Art as requested for submission for possible publication in Consequence Forum online.

The Power of Rage - An Interview with the Artist Cheryl De Ciantis, by Mahmood Karimi Hakak

All works on this site are copyright 2023 by Cheryl De Ciantis

Note: You have requested 1) actual size art files and 2) to see additional works for consideration to accompany this publication.

Here are the files for the artworks originally submitted with the article. PNG files are 1350 x 1894 px (4.5 x 6.313 inches), 300 dpi. Medium in original art: Vinyl paint and bic pen on handmade paper (4.5 x 6 inches) Click on the bug image to download a full-sized PNG file.

Additional Art

For your consideration to publish with the article “The Power of Rage:”

Feel free to check out the public page on this site http://cheryldeciantis.com/woman-life-freedom for many additional images of women in the Woman-Life-Freedom movement, with associated texts/information about them. I can furnish hi-resolution files for any work you may choose.

Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi are journalists who broke the story of the violent death of Mahsa Amini while in detention. They were arrested in 2022 and are awaiting charges for supposed crimes against the Iranian regime, including collaboration with international enemies. Narges Mohammadi (no relation) is a prisoner of conscience in Iran, incaecerated on and off since 2009 for her activism. She is author of the book White Torture: Interviews with Iranian Women Prisoners (2020), documenting their routine psychological and physical tortures at the hands of the regime for the crime of being women in a misogynistic theocracy.

Click on the bug image to download a full-sized PNG file.

“The Sisterhood of Eyeless Women”

by Cheryl De Ciantis 2023. This is a digital work; click the image for a 300 dpi PNG file.

“Elegy for Ten Murdered Roses”

by Cheryl De Ciantis, 2022. Included in WOMAN LIFE FREEDOM (click to visit), an extraordinary virtual exhibition of anonymous artists from all over the world in support of the Iranian people, organized and sponsored by Mozaik Philanthropy.

It was also included in a public street projection of the 30-artist show, Woman Life Freedom, at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, January 26-28, 2023. Video.

I can furnish high-resolution files for any or all of the works below.

Description

Medium: Vinyl paint and bic pen on handmade paper (4.5 x 6 inches); texts; all in frames (5 x 7 inches).

Exhibition Label (200 words)

We have too few images of these women who have been taken from this life: selfies where headscarves could be removed in courageous defiance, or quick snapshots of outings celebrating rare moments of freedom and pure exuberance. The ten women I have drawn are surrounded by falling rose petals. In many cultures, these are a traditional symbol of spiritual light and renewal, and of the fragrance of heaven, as roses tell us there is heaven on earth. Roses are an especially potent symbol in the venerable and profoundly poetic Persian civilization and culture. Each woman’s rose petals are a different color, in honor of her individuality. The backgrounds are iridescent, shining colors, like icons. Their sanctity is not in how they conformed to rules meant to deny the variety of pleasures the world gifts to us and we share in turn with beloved others; but rather, how they confirmed their unique identities in life, growing like plants in the sunlight and showing their different faces and features to the world. I hope that the families and friends of the women I have drawn might recognize a spark of the person they love, even if the likeness may be imperfect.