10 Questions with Darya Fard

Darya M. Fard is a multidisciplinary artist and MFA printmaking candidate at Georgia State University's Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design, expected to graduate in 2022. She got her first MFA degree and a BFA degree in the drawing & painting program in Iran. She was an instructor in Iran.

She has a very strong interest in visual art, especially printmaking, drawing, and painting, intersecting with other mediums like photography, video, installation, sound, and dance, in addition to pursuing her teaching career. Her work examines universal connection through creating metaphorical and symbolic mythical creatures inspired by Persian poetry and mythology. In her studio practice, she uses various printmaking techniques like lithography, Intaglio, silk-screen, woodcut/linocut, mono-print, alternative photographic processes, and papermaking to create narrative works to translate to other mediums.

Since 2008 Darya has actively been pursuing professional exhibition records, including solo shows, invitational exhibitions, Juried and group exhibitions across Iran and the US, and international Juried and invitational exhibitions in Italy, Norway, and Canada. In 2021, she was honored with the Ernest G. Welch School Director's Choice Award, the 22nd Annual Juried Student Exhibition. She also won the People's Choice Award in the 21st Annual Juried Student Exhibition in 2020.

daryafardstudio.com | @daryafardstudio

ARTIST STATEMENT

“My work is inspired by Persian poetry, dance, music, and meditation. I wonder how humans use these tools to comprehend the divine and experience transcendence. Rumi's verses, in particular, form the basis of my research. His poems communicate a holistic perception of the world that I find illuminating. Starting from my roots in eastern traditions and belief systems, I am branching out, seeking my place in the universe, and looking for enlightenment among other belief systems. This spiritual exploration plays out in my work, as I represent moments of ecstasy, unity, and transcendence through modern printmaking techniques. My current body of work investigates the concept of flow, and specifically how humans can experience ecstatic flow in connection with the natural world.” - Darya Fard

INTERVIEW

After graduating in drawing and painting in Tehran, you recently got a degree in the US. What inspired you to continue your studies in the US?  

Growing up in Iran, I began to sense my cultural limitations, and I craved a fuller appreciation and understanding of world culture. Previous travel experience, most notably in Middle Eastern countries, and Sri Lanka, led me to value the personal growth afforded by an in-depth exploration of the politics, religion, art, and nature of disparate cultures. For example, I lived overseas for two years in Sri Lanka, studying the local culture as an artist and photographer. 
Sri Lanka is one of the greenest countries. My house was on top of a hill surrounded by a few temples, a church, and a mosque. Many of my neighbors were spiritually diverse, following their religion's teachings, and lived an extremely simple lifestyle. The melodic chirps of cricket songs, the sounds of leaves dancing, and the wind hissing over the grass, night and day, combined to form a natural symphony. When the heavy tropical rains came, I could smell the rich, moist scent of the woods and soil. As I walked in the forest-like garden, my bare feet splashed through puddles and squished in the mud and wet grass. All these sensory experiences in nature-filled me with peace and brought me to a place of harmony with my surroundings. I was filled with lightness. The spiritual experiences are, to me, the essence of ineffability: engaging with the world as colors, the world as smells, the world as taste, the world as sound, and the world as poetry. These forces combine to form a whole, a form of consciousness that connects to higher cosmic intelligence.
Experiences like this that I have had in immersing myself in cultures different from those in which I grew up, were a key factor in my decision to travel abroad to study for my second MFA degree. While my previous MFA degree was in painting, I had a long-term relationship with the medium of Printmaking that I very much wanted to pursue seriously. I have always believed in myself and in my future, so I looked for over a year for the right fit for my further education and career. With the primary goal of pursuing personal and artistic growth, I selected the United States as a prime location that would offer new cultural and learning experiences - And I found the printmaking master's program at Georgia State University. It was a great opportunity to get closer to what I am always imagining for my artistic practice and my life. 

When did you start experimenting with art, and when did you decide to become an artist? 

