The exhibition, she explains in an interview with voa persian tvs behnam nateghi, is about power and peoples relationship to power, which she sees as the essence of firdowsis epic poem the book of kings. Gladstone gallery specializes in modern and contemporary art with locations in new york and brussels. Neshats the book of kings is inspired by the epic poem shahnameh the book of kings, by the 11thcentury poet ferdowsi, which chronicled iran through the 7thcentury islamic conquest of persia. After 911 neshat s ideas about being a political artist changed, even equating the artists address of political issues as a moral responsibility. These references show how the historian of kings used extensive sources selectively. However, book of kings, far from being a commentary on the relations between the us and iran, does not take sidesexcept with the iranian people, who are ultimately caught between them. Panteha masses, from the book of kings series, 2012 medium. Shirin neshats book of kings captures the faces of the arab spring. Shirin akiner 16 june 1943 6 april 2019 was a scholar of central asia and belarus. She was a research associate at london university s school of oriental and african studies soas. The exhibition consisted of a total of 56 black and white photos framed in unmated and black frames that were hung across the two galleries. It came about that on a certain day rustem arose from his couch, and his mind was filled with forebodings.
Just in time for the persian new year, theres a new english translation of the shahnameh the epic persian book of kings written over the course of 35 years in the 11th century ad by the. Shirin neshat, rebellious silence, women of allah series. This biography profiles her childhood, life, career, achievements and timeline. Facing history takes a sweeping look at her output and will present her iconic blackandwhite photographic portraitswhich she discusses belowas well as her nonnarrative videos and her recent forays. The exhibition, she explains in an interview with voa persian tvs behnam nateghi, is about power and peoples relationship to power, which she sees as.
The exhibit, the book of kings, was inspired by the wave of political uprisings throughout the arab world last year. Shirin neshats large photo series the book of kings is inspired by the 60,000verse poem shahnameh the book of kings from the eleventh century by the. In line with the shahs expansion of womens rights, her father prioritized his daughters access to education, and the young artist attended a catholic school where she learned about both western and iranian intellectual and cultural history. The book of kings consists of three series of large blackandwhite portraits. Book of kings 2012, a monumental threepart photo portrait series by neshat, also stands out as a commentary on the struggle between a. The book recounts in verse the mythological history of ancient persia and tales of the famous heroes and personalities of iranian history, from. Facing history presents an array of neshats most compelling works, illuminating the points at which cultural and political events have impacted her artistic practice. Facing history takes a sweeping look at her output and will present her iconic blackandwhite photographic portraitswhich she discusses belowas well as her nonnarrative videos and her recent forays into cinema. Best known for her work in photography, film and video, neshat creates stark visual contrasts that offer glimpses into the social, cultural and religious codes of muslim societies. The shahnameh is a collection of stories and myths from ancient iran, filled with kings, heroes, princesses, magical animals and demons.
Shirin neshats book of kings captures the faces of the. Neshats work has received great critical acclaim outside of iran. Incorporating archival material to contextualize her practice, the show confronts. Kings is the ninth book of the hebrew bible and the fourth book in the prophets neviim, the second section of the hebrew bible. Solomon reigns, adonijah aspiring to the throne is put to death. Shirin neshat was born to a wealthy family from qazvin, a small city two hours from tehran, in 1957.
Jun, 2010 exiled artist shirin neshats first film is about the lives of four women in her native iran but it wont get past the countrys censors sun jun 2010 17. Tragic love story of shirin and khosrow pictorial persian rug. Neshats new photography series the book of kings is inspired by the 60,000verse epic poem, shahnameh book of kings, by the 11th century poet ferdowsi, which chronicled the history of iran through the 7th century islamic conquest of persia. The two books of kings formed originally but one book in the hebrew scriptures.
She studied at london university, gaining a first degree in slavonic philology and turkish language and literature ottoman and modern. This thesis analyzes shirin neshats women of allah photographs by exploring key sociopolitical events that have shaped iranian history since the reign of cyrus the great, ca. Shirin neshat facing history is the companion volume to the smithsonians hirshhorn museum exhibition of the same name. Books of the chronicles of the kings of judah and israel. Browse more artworks shirin neshat from leila heller gallery. Shirin neshat national museum of women in the arts. On october 10, 2003, ebadi was awarded the nobel peace prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially womens. May 15, 2015 the book of kings photographs, for example, recall the green movement, in which dozens, if not hundreds of people were killed, many more arrested, and which took an unfathomable toll on the. The book of kings series by shirin neshat on artnet. Help us create the kind of literary community youve always dreamed of. Facing history, hirshhorn museum and sculpture garden, washington, d. Throughout most of neshats career, she has been exiled from iran, an outside observer of islamic laws. Books of the chronicles of the kings of judah and israel, two sets of royal annals, mentioned in i and ii kings but subsequently lost. This thesis analyzes shirin neshats women of allah photographs by exploring key sociopolitical events that have shaped iranian history since the.
