Shanoor's "Art Extreme"

EXTREME C ONDITIONS

U NDE RS TAND RES P EC T P AS S ION ID E NTIFY

SHANOOR’S VISION ON THE

X

ART EXTREME

C HE RIS H P ROTEC T HOP E & FRE EDOM

Cover Painting: “Freedom Light,” Acrylic on Canvas, 2002 Artist – SHANOOR

Northern Indiana Arts Association and Devarj Design Agency would like to thank all sponsors and supporters for the artistic expression, education and cultural appreciation in Northwest Indiana.

Ruth Crnkovich, C urato r, IN Matthew Rose, N ew Y o rk T Imes artist, w riter, Paris Dr. Abraham Terian, Pro fesso r - Histo rian o f A ntiquities, N J Kathy Broeker, W riter/O w ner - Synergy C o mmunicatio ns, IL

Devarj Associates, Inc. D esign A gency Shanoor, Executive C reative D irecto r - Fine A rtist Silva Devarj, D irecto r o f Marketing C o mmunicatio n and Branding NORTHERN INDIANA ARTS ASSOCIATION EXHIBIT PERSONNEL John Cain, Executive D irecto r Lisa Woodruff, D irecto r o f Marketing & D evelo pment Mary McClelland, G allery Manager Published by Devarj Associates, Inc. Designed by Devarj Design Agency Printed by Sheffield Press

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EXTREME CONDITIONS

by Ruth Crnkovich - Curator

“Extreme” is nearly synonymous with American culture these days. It’s a word that seems to apply to everything. Extreme sports, extreme television, extreme food, and extreme politics all in the context of Extreme C o nditio ns, Shanoor’s title for this exhibition. As the subject for the series of paintings presented at the Northern Indiana Arts Association, “extreme” is the mo t juste, as his paintings of flags in their use of popular iconography depicts a society in an extreme state.

A resident of Northwest Indiana, Shanoor has been actively showing the paintings from Extreme C o nditio ns series at numerous venues throughout the region. I first came to know Shanoor’s work when he approached the NIAA about exhibiting these paintings shortly after September 11th 2001, when this body of work first emerged. Subsequently, his art has been juried into both NIAA’s 59th and 60th Annual Salon Shows. Extreme C o nditio ns is his first solo exhibit at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts.

With studied and flawless artistic skill, Shanoor began painting as a means to express his philosophy about the celebration of freedom, his understanding what it means to be American, and his thoughts about Democracy. He is, in a word, passionate about his subject.

Extreme also connotes the quality of Shanoor’s technique. Using acrylic-based media, the artist paints rapidly and yet with such fine detail and controlled composition, the sleek surfaces and brilliantly blended colors has had more than a handful of people thinking the works are airbrushed. They are not. The paintings literally burst with energy, yet they are meticulously, methodically, and deliberately hand painted works of art. It says volumes about the artist’s skill, and his nearly obsessive quest to paint out his dream in lucid and vivid images. In a way, Shanoor’s work is a new kind of Americana of the 21st century.

Extreme Conditions, Extreme Art, Extreme Shanoor. It has been my pleasure to be part of Shanoor’s first solo exhibit at the Northern Indiana Arts Association. The Extreme C o nditio ns exhibit is exciting, revolutionary, and bold.

“Fabric of Our Life,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2002

FEAR & PAINTING

IN

AMERICA

By Matthew Rose - Artist & Writer based in Paris

When Jasper Johns’ Flag paintings were first exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in1958, the art world immediately seized upon the inherent irony: Symbol as object. Johns’ reduction par excellence of an American icon – something so familiar it was often invisible – turned into a life-sized artwork. Recast the boundaries of image-making, and blew apart the notion of “representation.” These paintings, morphed into dozens of variations were, however, hardly a “patriot act.” Rather, their duty was to literal, underlying structure – and they helped launch a generation of artists intent upon further reductions, giving rise to Minimalism in the decade that followed.

The times were different, of course. Then, we only feared nuclear Armageddon, burying ourselves in school fallout shelters only to return to classes, 15 minutes later to continue with our finger paintings. Did we ever think that pushing paint around could change the world? That’s the essential question Armenian-born Chicago-based artist Shanoor (he resides in Northwest Indiana) poses with his red, white and blue ”Freedom Series” canvases.

Like everyone else who lives in the United States, Shanoor’s roots are elsewhere, a sincere fact he uses to reinvent himself, particularly in this age of fear and loathing.

