If celebrated artist Cy Twombly can be successful and do it with mere squiggles (and he did) - then anybody with enough talent to scratch the surface can have a chance. Bravo, Mr. Farzankia.
Mainly a comment about the comments: I don't understand how people can express opinions about his work when, as far as I can tell, there is not a single photograph of any finished work. Did they go google to find out what his work actually looks like & then come back here to comment?
For all the snark in several of these comments - He's just a guy who does this work because it is something he has to express. Whether you or the critics can understand what he 'says' was immaterial to him when he created the expressions. Sure, recognition is great. But when you hang it out there, naked, for all to see and judge - that takes huge courage. Could you do it?
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Nice work. Congratulations.
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I just heard this, not plagiarizing, just citing; The problem is not necessarily becoming successful, the problem is finding anyone to be happy for you when you become successful.
Congratulations to this artist that got out of the workforce to do something creative. Glad to hear you’re time card is collecting dust. Keep at it!
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I’ve got some art I made that I might be willing to sell. It’s good art. Colorful. Good for Instagram. Already square, no cropping needed. Take a photo, post it, easy. Any takers? I quit my job, too. Actually, I was fired.
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There's no business
Like the art world business
And it's all business I know!
A billionaire decides something's appealing
The galleries sense a chance to gull rich fools
The game's afoot, and there's no ceiling!
You feed their feelings!
And get paid with their gold
There's no business like the art world business
And it's all business I know
But hey, don't spoil the show!
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Took 3 of 4, ok maybe 5, 20th century artists at random and glommed together. effectively draining all interest in the process. But pretty good hair and beard, strikes poses well, good lighting by the photogs. I’m not sure the cigarette buys any cred at this point, even hand-rolled. It’s sorta like he bought a box of vanilla-flavored dry art-mix and added too much water.
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He’s no Tal R (yet), though I can see the connection to Tal R’s early work....hopefully the premature exposure won’t destroy his ability to work honestly
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Richard Heller usually has such good taste. I wonder what happened here? Bland, safe, boring and unoriginal.
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Good for Farshad. We’re all working as hard as we can to do this stuff!
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Yeesh, these comments. Yeah, the art world is sickening on many levels. But good for this guy that he is able to do what he loves and make a living at it.
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Thank you. The many negative and resentment comments are surprising. He’s an artist doing what he loves and now that he’s been discovered by some with disposable income and gallery shows he needs to be dismissed? Because he’s not an undiscovered woman painter living in the suburbs of New Jersey or some resentful about the business machinations of the corrupted art world. Glad you and I enjoyed the story and his works and the bigots found something new to go on about- a painter living in Denmark and of Persian decent featured in T Mag.
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@Susan I agree with you Susan - good for him. On a personal level the work is bland, underdeveloped and singular but there is room for all of us.
@Lynn Fitzgerald
Of course people, especially other artists, are resentful, and rightly so. There is great work out there by artists who have studied, struggled and produced for years, but have seen nothing come of it. This is the art world and there's nothing we can do about it, but resentment is entirely understandable, and seems in this case to have nothing to do with bigotry.
His work looks alot like Jacob Lawrence crossed with Jean-Michel Basquiat.
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@Martin Davies
Look up Mimmo Paladino. Particularly his relief prints.
What is more compelling, the art itself or the artists story? I bet if any post Picasso abstract art was produced by a really nice soccer Mom from suburban New Jersey it would be completely ignored. Any takers on my bet?
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Very derivative stuff and not much originality. Of course people will buy it--it's like them. And safe.
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The art world is a great way for the rich to manufacture value. Having exposure to some aspects of this world I'm willing to bet somehow the Japanese collector is increasing the value of the works he purchased by pulling strings to promote the artist in the world of high end art.
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For anyone contemplating this art, and pondering how it, versus anything else, rises to be on pages of the NYT, I do recommend the documentary "Blurred Lines" on Netflix, which neatly dissects the fascinating incestuous relationships between collectors, critics, curators, agents etc. in the art world. I truly feel sorry for anyone trying to seek personal identity and validation through their art, if they seek it through these avenues. Seriously, what makes this art any different from any other? Marketability? Colorfulness?
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No- it’s appealing to look at.
@Vladek I agree with you. The market likes its pray raw, preferably still alive. It writes its own scenario, gets bored and sustains itself on reinvention. A tight club, invitation only. The artist gets consumed.
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There is more great art than people to buy it.
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@Edward
...............I would counter that there is a lot of art for people to buy; great art, not so much; those who are educated and paid to have opinions have their professional say and the merchants have their way with anything, good or not, that brings them a percentage, as always.
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Money, money, money and a good publicist...
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All that doesn’t cancel out a good painting/artist. You’d probably condemn Van Gogh if his work was discovered, praised, loved and marketed. I’d say plenty of bigotry and resentment going on here. Can’t even enjoy a painting or a non American artist (Persian and Danish) anymore at least not by some NYT Americans.
@Lynn Fitzgerald
American....non american. It doesn't matter. His artwork is very amateurish. His hair, beard, pose, and money got him in the door!
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A bit like basquiat sans the angst, I guess that makes sense (and profit) for today's art market.
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@michael
My exact takeaway
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