As I write about my life, which I unfortunately rarely do. I've come to appreciate the interwoven complexities of understanding who you are and where you came from. History is a fascinating subject. It reveals pieces about the path we tread and the path of others. Knowing one's past can provide the tools necessary to change the present and give hope to a better future. The domino of my life begins, as do all, with my parents. In a whirlwind of events, my father moved to the States from Tehran, Iran during the flight of Persians fleeing the consequences of the Iranian Revolution. He met my mother in Reno, NV where the chances of running into a young, handsome Persian had never existed just a few years before. I am the youngest of three siblings, and although we live far from one another we remain very close. My mother is of a beautiful woman who has been an anchor for me through dark times. My family is and always will be an inspiration to my art.
Bachelor of Fine Arts 2005, Walla Walla College, Washington.
The simple answer is not to use the system to change the system. When I see how much money people want for their art, I get nauseous. Throughout history artists generally have been the guides and leaders of culture, yet many artists today have succumbed to capitalism and elitist institions. In response to this growing disaster, I have decided to fully and forever make my art utterly worthless, at least monetarily speaking.
Too long have I sold pieces to people whose only desire for my art is that it's color matches their couch, or because its what some institutions deem art worthy. In my mind its only when the artist creates art in an environment devoid of polar pressures that his art can alas be its own. Therefore at every opening, for everyone interested in my work, they can send me an email (200 words or less) describing why they want the piece, what they like about it, etc. In the end I choose who I think would enjoy it most, and voila! My art goes to the people who would appreciate it the most. Simple huh!
Why Art?
I am irresistibly drawn to the dynamics of relationships. This concept dominates my thoughts, my life, and needless to say my art. Perhaps the single greatest attribute of the human race is its ability to define, create, and ascertain complex relationships. Yet this complexity is a substance of feeling, which is reactive and immediate. It requires neither language nor comprehension. Using this simplicity, I build layers over my own experience and bias attempting to simultaneously understand the other and myself. I begin with basic building blocks working from general to specific. Eventually a line forms a shape, shapes form a thought, thoughts form a subject, and the subject being illuminated with paint becomes art, built by emotion and understanding. Unfortunately, as the history of humanity would show, the significance of relationships has lead to every beautiful and horrific act. As an artist I hope to capture those connections through the lens of my own history as to nurture understanding of the other and myself.
As may be the case with many, from a very early age I have been very curious about the outside world. From people, to people in relation to other people, to objects and my relation to the rest. As some social scientist, I observe. I interact. I learn through touch, taste, smell, sight, sound, and thought. One of which can only ever be my own. So I organize these thoughts in relation to my experience and through this process I paint. It may seem like an oversimplification and it is; yet I leave the complexities to be found by the viewer. I paint with simple words, and with a language inherent in us all. So when you view the contents of my mind, the meaning may lie not so far from your own experiences.