This text is a part of Hyperallergic’s 2024 Satisfaction Month sequence, that includes interviews with art-world queer and trans elders all through June.
Nishan Kazazian has been a part of my life in some kind since I arrived in New York Metropolis roughly 25 years in the past. He’s a uncommon older homosexual SWANA American who has saved his connections to varied communities, whether or not ethnic, cultural, or sexual, and embraced the generally irritating realities of that lived complexity.
An artist, architect, and designer, Kazazian’s life in Beirut earlier than the Civil Conflict was wealthy. He was even taught as a toddler by famend artist Paul Guiragossian, who was one in every of his grade college artwork academics. Once I requested him about that have, he joked that every one the aged artist did was sit within the classroom and let the scholars do what they needed, so Nishan did precisely that, and has executed so ever since.
Throughout these youth, he not solely created summary artwork that was exhibited at distinguished venues within the nation, together with the Sursock Museum, however he would interview older Lebanese Armenian artisans about their lives and cultural traditions pre-Armenian Genocide, educate artwork to incarcerated younger girls in Beirut, and a lot extra. His polyglot follow was on full show earlier than he even left Lebanon.
In New York, the place he ultimately settled after Lebanon, Kazazian’s follow turned to be extra research-based, and his paper structure, although someday I hope a few of these can be constructed, has flourished to include his reflection on migration, diaspora, trauma, violence, and dialogue. As an artist, he’s focused on layering and complexity, creating objects that shrink back from focal factors, preferring to linger on the methods types and planes match collectively, even when awkwardly, an apt metaphor for displacement and discovering house.
Amongst his achievements, Nishan has constructed a house in New York along with his accomplice, Jack Drescher, a distinguished psychoanalyst identified for his work on sexual orientation and gender id. I’ve had the great fortune of being in his orbit, studying from him in regards to the layers of id that we regularly wrestle with and the impacts these can have on our lives, relationships, and work. I needed to honor Nishan’s contributions to my life and communities with this profile, and he was type sufficient to share his solutions with us.
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Hyperallergic: When did you come out?
Nishan Kazazian: First, I wish to thanks and Hyperallergic for pondering of me and together with me. As you recognize, initially, I mentioned no, however then I considered it and determined to say sure. The explanation I first mentioned no was that I by no means needed to be categorized or labeled primarily based on my sexuality or age. Nonetheless, I’m conscious that, now greater than ever, to be able to “belong” or be seen or be taken “significantly,” one has to suit right into a class. Instances have modified and categorizing has develop into the norm.
When it comes to my sexuality, I used to be by no means “within the closet,” so I didn’t should “come out.” My grownup sexual id was all the time a form of delicate negotiation, relying on place and time — testing the waters, contemplating individuals’s taboos and biases, and making them perceive who I used to be. Some selected to disregard the indicators; some selected to embrace them; some had been in denial; and a few had been outraged. By the way, straight males have all the time been my greatest mates, significantly those that had been safe of their sexuality or those that had an in depth member of the family or one other good buddy who was homosexual.
Additional, within the late seventies after I had utilized to remain within the US after graduate college at Columbia College, the immigration and naturalization service would reject an individual’s software in the event that they had been brazenly out, so navigating these waters was essential.
H: Has the artwork neighborhood felt open to you? Have you ever discovered it accepting?
NZ: Being born in Beirut and having lived in Europe after which most of my life in New York Metropolis, the acceptance I’ve skilled has diverse and shifted over time and place. I don’t suppose my sexuality has had any impression on my discovering acceptance in an inventive circle, at the very least not that I’m conscious of. Nonetheless, my artwork and structure practices have performed a task wherein circles I discover extra acceptance. I’ve been informed overtly by one facet, “However you might be an architect,” and by the architectural facet, “You’re extra an artist,” though I’m a New York State licensed architect and most of my training was in wonderful arts. A few of this might be the results of a number of underlying elements.
I can consider one incident that captures this dilemma. I keep in mind a gallery proprietor who admired my work, but saying, “However why are you doing artwork? You make more cash doing structure. Apart from, my purchasers won’t need to purchase artwork created by an architect.” So, figuring out myself has been an ongoing means of making an attempt to not be boxed in by others. In my life, I’ve all the time needed to keep away from that and create issues exterior the field.
H: Who do you contemplate your mentors? Did you might have queer mentors while you wanted them?
NZ: First, my maternal grandmother. My grandmother’s tales as a younger youngster had been profoundly influential. I keep in mind her telling Armenian fairy tales about kings and queens, good and evil, palaces, desires, and miracles. The Good all the time triumphed in the long run, and each one in every of her tales concluded with, “and three apples fell from the sky, one for you, one for me, and one for the storyteller.”
Second, Dr. Harry Van Mierlo, who got here from a distinguished Dutch household that resisted the Nazis throughout World Conflict II, considerably affected my life. His encounters, resistance, resilience, challenges, and braveness had been inspiring. He was in Beirut at Haigazian College, educating psychology whereas serving to Palestinian refugees and, by his worldwide connections, additionally saving Jewish lives in Iraq. His philosophical way of living and wars, in addition to his ebook “Energy and Manipulation” about world politics, profoundly formed my understanding of how issues actually work.
Third, Prof. Arthur Frick, an artwork trainer on the American College of Beirut. Frick, my artwork trainer, had a captivating journey, from service within the US Military in Japan to turning into an artist and artwork trainer. Past his strategy to artwork — and my artworks specifically — he typically expressed remorse about not having develop into an architect. His mentorship influenced me to pursue structure, guaranteeing that I might not have related regrets.
Fourth, Prof. Invoice Mahoney at Instructor’s Faculty, Columbia College. Prof. Mahoney, whose ceramics items and discussions about artwork, ceramics, and structure had been immensely precious, additionally regretted not turning into an architect. He too strengthened my choice to check structure, to combine artwork and structure in public areas and to keep away from future regrets, regardless of how profitable I used to be in my paintings.
