Shirin Neshat: Art in exile

Prevoditelj: Tilen Pigac - EFZG Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

The story I wanted to share with you today

Priča koju želim podijeliti s vama danas

is my challenge as an Iranian artist,

je moj izazov kao iranske umjetnice,

as an Iranian woman artist,

kao iranska ženska umjetnica,

as an Iranian woman artist

kao iranska ženska umjetnica

living in exile.

koja živi u izgnanstvu.

Well, it has its pluses and minuses.

Pa, ima svojih prednosti i nedostatka.

On the dark side,

S tamne strane,

politics doesn't seem to escape people like me.

politika čini se ne bježi od ljudi poput mene.

Every Iranian artist, in one form or another,

Svaki iranski umjetnik, u ovom ili onom obliku,

is political.

je politički.

Politics have defined our lives.

Politika je definirala naše živote.

If you're living in Iran,

Ukoliko živite u Iranu,

you're facing censorship, harassment,

suočeni ste sa cenzurom, maltretiranjem,

arrest, torture --

uhićenjem, mučenjem --

at times, execution.

ponekad, egzekucijom.

If you're living outside like me,

Ukoliko živite vani poput mene,

you're faced with life in exile --

suočeni ste sa životom u izgnanstvu --

the pain of the longing

bol zbog čežnje

and the separation from your loved ones

i odvojenosti od vaših voljenih

and your family.

i vaše obitelji.

Therefore, we don't find

Stoga, ne pronalazimo

the moral, emotional,

moralan, emocionalan,

psychological and political space

psihološki i politički prostor

to distance ourselves from the reality

kako bi se udaljili od stvarnosti

of social responsibility.

društvene odgovornosti.

Oddly enough,

Začudo,

an artist such as myself

umjetnica poput mene

finds herself also in the position of being the voice,

se isto nađe u poziciji da bude glas,

the speaker of my people,

govornik mojih ljudi,

even if I have, indeed,

čak i ako nemam, doista,

no access to my own country.

nikakav pristup svojoj zemlji.

Also, people like myself,

Isto tako, ljudi poput mene,

we're fighting two battles on different grounds.

mi vodimo dvije bitke na različitim terenima.

We're being critical of the West,

Kritični smo prema zapadu,

the perception of the West

percepcija zapada

about our identity --

o našem identitetu --

about the image that is constructed about us,

o slici koja je konstruirana o nama,

about our women, about our politics,

o našim ženama, o našoj politici,

about our religion.

o našoj religiji.

We are there to take pride

Mi smo tamo da uzmemo ponos

and insist on respect.

i inzistiramo na poštovanju.

And at the same time,

I u isto vrijeme,

we're fighting another battle.

vodimo još jednu bitku.

That is our regime,

To je naš režim,

our government --

naša vlada --

our atrocious government,

naša užasna vlada,

[that] has done every crime

[koja] je počinila svaki zločin

in order to stay in power.

kako bi ostala na vlasti.

Our artists are at risk.

Naši umjetnici su u opasnosti.

We are in a position of danger.

Mi smo u pozicji opasnosti.

We pose a threat

Mi predstavljamo prijetnju

to the order of the government.

redu vlade.

But ironically,

Ali ironija je,

this situation

kako je ta situacija

has empowered all of us,

opunomoćila sve nas,

because we are considered, as artists,

jer se smatra kako smo mi, umjetnici,

central to the cultural, political,

ključni za kulturalni, politički,

social discourse in Iran.

društveni diskurs u Iranu.

We are there to inspire, to provoke,

Mi smo ovdje kako bi nadahnuli, isprovocirali,

to mobilize,

mobilizirali,

to bring hope to our people.

donijeli nadu ljudima.

We are the reporters of our people,

Mi smo reporteri naših ljudi,

and are communicators

i mi smo komunikatori

to the outside world.

prema vanjskom svijetu.

Art is our weapon.

Umjetnost je naše oružje.

Culture is a form of resistance.

Kultura je oblik otpora.

