235. Rebellious Silence, from the Women of Allah series. Shirin Neshat (artist); photo by Cynthia Preston. 1994 CE Ink on photograph.

• Form and Content
  • The poem written on the face is in Farsi, the Persian language; the poem expresses piety
  • The poe is by an Iranian women who writes poetry on gender issues
  • The gun divides the body into a darker and a lighter side
  • The gun adds a not of ominous tension in the work
  • The work expresses the artist’s duality as both Iranian and American
• Materials
  • Black and white photograph
• Context
  • Shirin Neshat is an Iranian-born artist, raised in the U.S.
  • Chador: a type of outer garment, like a cloak, that allows only the face and hands of Iranian women to be seen
  • The chador keeps women’s bodies from being seen as sexual objects
  • Westerners could view the work as an expression of female oppression
  • Iranians could view the work as an image of an obedient, right-minded women who is ready to die defending her faith and customs
  • The work contrasts with stereotypical Western depictions of exotic female nudes in opulent surroundings