Islamic Erotica

Representation of the female body is forbidden in strict Islamic tradition, and is therefore taboo in today's Muslim cultures. To imagine Western art without the nude is, in contrast, impossible. These paintings revisit the Western tradition of pin-up art and its "celebration " of the female form while "lovingly" objectifying it through overexposure and unnatural posing of the model. The Middle East's version of sexism, in contrast, takes the form of control through mandated repressive female clothing, or "Hejab," in the name of protecting and honoring women.

I have avoided referring to my heritage in my work until now. After all, I have lived in Los Angeles most of my life, not Iran, and expressing "pride in cultural diversity" has been too fashionable a movement for me. However, in recent years, as in 1979, when my family immigrated to the United States, I have been confronted by my "otherness" on a more regular basis. As the battles between fundamentalists on both sides of the globe rage on, so do my bicultural conflicts.

In my new series of paintings, "Islamic Erotica," I have portrayed Muslim women in a style that references American pin-up art, modern advertising, and photographs of tribal women in National Geographic-type publications.

When these seemingly contradictory traditions are combined, we can envision an absurd future where the ever-expanding arm of globalization and the growing influence of American-style democracy in the Middle East will continue to manifest into stranger and more outlandish hybrids.

Max Emadi