By Faith Gonia
Profoundly heartfelt, Nasha Faramarzian’s piece, Indifferent Affection, swept away the voters of Westmont’s Got Art show. The student art show took place in March, with winners announced on the third day of the display. Participants entered a variety of mediums—drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures—each which belonged to a specific category. Within each division contained awards for Judge’s Recognition and First/Second place. Unique in its deciding factors, one award stretched over the entire showcase. Whoever won the People’s Choice Award was determined by student and faculty votes.
Faramarzian, currently enrolled in both AP Art and Art 4, received the highest number of votes from the community. Her stunning piece possesses meaning far greater than the eye can see.
“This piece reflects a hardship my mom and I went through,” she explains, “As a child, my mother’s love language was never physical touch, she never knew how to show it. If I had a breakdown or even a bad day, I would never be hugged or comforted in that way.”
Faramarzian elaborates, highlighting the truly positive relationship between her and her mother: “Although my mom didn’t show me love through her touch, I never took it as she doesn’t love me. The reason I titled this piece ‘Indifferent Affection’ is because of that reason, my mom showed her love differently than other moms may have.”
Just as the inspiration behind her drawing is complex, the mood of her finished work evokes a sense of seriousness. Explains Faramarzian: “I love how I’m able to tell a story through my art and fully express myself without writing words down.”
To create Indifferent Affection took her around one and a half months. She used black paper to start, drawing with colored pencils only in the highlights; this technique contributes to the style of art with a singular light source and very high contrast, according to Faramarzian.
She extends her personal inspiration for the piece to those around her, writing, “I think this could bring comfort to others by showing that you may be loved differently. Not everyone expresses their love the same, and you should never compare your relationship to others.”
Earnestly, Faramarzian concludes, “I would be upset with my mom for not expressing love through physical touch, but I was just oblivious to her other ways of affection.”