Looking for Feminine Language: Study of the Works of Iranian Women Artists Inspired by Sewing and Knitting Experiences

Abstract

In numerou​s cultures, men are predominantly responsible for the profession and industry of weaving and knitting, while women are primarily responsible for domestic sewing and weaving, provided that they are conducted within the confines of the home. However, cultural critics contend that these works did not merely demonstrate feminine taste or love for the home; rather, they delineated the expectations placed on females to remain silent, obedient, and compliant. The objective of this article is to examine the works of contemporary Iranian women artists. Feminine language is intended to convey the experiences of women and to facilitate the comprehension and reception of women, as identified by Luce Irigaray. This article addresses the issue of how female visual artists have transformed knitting and sewing into a means of exploring the language of female identity. In order to address this inquiry, five art exhibitions were examined and analyzed, including “Tajali Ehsas (Manifestation of feeling),” “sew+zan,” “Women Create,” “Nakhsh (Design),” and “Pressbook,” using the methodologies of “Trend analysis” and “Event Study.”The findings demonstrate the evolution of the experiences of contemporary Iranian women artists from the 1990s to the 2020s. Sewing and knitting have been depicted as symbols of desirable femininity in the works of certain Iranian female painters, particularly during the “Tajali Ehsas (Manifestation of feeling)” event in the 1990s. However, in the wake of socio-cultural shifts, female artists have employed sewing and knitting as a critical and linguistic action to reevaluate the identity of women in artistic events such as the exhibition “sew+zan,” “Women Create,” and “Pressbook.”

Keywords

• contemporary iranian art
• feminine language
• iranian women artists
• knitted collages
• sewing and knitting
• women's art