Featured Artist: Nikki Rosato

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First of all, please introduce yourself to our readers that might not be familiar with you and your work.

Featured artist Nikki Rosato

My name is Nikki Rosato, and I am currently a MFA candidate at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania called Washington Crossing (the exact location where George Washington crossed the Delaware River and fought the famous triumphant battle against the Hessians in 1776.)

I didn’t take my first official art class until my senior year of high school, and it changed my life—I started developing skills as well as a passion for creating.

I went to college the next year at the University of Pittsburgh, not knowing what I wanted to study. My hunger for the arts continued to grow, and I ended up declaring a Studio Arts major my first year. I spent the next four years studying Studio Arts and Art History, and it was there that found what I was meant to do in life. I took classes across the board, from sculpture to graphic design, and I learned how to develop conceptual ideas through multiple mediums.

After graduating in 2008, I spent a few years working at an amazing contemporary art museum in Pittsburgh called the Mattress Factory, and in 2010 I was accepted into the graduate program at the School of the Museum of fine Arts affiliated with Tufts University in Massachusetts.



Currently, what type of job(s) you do besides making art?

I’ve spent a lot of time working and volunteering in art institutions and museums. As an artist, I find art museums to be extremely stimulating environments. Not only is it important to know what your contemporary artist peers are making and exhibiting, but being involved at an art museum allows you to continue your art education beyond academia. It also helps keeps you connected to the larger art world that you are a part of as a practicing artist. I currently volunteer one day a week at the Museum of Fine Arts while I’m working on completing my MFA!


Could you give our readers some insight into your work in general? What media do you work in, what are the inspirations behind the creation of your work?
My work has always been centered on the idea of portraiture, and how a portrait can go beyond a realistic rendering of someone’s likeness. I like to think about how one’s past can leave imprints on one’s physical body as well as affect one’s personality and sense of self.

Nikki Rosato, Self-Portrait, 80” X 40”, Acrylic on canvas, 2009.
Photo: Nikki Rosato


Nikki Rosato, Self-Portrait, detail. Photo: Nikki Rosato

Not only are our fingerprints, wrinkles and scars a representation of our identity, but our memories, the places we’ve been to, the people we’ve known have all changed and altered the path of who we become.

Nikki Rosato, Two Bostons, 16” X 16” X 14”, Cut map,
Armature wire, 2009. Photo: Nikki Rosato


Nikki Rosato, Two Bostons, Details. Photo: Nikki Rosato

Over the past few years I’ve been working on a large series where I’ve used road maps as a material in and of itself.

Nikki Rosato, Untitled, Installation View: Dimensions Variable, Cut map,
Spotlights, 2010. Photo: Nikki Rosato

With this series, I was thinking about how line alone can represent the human figure and how a memory of a place can have a direct impact on one’s identity. I saw a narrative within the details of the physical body—our bodies act as a record of our past.

Nikki Rosato, Untitled (Connections), 9” X 5.5”, Cut Map, 2010.
Photo: Nikki Rosato


Nikki Rosato, Untitled (Connections), 10” X 8”, Cut Map, 2010.
Photo: Nikki Rosato

In the Cut Map series, I dissected road maps for their lines with an x-acto knife, and through the process I created a portrait of a specific individual out of a specific place.

Nikki Rosato, Danny: Mt. Pleasant, MI, 10” X 8”, Cut Map, 2009.
Photo: Nikki Rosato
Nikki Rosato, Owen: Providence, RI, 9” X 8”, Cut Map, 2009.
Photo: Nikki Rosato

As I removed the landmasses from the silhouetted figure I further removed the person’s identity. Through the process of cutting, specific individuals become ambiguous and hauntingly ghost-like, similar to the memories they represent.

Nikki Rosato, Couple: Boston, MA, 11” X 14”, Cut Map, 2009.
Photo: Nikki Rosato

Nikki Rosato, Untitled (Connections), 14” X 11”, Cut Map, 2010.
Photo: Nikki Rosato

Nikki Rosato, Untitled (Self-Portrait), 20” X 16”, Cut Map, 2010.
Photo: Nikki Rosato

Nikki Rosato, Untitled (Connections), 8” X 12”, Cut Map, 2012.
Photo: Nikki Rosato

In my most recent work I’ve found inspiration from some of my own childhood photographs. Through mapping, drawing and painting I am working on unpacking and exploring my own memories of my personal past.

Nikki Rosato, Untitled (Childhood Portrait), 47” X 27”, Cut Map, 2011.
Photo: Nikki Rosato


Childhood Photographs. Photo: Nikki Rosato

Would you like to share a bit your creative process with our readers? How does it all start, what techniques and materials do you use?

