Haleh Niazmand - Scrutiny

HALEH NIAZMAND SCRUTINY

DIRECTOR’S FOREWORD

Scrutiny, by Haleh Niazmand, represents a chance to view this esteemed artist’s diverse and intriguing artwork. This exhibit is comprised of a collection of three bodies of work: Crumbling “Isms”, Urban Artifacts, and Everyday Heroes. Although each series addresses a different topic, they are all related through connections of personal, social, and political references.

Crumbling “Isms” is a series of paintings depicting crumpled papers with various words on them that represent certain “isms” such as racism, capitalism, and colonialism. With this work, Niazmand asks her viewers to decipher whether these ideologies are collapsing or are they causing us as a society to collapse.

In Urban Artifacts we witness paintings of what many would consider to be items of garbage: a discarded diaper, cigarette butts, a bottle. Meticulously painted with attention to every detail, we see the beauty in these cast-off objects and may ponder the stories and histories they contain.

Niazmand honors a group of unsung champions in our society with her body of work titled Everyday Heroes. Instead of focusing on the typical “heroes” in popular culture, these portraits are of men and women who often aren’t recognized by the general public for their daily heroic acts.

Haleh Niazmand’s in-depth studies of the world around her—the environment in which she lives, the people who inhabit it, and the political zeitgeist we are all affected by—come alive through her drawings and paintings. These works rendered in precise realism, reveal not only her mastery of the medium, but her personal connections to the subjects they represent.

I am very honored and excited to exhibit Haleh Niazmand’s work for others to enjoy. I would like to extend my gratitude to the many colleagues that have been instrumental in making this exhibition possible: Haleh Niazmand for the opportunity to exhibit her remarkable work; Kory Twaddle, Gallery Assistant, for organizing and arranging the show details; Brad Peatross of the School of the Arts, California State University, Stanislaus for the catalog design; and Parks Printing for the production of the catalogs. I also want to express my appreciation to the Instructionally Related Activities Program of California State University, Stanislaus, as well as anonymous donors for the funding of the exhibition and catalogue.

Ellen Roehne Interim Director, University Art Galleries

California State University, Stanislaus

SCRUTINY

INTRODUCTION

The last decade of the 20th century was marked by an array of negative opinions expressed in contemporary art circles about the discipline of painting. Assessments of this medium, which ranged from an “exhausted tradition” to “a dead art form,” pressured many younger artists to abandon painting and opt instead for newer trends in art production. Therefore, much of the visual art of the 1990s grew out of a pulse permeated by discussions, lectures, and essays taught at major universities and fine arts institutions. The art discipline then promoted the newer directions in collaborative and experimental approaches to a high level of prominence, classified under the umbrella of the “New Genre.” However, while such excitement may be justified on the continuum of art development, this cult of the new focused on productions of spectacles, ultimately dismissive of the very foundation it had evolved from, the art traditions.

Influenced by the new and experimental art’s challenges, most of my work has also existed in various forms of the “New Genre,” and my past productions have been closely associated with Conceptual Art. So, for decades, I did not utilize naturalist painting and drawing as a primary method, and instead, written words, participatory proposals, sculptural projects, and video installations dominated my artistic productions.

The body of art represented in Scrutiny marks my return to the fundamentals of the art traditions in the hope of celebrating the power and beauty of oil painting and drawing while utilizing their vast poetic potential to communicate the multilayered narratives that preoccupy my psyche.

EXHIBITION

Scrutiny is a collection of three bodies of artwork addressing separate but related topics. The Crumbling “Isms” is a meditation on political ideologies that, while largely rejected, appear to be the creeping trends in global politics. Urban Artifacts are paintings of discarded and littered objects on the streets of Oakland, CA, reflecting the disparity caused by urban California’s growing housing and economic crisis. And Everyday Heroes is a series of portrait drawings combined with a brief text extracted from interviews, honoring the struggles and triumphs of twelve individuals, eleven of whom are from Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties. Together, these artworks aim to highlight the interconnections between personal, social, and political.

HALEH NIAZMAND

Artist, critic, and curator, Haleh Niazmand has exhibited her art nationally and internationally in venues such as: San Diego Museum of Art, Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, NM, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, IA, Des Moines Art Center, IA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, Argentina. In addition, she has written numerous art reviews, curatorial statements, and essays and curated many art exhibitions.