But instead of ripping the earth, Shanoor mixes paint and applies it in a way that on his canvases hope will spring forth. The 55-five year old artist is calling for his own revolution, managing bits of Old Glory in a series of explosions – what he calls Extreme Art – as a way to plant and replant himself on the fertile ground he calls home.

Shanoor’s iconography employs the stars and bangles, the bands of color and repositions them in a succinct casca d e of fee ling .

Understandably, September 11th changed his entire outlook on his adopted country. One must not forget the appeal America has long had for others seeking opportunity and the freedom to express their lives in new ways.

The meaning imbued in the flag is prescient for this artist, and the variations of that experience, such as Fabric O f O ur Life (2002) with its vibrating dreamlike presence, bear witness to an inner faith and an outward

fascination with American realities. The canvas glows; it has motion, and in effect, is something of a heartbeat.

Reentry Fusio n (2003) is perhaps the boldest of this series: A whirlpool of energy claims the American flag into a gyrating vortex. One is persuaded that the “melting pot” myth, a staple of the American Dream, is often both a violent and pleasurable process from which no one (not even those who visit America from abroad during a summer vacation) can escape.

The majority of Shanoor’s recent acrylic works on canvas since 2001 reinvigorate the artist’s potent design sense (he runs DeVarj Design Agency with his wife, Silva). These high-end graphic talents permit him to literally stretch and bend the stars and stripes to a different set a meanings and at the same time, wrap himself in a new kind of flag.

Unlike most people who bury themselves in Old Glory for political reasons, Shanoor’s point is multi-culturalism, pluralism, e pluribus unum. His interest is the promise, not the premise of America.

Many artists have re-hung flags, or reconstituted them in an effort to push away the concept of nation and replace it with a concept of world.

French artist, Jean-Pierre Raynaud purchases

flags and simply restates them as objects, stretching them onto frames. The Italian artist, Alighiero e Boetti (1940-1994) embroidered cloth into a world map tapestry, (Mappa del Mondo, 1978), with each country represented by the sign of its flag, a statement of geography and power. With the reunification of Germany, the changing boundaries in The Middle East and elsewhere, his “mappa” has since become something of a time capsule, an ode to global power flux.

Shanoor realizes a vastly different vision.

“Using flag iconography is a way to manage the hidden, oblique side of life,” he says, “and to recreate a language of tolerance and understanding.” The artist was greatly changed, (as we all were) at the carnage and malice the world experienced nearly three years ago. Fear was rampant, confusion was commonplace.

Coming to America, he suggests, is a process that involves a continuous absorption of opposites, a dialectic of urgency. Shanoor’s is ´ a terribly noble project, brought off with elan and clarity. Certainly, the artist has the volition to remake his American experience in paint and canvas one of power and joy and yes, beauty, and place fear where it belongs: In the hearts of those who remain steadfastly willfully ignorant.

“Reentry Fusion,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2003 W illiam J. Bachman, NIA A Founders’ A ward.

THE BEGINNING

by Artist Shanoor

OF THE

END

After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, I felt life had no meaning without freedom. I was compelled to find a way to express my outrage and anger at the arrogance of the terrorist attacks. My own experience in the United States has offered a great tolerance and understanding, which was threatened by these terrible events.

The night of the attacks, I began an impassioned exploration into national solidarity by embracing the strong symbolism of the American flag, through which a new wave of artistic expression emerged. I wanted to present my deeply emotional connection to this country, expressing my joy, grief, hope, strength and powerful feelings of unity.

With strong graphic urgency, I experimented with the stars and stripes, challenging the viewer to see them reinvigorated and anew.

The paintings you see here are my extreme expression and meditation on freedom.

After 9/11, my art took off like a phoenix from the ashes. At the time, I termed it “Toto Coelo” which means “extreme conditions,” a new art form that celebrates the unexpected and gives unique visual expression to the spirit within. By taking classic American icons like the flag to their extreme, I am attempting to integrate ideology with boldness and sensitivity with spirituality into a unique art language that creates awe, pride and commitment toward the United States and its democratic principles.

The dreams of our forefathers are my guiding light, and I believe that without freedom, true art expression cannot exist. It is my hope that “Art Extreme” – ever new, ever changing – will inspire positive energy and create unity and understanding for the future of us all.

“I

BELIEVE ART IS

THE ESSENCE OF MY

BEING .

GRAY

T HROUGH THE ASHES OF 9/11 WE CONTINUE

TOWARDS LIFE

AND HOPE .

T HROUGH

ONENESS WE WILL FIND STRENGTH ;

THROUGH UNITY WE FIND PEACE .

W HEN

THE DUST

SETTLES , A NEW LIFE BEGINS .”

