The Inappropriate Use of Knowledge

About

Photographer Ara Koopelian approaches his work like a lyrical historian of another world, one created of a red-hot honey-coloured sky, engaging purposefully with politics and a desire for melancholic truth within the photographic arts. Each of his vignettes are structured as a lesson in history, touching on subjects like power, knowing, religion, mythology, wisdom, and the intertwining of erotica and knowledge.

“The Fucking Books,” a series of images, present a new take on the sensual in art, where a book, which could be any subject, has an affair with another of a completely different genre in many positions. This work stands aside from the rest as a sort of bookend to buttress the entirety of the collection. It is a fun and imaginative concoction that makes gestures to pornography in a catalog of different positions, its figures reminiscent of a “how to” sex book.

A striking closeup of a stack of pages entering into an open stack of another book's pages, “Into the Blue” is like a composition of delicate velvet drapery in a 15th century painting. It is enough that the rest of the exhibition is layered with symbols of the book of knowledge and captures the imagination, but the complexity the artist establishes in relationships between each photographic work is far from improvised. Each work introduces a unique composition that harmonizes with its twin neighbour, like sets of salt and pepper on a table, a diptych of flavours to be taken as one.

The despair of the “Coffin of Narratives” and “The Writer’s Trap” are a play on death and the futility of gaining knowledge, with the latter harking to the mundane dilemma of being a writer and establishing a storyline within one’s own world.

With a playful commitment to photographic storytelling, Koopelian uses titles and text that resonate with messages of hope, despair, and truth in art. On the content of this exhibition, he notes, “I wanted to say as much as possible with as little as possible, and thus, the symbol of the book was essential in the realization of this series. There is so much to read into a closed book, because we can’t help ourselves.”

The show runs from May 9th through May 25th, 2024, at Anselm Dastner Gallery in New York City.

There will be an opening reception on May 9th from 6-9pm and a closing reception on May 25th from 12-6pm.

Australian/American artist Ara Koopelian is a versatile photographer who has spent 21 years living and working in New York City. His dual cultural experience has deeply influenced his artistic vision, resulting in a unique blend of American and Australian perspectives in his work, and his photographs are prized for their evocative storytelling, rich visual narratives, and meticulous attention to detail.

With a career spanning many decades, Koopelian has exhibited extensively in both the United States and Australia. His work has been featured in prestigious galleries, museums, and art fairs in cities including New York City, Sydney, and Melbourne, and he has a show planned for London in 2025. Koopelian has been collected by state galleries as well as private collectors worldwide and is known for his ability to poignantly capture the essence of urban landscapes, cultural nuances, and human emotions through the lens.

Ara Koopelian employs a range of techniques in his photography, dipping into styles spanning from documentary and street to conceptual and fine art photography, mixing his love of painting with the photographic image. Koopelian’s vast portfolio reflects a deep exploration of themes such as identity, environment, still life, and the human body and often challenges viewers to reconsider their perceptions of the world around them.