Women Without Men, an Iranian Video Installation

Columbians have already gained insight into Iranian politics and society by coming within yards of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—so we might as well continue our investigation into a country that is the frequent subject of American political rhetoric. But Shirin Neshat, an Iranian artist who works in film and photography and now lives in New York, gives a far different view of Iran than a senator speaking on C-SPAN.

Inspired by fellow Iranian Sharnush Parsipur’s novel Women Without Men, the highlights of Neshat’s self-titled show at the Gladstone Gallery (located at 515 West 24th Street, between 10th & 11th Ave) are two video installations that explore the psyches of two young women living in Iran during the CIA’s 1953 re-installation of the Shah. Though each film follows a different woman, the characters are linked by a need to escape from traumatic realities into an eerie, fairy tale-like realm. This alternative world is brought to life by Neshat’s amazing talent for cinematography and taste in musical scores. You leave the show feeling you have gained an intimate—perhaps too intimate—look into the mind of an Iranian woman. This glimpse, however, is fleeting—the show closes Saturday, Feb. 23.