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Portrait of the Artist

Portrait of the Artist
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Shahzia Sikander, born 1969
Sitter
Ayad Akhtar, born 1970
Date
2016
Type
Print
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Frame: 73.7 × 58.4 cm (29 × 23")
Image: 55.9 × 43.2 cm (22 × 17")
Topic
Symbols & Motifs
Printed Material\Map
Imaginary
Artwork\Silhouette
Ayad Akhtar: Male
Ayad Akhtar: Literature\Writer
Ayad Akhtar: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; acquisition made possible through Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Shahzia Sikander
Object number
C/NPG.2017.94
Exhibition Label
born 1970 Born New York City
Ayad Akhtar won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2013 for his play Disgraced, an exploration of the tensions of Muslim American assimilation, identity, and political correctness in post-9/11 America. Akhtar, a Pakistani American, began his career in theater as an actor. His 2012 coming-of-age novel American Dervish was the first in what Akhtar conceived as a multi-work, multi-media exploration of Muslim American culture and subtle personal relationships among complex characters. Shahzia Sikander, known for her mastery of drawing and sophisticated layering of materials, approaches image-making as a challenge to the status quo, creatively, socially, and politically. This etched portrait of Akhtar references the historical Miraj paintings of the visionary night journey of Prophet Muhammad. The white silhouette of a horse-riding figure is a metaphor for the journey for artistic truth and a nod to the artist’s training in the Indo-Persian miniature tradition.
Nacido en la Ciudad de Nueva York
Ayad Akhtar ganó el premio Pulitzer de drama en 2013 por su obra Disgraced, una indagación en las tensiones de la asimilación, la identidad y la “corrección política” entre los musulmanes americanos después del ataque del 9/11. Estadounidense de ascendencia pakistaní, Akhtar comenzó su carrera teatral como actor. Su novela iniciática American Dervish, publicada en 2012, fue la primera parte de lo que concibe como una exploración multiobra y multimedia de la cultura musulmana-americana y de sutiles relaciones entre personajes complejos. Shahzia Sikander, conocida por su dominio del dibujo y refinada superposición de materiales, aborda la creación de imágenes como un reto al statu quo desde una perspectiva creativa, socialy política. Estos retratos de Akhtar remiten a las pinturas históricas del “miraj”, el visionario viaje nocturno del profeta Mahoma. La silueta blanca de un jinete es una metáfora del viaje hacia la verdad artística y alude a la tradición miniaturista indo-persa cultivada por la artista.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view