Originally, I am from Iran. I grew up in a creative environment, surrounded by poetry, music, and my parents singing - I was drawing, painting, and creating imaginary characters. I remember the music, dance, and my parent's garden. Many of my earliest memories take place in my father's garden. This garden was his masterpiece: beautifully designed and perfectly maintained. I spent a lot of time there, sitting outside in the sunshine. It was where I began to learn about the world, nature, animals, and my senses before I learned anything about the outside world and society. This beautiful, isolated space was vastly different from the world happening beyond the garden gates.
Four years before I was born, the most critical event in Iran's history took place: the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Soon after, the Eight-Year War between Iran and Iraq began. This war ended in 1988 and forever changed my country's political, social, cultural, and spiritual atmosphere. I remember my grandfather, who was a poet, writing political poems about the revolution that warned us of what the future would be like. His predictions, scarily, turned out to be true. I was born in the middle of the war, but my parents sheltered me from the violence happening all around us. Living in this parental "cocoon" affected my perceptions of nature and reality. 
Committing to memory the scents in my father's garden was the first time I experienced energized focus, that feeling of being immersed in and connected to nature. My powerful visual memory allowed me to eidetically draw the plants and animals and to create new characters based on my perceptions of the natural world. This beautiful, isolated space was vastly different from the world happening beyond the garden gates. My parents made this small safe space for us as a refuge from the political turmoil happening in Iran. As a child, I was already somewhat introverted, but the traumatic political turmoil of this time was pivotal in cementing my vocation as an artist.

What was the biggest lesson you learned while trying to become an artist? 

The combination of things I have learned the most from as an artist involves focusing on my goals, and solving problems one by one - This involves having the heart to persevere and deal with obstacles. In my own case, this has involved a truly daunting list of many disparate things.
As a result of the lack of opportunities for jobs and a better life afforded to a female artist in Iran, I undertook the immigration (visa) process to attend University in the United States. This involved many difficult steps. Though I eventually made it through those hurdles, on coming to the United States to study in Graduate School, a new list of hurdles presented themself: Though very lonely, my husband was barred from joining me for two years; Due to sanctions, my Iranian money was devalued, worth three cents on the dollar; In Iran violence was breaking out, the internet service back home went out, and I lost communications with my family. Due to the Covid outbreak in Iran, denied medical services related to a heart condition, my beloved sister passed suddenly, and I had no chance to say goodbye to her. 
If this time has taught me anything, it's to slow down, pay attention to what is important, and take care of ourselves and each other. My Georgia State University thesis work has been a direct extension of these hard lessons.

Your work is deeply rooted in Persian culture; how do you incorporate these traditional elements in your art? 

Persian poetry, including Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) by Ferdowsi, The Masnavi (also written Mathnawi), a book of Rumi, and Conference of the Birds by Attar, form the basis of my current research and body of work. My works are influenced by meditative improvised Sufi dance (Sama Dance), Persian classical music, and eastern Mythology. I am intersecting printmaking, literature, and mythology. Spiritual experiences are, to me, the essence of ineffability. Using these tools helps me engage with the world as poetry, sound, and sense. This combination forms a whole, a form of consciousness that connects to higher cosmic intelligence. 

In your statement, you quote Rumi's verses as the basis of your work. Could you tell us more about those verses and how they inspire you to create your art?