The political and religious upheaval that affected iran in 1979 is best remembered for the taking of american hostages and the deposing of the shah. The internet classics archive the epic of kings by ferdowsi. In her fifth solo exhibit at new yorks gladstone gallery, artist shirin neshat sets up her first ever photo installation. The figure meets the viewers gaze with his right hand placed over his heart. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament.
This is also the same legendary poet who also penned the famous persian love story of layla and majnun khosrow and shirin is a work of fiction and a tale of love between the sasanian king khosrow ii and shirin, the armenian princess who went on and became the. The two books of kings in the hebrew scriptures were artificially dividedby the general limits of scrolling, as the author observeswhich accounts for a nearly. Shirin akiner was born in 1943 in dacca, british india. Unique and lavish renditions of this story have been created for several centuries books were collected luxury items for the wealthy. Dec 16, 2014 the shahnameh is a collection of stories and myths from ancient iran, filled with kings, heroes, princesses, magical animals and demons. Shirin neshat is an iranian visual artist who was born in qazvin, iran, educated in berkeley, california and is currently based in new york.
The secret book of kings upends conventions of biblical novels, engaging with the canonized stories of the founding of the kingdom of israel and turning them on their heads. In her upcoming project, neshat will present a new series of photographs and a. Shirin neshat is an iranian artist based in new york. Ganjavis love story starts off with the birth and education of khosrow. View the book of kings series by shirin neshat on artnet. The present division into two books was first made by the lxx. Like most revolutions, however, the series of events that. The book was likely compiled by or derived from the kings of israels own scribes, and is likely the source for the basic facts. The judean and israelite monarchies from the rise of king solomon to the destruction of the first temple in jerusalem. Shirin neshat mosaeb masses, from the book of kings. Written as an epic poem by the poet ferdowsi in the 10th century, it is one of the great classics of persian literature. The book of kings, january february 11, 2012 archived june 27, 2012, at the. Shirin neshat biography childhood, life achievements.
Its written all over their faces the washington post. Shirin neshat was born in 1957 in the town of qazvin. Aug 23, 2016 the secret book of kings upends conventions of biblical novels, engaging with the canonized stories of the founding of the kingdom of israel and turning them on their heads. Then he turned him unto the wilds that lie near turan, even in the direction of the. On october 10, 2003, ebadi was awarded the nobel peace prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially womens, childrens, and refugee rights. Isbn 9788290955361 9788290955361 softcover, henie onstad art centre, norway, 1999 shirin neshat. Gladstone gallery is pleased to announce our fifth exhibition with shirin neshat. In shirin neshats photographs, persian calligraphic script is transcribed over black and white depictions of the exposed faces, hands and feet of iranian women. Her work has brought her the international award of the xlviii venice biennale in 1999, the dorothy and lillian gish prize in 2006, the silver lion for best director at the 66th venice film festival in 2009, and 2014 crystal award by the world economic forum in davos, switzerland, to name a few. Photographs, ink on le silver gelatin print edition. Presented for the first time are the heretofore unknown stories of the house of saul and of the northern kingdom of israel, stories that were artfully concealed by the. Shirin neshat speaks about her retrospective at the. Internationally acclaimed artist shirin neshat takes on loaded themes in photography, film, and video works that delve into issues of gender, identity, and politics in muslim countries, and the relationship between the personal and political.
Mar 29, 2006 just in time for the persian new year, theres a new english translation of the shahnameh the epic persian book of kings written over the course of 35 years in the 11th century ad by the. A critical and exegetical commentary on the books of kings by montgomery, james a. Give ear unto the combat of sohrab against rustem, though it be a tale replete with tears. The shahnama or book of kings is an epic poem written in 1010 and containing about 60,000 couplets.