I envy sometimes the artists of the West

Ponekad zavidim umjetnicima na zapadu

for their freedom of expression.

zbog njihove slobode izražavanja --

For the fact that they can distance themselves

zbog činjenice što se mogu distancirati

from the question of politics.

od pitanja politike --

From the fact that they are only serving one audience,

od činjenice da su oni sluga samo jednoj publici,

mainly the Western culture.

većim dijelom zapadnoj kulturi.

But also, I worry about the West,

Ali ujedno, brinem o zapadu,

because often in this country,

jer često u ovoj zemlji,

in this Western world that we have,

u ovom zapadnom svijetu koji imamo,

culture risks being a form of entertainment.

postoji rizik da je kultura samo oblik zabave.

Our people depend on our artists,

Naši ljudi ovise o našim umjetnicima,

and culture is beyond communication.

a kultura je iznad komunikacije.

My journey as an artist

Moje putovanje kao umjetnice

started from a very, very personal place.

je započelo iz jednog vrlo, vrlo osobnog mjesta.

I did not start

Nisam počela

to make social commentary

tako što sam društveno komentirala

about my country.

svoju zemlju.

The first one that you see in front of you

Prva koju vidite ispred vas

is actually when I first returned to Iran

je zapravo kada sam se prvi puta vratila u Iran

after being separated for a good 12 years.

nakon što sam bila odvojena dobrih 12 godina.

It was after the Islamic Revolution

Bilo je to nakon Islamske revolucije

of 1979.

1979. godine.

While I was absent from Iran,

Dok sam bila odsutna iz Irana,

the Islamic Revolution had descended on Iran

Islamska revolucija se spustila na Iran

and had entirely transformed the country

i u potpunosti je preobrazila zemlju

from Persian to the Islamic culture.

iz perzijske na islamsku kulturu.

I came mainly to be reunited with my family

Došla sam prvenstveno kako bih bila sa svojom obitelji

and to reconnect in a way

i kako bih se ponovno spojila na način

that I found my place in the society.

da nađem svoje mjesto u društvu.

But instead, I found a country

Ali umjesto toga, došla sam u zemlju

that was totally ideological

koja je bila u potpunosti ideološka

and that I didn't recognize anymore.

i koju nisam više poznavala.

More so, I became very interested,

Još više, postala sam vrlo zainteresirana,

as I was facing

kako sam se suočavala

my own personal dilemmas and questions,

s vlastitim osobnim dilemama i pitanjima,

I became immersed in the study

zadubila sam se u proučavanje

of the Islamic Revolution --

Islamske revolucije --

how, indeed,

kako je, doista,

it had incredibly transformed

nevjerojatno promijenila

the lives of Iranian women.

živote iranskih žena.

I found the subject of Iranian women

Predmet proučavanja iranskih žena

immensely interesting,

mi je postajao neizmjerno interesantan,

in the way the women of Iran, historically,

zbog načina na koji su, kroz povijest, žene Irana,

seemed to embody the political transformation.

utjelovile političku transformaciju.

So in a way, by studying a woman,

Dakle, proučavajući ženu,

you can read the structure and the ideology of the country.

možete čitati strukturu i ideologiju zemlje.

So I made a group of work

Dakle, učinila sam hrpu posla

that at once faced my own personal questions in life,

koji je u jednom trenutku postao suočen s mojim vlastitim osobnim pitanjima u životu,

and yet it brought my work into a larger discourse --

a ipak je doveo moj rad u veći diskurz --

the subject of martyrdom,

predmet mučeništva,

the question of those who willingly stand in that intersection

pitanje onih koji svojevoljno stanu na to raskrižje

of love of God, faith,

ljubavi prema Bogu, vjere,

but violence and crime and cruelty.

ali i nasilja, i zločina i okrutništva.

For me, this became incredibly important.

Za mene, to je postalo nevjerojatno važno.

And yet, I had an unusual position toward this.

A ipak, imala sam neobičan stav prema tome.