Rumi forms the basis of my research. His poems communicate a holistic perception of the world that illuminates my inner world. Starting from my roots in Persian traditions, I am branching out, seeking my place in the universe, and looking for enlightenment among other belief systems. Rumi's perceptions help me explore and seek while on my universe journey. My spiritual exploration, communicating with his poems, plays out in my work, as I represent moments of ecstasy, unity, and transcendence through modern printmaking techniques combined with sound and movement. In my research, I both wonder and ponder how humans use these tools to comprehend the divine and experience transcendence that is ineffable.
Myths were one of the earliest ways that humankind has attempted to explain the ineffable. As each culture became aware of the enormity of its cosmic isolation and the uncertainty of its survival, it developed myths and belief systems to comprehend the universe's random crashing forces and to rationalize inexplicable patterns. I am inspired by the power of myths and mystical stories and their power to help us perceive the physical and spiritual world. I use mythical creatures drawn from these stories as a metaphorical, visual language to illustrate abstract concepts like spirituality, transcendence, and the ineffable.
Recently in my thesis project, I focused on Attar's The Seven valleys. Attar was one of the mystic poets influenced by Rumi. Attar's The Seven Valleys, from Conference of the Birds, describe how people can attain spiritual enlightenment and transcendence by following a path or a set of steps (Seven Steps/Seven Valleys). My body of work by using Rumi and Attar's verses investigates the concept of flow and specifically how humans can experience ecstatic flow in connection with the natural world. This new body of work is an installation that illustrates and shares my experience of psychological flow.

What messages are you trying to communicate with your art? 

During my thesis year, I developed and improved my abilities with a variety of artistic media including Pulse Poetry, dance, video, printmaking, and sound art to create a truly immersive experience for viewers. In this endeavor, I was largely successful. Viewers became fellow wayfarers and traveled an emotional, spiritual journey with me.
Printmaking is one way I connect to the ineffable. In the process of creating print pieces, I am on a journey, an exploration of my imagination and senses. Printmaking is all about experience, repetition, movement, and connection with the medium. I became completely absorbed in the printmaking process. I feel that I have developed a method in the recent mixed-media installation I created for the exhibition. The Seven Valleys is the kind of experience I want viewers to have emotionally and psychologically. I want them to disconnect from their everyday lives, to shift focus to their interior world. 

What is your creative process like? 

Spiritual exploration plays out in my work. As I represent moments of ecstasy, unity, and transcendence through modern printmaking techniques, I focus on strategies for developing my concept by intersecting printmaking mediums, literature, video, sound, and mythology. I am creating atmospheric space and a sense of mystery by using unconventional techniques on alternative surfaces. The Seven Valleys installation presents a multilevel exploration, an investigation of the phenomenology of flow, intentionality, spirituality, consciousness, and how humans can experience ecstatic flow in connection with the natural world.  
My current work has included images that could be described as metaphorical inventions, depicting unique, organic life forms. When I start a new piece of this kind, I think about all of the stories and myths I have read or learned. I flip through my memory for images of animals seen in nature and in dreams. From these image banks, I instinctively and organically begin to draw animal forms. I use an additive and reductive process to refine the animal shape until it matches an ideal I intuitively recognize in my mind. These animal forms are not naturalistic renderings; rather, they are creatures undergoing metamorphosis. I bring these organic animal forms to life, constructing them through the techniques previously described: symmetry, overlapping, and repeating images to create a unified yet still organic, visual order. In this way, the animal forms illustrate the process of becoming, of movement, of nature's dynamism. These shape-shifter forms symbolize the cyclical rhythm of the universe: Birth/metamorphosis/death/rebirth.

What do you think about the art community and market? And how did your perception change over the last couple of years due to the pandemic?