Shirin neshat, roja the book of kings, ink on le gelatin silver print 60 x 45 in. The importance of shahnameh in the persianspeaking world is comparable that of homers epics in the west. The exhibit, the book of kings, was inspired by the wave of political uprisings throughout the arab world last year, and according to the gallery, explores the underlying conditions. The historian of kings refers to these works as his source, where additional information may be found. She gained her doctorate in 1980 from university college london as a researcher of the heritage of the belarusian lipka tatars, with her dissertation titled the religious vocabulary of the british. A total of 56 black and white photographs, framed in black and unmatted, and hung in the main gallery space, the reception hallway, and a smaller side room. Commentary on the book of first kings by matthew henry. In her video works, swarms of women in black hijabs ululate, or a man in a white dress shirt and black pants sings to an allmale audience, while a lone woman sings to herself in a. One portrait on view, ibrahim 2012, belongs to a part of the book of kings series neshat calls the patriots. She obtained her ba, ma, and mfa at uc berkeley and moved to new york city in 1983. Artist shirin neshat began to explore the question of identity after moving from her native iran to new york, where she has lived in what she defines as selfimposed exile for most of her adult life.
Shahnameh baysonqori is a copy of shahnameh book of kings composed by the highly revered iranian poet abu alqasim firdawsi 9401020. The portraits, displayed in three groupsthe masses, the patriots and the villainsare enhanced with drawings and arabic text, including contemporary poetry by iranian writers and prisoners and. In shirin neshat s photographs, persian calligraphic script is transcribed over black and white depictions of the exposed faces, hands and feet of iranian women. The book of kings is a series of photographs, with farsi calligraphy and beautiful drawings from the preislamic history of persia inscribed on the developed image. In her mesmerizing films and photographs, shirin neshat iranianamerican, b. Shirin neshat is an iranian visual artist and activist. Shirin neshats large photo series the book of kings is inspired by the 60,000 verse poem shahnameh the book of kings from the eleventh century by the. Shirin neshats photographs and videos address individual freedoms under attack from or repressed by social ideologies. Her film women without men 2009, which won the prestigious silver lion award at the venice film. This iconic persian folk tale was authored by nizami ganjavi who lived during the high middle ages period of 1141 1209 ce. Shirin neshat poses at the dirimart gallery during the presentation of the book of kings series in istanbul in 20 getty. May 04, 2018 the tragic love story of shirin and khosrow.
Following this, khosrow is chastised by his father, hormizd iv for throwing a feast in a farmers house. Panteha masses, from the book of kings series by shirin. Solomon is anointed king, and adonijahs usurpation stopped. Shirin neshats powerful photographs and video installations illuminate the gender and cultural conflicts of her native iran. The chronicles of the kings of israel is a book that gives a more detailed account of the reigns of the kings of ancient kingdom of israel than that presented in the hebrew bible, and may have been the source from which parts of the biblical account were drawn. Available for sale from leila heller gallery, shirin neshat, mosaeb masses, from the book of kings series 2012, ink on le silver gelatin print, 101. The shahnameh or book of kings, an epic poem of some 50000 couplets. Shirin neshat speaks about her retrospective at the hirshhorn. Interweaving history, poetry and politics, the series is set against the backdrop of the recent arab spring, and the iranian green movement, which brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets across iran in june of 2009 in protest against corrupt power.
Nearing the twentieth anniversary of her new york debut, shirin neshat, in her recent exhibition at gladstone gallery, book of kings, adeptly. Shirin neshats i will greet the sun captures audiences at the. Shirin neshat relates this ancient book to the arab spring and to the iranian green movement, which brought hundreds of thousands on to the streets all over iran in june 2009 in protest against the regime. Her earliest work as a photographer was born out of a. At the age of seventeen, she relocated to the united states to complete her education. Shirin neshat has 28 books on goodreads with 1615 ratings. Exiled artist shirin neshats first film is about the lives of four women in her native iran but it wont get past the countrys censors sun jun 2010 17. Throughout the space, dozens of iranian and arab youth with engaging, thoughtful expressions stare out from blackandwhite photographs by shirin neshat. So he saddled rakush and made ready his quiver with arrows. As in her first series, this calligraphic foray is the link that binds neshat with her country, with tradition, with popular culture and ancient persian history. Commentary on the book of first kings by matthew henry old. Exiled iranian artist shirin neshat looks at the egyptian.