Sara Rahbar

Sara Rahbar (Born 1976, in Tehran, Iran) is a contemporary artist living and working between Iran and America. Sara... read more...

Sara Rahbar (Born 1976, in Tehran, Iran) is a contemporary artist living and working between Iran and America. Sara Rahbar was born in Tehran in 1976, but fled her birthplace during the period of immense upheaval that followed the revolution in Iran and the start of the Iran-Iraq war. This distance, this proximity is developed by the artist, based on memory, longing and inertia in inhabiting tensions of dual disjuncture. Rahbar studied in London and New York, and now spends most of her productive life between Tehran and New York. In this going back and forth, an apocalyptic memory has been revised in her reworking of traditional materials into proto-contemporary textiles and textures of national belonging. The symbol of ideological and nationalistic violence, the Flag, has been one of the main focuses of her collage conversations and contestations. Multiplying the number of possible readings by drawing on heritage provides a diachronic innovation within which interpoetic relations are realizable- both on the level of aesthetic inventions from multiple sources and in how styles and ideas illustrate certain realities- of geographies, of hope and of history. In routing the audience through the multiple spaces that one image can occupy, Rahbar manages to provide a matrix within which a cultural translation and contradiction is articulated. By curating tradition, these beautiful flags attract both the western gaze and allow for an aesthetic dynamism to be exemplified. We begin with attraction and end up being repulsed within the same moment of negotiating her works- in refusing the atrocious to be removed from the works, Rahbar creates a political power that imbues her statement about seeing and being. In one of her recent statements, she states, “Our foundations lay, but our houses have burned to the ground. Building castles in the sky, for a species that cannot fly, brick by limb we tear it down. Thinking that we are moving forwards, yet moving backwards all along. Gajar woman and golden toys, we wait for dawn.” Even within this contemporary evocation, across borders and palpitating with barbarism, her constant vigilance regarding the fallen past and an unrealized future remain the means of her economic reality and her imagination. The global neighborhood, she inhabits, where disenfranchisement through plight and flight are becoming important, offer fragments by which we understand the configurations of the US version of free trade and democracy. [b]Sara Rahbar Artist Statement[/b] [i] I live and work between two estranged countries, and the work is created wherever I am, Which is somewhere in between. I began as a painter, and I still feel as if I am painting; only now it’s with a needle, textiles, flags or with a camera, rather than a paintbrush. But it’s still about color and composition, and communicating the stories that repeat themselves over and over again in my mind, its about communicating the out come of my thoughts, of my reactions, of my understanding of it all. My work is my story told, it is a direct reflection of the constant questioning of the; who I am, what and where is home, and why I am here. It is the mirror image of my life, my geographic locations, my history, my present, my environments and my memories. I work and live between Iran and America, and in this process of living and working in between these two borders the work takes shape. I collect things; objects, bits and pieces of life, of memories, of history, from both countries, and I create pieces that tell stories. Through my work I am recording history, my history. We left our woes behind, with only echoes of our previous lives remaining. Seeking continuation, time and refuge, human beings attempting to survive our selves, our lives, and our present locations. Metamorphosing and transforming for the means of surviving it all, our foundations lay, but our houses have burned to the ground. Building castles in the sky, for a species that cannot fly, brick by limb we tear it down. Thinking that we are moving forwards, yet moving backwards all along. Gajar woman and golden toys, we wait for dawn. You burned down my house then offered me shelter from the storm. And now left on my own in this whirlwind, in this never-ending storm, I know now that home is nowhere. This river runs red, and there is no stopping it, and no going back. This river runs red with the last of our words and our stories untold.[/i] Visit [url="http://www.sararahbar.com"]www.sararahbar.com[/url] Sara Rahbar's next show will be opening in Dubai on March 25th, 2010: [i][b]Whatever we had to lose we lost, and in a moonless sky we marched[/b][/i] Sara Rahbar, Recent Works March 25th- April 20th 2010 Carbon 12, Dubai INFO@CARBON12DUBAI.COM [url="http://www.carbon12dubai.com "]www.carbon12dubai.com [/url] Previous Exhibitions: [i]Elles@centrepompidou[/i] May 27 2009 - February 21 2011 The Center Pompidou, Paris www.centrepompidou.fr [i]The Promise of Loss, A Contemporary Index of Iran[/i] curated by Shaheen Merali January 14th-February 27th 2010 Arario Gallery, New York www.ararionewyork.com [i]Never Run Away. Reena Kallat and Sara Rahbar[/i] curated by Shaheen Merali Feb 11th-March 20th Stux gallery, New York www.stuxgallery.com [i]Eye of the Beholder[/i] January 10, 2010 - February 28, 2010 Nassau County Museum of Fine Art, New York www.nassaumuseum.org

