Shirin Neshat
Artist Interview – Neiman Center 25th Anniversary Catalogue
LNCPS: Why did you accept the invitation to make prints at the Neiman Center for Print Studies and did you accomplish what you had hoped to do in terms of the finished project?
Shirin Neshat: I had met Tomas Vu several years before and he had talked to me about some of the printing projects they had been doing at the Neiman Center but it wasn’t until I actually visited the center that I came to realize how fabulous the work they do is, and all the fantastic artists they had worked with. For me the main goal was to explore whether the calligraphic work that I have been doing by hand, could somehow be duplicated in a print with similar strength and vitality that I wish for.
LNCPS: How do the prints you made at the Neiman Center relate to your larger body of work?
Shirin Neshat: I had in mind a series of images with hands that created a sort of an animation in movement, closed hands… to slightly open… to widely open… then slightly closed and completely closed. And this involved too much hand work for me, so I wondered if this group could be created as a set of prints and it was the right decision as the final work was superb.
LNCPS: Had you ever made prints before your residency at the Neiman Center? If not, why were you open to trying printmaking at that time?
Shirin Neshat: No. I was convinced after I saw how so many other artists had collaborated with the Neiman Center who also had never done print making, and they too experimented with the form and translating their ideas and usual visual language into prints.
LNCPS: When you came to the Neiman Center did you have a project in mind? How would you describe your collaboration with the master printer?
Shirin Neshat: Again, my project and collaboration with Neiman Center started after I met Tomas Vu who convinced me that I was a good candidate to explore printmaking. I think it took about two years before we finally made a project together but I’m so glad I agreed as this project opened so many new possibilities for me artistically. My experience and the process were a pure delight and painless, basically the decisions we made about the look of the print, the paper, the presentation were all mutual and fully collaborative.
LNCPS: The Neiman Center has a pedagogical mission statement and its workforce is comprised mainly of graduate and undergraduate students. Did this aspect interest you when you decided to work at the Neiman Center? What was your experience like working with the students?
Shirin Neshat: I was drawn by this aspect of collaborating with students, I felt like they and every individual I worked with at the Center had the experience with the art of printmaking that I didn’t. So, I benefited from their expertise and we had interesting aesthetic conversations.
LNCPS: For many artists working outside their studios, which is often a solitary space, can have its own set of challenges. How did you find the collaborative nature of printmaking at the Neiman Center?
Shirin Neshat: I was not physically present at the Neiman Center when the prints were made so I have to say I only visited when they had a sample for me to look at.
LNCPS: Did any of the print processes you tried at the Neiman have an effect on your working method back in the studio?
Shirin Neshat: I’m now thinking about how I might develop ideas which could be created as a series of prints and not my usual photographs with original hand writings.
LNCPS: Please share any additional comments or anecdotes about your time at the Neiman Center.
Shirin Neshat: I am very grateful for the professionalism and the standard of quality that Neiman Center maintains and very blessed that I had a chance to collaborate with the team.
