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"True You" by Amir Normandi causes a stir in Chicago gallery

Amir Normandi's controversial art -- chicagotribune.com

"True You"

(Amir Normandi photo / October 16, 2008)

A cropped version of Iranian-American photographer Amir Normandi's "True You" shows a nude woman holding a mirror and paint roller in front of her face. The eyes of a veiled woman appear in the mirror. Normandi specializes in provocative photos of women wearing hijabs to protest the forced veiling of Muslim women. Residents were offended when this photo was placed in the window of the Pilsen Together Chamber of Commerce at Ashland Avenue and 18th Street. Normandi objected when the chamber placed a covering over the woman's breasts and he removed his work from the gallery. The artist later agreed to return the photo for exhibit in a less visible area. He sparked outrage in 2005 at Harper College when some Muslim students objected to his photos.

Check it out on video: 1 2 3

Amir Normandi's latest art collection - Uncirculated Stamps

Once again, Amir does a great job bringing the message across.  You can view his entire stamp collection here.

More RAMADAN POST CARDS from Amir Normandi

RAMADAN POST CARDS extended collection preview.

View slideshow

Amir Normandi's Ramadan (Ramzan) Post Cards

Amir Normandi's Ramadan (Ramzan) Post Cards just came in HOT off the press, sending a loud and clear message to the world as usual.

Click on the link for more, but here is a sneak preview:

Desire No Shackles - Oct 7-Nov 11

Remember Amir Normandi, the Iranian artist who stirred up controversy with his photo expo depicting Muslim women at a college in the Chicagoland area?  Well, he's about to do it again, but this time he's not alone. 

I just received this email from one of his fellow artists Diane Carrière, as an effort to help spread the word.

Please pass it on to anyone who might be interested. Thanks.

...........................

Fellow Bloggers,

Subject: Amir Normandi, Ramadan Postcard - Art Event.

Even in the Age of Information, it would seem that not all information is created equal: the closure of a successful 3-year-old production of Mozart's opera 'Idomeneo' because, said Berlin police, it posed 'incalculable risk' of inciting Islamic fundamentalists to violence is a stark reminder that censorship throbs with power while the lifeblood of art is wrung dry. Last year, outrage from Muslim students led Harper College, located just outside Chicago, to remove an exhibition of works by Amir Normandi depicting the oppression women suffer in many Islamic countries. Partly in response, Normandi, himself an Iranian-born Muslim, has curated a new exhibition of works Dianeby local and international artists, 'Desire No Shackles/ Imagine No Borders', to examine oppression and the notion of borders in Islam and other contexts.

Timed to coincide with Chicago Artists Month, the event opened as part of the annual PilsenEast Artist's Open House weekend. 'Desire No Shackles/ Imagine No Borders' ran September 29 – October 1 at 1823 S Halsted, Chicago. The complete collection of art works will be presented at d'Last Studios and Gallery at 1714 S Ashland, Chicago, where it will run between  October 7  and  November 11. 

Featured artists: Amir Normandi, Maryam Hashemi, Marcia Middleton Kaplan, Tim Arroyo, Diane Carriere, Rosy Torres.

For more information on the events and the artists, follow the link: http://noshackles.blogspot.com/

Please help us strike a blow to censorship and promote freedom of expression and artistic integrity by posting this event on your blog.

Kind Regards,

Diane Carrière

--

http://artsfordemocracy.blogspot.com/

A big thank you, hugs and kisses to these lovely people for helping spread the word. (:

TigerHawk

Free Thoughts

sisu

Archontan

Larwyn (via email)

Peaktalk

Amir Normandi

Now here's one good cause I wouldn't mind stripping for.....umm not all the way of course. (;

Imagine you're a talented artist and you want your work to be noticed...

What do you do?

Imagine you're a talented artist, your name is Amir Normandi and you believe in a good cause...

How do you do?

Imagine you're that same Amir Normandi and you believe that women's rights is human rights...

huh?  What the hell is wrong with you?

Imagine you're Amir Normandi, you go around to show your artwork and people try to shut you up, shut you out and shut you down...

Now where do you go?

I'll tell you where to go! 

First you turn to the blogosphere, then you take a right to free speech and then you keep going straight all the way to freedom of expression and once you're there, you tell everyone about it as much as you can.