Shirin Neshat: A Person's Identity

A person’s identity is something that is very personal and is hard to describe and express to other people. Some people prefer to be identified by their physical characteristics, whereas others would rather be identified by their personality and how they are as a person. Knowing the difference between the two is one of the hardest things to do when you first meet someone. The same thing applies to art when trying to capture the identity of the artist. One’s identity can be defined by their experiences, ethnicity, religion, values, childhood, family background, among many other factors that make up a person’s identity. A piece of art can be perceived differently in the eyes of the audience, so it is vital that an artist’s work efficiently senses …show more content…
An artist who genuinely puts their heart into the piece and has the aim of expressing themselves through their heart has the powerful ability of conveying any message to an audience. Shirin Neshat, a visual artist from Iran, is known for her work in film and photography. A big portion of a person’s identity derives from a person’s family background and childhood. Neshat, grew up in a wealthy family of five children in an extremely religious town in north-western Iran. Unlike most of those in her town, her father, a physician, dreamed of life in the western world and adopted many western values. Her parent’s western values caused Neshat to be enrolled in a Catholic boarding school. Different from the values of her community, her parent’s westernization exposed her to the western view of feminism. With the encouragement of her family, Neshat enrolled in UC Berkeley for higher education and for an opportunity to be an individual. In her early works, such as the photographs “The Unveiling” and “Woman of Allah,” Neshat touches the topics of feminism in regards to Islamic religion …show more content…
Weems was born in the 50s in Portland, Oregon, during a time of struggle of inclusion for African Americans. She had a daughter when she was just 16 years old, Faith, and shortly moved out of her parent’s house to study modern dance. At this time she was also involves with the labor movement and unions. She was given a camera for her work in this field, but after coming across “The Black Photography Annual,” a booklet of photographs by African Americans, Weems was inspired to do the same. Weems’ first set of photographs, “Family Pictures and Stories,” showed the transitional period African American families experiences when moving from the south to the north. Her next collection, “Ain’t joking,” was bolder and emphasized racism of African Americans by putting the spotlight on racist jokes. As you can see Weems’ identity is much more than her race, it is of one who used her art as a method of exposing people to the truth of society with the goals of sparking change for the betterment of African Americans, and in turn, the betterment of America as a