Shirin Neshat: Art in exile

Prevodilac: Marija Milenovic Lektor: Ana Zivanovic-Nenadovic

The story I wanted to share with you today

Priča koju želim da podelim sa vama danas

is my challenge as an Iranian artist,

je izazov za mene kao iranskog umetnika,

as an Iranian woman artist,

kao iranskog umetnika ženskog pola,

as an Iranian woman artist

i kao iransku umetnicu

living in exile.

koja živi u izgnanstvu.

Well, it has its pluses and minuses.

Pa, to ima svoje dobre i loše strane.

On the dark side,

Na lošoj strani, politika, izgleda,

politics doesn't seem to escape people like me.

ne beži od ljudi kao što sam ja.

Every Iranian artist, in one form or another,

Svaki iranski umetnik je, na jedan

is political.

ili drugi način, političan.

Politics have defined our lives.

Politika definiše naše živote.

If you're living in Iran,

Ukoliko živite u Iranu,

you're facing censorship, harassment,

suočavate se sa cenzurom, maltretiranjem,

arrest, torture --

hapšenjem, mučenjem,

at times, execution.

ponekad i egzekucijom.

If you're living outside like me,

Ako živite van zemlje, kao ja,

you're faced with life in exile --

suočeni ste sa životom u ignanstvu

the pain of the longing

i čežnjom i bolom

and the separation from your loved ones

jer ste razdvojeni od svojih bližnjih,

and your family.

od svoje porodice.

Therefore, we don't find

Tako da mi ne nalazimo

the moral, emotional,

moralni, emotivni,

psychological and political space

psihološki i politički prostor

to distance ourselves from the reality

da se distanciramo od realnosti

of social responsibility.

društvene odgovornosti.

Oddly enough,

Začudo,

an artist such as myself

umetnik, poput mene,

finds herself also in the position of being the voice,

je takođe glas,

the speaker of my people,

govornik svog naroda,

even if I have, indeed,

iako ja zaista nemam

no access to my own country.

pristup svojoj zemlji.

Also, people like myself,

Takođe, ljudi poput mene,

we're fighting two battles on different grounds.

vode dve bitke na različitim poljima.

We're being critical of the West,

Kritikujemo zapad,

the perception of the West

njegovu percepciju

about our identity --

našeg identiteta,

about the image that is constructed about us,

imidža koji je stvoren o nama,

about our women, about our politics,

o našim ženama, politici,

about our religion.

o našoj religiji.

We are there to take pride

Tamo smo da se ponosimo sobom

and insist on respect.

i da insistiramo na poštovanju.

And at the same time,

U isto vreme,

we're fighting another battle.

vodimo drugu bitku.

That is our regime,

To je naš režim,

our government --

naša vlada,

our atrocious government,

naša svirepa vlada

[that] has done every crime

koja ne zazire od zločina da

in order to stay in power.

bi zadržala vlast.

Our artists are at risk.

Naši umetnici su pod rizikom.

We are in a position of danger.

Mi smo u opasnosti.

We pose a threat

Predstavljamo pretnju

to the order of the government.

vladinom poretku.

But ironically,

Ali, ironično,

this situation

ova situacija nas je

has empowered all of us,

sve učinila jačima

because we are considered, as artists,

jer smo, kao umetnici,

central to the cultural, political,

u središtu kulturološkog, političkog

social discourse in Iran.

i društvenog diskursa u Iranu.

We are there to inspire, to provoke,

Tamo smo da inspirišemo, da provociramo,

to mobilize,

da mobilišemo,

to bring hope to our people.

da ljudima damo nadu.

We are the reporters of our people,

Mi smo izveštavači našeg naroda

and are communicators

i mi komuniciramo

to the outside world.

sa spoljašnim svetom.

Art is our weapon.

Umetnost je naše oružje.

Culture is a form of resistance.

Kultura je forma otpora.

I envy sometimes the artists of the West

Ponekad zavidim umetnicima na zapadu

for their freedom of expression.

zbog slobode njihovog izražavanja,

For the fact that they can distance themselves

zbog činjenice da se mogu udaljiti

from the question of politics.

od politike,

From the fact that they are only serving one audience,

zbog činjenice da oni samo služe

mainly the Western culture.

jednoj publici, uglavnom zapadnoj kulturi.

But also, I worry about the West,

Ali i brinem zbog zapada

because often in this country,

jer, često, u ovoj zemlji,

in this Western world that we have,

u ovom zapadnom svetu

culture risks being a form of entertainment.

kultura rizikuje da postane forma zabave.

Our people depend on our artists,

Naši ljudi zavise od umetnika,

and culture is beyond communication.

a kultura je izvan komunikacije.

My journey as an artist

Moj put kao umetnika je započeo

started from a very, very personal place.

sa jednog veoma, veoma ličnog mesta.

I did not start

Nisam počela

to make social commentary

da dajem društveno tumačenje

about my country.

svoje zemlje.

The first one that you see in front of you

Prva koju vidite pred sobom

is actually when I first returned to Iran

je kada sam se prvi put vratila u Iran

after being separated for a good 12 years.

pošto sam bila van zemlje dobrih 12 godina.