Collectively, Haleh Niazmand’s artworks and writings have been published in scholarly journals, professional magazines, and prominent newspapers, including; The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Art Papers, US Art, X-Tra, Middle East Women Studies Review, Radical History Review, Artweek, Fuse and Mix Magazines. Also, interviews about her art have aired on Public Radio, Radio Free Europe of BBC, and Pacifica Radio.

Haleh Niazmand has designed and organized several collaborative projects with underrepresented community groups in California and in Iowa during her Artist’s Residency at the Des Moines Art Center. From 2003-to 2005, Niazmand founded and directed the non-profit Gallery Subversive and later served as the Gallery Director at Modesto Junior College until 2011.

She holds an MFA from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

CRUMBLING “ISMS”

Seldom do we discuss our lives using words that end with “-ism.” In fact, in the United States, many people disdain such terms, pronouncing them wordy or intellectual. However, these “isms” are ideologies that affect our experiences and represent the policies that govern our fate.

Crumbling “Isms” is a selection of complexly interconnected terms that have influenced my experiences of the world. Together these images of crumbled paper, with their ambiguous titles, pose the questions: Are these ideologies being crumbled, or are they crumbling our world? And their answer will rest in our psyche, our reflections, and the collective actions of our generations.

Crumbling “Isms”: Capitalism, 12-inch diameter, Oil on Canvas,1996

URBAN ARTIFACTS

The painted images in Urban Artifacts represent the trash that I photographed near the infamous Fruitvale BART station, the site of the police killings of Oscar Grant, an unarmed African American man in Oakland, CA.

Densely populated, the Fruitvale and International Boulevard intersection is a hub of small businesses, public transportation, industrial warehouses, artists’ lofts, and sex trafficking of minors, with an ethnically diverse population of migrants and refugees. In 2011 shortly after I moved to a gated loft complex in that neighborhood, which felt like living in a privileged settlement within an occupied territory, I noticed an unusual amount of trash on the streets, while garbage bins were installed on all street corners. At first, the sight of so much garbage seemed to be the manifestation of how urban occupants treat their habitat, and I concluded it to be a metaphor for our ailing relationship with the planet.

However, while my assessment may hold some truth, I arrived at a new understanding of their meanings when I began to render these dirt-ridden objects with meticulous precision. An empty bottle, the abandoned doll, the tossed-out diaper, and all other images I had photographed, many of which I did not use, pointed to the displacement, evictions, homelessness, poverty, and struggles that have been the escalating attributes of the neighborhood. The irony of a homeless person who searches the trash bins to recycle bottles and cans and, in the process, litters the surrounding area cannot be accurately judged with a binary perception. The single mother who was evicted and had to lighten her possessions by discarding her daughter’s doll does not deserve my prejudice, nor does the prostitute who left her shoe behind while running for her life. The pride in the neighborhood is meaningless when the community fails to treat its residents as worthy.

By the time I completed the paintings, I had grown into a new relationship with the subjects of Urban Artifacts I no longer saw them as trash but as records of strife in an increasingly hostile world, urging the open discussion of equity as the key component of our collective survival. On a more personal level, I learned that I must disarm my judgments and commit to an open mind and reflective empathy.

EVERYDAY HEROES

Everyday Heroes aim to defy the mythology of heroism as it is designated in popular culture and instead honor the anonymous champions among us. This body of art features a diverse group of men and women whose mere survival represents a heroic act and whose unique experiences and insights will resonate with many.

The inspiration for Everyday Heroes came from the stories shared by my students, leading me to appreciate the unique challenges and common threads that connect us as a society. This project began by meeting with the participant, taking their photos, and recording an interview that detailed the timeline of their life-altering experiences. However, since gallery spaces are not suited for reading long text or listening to extensive audio, I had to editorialize the stories by omitting more than 90% while trying to preserve their essence.

All of the participants of Everyday Heroes live in Northern CA and Central Valley and continue to enrich our lives with their resilience. I am thankful for their participation in this project.