I was an outsider

Bila sam autsajder

who had come back to Iran to find my place,

koji se vratio u Iran kako bih pronašla svoje mjesto,

but I was not in a position

ali nisam bila u poziciji

to be critical of the government

biti kritična prema vladi

or the ideology of the Islamic Revolution.

ili ideologiji Islamske revolucije.

This changed slowly

To se sporo mijenjalo

as I found my voice

kako sam pronašla svoj glas

and I discovered things

i otkrila stvari

that I didn't know I would discover.

za koje nisam znala da ću otkriti.

So my art became slightly more critical.

Dakle, moja umjetnost je postala malo više kritičnija.

My knife became a little sharper.

Moj nož je postao malo oštriji.

And I fell into a life in exile.

I pala sam u život u izgnanstvu.

I am a nomadic artist.

Ja sam nomadska umjetnica.

I work in Morocco, in Turkey, in Mexico.

Radim u Maroku, Turskoj, u Meksiku.

I go everywhere to make believe it's Iran.

Odlazim svuda gdje vjerujem da je Iran.

Now I am making films.

Sada snimam filmove.

Last year, I finished a film

Prošle godine, završila sam film

called "Women Without Men."

zvan "Žene bez muškaraca."

"Women Without Men" returns to history,

"Žene bez muškaraca" se vraća povijesti,

but another part of our Iranian history.

ali drugom dijelu naše Iranske povijesti.

It goes to 1953

Vraća se u 1953.godinu

when American CIA exercised a coup

kada je Američka CIA izvršila udar

and removed a democratically elected leader,

i maknula demokratski izabranog vođu,

Dr. Mossadegh.

Dr.Mossadegh-a.

The book is written by an Iranian woman,

Knjigu je napisala Iranka,

Shahrnush Parsipur.

Shahrnush Parsipur.

It's a magical realist novel.

To je magičan realističan roman.

This book is banned,

Knjiga je zabranjena,

and she spent five years in prison.

a ona je provela pet godina u zatvoru.

My obsession with this book,

Moja opsesija s tom knjigom,

and the reason I made this into a film,

i razlog zbog kojeg sam je pretvorila u film,

is because it at once was addressing

je zato jer je jednom adresirala

the question of being a female --

pitanje kako je biti žena --

traditionally, historically in Iran --

tradicionalno, povijesno u Iranu --

and the question of four women

i pitanje četiriju žena

who are all looking for an idea

koje traže ideju

of change, freedom and democracy --

promjene, slobode i demokracije --

while the country of Iran, equally, as if another character,

dok se država Iran, jednako tako, poput drugog lika,

also struggled for an idea

borila za ideju

of freedom and democracy

slobode i demokracije

and independence from the foreign interventions.

i neovisnosti od stranih intervencija.

I made this film

Napravila sam taj film

because I felt it's important

jer sam smatrala kako je važno

for it to speak to the Westerners

reći zapadnjacima

about our history as a country.

o našoj povijesti države.

That all of you seem to remember Iran

O tome kako se čini da svi vi pamtite Iran

after the Islamic Revolution.

nakon Islamske revolucije.

That Iran was once a secular society,

Da je Iran jednom bio svjetovno društvo,

and we had democracy,

i imali smo demokraciju,

and this democracy was stolen from us

a tu demokraciju nam je ukrala

by the American government,

američka vlada,

by the British government.

britanska vlada.

This film also speaks to the Iranian people

Taj film ujedno govori i Irancima

in asking them to return to their history

i moli ih da se vrate svojoj povijesti

and look at themselves before they were so Islamicized --

i da sagledaju sebe prije nego su postali toliko islamizirani --

in the way we looked, in the way we played music,

način na koji smo gledali, način na koji smo svirali glazbu,

in the way we had intellectual life.

način kojim smo vodili intelektualni život.

And most of all,

I najviše od svega,

in the way that we fought for democracy.

način na koji smo se borili za demokraciju.

These are some of the shots actually from my film.

Ovo su zapravo neke snimke iz mog filma.

These are some of the images of the coup.

Ovo su neke slike udara.

