Ms. June
Islamic erotica and other paintings

Makan "Max" Emadi
May 4, 2005
iranian.com

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.

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Makan "Max" Emadi emigrated with his family from Iran in 1979 at the age of fourteen. While attending Claremont High School he became interested in art courses and took Ceramics for four years. Following high school, he studied sculpting with Betty Davenport Ford. Max's career took him away from art for many years. After becoming secure in his career as a psychotherapist and beginning his current job for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, as well as joining the adjunct faculty at Mount San Antonio College, he decided to revisit the artistic interests of his teens.

MS. JUNE
Click on image to see 16

Click on image to see 16

Paintings
(1) (5) (10) (16)