HALEH NIAZMAND CV

EDUCATION

MFA 1996 Painting and Drawing, University of Arizona, Tucson

BFA 1993 Painting, University of South Dakota, Vermillion

ACADEMIC WORK EXPERIENCE

2005–Present, Professor of Art, Modesto Junior College, CA

2005–11 Director of the Art Gallery, Modesto Junior College, CA

Coordinator for the Art Department Independent Study Courses

2001–02 Part-time Faculty, Mount Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, IA

2000–01 Part-time Faculty, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA

1998–00 Visiting Artist, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA

1998–00 Part-time Faculty, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, IA

1996 Visiting Lecturer, University of Arizona, Tucson

COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY ART PROJECTS

2006 Beyond the Mask; Workshop in Collaboration with Deborah Barr, Stanislaus County Juvenile Hall, Modesto, CA

2000 Songs of Freedom; a Collaborative Mural Project with Inner-city Youth, Willkie House, Des Moines, IA

2000 Edmundʼs Academy of Fine Artsʼ Family Art Workshop, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA

1999 My Story; a Narrative Book Art Workshop, Clarinda State Mental Health Institute, Clarinda, IA

1999 Tucking You In; a Collaborative Quilt Art Project, Edmundʼs Academy of Fine Arts, Des Moines, IA

1999 Identity Project and Workshop, Orchard Place-Des Moines Childrenʼs Home, Des Moines, IA

1998 Recycled: A Book Art Workshop, Meredith Middle School, Des Moines, IA

OTHER CREATIVE WORK EXPERIENCE

2003–05 Director, Gallery Subversive, Cedar Rapids, IA

2000–05 Creative Consultant, True Identity Design Studio, Cedar Rapids, IA

1996 Co-producer, director, screenwriter, coeditor, Random Acts Of Man, (thirty-minute narrative video), Tucson, AZ

1996 Co-producer, director, screenwriter, coeditor, To Be Disposed of (seven-minute narrative video), Tucson, AZ

1992 Costume designer, Lakota Vision, a merging of Lakota tribal stories with modern dance, Public Television, Vermillion, SD

1989 Costume designer, The Princes Who Would Not Marry, Group Theatre, Rapid City, SD

1989 Costume designer, Axe Axe Axe, Group Theatre, Rapid City. SD

1988 Costume Designer, Modern Dance Performance, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey

1988 Costume designer, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, Anatolian Players, Ankara, Turkey

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018 Considerations, ARC Kaneko Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA

2017 Re/Marks, Paintings, and Drawings by Haleh Niazmand, MJC Art Gallery, Modesto, CA

2005 Re-orient, Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM Survey of Common Senses, MJC Art Gallery, Modesto, CA

2004 No Romance, Tyler Art Gallery, State University of New York, Oswego

2003: SHEDDING, Gallery Subversive, Cedar Rapids, IA

2002 No Romance, Macy Gallery, Teacherʼs College, Columbia University, New York, NY

2002 Crisis and Dilemma, Summit Street Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa

2000 Survey of Common Sense, McAuley Gallery, Mt. Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, IA

1996 From Far Away, Joseph Gross Gallery, University of Arizona, Tucson

1993 Door to the Other Side, Worthington Community College, MN

1993 Small Works, Gallery 110, University of South Dakota, Vermillion

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2014 Theory of Survival, Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2013 Faculty Reunited, Modesto Junior College, CA

2010 The “F” Word, Evergreen Valley College, San Jose, CA

2007 Transform/Nation, Eclipse Art Center Arlington, VA

Faculty Exhibition, Modesto Junior College, CA

2005 Locating Afghanistan, InteractivA 05, Merida, Mexico (Catalogue)

2004 Somewhere Elsewhere, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley,

2004 Remembering, Repressing, Forgetting [R] [R] [F] 04 exhibitions at locations:

National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest, Romania Center for Electronic Art, BEK, Bergen, Norway

New Media Art Festival, Bangkok, Thailand, Electronic Art Meeting – PEAM, Vision 04 Festival, Pescara, Italy

BASICS Festival, Salzburg, Austria

VI SALON Y COLOQUIO INTERNACIONAL DE ART DIGITAL, Havana, Cuba Festival of New Film and Media Split, Croatia public_media_space Festival, Yerevan, Armenia

West Coast Numusic & Electronic Arts Festival, Stavanger

Biennale of Electronic Art, Perth, Australia

Orillaʼ04 – International Exhibition of Digital Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, Argentina

2003 5 Years of Separation, Agricultural Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

2003 Falastine, Ofuroya Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA

2001 Post-Exile: The Word Room, Janalyn Hansen White Gallery, Mt. Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, IA

2001 Alchemy, M.Y. Art Prospect Gallery, New York, NY (catalog)

2001 Making Waves In the Midwest: The Art of Asian Paper, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, IA

2001 Trans/Planting: Contemporary Art by Women from/in Iran, A Space Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2000 Evolving Perceptions; Art for Peace, Gallery 505, Washington D.C.

