Interview with Artist Arbe Bareis-Moyyad
Arbe Bareis-Moyyad
Interview with Charge Magazine, 2022
Arbe Bareis-Moyyad, Ed-na, Oil on Clayboard
CHARGE MAGAZINE: Hi, Arbe, thanks so much for taking the time to talk! The pieces in this collection focus on portraiture; a single figure centered against a generally solid background, and - for the most part - facing the viewer directly. What is it about portraits that captures your imagination? Do you see portraiture as a vehicle for realism, or for something beyond?
Archie’s Rogaine Alternative, Oil on Clayboard
ARBE BAREIS-MOYYAD: Only a couple of the bust and head paintings are actual portraits of real people. The others are characterizations of imagined people whose plausible life experiences and states of thought render them as part of a collective consciousness. Portraiture can certainly be seen as a vehicle for realism (whatever that is), but portraiture as an art form is not something that I am interested in for my own work. Occasionally I engage models, draw them accurately as possible, and when I use the drawing as a model for a painting, I alter their features, hair coloring, expression etc. to suit the mood that I am trying to create and bring out an inner life that I imagine. Other times I make up individuals to suit my artistic visions and whims. For me, it is never about reality, it is about mood and mindful representation.
CM: When I encounter these portraits, I am caught by the eyes of the subjects. They feel exposed, naked, unveiled. They appear both vulnerable and fearless; revealing everything and doing so without shame or reserve. Is there a specific feature that draws your attention when you approach a subject?
The Sitter as Rembrandt, Oil on Clayboard
AB-M: As the old adage goes, “the eyes are the windows to the soul.” That may or may not be true, but eyes can be mesmerizing, haunting, and seemingly revealing. They can charm, deceive, and manipulate as well as indicate fear, willingness, flirtatiousness, and sadness – a myriad of emotions.
All of my paintings, whether still life, landscape, bird paintings, or figurative works, are all subtle dramas within their own worlds. I believe we create our own world, which is a combination of the mundane, the magical, the mystical, and the mysterious. We often don’t understand our world and our role in it. It is through painting that I try to gain a greater understanding of my own psyche and my place in the world.
CM: Through the act of creation, we approach understanding, not only of others, but of ourselves. When we speak of unveiling, we might imagine layers being pulled back; layers of untruth, of pretense, of ideology, of projection; layers of social expectation, of insecurity. So many layers lie between us and others, between ourselves and the world, between what we see and what we understand. What do you feel is the relationship between art and unveiling?
The Long Reflection, Oil on Clayboard
AB-M: I believe we are characters in a huge play. I love the word, “dramedy,” because our lives are a combination of discontent, harmony, boredom, excitement, mystery, and the unknown. Through fully braving all that life has to offer it is my view that we develop as souls within the collective consciousness. This is my personal view of truth as opposed to dogma.
CM: I love that idea of taking all that life offers- all of it- and using it as the catalyst for transformation; that all experiences, be they mundane, traumatic, ecstatic, or confusing, can transfigure. Before we go, Arbe, talk to us about what most excites you at the moment?
The Pragmatist, Oil on Clayboard
AB-M: There are so many things I am interested in. I am currently loving the books of Amor Towles and Colm Tóibín. I loved reading A Gentleman in Moscow and Rules of Civility recently by Towles, as well as The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. I just finished reading The Magician and am currently reading The Master by Colm Tóibín.
I am always listening to historical opera, symphony, and piano recordings. I love movies of all eras, and television series’ which are a wonderful way to relax in the evening when I am too exhausted to do anything else.
I love looking at artists from all periods and seeing new work on Instagram of the greatest artists of our day. I find inspiration in these creative people. They inspire me to do my best. They leave me utterly amazed in this age of chaos (what age has not been chaotic?).
A Different Aesthetic, Oil on Clayboard
Most of all, I find great satisfaction in seeing the artistic promise of my students and helping to peel back their layers of self-perception to reveal the potential that is within them.
Arbe Bareis-Moyyad was born in Ottumwa, Iowa and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he attended Coe College. In 1982 he moved to NYC where his career path was successfully diverse. When he contemplated a career change prior to his moving back to Iowa in 2002, he determined that what he wanted to be a professor of art at Kirkwood Community College, a wish fulfilled. Arbe received an MFA from the University of Iowa in 2005 and has been at Kirkwood ever since. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally, but his greatest satisfaction is seeing the growth in his students, both as artists and as human beings. He divides his time between Ottumwa, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.