By Shoutarou Glasparil
(Entrance view of the exhibition “Nothing Is" detailing the artwork present in three languages. Photo Credit: Shoutarou Glasparil)
On view through July 14 within Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art resides the exhibit “Nothing Is” by Maryam Taghavi. City Colleges of Chicago students have free admission to the MCA featuring this exhibition alongside many others by presenting a valid student ID.
Taghavi is an Iranian multimedia artist who left at fifteen to attend high school in Vancouver. Before leaving, she had early learning in art while in Tehran in private. In particular, she focused on drawings and paintings.
Her further education brought her to Chicago’s SAIC for college. She is the current 21st artist featured in the Chicago Works section.
Taghavi’s "Nothing Is" focuses on the noghtes – a shape similar to a dot. The noghte is common amongst Taghavi’s work that challenges our optical view. This symbol shares a commonality with how light fractals off the horizon. The exhibition itself also focuses on how people perceive their surroundings.
(A lightbox that is present at the exhibition, displaying red and white noghtes. Courtesy of artist.)
Taghavi says the visual culture surrounding her in her youth, including what she saw in museums and books/objects, has historical significance, which she viewed as holding a “collective memory.” Her newfound relationship and experience with these materials create a continuity she wants to be a part of.
She added that the best way to continue to carve out space for artistic practice is to "make sure there is a way for artists and students to keep their practice alive. There is solitude but a work is a collective act. It is important to be a part of a larger conversation - in work and life in general."
Taghavi added that her creation process is not linear. She says she spends a long time experimenting and being playful with lots of materials. Taghavi starts with her last project, bringing continuous work with future creations. She makes a lot of tests and prototypes, especially for large objects and color tests.
For particular shows, she determines her production to make work. For example, when making airbrush paintings, she sets up the space with delicate pieces in mind. She enjoys working with reflective or transparent materials the most.
(Two pieces of draped fabric titled “Drape 1” and “Drape 2” of the Horizon series. Courtesy of artist.)
Taghavi has spent 10 years in Chicago, her longest time anywhere since leaving Iran. She says the community is important to her because it has harbored an influential scene for her art and has found it be rigorous and supportive. The environment has taught her a lot, and Lake Michigan's role in the city has shaped her connection to the city.
She says she finds working in the city exhilarating. Being a part of the exhibitions from experiencing and witnessing performances is a hub for admiring visual art, she explains. It also poses as a reminder of what contemporary art has become. She says she was honored for the invitation to work with the museum.
Taghavi has had several installations shows and at museums. One of her works is present in O’Hare Terminal 5 (Arrivals). The piece is called "Safe Passage.” She attests it fits into her work with languages which can be perceived as a medium. She is heavily interested in how language possesses protective qualities and is imbued with magical power. Language, especially calligraphy reoccurs in her works including in her current MCA show, now running through July 14.
Taghavi says she enjoys making art, which is like "watching the sunset with your demons."
(An excerpt from a poem written by the thirteenth-century poet, Saadi Shirazi commissioned and calligraphed by Parisa Shafiei. Courtesy of artists.)
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