1999 Beyond Boundaries; Contemporary Art of Iranian Women, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley (catalog)

1998 MCM-Y2K: A Century of Art on Paper 1900-2000, Des Moines Art Center, IA (catalog)

1998 Toe Five, PEDESTRIAN: a Gallery of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, FL

1998 Works on Paper, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas, CA

1998 Artists Guild, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA

AWARDS & HONORS

2010 ArtSlant, January Artist Show Case Award

2004 Eastern Iowa Chapter of American Ad Federation Awards: Jurorʼs Choice Award

Gold, Advertising for the Arts

Gold, Political Category

Silver, Identity Category

2001 Eastern Iowa Chapter of American Ad Federation Awards: Jurorʼs Choice Award

Best of Category in Advertising for the Arts

Gold, Product Packaging Gold, Advertising for the Arts

1998–00 Artist in Residence, Des Moines Art Center, IA

1998 Creative Work Funds finalist, San Francisco Bay Area, CA

1995 Graduate College Fellowship, University of Arizona, Tucson

Liquitex Excellence in Art University Award

Purchase Award, University of Delaware, Newark, 1994

Hudson Foundation Award, University of Arizona, Tucson

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS & INTERVIEWS

2005 Visiting Artist Presentation, Santa Fe Community College, NM

2004 Panel Discussion “ The Art of Shirin Neshat” Understanding Islam Series, Mt. Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, IA Interview “ Returning the Gaze”, Against the Grain, Pacifica Radio, Berkeley, CA

2002 Visiting Artist Presentation, Teacherʼs College, Columbia University, New York, NY

2001 Interview “ Survey of Common Sense”, Iowa Public Radio, Iowa City, IA

Presentation, Special Session “Issues of Contemporary Politics in the Art of an Iranian Exile”, Middle East Studies Association Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA

Presentation, “Crisis and Dilemma”, Center for Iranian Research and Analysis Annual Conference, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

1999 Artist On Art, Des Moines Art Center, Visiting Artist Lecture, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa

SELECTED REVIEWS & PUBLICATIONS

“Transform/Nation: Contemporary Art of Iran and Its Diaspora” by Lavanya Ramanathan, The Washington Post, June 21, 2007

“Established/Emerging” by Jon Carver, Art Papers, September-October, 2005

“Harmony Hammond/Haleh Niazmand” by Ellen Berkovitch, Art US, July-September, 2005

“Established Emerging: Harmony Hammond: Big Painting, Haleh Niazmand: Re-Orient” by Jon Carver, The Magazine, Santa Fe New Mexico, June 2005

“Somewhere Elsewhere: Diasporic Visions of Space and Subject”, by Laura Kou, Fuse Magazine, Toronto, Canada, Volume 28, Number 1

“MJC Art Gallery Director Helping Artist Raise Voices” by Lisa Millegan, Modesto Bee, CA. November 9, 2005

“Seriously Funny, Deadly Serious” by Zane Fischer, Santa Fe Reporter, NM. April 2-26, 2005

“Re-Orient Your Way Of Thinking” Class Acts Arts and Entertainment, Crosswinds Weekly, Albuquerque, NM. April 14-21 2005

“Gallery Subversive Addresses Current Social Issues” by Amanda Pierre, Des Moines Register, IA. December 19, 2004

“Traces of Exile”, by Laura Kou, X-Tra, Contemporary Art Quarterly, Los Angeles, CA. Volume 7, No.3,

“Arabs. Muslims. How does the West See Them? Artists use bold strokes to penetrate stereotypes” by Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle , October 23, 2004

“Arab and Muslim Art in a New Light at UC Exhibit”, by Jakob Schiller, Berkeley Daily Planet, CA. October 19, 2004

