Laleh Mehran Visiting Artist
Laleh Mehran was born in Iran and relocated with her family to the United States at the start of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. Mehran creates elaborate environments in digital and physical spaces focused on complex intersections between politics, religion, and science. In a political climate in which certain views are increasingly suspect and can have extreme consequences, Mehran’s artworks are invitations to think again about each of these paradigms and the profound connections that bind them. Her research, often modeled on and about the very ideas of science and technology, takes advantage of their cultural importance in order to articulate a set of ideas which require precisely these kinds of mediations from both political and religious intolerance. Out of necessity, her artwork is as veiled as it is explicit, as personal as it is political and as critical as it is tolerant.
Your Homework
- Learn about Mehran’s work:
- Visit her website
- Find videos of her discussing her practice
- Read articles, statements, etc.
- Create a portfolio presentation of your work to share with Mehran. This is an opportunity to receive feedback from a prolific artist who centers her work at the intersection of art and technology. Take advantage!
- Create at least five slides containing text, video, audio, and photographs of your work. These can be shared via Google Slides or PowerPoint.
- You have limited time so curate the works you want to show. You shouldn’t share everything you’ve ever done, instead share one or two of your strongest pieces.
- Turn in your slides here (Google Drive Folder)
- Upload a link to your presentation in Canvas
During the visit
Remember that you represent your work. No matter how great your work is, if you appear uninformed, arrogant, or rude you may put your guest off and miss exhibition, funding, or representation opportunities. Always have basic tact, humility, and politeness. Do not brag, or you will appear entitled and pretentious. Do not be dramatic or demanding, or you run the risk of distancing or alienating your guest.
Start with a tour of your work. Explain what you are currently working on, and sit back and wait for a response. Focus on your work—this is not the time to go off on tangents or dominate the conversation. Be calm and mirror your guest’s attitude. If she/he talks a lot, try to keep pace. If she/he is prone to being quiet, try to slowly ease her/him into a new conversation.