Imber, Kirstie Frances (2016) Unveiling the voice : the politics and poetics of the voice in Iranian women's art. Doctoral thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.
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Abstract
This thesis explores the significance of the female voice and silence in four artworks by contemporary Iranian women artists working during and in the immediate aftermath of the Reform period (1997-2005): Mandana Moghaddam (b. 1962), Samira Eskandarfar (b.1980), Newsha Tavakolian (b. 1981) and Neda Razavipour (b. 1969). While the politics of the cultural, social and creative representation of women in Iran has attracted much scholarly attention, there has been a tendency to focus on a very limited set of issues, most notably the veil as both object and practice. This thesis seeks to shift the emphasis away from the politics of the veil within the context of art, by analysing the presence and absence of the voice in the realm of visual representation, specifically installation, video and photography. Aspects of the historical roots of the debate concerning the female voice in non-religious, cultural and public contexts, particularly since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, provide the framework for exploring how contemporary women artists engage with the regulation and ‘veiling’ of the female voice in their creative practice. By drawing on a range of theoretical materials and sources, including those within art history, cultural studies, ethnomusicology, feminism, psychoanalysis and political science, this thesis argues for an expanded way of looking and listening to Iranian women’s art, and demonstrates how the spaces of art become crucial sites where socially prescribed modes of representing women are powerfully interrogated and contested. By addressing the expressive qualities of audio-visual media, and the relationships between the visual, audible and aural, the aim of this thesis is to offer a new means of exploring the relationship between contemporary art and cultural politics in Iran, and to bring to light neglected works of art by contemporary Iranian women artists.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Copyright Holders: | The copyright of this thesis rests with the author, who asserts his/her right to be known as such according to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. No dealing with the thesis contrary to the copyright or moral rights of the author is permitted. |
| Depositing User: | Acquisitions And Metadata |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Aug 2017 16:47 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Nov 2023 13:15 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40278 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.18743/PUB.00040278 |
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