder for women than before. A further explanation of this can be found in the contextual section of my analysis. Materials/ techniques/ Processes: In this work of art Neshat used print and ink in the actual piece, but a camera was used to take the pictures. The props used to capture the image were; a gun, a veil, and her face. The props were all arranged and incorporated together the create the shot that was eventually edited to become the final piece. Overall the materials used were props that were then arranged to take the shot with the camera, in this case being a tool. Neshat uses layering in this piece of work to convey the message she is trying to convey. An example of this would be her overlapping the text over her face to convey how despite her being unable to speak the words on her face do it for her. The process she used to create this image was digitally editing the image, once the objects were arranged. |
Associations and Influence: Neshat is considered to be one of the, if not the, greatest contemporary artist to come from Iran. Her work is associated with topics such as human gender differences, cultural barriers, and most importantly human identity. The genre of her work, when speechless was created, was often photographs. But now, aged 60, she is still creating art in forms such as film. Her work is often photographs however since she is straying from this idea that it is solely that, therefore cannot be classified. Her present work touches the same concepts as her past work but now she is more oriented towards the film industry therefore her links are more close towards that of films. For example, in an interview with Arthur C. Danto Neshat says, "I am very inspired by the new trend in Iranian cinema. In my opinion, it has been one positive aspect of the revolution," so her work is linked to and influence by the Iranian cinema that was created after the revolution. Sussan Deihim was a person who inspired Neshat, so much so that her music was included in Neshat's film "Turbulent". Neshat loved Neihim's music so much and considers her to be a, "gifted contemporary Iranian singer". To conclude Neshat's work is created because of her personal experiences within Iran but it is inspired by other artists and art that comes from the same context as Neshat's work, the Islamic revolution. |
The Artist
Born: March 26th, 1957 From: Iran Lives in: Manhattan, USA Created: In reaction to the Islamic revolution in Iran (Speechless) Displayed in: Los Angeles County Museum of Art Personal Context:
The work of art was created as Neshat's visual response to going back to Iran after the Islamic revolution. She left in 1974 to pursue her art career in Los Angeles and returned to Iran in 1990. When she returned to Iran after the revolution she could sense that something had changed, men no longer made eye-contact with women. She responded to this shock by creating "Women of Allah" a photographic series which "Speechless" is a part of. Neshat claims, "When I went to Iran, I was not an artist yet," after visiting Iran her work took a more personal turn. After seeing the aftermath of the Islamic revolution in Iran her work became much more personal, it had a cause and described problems that Neshat faced in her life. In conclusion Neshat's personal experiences have very much influenced her work and are really the inspiration and reason for its creation. Wider Context:
Neshat's work "Speechless" links in to the social and political history of the time. Though the Islamic revolution ended in 1979 Neshat only got to see its effects 11 years later, and only 6 years after her seeing it is when she published her work "Women of Allah". The social and political history was the Islamic revolution and how it caused such heavy restraints on the women of Iran. They were denied education, and confined to the home, these new controlling factors were a larger social and cultural change within Iran and Neshat knew so. These changes to society within Iran definitely influenced the work "Speechless", Neshat being the woman in the picture provides a more personal touch to the artwork that is most likely there because she is speaking up about her country and her culture and how it has changed. Maybe if the subject was not as close to her heart as it is than the work of art would have been different, possibly a model would have taken Neshat's place. The work of art does not reflect the values of the time but rather protests them, despite the Islamic revolution being so pertinent in Neshat's work it is not obvious at first. This meaning of protest within her work is underneath the surface making it hard for us to determine when the art work was made based solely on the work itself. The only real context we could gather from the art work is that it is contemporary, not only from the quality of the photo used but because women's rights in middle eastern countries have not been protested through art until recently. |
Value:
Looking at Shirin Neshat's artwork is important for my own artwork because it is an example of how an artist can create something with so many layers. How at first glance the creation might look simple and straightforward, but the more you look at it the more you see. This is important for me to understand considering our unit is based on us creating an art piece that has a metaphor within it, and what better way to understand this than through studying an artwork with so much meaning. The most important thing I have learn about this artwork is how sometimes taking away the color provides for a more powerful piece. Colors are a great instrument, and can be used to convey emotion, however, this is why the lack of colors is so shocking and powerful. Because in a world where we see everything in color, something without will stand out. I love Shirin Neshat's work, "Speechless" because of its meaning and the ideas it puts out in the world. I think that of all the elements within the artwork these are the most important, powerful and impressive within it. The message that Neshat conveys through her artwork (how the women of Allah are being restrained) is the most important part of her artwork. My opinion of the artwork has not changed, because as soon as I saw it I was stunned so my opinion could have only changed for the worst. However, my understanding of the artwork has changed. At first, I understood the simple meaning of the artwork, but as I studied the personal context of it in relation to Neshat I got a better grasp of how important this was for her, and how personal her work "Speechless" actually was. |
Applying Knowledge and Understanding:
I think Shirin Neshat's ideas and intentions will influence mine. This is because after researching her I have realized that when doing the photography workshop, and going to take images at the Souq, I have taken images that I could edit to be about human identity. This is a subject that Neshat touched in many of her works of art and is one that really does interest me. Therefore, after researching Neshat I noticed how my ideas have morphed and have become more serious and are about subjects that are pertinent not only in the Middle East but that could be applied worldwide. These are ones such as; identity, oppression, conformity. I aim to synthesize what I have learnt from Neshat with my own personal experiences with art and create a piece that I am as passionate about as Neshat is with her own. However, if we are discussing what formal elements I would like to use in my work like Neshat used in hers I think the one technique I would like to carry into my own work would be contrast. Whether it be sharp to smooth, or blurred to focus I think contrast is an excellent way to draw attention to an art piece and in specific the focus point. |