Modernity, Sexuality, and Ideology in Iran The Life and Legacy of a Popular Female Artist By Kamran Talattof (New York: Syracuse University Press, 2011. hbk. 288 pages.)

Abstract

Modernity, Sexuality, and Ideology in Iran represents a significant moment
in artistic resurrection and re-vision. It examines the life and work of a discarded
Iranian female popular artist known as Shahrzad (b. 1946). Through
critical attention previously denied to Shahrzad, Talattof honors her creative
contributions and, by extension, recognizes and honors artists like her who
have been marginalized for the last several decades, their art labeled as
“shameful” or “profane” due to their unacceptable sexual roles as dancers,
singers, and actresses. Through the lens of her life and legacy, he argues that
true modernity can never fully emerge without space for the discussion of
sexuality – especially that of women.
The author takes a risk in offering critical analysis of this artist’s life and
work, for Shahrazad is recognized neither in the canon, nor by the giants of
committed literature in Iran, the dominant style when she was writing in the
1970s. While detailing and noting the significance of her accomplishments,
he asks why she has not been so recognized and locates that question along a
line of inquiry as regards Iran’s “missing” modernity. He asks why a nation
with such a long tradition of the scientific and socio-cultural accomplishments
seems suddenly stuck in a medieval mindset, selectively applying modernity
in such a way that it serves only to fortify the establishment in its extreme
policies – through such “modern” means as technology ...