Sara Rahbar

see the gallery...

Jason Antone

Ron Sager (Fluxcore): Describe your music. Jason Antone: My music is electronic/pop. Timeless, universal and musical. Ron: What do you... read more...

[b]Ron Sager (Fluxcore):[/b] Describe your music. [b]Jason Antone:[/b] My music is electronic/pop. Timeless, universal and musical. [b]Ron:[/b] What do you love about your life? [b]Jason:[/b]I love the ability to inspire others while traveling on my journey. Through music, I am able to share messages in lyric and song that speaks to souls. [b]Ron:[/b] Who would you like to work on a collaboration with? [b]Jason:[/b] Anyone from a like minded musician to an abstract, out of the box artist, popular or not. Chemistry in the studio either explodes or fizzles. [b]Ron: [/b]Tell us about how you've marketed yourself on the internet [b]Jason:[/b] Social networking, online media, press, etc. You never know what will get picked up and spread or not. Many successes have come from unknown media outlets and when it goes viral, it's unstoppable. [b]Ron:[/b]What are the perks of having your own label? And what are the downfalls? [b]Jason:[/b] Freedom of expression, ownership, creative control. No downfalls other than the time it takes projects to get rolling, but that would exist anywhere. [b]Ron:[/b] Who is your number one fan? [b]Jason:[/b] Me. Lol. I don't know. [b]Ron:[/b] How do you come up with ideas for your music videos? How was it being in the top to of the Click List for the Logo Channel? [b]Jason:[/b] I love creating music videos almost as much as songwriting. It's an opportunity to tell another story with a song. Recently, I've been collaborating with Jeremy Kotin on my last couple videos. Our process has evolved into passing ideas back and forth to come up with the ultimate expression that works the best. He is so nice to shoot a few hours of footage for a 3-4 minute video, bless him. The editing process is one I gladly pass along. Click list is awesome, as the last video "To The Limit" was the first one on the list for me. Logo has been very supportive of my craft and I am proud to be a part of their programming any time. [b]Ron:[/b] Do you have any preparation practices before you perform? [b]Jason:[/b] I'm getting better with this one. I used to have many rituals and processes and made myself a little nuts. I've narrowed it down to 8 hours of sleep the night before, hot water with lemon and a shot of Jack before I hit the stage. Not for the buzz, but for the throat burn. Silly. [b]Ron:[/b] You're music videos are quite thematic and dark, can you tell us the vision behind them? [b]Jason:[/b] My previous 3 videos were a little dark, huh? At the time, I didn't think so. I think that in retrospect, it reflected my real life situations. I tended to cover up a lot back then, struggling with personal expression and found music an outlet to express myself. This process allowed me to move it into real life situations and find a way to have art imitate my life. Musical/visual therapy, so to speak. I naturally go dark with my music and tend to be a little more dramatic and serious than happy. My upcoming release is "Ooh Ooh Ooh", which is my first "happy" release and video. It was an effort to be light at first, but when my life became lighter, so to speak, it was much easier to tap into that part of me. [b]Ron:[/b] What is next for you? [b]Jason:[/b] Releasing "Ooh Ooh Ooh" of my album "Start To Move" in January. Video and some awesome remixes for the clubs. My team and I are going international with this one. Very excited to unleash this globally. Check out Jason Antone at [url="http://jasonantone.com"]www.jasonantone.com[/url]