The tedious process of making drives all the work that I create. As much as I have tried, I just cannot get myself to use a sketchbook. I insist on diving right into my “experiments,” and I treat them like final products. I find that I learn much more through the process of creating than through planning. Some of my greatest and largest “mistakes” have lead to break-through ideas.

Map scraps. Photo: Nikki Rosato


Vintage Maps. Photo: Nikki Rosato

Regardless of the project, my process must always be tedious and time-consuming—I cannot work any other way. I have endless amounts of anxious energy, which I release through sitting down and making. Whether the piece is a complex graphite rendering, or a large-scale cut paper piece, the final product just doesn’t feel right unless it takes endless hours to create.

I also think that setting up your work space with a blank sheet of paper and all the materials you need is important, for it leaves no excuse for procrastination.

Nikki Rosato: I always keep my favorite artists nearby.
Photo: Nikki Rosato

Do you have plans for your direction?

I am still working out my “next step” as my MFA thesis exhibition is quickly approaching. I am most excited about my most recent work, which is influenced by my Cut Map series, but is starting to move the idea into a new direction. It is important to always push yourself and move your work forward, even if it makes you uncomfortable.

Nikki Rosato, Altered Memory, 62” X 48”, Graphite, cut paper, 2011.
Photo: Nikki Rosato


Nikki Rosato, Altered Memory, Detail. Photo: Nikki Rosato

Nikki Rosato, Untitled (Childhood Portrait), 44” X 30.25”, Watercolor
on paper, 2011. Photo: Nikki Rosato


Nikki Rosato, Disintegration (Childhood Memory), 22” X 15”, Watercolor
on paper, 2011. Photo: Nikki Rosato


Nikki Rosato, Disintegration (Childhood Memory), 15” X 22”, Watercolor
on paper, 2011. Photo: Nikki Rosato

What is the most interesting comment about your work you have heard from a viewer?
Once you show your work to the public, you really do lose control over it. Everyone is bringing their own personal baggage to the piece and will have their own read that is influenced by their own past. For me, some of the most exciting comments are from viewers who are carrying the same baggage as myself, which causes the work to spark a conversation about a shared experience. Sharing a similar life experience with a viewer truly creates a sense of community.

Nikki Rosato, Untitled (Connections), 9.5” X 5.5”, Cut Map, 2010.
Photo: Nikki Rosato

For example, the work in my Connections series was inspired by a personal long distance relationship, and I’ve had multiple people come to me and tell me that they know what the work feels like, and that one of my Connections pieces has given them hope for the long distance relationship that they are currently in themselves.



How have you handled the commercial and business side of being an artist during this financial climate?

I find the business side of art to be just as important and time consuming as the making. There are so many facets to the art world and multitudes of ways to market yourself and your work. Even if people are not purchasing as much art due to the current economic climate, it is still important to get your work out there into the public and to build relationships with other artists and artistic spaces. Building your own artistic community and network does not have to necessarily come by monetary means.



Have you been actively involved in the Boston area art community? If yes, could you tell us about your involvements? Did you find the support you are looking for in the community?

I’ve only lived in Boston for about a year and half, and I’ve really enjoyed exploring the artistic opportunities that this city has to offer. Being connected to a place like School of the Museum of Fine Arts opens up a lot of doors for young and emerging artists in regards to exhibition opportunities as well as exposure to contemporary artists. The large academic community in Boston brings in visiting artists from all over the world, and every week there is a free lecture going on somewhere!



Have you participated in any art residencies in the past? If so, did the residency opportunity provide the support your needed for your personal growth and professional development ?

When I was living in Pittsburgh, I was involved in a year-long artist residency called The Distillery program. This program allowed you to work alongside a supportive group of artist peers. We met together weekly, worked together, bounced ideas off of each other, exhibited together. It is an incredible gift to have a community of your peers to talk through ideas with and to help you develop your work.

NikkiRosato, Turn Me On, Installation View: Dimensions Variable, Fabric,
beeswax, LED light, 2010. Photo: Don Orkoskey

Please share with us the grants/awards and recognition you received in the recent years. How important are awards for your art career? Do they bring opportunities?

While pursuing my undergraduate degree I received an Office of Experiential Learning Small Grant in order to travel to a printmaking conference. It was at the conference that I stumbled across the vintage road maps that sparked the whole Cut Map series—so you never know where and when inspiration may strike. Take advantage of every opportunity you receive!

Award-winning piece by Nikki Rosato, Self-Portrait, 10” X 27 ¾”,
Etching, 2007. Photo: Nikki Rosato

This piece, Self-Portrait, won an A.J. Schneider Award during my undergraduate senior exhibition. It is really an honor to receive such recognition for my work.



Would you like to inform our readers of your current and upcoming exhibits?

