How can one be apathetic and cold
toward the life
they have spread so vastly in front of one’s eyes?
No; painting decorates the apartments no more.
(Harrison and others, p 183)
Bravery for asking fundamental questions is what philosophy present and by emphasizing this difficult moment, promises a bright and solid path within itself. Therefore, before anything else, the painter artists can ask himself who am I? Who can I be? Who do I want to be? And why do the purest moments of my life happen while painting? Such, the artist begins to know himself better; his joy of creation multiplies, and starts to create with a deeper understanding. It is in this very moment that the artist can hide his ontological understanding into the hidden and complex visual and semantic layers and wait, yearning for a like-minded audience. An audience who, without explanation, understands the experience that the artist shares.
Fariba Rahnavard was born in Isfahan and raised in Tehran. The family influence resulted in her interest and education in painting and now she is an M.A. student in Painting. She has the experience of holding more than eleven solo and group exhibitions, both in Iran and abroad, including International Independent Contemporary Artists in London Artrooms and the group exhibition of Iranian Painters Association in Satura Art Gallery, in the city of Genova, Italy, in 2015. She seems to be inspired by the works of artists with objectives, similar to hers, like Francis Bacon and Abramovic, and considers the study of the works of surrealist artists, such as Rene Magritte, to be effective in her works.
Genesis is where the times twist into each other and it seems that events, parallel with each other, are happening. This confrontation with the concept of space and time, which is frequently found in modern paintings, is, more than anything, the result of the modern approach in metaphysics …
Undoubtedly, painting starts from joy and influence on the audience, but it seeks a higher purpose. A picture entwined in every individual’s contemporary concerns, makes them ponder, conflicts them and turns them into something other than what they already had been, and finally, painting seeks something more than mere joy. This beautiful incident occurs when we match the painting’s text with ourselves, in such a way that the verbal words are washed, our gestures and, more importantly, our beliefs are changed, and we are forced to understand the world in a different way.
1. With this introduction, Rahnavard’s works can be better understood. Struggle, multilayered concerns, form complexities, and dark and vague lights inside bitter subjects can reflect the artist’s thoughts. It is by creating this atmosphere that Rahnavard invites her audience to rebel. An inner and semantic rebellion, to know who they are? And who they can be?
Multilayered atmospheres in Rahnavard’s paintings, without separated plans and in a dark background, intensify the obscurity and hopelessness. As if the artist is trying to make the audience leave the work uncertainty. Entwined textures and layers, as inseparable temporal layers, are subjects in today's lives that conflict man in an eternal struggle between survival and demise. In her paintings, light is focused on the children’s faces during war, and the warrior is riding in the fallen city in darkness. Innocent children seem to reflect the disastrous consequences of war. This theme, alongside the idle body in the middle of the room and its dark and confusing surroundings, reflects this same concept in another way.
As if the artist tries to show that good eras will be destroyed and calmness will never last. This is the reality of human life. An inner reality, the outer world representation of which can be the lives of the people in conflict-affected countries in the Middle East.
To express her feelings towards contemporary human’s life, the artist tries to picture an all-illuminating mirror, reflecting the bitter days of contemporary human’s life.
These concepts are also present in the forms used in Rahnavard’s paintings. The sharp claws in her other work, also the sharp forms with oblique angles, or devastated forms in fragile combinations are all reflections of the concept that this is a disaster and it won’t end. Rahnavard acts bravely in expressing her concepts. She will not limit herself in technique and shows her freedom in choosing the type of image based on collages. This freedom is also clear in the paintings’ composition. By analyzing the composition of the works, it is seen that a singular procedure is not repeated. Although, the artist has only achieved the proper composition in some of her works. Anyway, this process lets her utilize more feelings while creating the work, and then transfer it to the audience. This way she can impose her visual atmosphere to the audience; (2) as her theme is the imposition of unwanted individuals and situations to the others. Maybe it is possible to say that objectification and man becoming instruments in contemporary life is among her focused themes. But a little further, we can realize that in the heart of darkness, Rahnavard is inviting us to be hopeful. It seems that two subjects or issues can be understood in Rahnavard’s works. In her works, she asks two things of the contemporary humans, responsibility, and hope for change.
Invitation to nowhere, referring to no distinct concept, presenting no predetermined plan, all together show a united behavior in all of her works. Therefore, from her continuous behavior in her works, we understand that she invites the audience into suspension and a life full of suspension. It seems artists prefer their works to be understood, rather than themselves.
PS:
1. Harrison, Charles; Wood, Paul. Art and ideas of artists. Translated by Farzan Sojudi. Farhang Kavosh Publications.
. Volume Five. Tehran 2001. 2- Foucault, Michel. From Modernism to Postmodernism. Translated by
Niko Sarkhosh and Afshin Jahandideh. Nei Publications. Third edition.Tehran 1382.