In my first year of starting my life in the US, the COVID-19 pandemic started. Going through a graduate program during the pandemic has been especially hard. A lot of opportunities have been shut down due to social distancing. This is not the first time I have faced limitations, though. In Iran, there are not so many opportunities for jobs and a better life. So, I made what I could with what I had. If this time has taught me anything, it's to slow down, pay attention to what is important, and take care of ourselves and each other. All these things to help adjust to the "new normal". I started creating connections as soon as I got here [to the US]. It was hard to move my social life to the computer. I became isolated, like so many others. This happened in my first year of being in a new place, with a new culture, and a new language. At the same time, the political situation between the US and Iran and neighboring countries was very bad. 
At the onset of the Covid epidemic, as soon as the real community, galleries and schools shut down. This included my classes both as a student and teacher. - As a graduate instructor, I found that in moving my classes completely online, it was very hard to communicate with my students through strictly online avenues, keeping them motivated enough to achieve great results. I participated in a couple of online digital exhibitions, a somewhat awkward experience for me because all interactions with the gallery and aspects of the exhibition had to be handled virtually. All these experiences taught me how to problem-solve, engage with my inner world, and really "see" my environment. 
On invitation from my uncle, I spent my time during the very first year of the Pandemic in the Smoky Mountains, close to nature. After that, I started focusing more on nature, poetry, and dance and mostly focusing on my inner world and meditation. I started thinking more about universal connection. I was spending more time with nature and animals, recording their sound, and filming the movement in nature, including leave and grass movement by wind, the sound of rain, and the movement of water. 
Rumi's very important verse vividly came to mind. "The universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you already are." In other words, everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself. With this impetus, I started my "flow" project that culminated in The Seven Valleys exhibition.

What are your thoughts on digital presentations, like fairs and exhibitions, for artists? Do you think these are good opportunities for international artists like yourself?

I think digital presentation is creating vast opportunities for artists, especially international artists, to present their works. During the last five years and more, I had the opportunity to show my works on social media, presenting digitally and selling my artwork in other countries. 
Some artworks are digital in nature and are meant to be viewed on a screen, monitor, wall, virtual reality headset, etc. But for some artworks, not conceived as digital, it can often be more fulfilling to see those artworks in person. 

Finally, what are your plans for the future? Any exciting projects, exhibitions, or collaborations you are looking forward to? 

In my most recent project, The Seven Valleys, the atmosphere created in the gallery space invited viewers to share an immersive experience, a moment of ecstasy, unity, and connection. The Seven Valleys installation was built around seven Plexiglass panels. Each panel was screen-printed with imagery I created to correspond and respond to each of the seven valleys, outlining the pathway to spiritual enlightenment in Attar's story. 
The make-up of these images is biomorphic and abstractly references nature, birds, and animals. Within the gallery, I installed the separate (three foot wide by six foot tall) panels, placed in relation to each other to form an overall implied symmetrical rounded shape, forming half of an oval. As I mentioned in discussing my creative process, the organic animal forms on these panels are brought to life utilizing symmetry, transparency, layering, and repetition of images to create a unified yet still organic visual order. In this way, the animal forms illustrate the process of becoming, of movement, of nature's dynamism. These shape-shifter forms symbolize the cyclical rhythm of the universe: birth/metamorphosis/death/rebirth. 
This can best be experienced in installation footage shot during the exhibition. All aspects of the exhibition worked together to form one larger artwork. Videos depicting, for example, birds in flight and murmuration, were simultaneously shown on both the front and back of the transparent panels, as well as upon viewers of the exhibition and the walls behind. – While shadow Images from the panels, as well as those of the exhibition viewers, intermixed and combined with the videos and could be seen clearly on the walls. 
The Plexiglas panels and the installation overall reference both the Sama dance and the circular flows of nature. The Seven Valleys installation took viewers on my spiritual journey. Many visitors said they experienced all of their emotions at once; others said they felt like they were being forced to confront their deepest feelings. Still others reported feeling intimidated, overwhelmed, sorrowful, comfortable, safe, meditative, happy, or fearful. I saw some viewers crying, while others explained how they were feeling. The environment I had created took viewers on an emotional journey; they had become wayfarers. This body of work is my largest installation to date - combining printmaking, sound, shadow, and video. 
For upcoming projects, I will dig deeper into the conceptual underpinnings of the "Seven Valleys", continuing to seek my place in the universe and look for enlightenment. For now, multimedia installation, including performance, shadow, sound, and movement, will be my medium of choice in creating ambiguous, poetic, and atmospheric space. The kind of experience I want viewers to have, is emotional and psychological. I want them to disconnect from their everyday lives, to help them shift focus to their interior world. 

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.