My work is currently on view at The Leonardo museum in Salt Lake City, Utah as part of an exhibition called There, there.


Are you available for commissioned works? Do you have website(s) about your work?
I love working on personal commissions for people—don’t hesitate to be in touch with me if you’d like a cut map portrait of yourself! Check out more of my work at www.NikkiRosato.com.

Nikki Rosato in front of her installation Untitled.

Would you provide links to articles about your work for interested readers to learn more about your work?

You can read more about my work in the following interview by Wired magazine:
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/05/nikki-rosato-map-portraits/

You can also see more of my work on ONY Architecture’s website:
http://www.onyarchitecture.com/#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=18&a=0&at=0

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Featured Artist: Shireen Agah Yadollahpour

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First of all, please introduce yourself to our readers that might not be familiar with you and your work.

Featured artist Shireen Agah Yadollahpour
Photo: Jenn Curtin, NHS Photo student

My name is Shireen Agah Yadollahpour. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, MI, and I currently reside in the Weymouth, MA with my spouse and my daughter. The environment that I grew up in had a profound impact on me, both as a person and artist, so I still call Michigan my home.

Since the age of eight, I knew that I would do something in the arts. I come from a highly competitive family of overachievers. Our house was loud and people were always moving about and talking fast--I retreated into a wallflower for many years, watching their exchanges quietly. I couldn’t compete with their energy levels and their voices. I began to draw because I found images articulated a thought better and more concisely than words could for me.

I chose Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts for my undergraduate studies, and earned dual Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Art Education and in Painting in 1998. While in Syracuse, I realized that making work based off of personal narrative and experience was what I was most interested in. At the same time, the study of semiotics, aesthetics, and sensory experiences became important in my research. I found the process of how others visually read and interpret what’s happening on the surface or in the space fascinating.

In May of 2007, I graduated from Massachusetts College of Art with my Masters of Science in Art Education. I was enrolled in their studio track, so the majority of my course work was based in studio practice. That, I think, really forced me to consider my imagery and process even more, making me ask tougher questions and pushing me in a lot of different directions in order to pare down what was most essential.


Currently, what type of job(s) you do besides making art? Do you teach, write and/or curate art exhibits? If so, would you give us some details?

I began teaching visual art at Needham High School in 2003. I currently teach two full year sequence courses--Art 2 Honors and Art 3 Accelerated -- that expose students to a wide range of 2D media and some 3D media. I also teach two half year electives, Photography 2 and Drawing and Painting 2.

I would love the chance to curate exhibits, but at the moment, I’m only teaching and working in studio.


Could you give our readers some insight into your work in general? What media do you work in, what are the inspirations behind the creation of your work?


The body never lies. Our need for equilibrium and balance in our chaotic, stumbling experiences force us to adopt coping methods and self regulation. The collision of this chaos and reasoning results in a faltering sense of self that haunts me as an artist.

Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, I'd Ask You But the TV is On, Dressmaker patterns, pencil, and watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2009.


Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, I removed myself and sure enough it happened. Ink, acrylic paint, gesso, pencil, collaged paper on prepared paper, 2009


Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Sleepless, I wasted myself. Watecolor,pencil, collaged papers on paper, 11 x 14 inches, 2009.

The idea for the work is usually shaken out from a spoken phrase or a disjointed thought. Once the words grab my attention, I begin researching and drawing out images that relate to the idea. My surfaces are chosen for their history and their ability to reference the body on some level -- gessoed paper with red to purple stains, or dried, unfolded teabags with saturated crease folds that I’ve drunk as a ritual. The space surrounding the images is important, because there needs to be a sense of tension and a layering that’s purposeful.

Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, I'm tired of being divided in two by your intentions, Dressmaker patterns, ink, pencil, charcoal, and gesso on paper, 2009.



Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Hung up, Ink and pencil on white paper,
50 x 54 inches, 2007.

Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Six degrees of separation, Dressmaker patterns, pencil, gesso, ink, charcoal, and tempera on white paper, 2009.

I don’t think that I make work that is cool and edgy and visually hip; but I try to make work out of a need to connect to a part of me that is imperfect and scared and scarred and more. I think others can understand that and need that, too. As I once wrote to a student: It is human nature to communicate and create—yet we move increasingly away from that as convenience or speed or sexiness trumps truth or the sublime.


Would you like to share a bit your creative process with our readers? How does it all start, what techniques and materials do you use?

I often need to tailor my process to make it work within the demands of my schedule. For a while, I needed to work in small series because I never had long blocks of time to decompress and focus.

Studio view.


In progress.


Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Lightly We Tread, Mixed media.

Now the pieces are getting larger again, and I can leave them and come back to them. The need to work on them builds up until I can actually get away and shut the door.

Saved collection.

