Katayoun Amjadi

Poems

Collectively titled Diaries of a Village Potter, the following video is part of four visual poems that are linked one to the other as introspective meditations about a world on the brink. Simply spoken, they are the reflections of a village potter, the storyteller. This work uses selected footage from The Names We Change interview recordings and expands and grounds the question of “what’s your name?” in today’s political climate.

One of the concerns I always carry in my practice is the efficacy of the work to reach the public and affect the dialogue and engaged awareness that I seek with the world at large. Currently it is even more so. The question raised now is the sufficiency of what I do as an exhibiting artist, and indeed what it means to “exhibit” in today’s world.

My approach to answering this was to review recent and current work as a trove to be mined and reshaped to gather the stories I wish to tell into a format of exchange that is lighter, more nimble and versatile while still carrying the core messages of my work.

I’m looking for alternative ways of creating affective experiences with the audience without relying on physical presence and manipulation of space. To that end I’m experimenting with the manipulation of different media in order to create new short videos with poetic voice-over narratives as a digital method of distribution.

 

S/WORD, 2021
HD Video | 10:14
Live-streamed Artist Talk at the College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University

Letter to Baba, 2020
HD Video | 09:09
Iran Sanctions: War in Another Name Panel Talk at the Weisman Art Museum

The Village Potter, 2020
HD Video | 07:28
Politically Engaged Art Amid Multiple Pandemics Webinar at the University of Minnesota

 

This work uses selected footage from The Names We Change interview recordings and expands and grounds the question of “what’s your name?” in today’s political climate.

The Village Potter Reprise (Eggplant), 2021
HD Video | 06:23
On the Spot with Katayoun Amjadi Virtual Studio Visit with The Brooklyn Rail on Instagram