| Body & Soul Experiences of Who You Are through the photography of Jila Nikpay by Tim Miejan Minneapolis photographer, filmmaker and educator Jila Nikpay's work appears in the hallway of her studio. Black-and-white photos portray miniature human figures in stark scenes of shadow and light. Small, displaced selves offset by a big, threatening world. These works, described as "psychological landscapes," have won awards and fellowships. The artist says she explores the idea of home as a place to go to and away from "in imaginary landscapes that reflect the fragility of human existence." However, her latest work, also represented along the walls of the studio loft, and also in black and white, reach much deeper into the soul. They are not just portraits. Ask any of the subjects. In the past year or so, Nikpay has created a transformational experience for women through the use of her incredible photographic talent. A dozen women meet for several hours for three or four consecutive sessions. They are given the opportunity to use their imaginations and examine their personal relationships with their body. They wrap themselves in sheer fabric and stand in light or in the darkness. They play and explore their self-image in this unfamiliar setting, each of them stepping closer to knowing themselves better. And then they are photographed by an artist, whose powerful understanding of light and shadow takes them even further inside of themselves. And in the group setting, they learn not only how they see themselves, but how others see them, too. Nikpay, a native of Iran, earned a master's degree in photojournalism and a bachelor's degree in studio arts from the University of Minnesota. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions, including "Six McKnight Photography Fellows," Katherine Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, and solo exhibitions at the House of Artists, Tehran, Iran, and the Print Center, Philadelphia, Pa. She has taught in many colleges and institutions, including the University of Minnesota and College of Art and Design. But perhaps her most poignant teaching has come through this workshop known as "The Body Image: An Exploration for Women," because the results for some participants have been nothing less than life-changing. She spoke with the EDGE at her studio within the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Arts in Minneapolis about her work with women in the process of self-discovery. Tell me about what women experience during this workshop, which has been offered through the University of Minnesota's Compleat Scholar Program and Twin Cities art organizations. Jila Nikpay: The basic components of the workshop are the examination of one's identity through social reality versus personal reality or inner reality -- and the question of who we are. Usually we start with a visual exercise. People can connect their mind with the elemental part of their body. And after that visual exercise, they're given a fabric and about 10 minutes to express those visual images in their images. What happens is, people are being photographed very quickly during a spontaneous situation -- and then they come back and view those images collectively. Now, the collective part is a very important piece, because everybody has stepped outside of her normal self and they're experiencing the inner image of themselves. They're apprehensive about what they're going to look like -- especially viewed in the collective. But by sharing that piece of themselves with other people, something very powerful happens when they watch the slides, which are projected very big and very dramatic to match the experience. What is the result of that? Nikpay: One thing that comes out, for example, which is really important, is that people realize age is a positive thing. Older women can project more. They have more inner self to project outward. That was a very interesting observation that younger people would tell the older people. It was really powerful for them to see how much a person can project their inner self, and the younger women realized they didn't have as much to project out. Normally in society, younger people have the advantage of being agile and physically fit, but in this class those beliefs become questioned naturally by just seeing what people project and what works and what doesn't. It's just a non-verbal observation. That collective observation becomes very transformative. It's a really hard one to express, because it's experiential. These are women from all walks of life. They are nurses, they work in an office, and they're not by any means used to being photographed. They're not models. Nikpay: No, and this is a very courageous experience for them to come here and engage in this sort of exploration of themselves. There are a lot of women who are greatly affected by the images they see in the media, to the point that they want to be thin and look like the women on TV or the movies or in advertisements. Nikpay: I've always been interested in photographing women in a way that goes beyond the social norm that you can see in medias, allowing them to find their own voice, as opposed to projecting something that is socially imposed or socially influenced. Do you find a lot of the women who come to your workshop have a negative view of their own image starting out? Nikpay: Not negative. They feel like there has to be other ways of expressing themselves, and they're curious about that, first of all. Like one woman told me, she said the reason she was here was because now that she is past 60, she is not being seen. Because of age, women feel like they're invisible. That goes back to the pressures of having the perfect body in this culture, which is so youth-oriented. This is a very non-verbal workshop, and my job is to be an artist. I'm not a therapist, so my job is really to get people inside their own head and let them express in a theatrical way what's inside -- and then, by watching it, they could make their own judgment of what it means to them in a group context. I allow people to explore and discuss and talk about how freeing it is to have a different perspective, seeing people for who they are as opposed to fitting into certain roles. So you're providing a procedure that allows people to see themselves as they really are. Nikpay: Exactly. First of all, trust is very important. I try to create a trusting environment where women can express their inner self, and I also guide them so they get to the inner space. Because I'm experienced as a photographer, I can get people to express a lot with the fabric. Do you encourage them as they're going along? Nikpay: Oh yeah! I work with them very closely. I'm really becoming a trusted mirror and then, they don't really know what to think or how it's going to turn out. But then once they see the slides, then they collectively form an opinion...and the collective viewing it is very uplifting. That's all I can say. It's people seeing other people taking a risk and stepping out of the familiar -- and everybody's doing that. That's really powerful, allowing other people in your space, in your mind and actually allowing others to view that. So if you set up this procedure differently, where you photographed each woman and then you had each woman sitting here looking at their own picture and didn't share it... Nikpay: It would be totally... They would not be able to see beyond their own perception of themselves. Nikpay: Exactly! And, looking at it as a small picture has a totally different impact than looking at it very large. The experience that the group has had together becomes very intense -- and the dignity of individual comes through very strongly, even though they're taking risks and experimenting with leaving the familiar and coming to unfamiliar territories. So yes, viewing it just individually in small pictures and just speaking to me about them is not the same thing as having a group reality. And, a lot of their judgments would probably still be there with themselves. Nikpay: Exactly! I found that they have to leave out the judgment, because the group almost does not allow that. I don't know why exactly. Somehow, this element of sharing makes people feel loyal toward one another and supportive and honored that they shared these images with each other, so they discourage it when people start nitpicking about themselves. Their voice doesn't have much room in this space. People start appreciating having the voice of the body being so dramatically presented, so that challenges the judgments and previous beliefs. How does the final product of what you've seen the woman experience differ from what you thought would happen at the very beginning when you got the idea to do this? Did you expect what happened? Nikpay: Well, I knew that there's something powerful about getting people to actually walk outside their familiar and entering the unfamiliar -- and I knew that the scale or size of the photo is important. But, until I taught the class with Compleat Scholar, which is offered through the University and I had 12 really great, curious students, I didn't realize how powerful the collective was. I knew that collectively viewing the images would be important, but it went beyond my expectation and way beyond everyone's expectation. That's what they said, that it "went beyond their expectation." So, then I realized the collective was a very important piece of the experience. Jila Nikpay will offer "The Body Image: An Exploration for Women" at her Minneapolis studio on consecutive Saturdays, April, 10, 17 and 24 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Call (612) 321-9858 for more information. For more information on Jila Nikpay, please visit www.jilanikpay.com Tim Miejan is editor of The EDGE. Contact him at (651) 578-8969 or e-mail editor@edgenews.com Copyright © 2004 Tim Miejan |
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April 2004 |
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