Maryam Hajouni
maryamh@bgsu.edu
Hidden inside each and every individual are emotional states that are not revealed due to the nature of emotion, the environment the person is situated in, social and political limitations, and the intensity of the inner emotion. Emotions can be complicated or simple, but it is important that they become revealed and spoken about rather than trapped inside. Unless people are able to speak about their emotions, they will not be able to feel the gratification of freedom and inner peace. The inner self is built upon the basic human need to communicate. To achieve true happiness, people must be able to reveal the hidden world inside of them and speak about the emotions that affect them.
My ultimate goal is to make art and animation that entices people to reveal the positive emotions inside of them and smile. I strive to accomplish this goal by focusing on the concept of “fun” as one of the basic elements in my work. This does not mean that I attempt to make my artworks funny neither that it means I would avoid trying to make them funny! For instance, in my recent animation the main character is introverted and shy. When she is alone, her fantasies and quest to be happy comes true as she dances with the objects in the room.
In this animation the main concept revolves around inner struggles. It’s about a girl’s fantasy world in which she tries to find herself. For the whole purpose of viewers being able to connect as much as possible to the character, I made the ending realistic and not dramatic. In spite of what we’re familiar with in most of recent Hollywood productions, in the end the character is not changed completely. She’s changed as much as the viewer can accept it and therefore can relate to it.
I come from Iran, a country where because of the social, political, economic pressure; people have not felt the emotional freedom for so long. It has been so long since they were able to emotionally express themselves that most of them have forgotten how to laugh and enjoy life as it exhausting as it might be. Because they are seriously concerned about the social and political environment that they live in, it is hard for them to talk about their feelings and emotions. In such environment there is so much to think about, things that are assumed more important than emotions, that they no more think about expressing themselves. And this makes them become more and more isolated and complicated. This is not limited to my homeland of Iran, but also extends to many other countries around the world. As the chaos in the world increases, I see myself responsible for helping people deal with the situation by reminding them of the happiness and other positive emotions inside of them. That’s why unconsciously I avoid complexity in my works and try to make as simple as possible.
Many people would say that their childhood was the most influential period of their life. My personality and ideologies were formed during my youth and as I grew older, my ideals evolved based on this initial foundation. My artwork is focused on brightening the lives of children, by engaging their imagination and creating a fantasy world for them. By enabling children to escape the real world, even if only for a moment, I can help them realize the real world isn’t the only world they have to live in. I want children to realize that there are many worlds available to them- as many as their imagination is able to create. Knowing this will help them gain the strength, confidence and the power to deal with the complexities of their lives. My goal is to open windows for them to view various aspects of life, possibly more beautiful and more mysterious than their own. I hope to trigger their imagination so that they can live freer and embrace creativity in their lives. Therefore all of my work targets children as the primary audience.
I chose to work with illustration and animation because I believe that audiences are able to quickly and easily relate to the work and they are less intimidated by it. I am very interested in character design as it relates to animation and illustration. I would like to create characters that the viewer is easily able to connect with. I want the viewer to feel no fear in putting themselves in the place of the characters I design. The characters I aim to design often have hidden whimsical emotions and personalities that enable the viewer to laugh with them, cry with them and feel sympathy for them.
