Tasveer: Image, Identity, and Longing
Tasveer
Tasveer means image or representation. Nilou’s new painting Tasveer makes me think of the imagery and color used during the Qajar Epoch in Persia. That period was full of stylized depictions of Persian royalty, connecting them to the greatness of the ancient Persian Empire. The Qajar paintings were a powerful vehicle for the expression of Persian culture and its aspirations.
The Qajar ruler Fath ‘Ali Shah made wide use of images to depict a revitalized Persian Empire, with himself at its center. The use of traditional settings and motifs conveyed a strong and easily understood message of continuity with the powerful Empires of the past. The luminous red of the Shah’s uniforms sets him apart from ordinary men, projecting authority and opulence. Today, viewing these paintings outside of their historical context, it is hard to appreciate their original power and impact.
Nilou provides a different tasveer, that of the evolution towards a more lighthearted world where you can admire the beauty of a simple coat with its crimson color and lining of handmade fabrics in flowers. It is contemporary and playful, detached from its historical baggage yet influenced by it.
The coat has something up its sleeve, or more exactly on its sleeve: a poem of Hafez. It speaks of our being so far from very dear friends and the longing to be reunited with them, that feeling where you want to reconnect to those lost in distance.
Tasveer will be on display at Lush Finesse on October 2nd at the Fremont Hills Country Club. This event brings together friends and artists in a single context of fulfilling those longings. Join us and meet people from different corners of the world and different cultures exchanging their ideas and creativity. For more information see http://lushfinesse.eventbrite.com.