And we made this film in Casablanca,

A film smo snimili u Casablanca-i,

recreating all the shots.

stvarajući isponova sve snimke.

This film tried to find a balance

Ovaj film je pokušao pronaći ravnotežu

between telling a political story,

između pričanja političke priče,

but also a feminine story.

ali i ženske priče.

Being a visual artist, indeed,

Ja sam vizualna umjetnica, doista,

I am foremost interested to make art --

i ponajprije me interesira da stvaram umjetnost --

to make art that transcends

da napravim umjetnost koja nadilazi

politics, religion,

politiku, religiju,

the question of feminism,

pitanje feminizma,

and become an important, timeless,

i da postane važan, bezvremenski,

universal work of art.

univerzalni rad umjetnosti.

The challenge I have

Izazov s kojim se suočavam

is how to do that.

jest kako to napraviti --

How to tell a political story but an allegorical story.

kako ispričati političku priču pomoću alegorije --

How to move you with your emotions,

kako vas dirnuti pomoću vaših emocija,

but also make your mind work.

ali ujedno potaknuti vas na razmišljanje.

These are some of the images

Ovo su neke slike

and the characters of the film.

i likovi iz filma.

Now comes the green movement --

Sada dolazi zeleni pokret --

the summer of 2009,

ljeto 2009. godine,

as my film is released --

kako je moj film izašao --

the uprising begins in the streets of Tehran.

ustanak počinje na ulicama Tehrana.

What is unbelievably ironic

Ono što je nevjerojatno ironično

is the period that we tried to depict in the film,

jest period koji smo htjeli prikazati u filmu,

the cry for democracy

čežnja za demokracijom

and social justice,

i društvenom pravdom,

repeats itself now

se upravo ponavlja

again in Tehran.

ponovno u Tehranu.

The green movement

Zeleni pokret

significantly inspired the world.

je značajno inspirirao svijet.

It brought a lot of attention to all those Iranians

Donio je veliku pozornost na one Irance

who stand for basic human rights

koji se zalažu za osnovna ljudska prava

and struggle for democracy.

i koji se bore za demokraciju.

What was most significant for me

Ono što je meni bilo najznačajnije

was, once again,

je, još jednom,

the presence of the women.

nazočnost žena.

They're absolutely inspirational for me.

One su meni potpuno inspirativne.

If in the Islamic Revolution,

Ukoliko su u Islamskoj revoluciji,

the images of the woman portrayed

slike žena bile prikazane

were submissive

kao pokorne

and didn't have a voice,

i bez glasa,

now we saw a new idea of feminism

sada smo vidjeli novu ideju feminizma

in the streets of Tehran --

na ulicama Tehrana --

women who were educated,

žene koje su bile educirane,

forward thinking, non-traditional,

koje napredno razmišljaju, netradicionalne,

sexually open, fearless

otvorene prema pitanju seksa, neustrašive

and seriously feminist.

i ozbiljno feministične.

These women and those young men

Te žene i ti mladi muškarci

united Iranians

su ujedinili Irance

across the world, inside and outside.

po cijelom svijetu, iznutra i izvana.

I then discovered

Zatim sam otkrila

why I take so much inspiration

zašto crpim toliko inspiracije

from Iranian women.

od iranskih žena.

That, under all circumstances,

A to je, da su one, pod svim okolnostima,

they have pushed the boundary.

pomaknule granicu.

They have confronted the authority.

One su se suprotstavile autoritetu.

They have broken every rule

Prekršile su svako pravilo

in the smallest and the biggest way.

na namanji i najveći način.

And once again, they proved themselves.

I još jednom, one su se dokazale.

I stand here to say

Stojim ovdje kako bih rekla

that Iranian women have found a new voice,

da su iranske žene pronašle novi glas,

and their voice is giving me my voice.

a njihov glas daje meni moj glas.

And it's a great honor

I velika je čast

to be an Iranian woman and an Iranian artist,

biti Iranka i iranska umjetnica,

even if I have to operate in the West only for now.

čak i ako moram za sada samo raditi na zapadu.

Thank you so much.

Puno vam hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)