VA paper #2

Joy Prior
VAEDU 397
Sec 001
Graham, Mark Allen
Indiana, Gary. Kamrooz Aram Uneasy Delights. International Review: Art in America. Print. March 2009. Page 110-121.
Summary
In this article that author Gary Indiana speaks very highly of Kamrooz Aram’s dreamlike artwork. The artist was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States at an early age. The images in his art work portray his experience growing up in the pressure of globalization and the same icons with different representations he recognized in both societies. Throughout the article Indiana takes several of Aram’s famous paintings and discusses some of the religious and cultural inspirations for the work. He also discusses the technical aspects of the painting, and pays particular attention to the shapes and images Aram depicts in his art work. Some of the art work printed in the article includes Three Trees, Rally at the Gates, and Supreme Elevation.
Describes
Many of the Kamrooz Aram’s paintings described in the article included endless horizons, lofty skies, and a floating in the cloud like feeling. Indiana describes Aram’s paintings in a lofty tone that makes the descriptions of the art work seem as whimsical as the paintings themselves. The author believes that some of the artists influences were Persian carpets, cathedral ceilings, Islamic geometries, and ancient miniature figures. Indiana also critiques some of Aram’s drawings, which he believes are obviously different from his paintings. To Indiana Aram’s drawings have more finite lines and greater shape distinction than his paintings.
Interprets
It is important to understand Aram’s cultural heritage and his personal history when critiquing his work, because many of his pieces involve multiple signs from both cultures. Indiana believes that Aram’s work, “does reference the complicated and violent interplay of the West with what is called the Near or Middle East-or, perhaps more accurately, it models, in broad, almost cartoonish fashion, the strange condition of interwoven cultural signifiers and debris the viewer associates with that encounter.” This cartoon like expression of mixed cultural icons takes the controversial issue of cultural superiority and suppression to less confrontational level and makes it easier for the audience to accept the effect of globalization. Indiana seems to particularly enjoy how Aram’s paintings capture the unconsciousness enthusiasm of life by using bright colors and capturing shapes.
Judges
There did not seem to be a single negative judgment in the article about Kamrooz Aram’s work. Indiana paid a particular amount of time critiquing the technical elements of Aram’s art work. He stresses the color choice, and praises the dream like quality of his work. Aram’s canvases with the stormy blues, and jellyfish yellows help the viewer to create a narrative about the work as naturally and subconsciously as if the audience were dreaming. Part of understanding the narratives in Aram’s work is understanding the symbols and being able to interpret his work. The author describes many of the symbolic figures that Aram depicts in his pieces, and then defines the interpretations of the symbols.
Theoretical Stance
There is not a vivid cultural stance on Aram’s work, because of the globalization in the world today it is impossible to take a knife and define where one culture ends and another culture begins. In his work Aram takes the emblems of Persia and cultural aspects of Iran and the Untied States to mold them into a hazy image; the images are as hazy as the distinctions between eastern and western culture are becoming. Some of his work has blazing darts attacking roses, or fireworks exploding with flames engulfing the back ground to depicting what happens when cultures and beliefs combine, a mingling of violence and celebration.