Fifth, Professor Klaus Herdeg at Columbia College’s GSAPP, whose analysis and documentation of Indian stepwells and Islamic structure in Isfahan, Iran, inspired me to do my thesis mission on New Julfa, Isfahan. Beneath his mentorship, I built-in the cultural and social components influencing Center Japanese and Western approaches in structure. From him I realized that concepts “journey” and diffuse into new meanings and types.
And concerning Queer Mentors. No, I didn’t particularly have queer mentors that I recall. Nonetheless, I did have homosexual mates with whom there have been supportive interactions. In hindsight, maybe I by no means needed a mentor of any type. I most well-liked to listen to tales from individuals, whether or not homosexual or straight, men and women and take from their narratives what I discovered helpful by way of the place I needed to go.
H: How, if in any respect, does your id issue into your work? How would you describe the function it performs?
NZ: I grew up in a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multilingual Beirut, surrounded by an beautiful topography of mountains and sea, with layers upon layers of archaeology, in addition to fashionable structure and facilities. Since 1973, I’ve lived in NYC and, for some time, in Boston.
I additionally grew up in a household in an space populated by Armenian Genocide survivors, with most of my prolonged household scattered around the globe. Witnessing Their resilience, endurance, adaptability and inventiveness taught me to by no means hand over. Actually, one in every of my earliest works, whereas I used to be nonetheless in highschool in Beirut, was titled “Doomsday, Diaspora and Rejuvenation.” It was exhibited in a juried present on the Salon d’Automne on the Sursock Museum in 1968 and, wanting again, I imagine that early work predicted the trail I charted.
Since my highschool years, my paintings has all the time mirrored themes of separation and connection, belonging and never belonging, and the will to belong. But, I additionally needed to be totally different, to do issues otherwise. This has been true since my early days in highschool, by faculty, and ever since.
As well as, I establish as a minority inside a minority on a number of ranges. I’m Lebanese-Armenian-American, homosexual. I reside in New York with a distinguished Jewish psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Dr. Jack Drescher, whose worldwide contributions on gender and sexuality have profoundly formed up to date understanding and acceptance. I’ve been impressed to embrace and combine the various views of all these layers into my work.
My multi-layered exposures and experiences have fostered a sure id expressed by and in my works. Creating these works has helped me navigate the curler coaster of life, remodeling life expertise into artwork, experimental structure, and imagined futures.
H: What’s a queer paintings that’s essential to you?
NZ: I’m an incredible admirer of the work of Keith Haring who was identified for his beneficiant contributions to public areas. I personally witnessed him portray in subway stations, automobiles, and numerous different areas. Along with his daring, energetic traces and vibrant colours, he aimed to problem societal norms and promote inclusivity. He additionally demonstrated a outstanding and admirable disregard for monetary achieve, as a substitute specializing in enriching communal environments. His transformative artwork turned bleak areas into vibrant celebrations, leaving a permanent legacy of creativity and altruism.
I additionally admire Frida Kahlo; Her bisexuality, her exploring themes of id, gender, and sexuality, alongside her unwavering resilience in confronting her well being challenges. All of that is evident in her dedication to color regardless of HER bodily limitations, as she remodeled her ache into highly effective expressions of artwork.
As a licensed and practising architect, I discover Philip Johnson’s iconic Glass Home to be a compelling metaphor for openness and visibility, embodying his revolutionary design philosophy and spatial ideas.
One other supply of inspiration for me has been Sergei Parajanov, the Soviet Armenian-Georgian artist and filmmaker. His motion pictures eloquently painting the various cultures of the Caucasus, encompassing Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, Russian, and Ukrainian heritages. Regardless of going through challenges stemming from his sexuality, Parajanov’s unwavering dedication and resilience are evident in his work. By way of intricate tableaux of historical past, archaeology, and intercultural narratives, his movies weave collectively visible poetry that evokes deep emotional and cultural resonance.
H: What does Satisfaction Month imply to you?
NZ: Satisfaction Month means celebrating variety and solidarity with deprived and unvoiced communities, acknowledging how far we’ve come, and recognizing the journey that also lies forward.
H: What are you engaged on now?
NZ: I’m at the moment engaged on a number of artworks in acrylic and sustainable wooden veneer constructions. Moreover, my most pleasing works are sometimes the results of unintended outcomes, similar to my current Plexiglass and acrylic paint construction, “Transient Shadows: Unyielding and Defiant,” and a sustainable wooden building titled “Revamping Misplaced Horizons.”
I’m additionally finishing an revolutionary architectural set up referred to as the “Different Zoo.” This mission makes use of Wi-Fi, drones, and cameras to mission reside imagery from native habitats onto site-specific architectural types. The Different Zoo goals to keep away from the outdated cruelty inherent in conventional zoos by offering a humane and immersive expertise.
For me, it isn’t about reiterating messages we’re already conscious of, similar to “Icebergs are melting,” neither is it merely about aesthetics. It’s about taking it to a different stage—The work is about integrating expertise, imagining materiality, utilizing AI as a instrument reasonably than an finish, and creating works that function catalysts to handle our existential challenges.
H: Do you’re feeling linked to approaching queer artists and paintings?
NZ: I hardly ever view an paintings by the lens of it being “queer.” I desire to judge A bit primarily based by itself intrinsic qualities and my private connection to it. If I study that an artist identifies as queer they usually explicitly state this of their work, then I make an effort to know the context, background, and motivations behind their artwork. This deeper understanding helps me recognize the distinctive views and experiences that inform their creations, however my main focus stays on the artwork itself and the way it resonates with me on a private stage.