How an Iranian-American physics professor turned science, geometry, and Persian heritage into a distinctive artistic language.
In 2004, Mohsen Janatpour was featured in The Daily Star in an article exploring the unusual connection between his scientific background and his work as an artist.
Written by Brooke Anderson, Special to The Daily Star, the feature, titled “Art, science meet in a brush stroke,” introduced readers to Janatpour’s distinctive artistic concept, Symvisio.
What Is Symvisio?
Janatpour developed Symvisio as a visual approach based on the idea of emergent properties, where individual elements come together to create something greater than the parts themselves. His works combine multiple panels, precise geometric forms, symbolism, and layered concepts. His background in physics, mathematics, and astronomy plays an important role in the structure and ideas behind his paintings.
Rather than simply illustrating scientific concepts, Janatpour uses them as a starting point for exploring deeper questions about time, reality, perception, and existence.
Where Science Meets Persian Heritage Janatpour’s art is also deeply connected to his Iranian heritage.
The poetry of Omar Khayyam and Jalal al-Din Rumi influenced his thinking, particularly around themes of time, spirituality, humanity, and the meaning of existence.
These influences appear through metaphors and symbolism throughout his work.
For Janatpour, metaphor is central to art.
A scientific idea, geometric form, Persian poetic reference, or everyday symbol can become part of a larger visual composition.
Two Paintings Featured in The Daily Star
The 2004 article highlighted two of Janatpour’s 1998 oil paintings:
Plenum of the Mind and the Cornucopia of Reality
1998 | Oil on Canvas
A work exploring the relationship between implicit and explicit order, reflecting Janatpour’s interest in structure and the organization of visual elements.
Music of the Spheres – Monsters and Maidens
1998 | Oil on Canvas
Another example of Janatpour’s use of symbolism, geometry, and layered visual ideas.
A Feature That Documented an Unusual Artistic Journey At the time of the article, Janatpour had already been exhibiting his artwork publicly since 1995. His work had attracted audiences beyond traditional art circles, including interest from colleagues and academics at the College of San Mateo.
The Daily Star feature captured what made his artistic approach distinctive: the meeting of science, mathematics, culture, philosophy, and visual expression on the canvas.
More than two decades later, the article remains a meaningful record of an important chapter in Janatpour’s artistic journey.
Original Feature Credit
“Art, science meet in a brush stroke”
Author: Brooke Anderson, Special to The Daily Star
Publication: The Daily Star
Year: 2004
This article is an original editorial adaptation based on the 2004 newspaper feature. All credit for the original reporting belongs to The Daily Star and Brooke Anderson.