It was after the Islamic Revolution

Bilo je to posle 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 evolucija se spustila u Iran

and had entirely transformed the country

i u potpunosti transformisala ovu zemlju,

from Persian to the Islamic culture.

od persisjske do islamske kulture.

I came mainly to be reunited with my family

Došla sam većinom da bih ponovo

and to reconnect in a way

videla svoju porodicu i ponovo se povezala

that I found my place in the society.

i našla svoje mesto u društvu.

But instead, I found a country

Ali, umesto toga, našla sam zemlju

that was totally ideological

koja je bila u potpunosti ideološka

and that I didn't recognize anymore.

i koju nisam mogla više da prepoznam.

More so, I became very interested,

Štaviše, sve više sam bivala zainteresovana,

as I was facing

kako sam se susretala

my own personal dilemmas and questions,

sa sopstvenim dilemama i pitanjima.

I became immersed in the study

Zaokupila sam se studijom o

of the Islamic Revolution --

Islamskoj revoluciji i o tome

how, indeed,

kako je, zapravo,

it had incredibly transformed

neverovatno izmenila

the lives of Iranian women.

živote iranskih žena.

I found the subject of Iranian women

Iranske žene su kao subjekat studije

immensely interesting,

neverovatno zanimljive

in the way the women of Iran, historically,

zbog toga što su one, kroz istoriju,

seemed to embody the political transformation.

oslikavale političke transformacije.

So in a way, by studying a woman,

Na neki način, kroz proučavanje žene,

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

možete pročitati strukturu i ideologiju te zemlje.

So I made a group of work

Tako sam napravila grupu radova

that at once faced my own personal questions in life,

koja se suočila sa mojim ličnim pitanjima u životu,

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

ali je ipak dovela moj rad do većeg diskursa -

the subject of martyrdom,

subjekat mučeništva

the question of those who willingly stand in that intersection

pitanje onih koji voljno stoje na toj raskrsnici

of love of God, faith,

koja vodi ka ljubavi prema Bogu, veri,

but violence and crime and cruelty.

ali i nasilju, zločinu i oholosti.

For me, this became incredibly important.

Za mene je to postalo veoma značajno.

And yet, I had an unusual position toward this.

A, ipak, imala sam neobičnan stav prema ovome.

I was an outsider

Bila sam autsajder

who had come back to Iran to find my place,

koji se vratio u Iran da bi pronašao svoje mesto,

but I was not in a position

ali nisam bila u poziciji

to be critical of the government

da budem kritična u odnosu na vladu

or the ideology of the Islamic Revolution.

ili na ideologiju Islamske revolucije.

This changed slowly

Ovo se menjalo polako

as I found my voice

kako sam pronalazila svoj glas

and I discovered things

i otkrivala stvari

that I didn't know I would discover.

za koje nisam znala da ću pronaći.

So my art became slightly more critical.

Tako je moja umetnost postala malo kritičnija.

My knife became a little sharper.

Moj nož je postao malo oštriji.

And I fell into a life in exile.

I upala sam u život u izgnanstvu.

I am a nomadic artist.

Ja sam nomadski umetnik.

I work in Morocco, in Turkey, in Mexico.

Radim u Maroku, Turskoj, Meksiku.

I go everywhere to make believe it's Iran.

Idem svuda i pretvaram se da je Iran.

Now I am making films.

Sada pravim filmove.

Last year, I finished a film

Prošle godine sam završila film

called "Women Without Men."

pod nazivom "Žene bez muškaraca".

"Women Without Men" returns to history,

"Žene bez muškaraca" se vraća kroz istoriju,

but another part of our Iranian history.

ali kroz drugi deo iranske istorije.

It goes to 1953

Ide do 1953.

when American CIA exercised a coup

kada je američka CIA

and removed a democratically elected leader,

sklonila sa vlasti demokratski odabranog lidera,

Dr. Mossadegh.

dr Mosadeha.

The book is written by an Iranian woman,

Ovu knjigu je napisala Iranka,

Shahrnush Parsipur.

Šarnuš Parsipur.

It's a magical realist novel.

To je magičan i realističan roman.

This book is banned,

Ova 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 ovom knjigom

and the reason I made this into a film,

i razlog zbog kog sam je pretočila u film

is because it at once was addressing

je što se ona postavlja pitanje

the question of being a female --

kako izgleda biti žena -

traditionally, historically in Iran --

tradicionalno, istorijski u Iranu -

and the question of four women

i pitanje četiri žene

who are all looking for an idea

koje su u potrazi za idejom

of change, freedom and democracy --

promene, slobode i demokratije -

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

dok se Iran, podjednako, kao da je odvojen od njih,

also struggled for an idea

takođe borio za ideju

of freedom and democracy

slobode i demokratije,

and independence from the foreign interventions.

kao i nezavisnosti od stranih investitora.

I made this film

Napravila sam ovaj film

because I felt it's important

takvim da se obraća

for it to speak to the Westerners

i zapadnjacima,

about our history as a country.

da i njima govori o istoriji naše zemlje.

