Study on Women's Identity in the Works of the Self-taught Artist, Parvin Jalali

Abstract

The use of women's themes in the works of female artists is common and noticeable. It seems that by using this method the artist is able to retrieve latent inner layers and individual identity. At the same time, self-taught female artists are paying special attention to this way of expressing themselves. This study, by examining the representation of women's identity in the works of a self-taught artist, “Parvin Jalali”, aimed to address the formal and contextual analysis of her works from the point of view of the feminist critic and theorist “Linda Nochlin”, who emphasizes two aspects of fragments and contradiction. The findings from the study of six paintings by Parvin Jalali revealed that the artist presents a supra-realistic image of the combination of human and vegetarian forms in order to show women's identity and social status. In the works of this artist, the concept of the fragment is depicted through linking women's traits with nature. In Jalali's works, controversy has been shown to be related to such concepts as dual contrasts and narrative representation of chaotic and restlessness of today's world and emphasis on the feminine principle of the world. This was a descriptive analytical study conducted based on library resources and documentation.

Keywords

• self-taught artist
• female identity
• linda nochlin
• fragment concept
• contradiction