ARTIST

- S HANOOR

The Beginning

“Two Stars,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2002

o f

t h e

E n d “Two Stars”

This painting symbolizes two cultures... two ideologies at

the point of impact creating a larger star. The two stars

are intertwined in a mystical conundrum bringing a new life

and a new beginning. It also gives us hope to create peace and understanding with each other. The only way for us to

survive in this world is

through understanding and the realization of our universalism.

“Blue Lib in Gray,” A crylic on C anvas, 2002

The artist is highlighting “Mona Lisa” as the icon for women being liberated from bondage. The face is transformed into a new extension symbolizing that all woman are joined as one body and one cause.

Yet the stripping of the burka is a symbolic gesture of freedom. Together, they are librated from darkness.

“Blue Lib,” A crylic on C anvas, 2003

“Imploding Mona,” A crylic on C anvas, 2001

This painting shows the misunderstanding of one culture against the other.

The idea of the two crashes, two explosions to one body, is evident in this exploration of one of the icons of Western culture, the Mona Lisa This new challenge enables the artist to express the extreme conditions of our time in such a way that it almost feels celebratory. An extreme condition accomplished in the realm of higher consciousness.

A PECULIAR SHOWING

AT THE

NIAA

by Dr. Abraham Terian - Professor, Historian of Antiquities

What else would one expect from an ArmenianAmerican artist but a combination of ethnic sentiments with cherished patriotism for the adopted country! Such is the latest art of Shanoor, a Chicago-based (resides in Northwest Indiana) artist who dubs the novelty of his art form “Neo-Symbolic Expressionism” or Toto-Coelo,” meaning “extreme conditions.” In it one finds stupendous expressions of familiar symbols, to the point that these common emblems now call for interpretation, first by the artist himself and then by the viewer – the reader of these images or pictorial texts.

This kind of expressionism is most evident in the artist’s recent collection of paintings under the rubric of “Celebrating Freedom,” a visual meditation on freedom, inspired by the tragic events of 9/11. The artist transcends the calamities of the day through his interpretation of the tragedy as a call to celebrate freedom.

The feelings evoked by the notion of freedom find strong, emotional expressions through common symbols of patriotism – intensified through the predominant use of the American tri-color of red, white and blue.

Shanoor is a master in conveying ideas visually.

His theme gets broadened with every painting,

a narrative of a sort (available in a set of eight prints entitled “Celebrating Freedom 9/11”). The incarnation of ideas must retain their spirituality, and this is guaranteed in his work. He does not dwell on the horrors and the screams, the eruptions and the ashes, not even the towers. There are no literal facts behind the paintings. Yet his art is not as enigmatic as it first appears, and even if it is, it attracts people for reasons they can’t articulate – as great art often does.

What is presented at the NIAA in mid-June, 2004, is an artist’s response to an agonizing event on which he does not seem to agonize for long; nor does he wish to leave that horrible event behind (after all, he has been at it for two and a half years). As an Armenian, he is familiar with a history of suffering and pain, given the genocidal atrocities inflicted upon his people who nonetheless go on living and hoping for a better tomorrow.

As if his hereditary sentiments were flared up by the recent atrocities committed on “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” giving him an opportunity to speak from his Armenian experience to fellow Americans. His paintings convey not only a smoldering anguish but also a fervent hope, accentuated through the unsubtle triumph of freedom.

“Witness 9/11,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2004

“Implosion,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2002

“Guiding Light,” A r chival Pr ints, 2002

“Witness 9/11” This Painting grabs the viewer with a promise

not to forget the tragedy of September 11 in New York City. The immediacy of the work

is shocking from the way Shanoor juxtaposes

the linear and dimensional aspect in the

com pos ition, c apturing the m ome nt of

disbelief and creating a surreal environment.

The stars shooting above with the red and

white stripes trailing behind fulfill the promise

of sacrifice for a higher ideology.

“Triumph of The Human Spirit,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2001

“Anew,” A c r y lic o n C anv as, 2002

“Freedom Flag,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2001

“Freedom Shield,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2002

“Tranquil,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2002

“Star Landscape,” A crylic o n C anvas, 2003

“Musical Flutter,” A rchival Print, 2003

“Mack 18,” A rchival Print, 2003

“Engine Port,” A rchival Print, 2004

“Info Super-Highway,” A rchival Print, 2003

“Portrait Living,” A r chival Pr int, 2004

“Multi-Port,” A r chival Pr int, 2003

“Strings Of Soul,” D etail - A r chival Pr int, 2003

“Extramotion,” Detail - A rchival Print, 2002

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© Devarj Associates Inc., 2004. All rights reserved.