Locating Afghanistan, Subversive Press, Cedar Rapids, IA. 2004

“Click Art” by Judith Winter, Cedar Rapids Gazette, IA. September 5, 2004

“Sense, surveys”, Tendenziosi Survey of Common Hacktivisim, Neural.it, Italy, September 4, 2004

“The Art of Iranian American Women”, MESA Conference Panel Review by Wendy Debano , Middle East Women’s Studies Review, Fall 2001–Winter, 2002

“Trans/Planting: Contemporary Art by Women from/in Iran”, by Carly Butler, Radical History Review, Duke University Press, Issue 82, Winter 2002

Cover Art, “Survey of Common Sense”, Radical History Review, Duke University Press , Issue 82, Winter 2002

“Art and Tragedy” by Terri Cohn, Artweek, February 2002

“Alchemy”, Exhibition Catalog, Center for Iranian Modern Art, New York, NY. September 2001

“Trans/Planting: Contemporary Art by Women from/in Iran”, by Carly Butler, Mix Magazine, Toronto, Canada, Spring 2001

“Willkie House Youth and Visiting Artist Collaborate and create Songs of Freedom” Museum News, Des Moines Art Center, IA.

September-October 2000

“Teens Honor Black Leaders Through Portraits, Research” by Dana Boone , Des Moines Register, IA. August 2, 2000 Beyond Boundaries, Exhibition Catalog, Iranian Women Studies Foundation, Berkeley CA. June 2000

CURATION

2011 Grief & Gratitude: A Celebration of Kathy Budd’s Art, Tyler Art Gallery, SUNY, Oswego, NY

2010 Material Matter, An Exhibition of Drawings by Lindsey Muscato and Tinna Savini, MJC Art Gallery, Modesto, CA

2009 Pulsation, installation of kinetic objects, and video by Kimberlee Koym, MJC Art Gallery, Modesto, CA

2008 Double Exposure, photography of the Burning Man Festival by Mel Lindstrom, MJC Art Gallery, Modesto, CA

2007 No Sweat, sculptures/installation about corporate sweatshops by Kathy Budd, MJC Art Gallery, Modesto, CA

2006 Flammable, photography of Iraq and Palestine taken during 2003-2004 by Babak Salary

2006 Hanibal Alkhas and the Party, paintings by Iranian Assyrian artists, MJC Art Gallery, Modesto, CA

2006 Master Works, selected works by the master artist from MJC permanent collection, MJC Art Gallery, Modesto, CA

2005 Truly Yours, A collection of mail art and performance art by L.G. Williams, Gallery Subversive, Cedar Rapids, IA

2004 A Question of Value, an exhibition of sculptures on labor issues by Kathy Budd, Gallery Subversive, Cedar Rapids, IA

2004 Locating Afghanistan, A collaborative exhibition of art, written words, and photography by Gita Hashemi, Babak Salari, and Haleh Niazmand

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS

Dr. Ellen Junn, President

Dr. Kimberly Greer, Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs

Dr. James A. Tuedio, Dean, College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

DEPARTMENT OF ART

Martin Azevedo, Associate Professor, Chair

Tricia Cooper, Lecturer

Dean De Cocker, Professor

James Deitz, Lecturer

Daniel Edwards, Associate Professor

Patrica Eshagh, Lecturer

Jessica Gomula-Kruzic, Professor

Daniel Heskamp, Lecturer

Chad Hunter, Lecturer

Dr. Carmen Robbin, Professor

Ellen Roehne, Lecturer

Dr. Staci Scheiwiller, Associate Professor

Susan Stephenson, Associate Professor

Jake Weigel, Associate Professor

Mirabel Wigon, Assistant Professor

Alex Quinones Instructional Tech II

Kyle Rambatt, Equipment Technician II

UNIVERSITY ART GALLERIES

Dean De Cocker, Director

Kory Twaddle, Gallery Assistant

SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

Brad Peatross, Graphic Specialist II

August 25–October 7, 2022 | University Art Gallery, California State University, Stanislaus

100 copies printed. Copyright © 2022 California State University, Stanislaus • ISBN 978-1-940753-70-6

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. This exhibition and catalog have been funded by Associated Students Instructionally Related Activities, California State University, Stanislaus.