Conversation with Amitis Motevalli, Los Angeles, 2003

Conducted by Kirsten Dufour.

In this conversation, artist and activist Amitis Motevalli reflects on growing up in Iran until 1977 and exiling to the U.S. just before the Iranian Revolution. Her childhood in a working-class neighborhood shaped her love-hate relationship with Los Angeles, which she describes as a place where “everything amazing always turns into a parking lot.” Motevalli feels deeply connected to both her Iranian heritage and American culture, speaking Farsi with her mother while navigating a hybrid identity.

As an art teacher at a school with insufficient resources in a low-income neighborhood, Motevalli witnessed systemic neglect and abuse of authority. She describes a militarized atmosphere where students were subjected to illegal searches and brutal treatment. Her art classroom became a safe space for students to express themselves: “Discussions were brought up, but it was the kids that clearly understood the concerns of their community were affecting everything.” Encouraged by her support, students formed a union inspired by movements like Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán setting demands, organizing community meetings, and initiating change within the school. Their activism led to legal action, including ACLU lawsuits against the Los Angeles Unified School District over illegal search and seizure practices. Motevalli also became disillusioned with colleagues complicit in misconduct, including sexual harassment, and felt unsupported as she defended her students’ rights. This led her to seek legal recourse with Dan Stormer, a prominent human rights lawyer.

Motevalli’s interrelated art and activist practice documents systemic injustices and acts of resistance. She describes a piece inspired by Adrian Piper, reflecting her students’ stories and struggles. Motevalli explains that her work is deeply influenced by her experiences and the people she engages with, emphasizing her belief that art can shift perspectives and advance thought.

Motevalli addresses the challenges of being an artist with a non-Western background. Despite her rich cultural heritage, she feels the art community often ignores or fetishizes non-Western practices. She critiques Western feminist approaches to global issues, particularly in Afghanistan, for failing to listen to the women themselves: “Middle Eastern women are seen as either too submissive or too combative.” In her work Stretch Manifesto, she investigates parallels between societal views on female sexuality in Western and Middle Eastern cultures: “I researched the sex industry in this country to find the Western equivalent of the veil. I found it primarily in strip clubs—this constructed image of femininity, dieted, pulled, and tucked into tiny bikinis.”