That all of you seem to remember Iran

Izgleda da se svi sećate Irana

after the Islamic Revolution.

posle Islamske revolucije.

That Iran was once a secular society,

Toga da je Iran nekeda bio sekularno društvo

and we had democracy,

i da smo imali demokratiju

and this democracy was stolen from us

koju su nam oduzele

by the American government,

američka i

by the British government.

britanska vlada.

This film also speaks to the Iranian people

Ovaj film se takođe obraća Irancima i

in asking them to return to their history

zahteva od njih da se vrate svojoj istoriji

and look at themselves before they were so Islamicized --

i vremenu kada nisu bili toliko islamizirani,

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

na način na koji smo izgledali, na koji smo svirali,

in the way we had intellectual life.

na način našeg intelektualnog života.

And most of all,

I, iznad svega,

in the way that we fought for democracy.

na način na koji smo se borili za demokratiju.

These are some of the shots actually from my film.

Ovo su neki od snimaka iz mog filma.

These are some of the images of the coup.

Ovo su neke od fotografija sa državnog udara.

And we made this film in Casablanca,

Ovaj film smo snimali u Kazablanki,

recreating all the shots.

rekreirajući sve snimke.

This film tried to find a balance

Ovaj film je pokušao da uspostavi ravnotežu

between telling a political story,

između pričanja političke

but also a feminine story.

i ženske priče.

Being a visual artist, indeed,

Kako sam vizuelni umetnik,

I am foremost interested to make art --

pre svega sam zainteresovana za stvaranje

to make art that transcends

umetnosti koja prevazilazi

politics, religion,

politiku, religiju,

the question of feminism,

pitanje feminizma

and become an important, timeless,

i može da postane važno, svevremensko,

universal work of art.

univerzalno delo umetnosti.

The challenge I have

Izazov koji je bio preda mnom

is how to do that.

je bio kako da to uradim,

How to tell a political story but an allegorical story.

kako da koristeći alegoriju ispričati političku priču,

How to move you with your emotions,

kako uzburkati vaše emocije

but also make your mind work.

ali i podstaći vas na razmišljanje.

These are some of the images

Ovo su neke od slika

and the characters of the film.

i karaktera iz filma.

Now comes the green movement --

Sada dolazi zeleni pokret -

the summer of 2009,

leto 2009.

as my film is released --

kada je moj film pušten -

the uprising begins in the streets of Tehran.

ustanak počinje na ulicama Teherana.

What is unbelievably ironic

Ono što je neverovatno ironično je da se

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

period koji smo pokušali da oslikamo u filmu,

the cry for democracy

vapaj za demokratijom,

and social justice,

i društvenom pravdom

repeats itself now

ponavlja sada,

again in Tehran.

ponovo u Teheranu.

The green movement

Zeleni pokret je

significantly inspired the world.

značajno inspirisao svet.

It brought a lot of attention to all those Iranians

To je privuklo pažnju na sve one Irance

who stand for basic human rights

koji se zalažu za osnovna ljudska prava

and struggle for democracy.

i bore za demokratiju.

What was most significant for me

Šta mi je bilo najznačajnije

was, once again,

je, još jednom,

the presence of the women.

prisustvo žena.

They're absolutely inspirational for me.

One su meni apsolutno inspirativne.

If in the Islamic Revolution,

Ako bi u Islamskoj revoluciji

the images of the woman portrayed

žene bile oslikane

were submissive

kao potčinjene

and didn't have a voice,

i kao da nemaju glas

now we saw a new idea of feminism

sada smo videli novu ideju feminizma

in the streets of Tehran --

na ulicama Teherana,

women who were educated,

žene koje su obrazovane,

forward thinking, non-traditional,

otvorenog uma, netradicionalne,

sexually open, fearless

seksualno otvorene, neustrašive

and seriously feminist.

i ozbiljne feministkinje.

These women and those young men

Ove žene i oni mladi muškarci,

united Iranians

ujedinjeni Iranci

across the world, inside and outside.

širom sveta, unutra i napolju.

I then discovered

Tada sam shvatila

why I take so much inspiration

zašto toliko inspiracije nalazim

from Iranian women.

u iranskim ženama.

That, under all circumstances,

One, pod svim okolnostima,

they have pushed the boundary.

pomeraju granicu.

They have confronted the authority.

Suprostavljaju se vlastima.

They have broken every rule

Krše svako pravilo

in the smallest and the biggest way.

na najmanji mogući, kao i na najveći mogući način.

And once again, they proved themselves.

I, još jednom, one su se dokazale.

I stand here to say

Stojim ovde da kažem

that Iranian women have found a new voice,

da su iranske žene pronašle novi glas

and their voice is giving me my voice.

i njihov glas meni daje glas.

And it's a great honor

I velika je čast

to be an Iranian woman and an Iranian artist,

biti Iranka i iranska umetnica

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

iako trenutno moram živeti i raditi na zapadu.

Thank you so much.

Puno vam hvala!

(Applause)

(Aplauz)