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INTERVIEW with
Abigail Doan:
EDUCATION:
Purchase College, SUNY, Purchase, NY, BFA, summa cum laude, 1989
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, undergraduate coursework,
1984
Additional coursework at The Center for Book Arts and Dieu Donne
Papermill, New York, NY

A design suggested by my
American artist friend, Abigail Doan. I used local red earth pigment to
paint her 'swallows' image on the rocks of Hormoz.
What is your impression about this
festival?
I feel
that this festival was important to participate in regardless of the
international exposure that it gets initially. It is vitally important
for Americans and Iranians to become more sensitive towards each other's
cultures and environmental issues. Why not highlight the things that
unite us rather than divide us? Artists must work towards
building up what the media and our geo-political agendas seem dead set
on destroying. I chose to participate in this festival as I respect
Ahmad Nadalian as an artist and his efforts and work, first and
foremost. I also admire the spirit and goodwill of his students. For me
this was a chance to connect with like-minded people, regardless of
locale. I also trusted them to follow out my design suggestions without
my even being there. This was a rare occasion for our two cultures to
become one.
What is
the impact of war on environment?
Total devastation of surroundings, spirit, and
outlook. It takes years to recuperate from the damage created. War also
keeps us from seeing the world as a linked ecosystem, as the acquisition
of prized territory becomes the end goal. War prevents us from dreaming
about or realizing paradise on earth, a conversation that Dr. Nadalian
and I have had in the past.
What we
environmental artist can do for global peace?
Be humble, sensitive to new opportunities for
collaboration, and share our visions openly. Being an environmental
artist is no longer about site-specificity, for example, but rather
about acting in unison and trying to interpret the fragility of a region
that might be foreign to you. It is the "foreign" that needs to become
"familiar" and as cherished and protected as our own backyard.
neighborhood, or village.

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