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Shirin Neshat Biography

Shirin Neshat (Persian: شیرین نشاط‎; born 1957) is an Iranian 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.

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Shirin Neshat Quotes

Art is no crime. It's every artist's responsibility to make art that is meaningful

Art, Crime, Meaningful, Responsibility

Magical realism allows an artist like myself to inject layers of meaning without being obvious. In American culture, where there is freedom of expression, this approach may seem forced, unnecessary and misunderstood. But this system of communication has become very Iranian.

Artist, Communication, Iranian, Layers, Magic Realism, Obvious

In this Western world that we have, culture risks being [only] a form of entertainment.

Culture, Entertainment, Risk, Risks, Western, World

Part of me has always resisted the Western clichéd image of Muslim women, depicting them as nothing more than silent victims. My art, without denying repression, is a testimony to unspoken female power and the continuing protest in Islamic culture.

Art, Culture, Denying, Islamic, Testimony, Women

My work has never been autobiographical. Although the subjects are driven on a personal perspective it's sort of elevated above me. I try to express something that is more a collective expression of crisis.

Although, Collective, Expression, Perspective, Trying

My mother is my last point of security in relation to my past, and if that breaks, I will not ever have that type of pure love or pure attachment.

Attachment, Love, Mother, Past, Type

I'm really interested in social justice, and if an artist has a certain power of being heard and voicing something important, it's right to do it. It could still be done in such a way that it's not aggressive or overly didactic. I'm trying to find that form.

Aggressive, Artist, Done, Heard, Important, Justice

I really am a strong believer that with editing, it should take a long time. Even you yourself are not capable of making the right decisions; sometimes you need a distance.

Distance, Editing, Right, Strong

Every Iranian artist, in one form or another, is political. Politics have defined our lives.

Artist, Defined, Inspiration, Lives, Motivation, Politics

I find that through the study of women, you get to the heart - the truth - of the culture.

Culture, Heart, Study

We're either awake or we're sleeping. During the time that we're awake, we work very hard at denying things, mainly because we have to function as people. We have to control and repress everything that we're fearful of, because it doesn't make sense to go crazy on the streets, but in reality we hide and we hide, repress and repress, our fears of the world of violence, of separation, of death, and sometimes hopes, and some things that are very joyful, reunions or all of those good things. It's only in dreams that we're really truthful with whatever hurts most; they're really very real.

Crazy, Dream, Fearful, Hurt, Separation, Time

Beautiful woman wrapped in chadors, with huge machine guns in their hands. Brilliant, shocking, amazingly contradictory images. They compelled me to deeply investigate these ideas.

Beautiful, Compelled, Gun, Guns, Hands, Machine

The idea of feeling displaced, and never feeling safe anywhere in the world, where you always feel like you're safer if you're over there, is not just my experience. If you went to Iran today or an Iranian came to America today, or the fact that there are bombs exploding everywhere, there's just a tremendous sense of fear and feeling a desire for security.

America, Bombs, Fear, Ideas, Iran, Sense

Art is our weapon. Culture is a form of resistance.

Art, Culture, Resistance, Weapons