I tend to plan a few at one time since the ideas are related, then work on them individually from start to finish.

Inspirations.

Drawing detail.

My journal is important- I take it everywhere and see it as an extension of my body. I constantly work in it and use it to think.

Sketch book.

I prefer to work at night when it’s quiet and I can think clearly. I need to be alone with no one interrupting me. I don’t pick up the phone if someone calls. Music used to be important to me, but I’m slowly moving away from it since the silence calms me and allows me to breathe.

Books.

As much as I would like to work in a variety of different media, including plaster, resin, and other sculpture materials, right now I’m still focusing on the drawing. Pencil, ink, charcoal, trace, unfolded used teabags, old packaging, stencils, cut up drawings, watercolor swatches--these are the materials that are scattered across my workspace right now.

Spools.


Fabric swatches.


Dressmaker patterns.


Cards.

While I have to be careful not to be seduced by the collage materials because of their sensual quality, I am interested in their history--where they’ve been, what they were or used for. For me, their sense of past is the backdrop that helps set up a narrative for the work.

Photo stack.

Do you have plans for your direction?

For my most recent work, the introduction of brighter color has been a big leap for me.

My journal contains many projects that I’ve considered and made plans for. One is a drawing/alternative photography project that requires a large showing space and a research trip back to Michigan.

Another project is an installation that I’ve been wanting to realize for over two years. It combines drawing and large scale sculpture, which I really want to work with. Installation fascinates me because the potential for narrative is so large, and the sensory experience is more layered. As much as I’ve admired sculpture (the two artists that have influenced me the most have been sculptors), I haven’t done much of it.


What is the most interesting comment about your work you have heard from a viewer?

“If I looked at you, I would never know that you’re mind works in such a dark way.”


Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Apologies for Tulsa, Ink, pencil, and collaged papers on prepared paper, 11 x 14 inches, 2009.


“Your work doesn’t hit me over the head, but rather it hits me right through the middle.”



Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Faded, Dressmaker patterns, pencil, charcoal, and ink on paper, 20 x 30 inches, 2006.

How have you handled the commercial and business side of being an artist during this financial climate?

I’ve been employed full time as an educator for eight years, so I’ve only slightly grazed the business side of art off and on. Now that I’m starting to concentrate more on studio, I’m learning more about the business end of it every day, and starting to create a network that I can more actively participate in. I find the marriage of creating and marketing your work to be exciting--I like the entreprenueral component.

Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Translated, Antique book pages, pencil, colored ink, and gesso, 24 x 36 inches, 2006.

Have you been actively involved in the Boston area art community? If yes, could you tell us about your involvements? Did you find the support you are looking for in the community?

When I first moved to Boston, I had a great work space in the Fort Point area, which allowed me greater access to the Boston area art community. However, once I left to work full time and earn my graduate degree, it was difficult to keep up. I’m excited to be at a point in my life where I can start that involvement again and begin to focus on getting my work out there.


What galleries have you recently exhibited in?

I was in a show titled Look Twice Because Things Change in September, 2009 at the Arnheim Gallery at the Mass Art.

Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, You reached out to me but I still rejected your kindness, Ink, pencil, and collaged paper on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2009.


Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, They Left With My Back Turned South, Ink, pencil, and
collaged paper on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2009.


Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, It will split and crack with your decision, Ink, pencil,
and watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 inches, 2009.

Recently, my work was up in a new shared office and networking space called Oficio on Newbury Street.

Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Float, Acrylic, pencil, and canvas on
prepared paper, 20 x 28 inches, 2011.


Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, I'm listening, Acrylic, pencil, and canvas on
prepared paper, 20 x 28 inches, 2011.


Shireen Agah Yadollahpour, Looking up, Acrylic, pencil, and canvas on
prepared paper, 20 x 28 inches, 2011.

Would you like to inform our readers of your current and upcoming exhibits?

I have no definite shows at this time, but I am slated to show in the future at a space in Boston via ArtVenue.


Please share with us the awards and recognition you received in the recent years. How important are awards for your art career? Do they bring opportunities?

I was recently chosen to be included in an upcoming issue of Studio Visit Magazine, published by the Open Studios Press. I’m hoping that will lead to some new opportunities.


Would you provide links to articles about your work for interested readers to learn more about your work?

My work can be found on a few websites and blogs, including Art Venue and ONY Architecture’s design blog.


Are you available for commissioned works? Representing gallery if any? Would you like to share your contact info with our readers? Do you have website(s) about your work?

I’m available for commissioned works. Interested viewers can contact me via email at shireenay@gmail.com. My artist website can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/shireenagahstudio/.

Studio view.

Would you like to add anything?

Thank you for the opportunity to be introduced to your readers!

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All images courtesy of Shireen Agah Yadollahpour

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