D’Ara Nazaryan
The SEEN series highlights various guests, diving into the ways they have discovered themselves through reading. What stories shaped them? Helped them define their own? These intimate interviews seek to celebrate their discoveries, hear what they’ve learned from their favorite works, and uncover a glimpse of their interior world through the books that have changed them.
D’Ara Nazaryan is not one for small talk. Upon meeting her, you’ll find that her calm and confident presence makes way for deep conversation and intimate connection. Born and raised in Los Angeles, D’Ara followed her childhood love for drawing and is now a sought-after multidimensional artist known for her warm, joyful portraits of female empowerment, especially those of women of color. But, despite her passion linking with her work, she understands the importance of re-negotiating boundaries. How, although her artwork may be defined by her experiences, her work alone does not define her.
Below, D’Ara shares how moving slowly is the key to being present, the book that was a salve in her early 20s, and why she’s relinquishing perfection.
What is your name?
D’Ara Lauren Nazaryan. To cause discord apparently lol. My mom got creative with my name and my aunt got even more creative with the spelling. My dad calls me by my middle name. He and my mom still don’t see eye to eye on how they want Lauren pronounced. It’s essentially a hassle everywhere I go but I love it.
Where are you from?
It always shocks people when I say this, but I’m from Los Angeles. I was born at Cedars, got shuffled through LAUSD. I grew up between my mom’s in Mid City and my dad’s in North Hollywood. I guess people assume everyone here is a transplant — which my parents are, funny enough. My mom moved here from Minnesota and my dad from Armenia both in their late teens.
Who are you?
I try to just think of myself as a spirit having a human experience. Keeping that perspective allows for this wild ride to be a little more digestible. As for what I do, I’m a multidisciplinary artist and illustrator. I used to think that you should create a distinction between your identity and your work, yet it's hard for me to separate myself completely from what I do as I’ve made it an objective to do what I love. I get to be able to create and put things out that represent where I am through various states of my life. There can be both an incredible flow and conflict when your work feels so deeply tied to your life’s purpose, but I’m doing my best to strike a happy medium, one that lets me be vulnerable without tying all my worth to what I do.
How is your time spent offline?
Falling back in love with being curious. Finding ways to be creative that aren’t attached to a client or a brief. Allowing myself to be a student again and learn something new, even if I’ll never pick it up again, even if it’ll never make me a dime. Other than that, vintage furniture shopping and wining and dining.
What helps you stay present?
Moving as slowly as possible, which is hard for me because that’s not how my brain works. My thoughts are often scattered and layered. I’m focusing and doing multiple things at once but I find that if I slow down everything gets done just as well but with less anxiety. Also separating from social media. It’s ironic because I’m so reliant on it for work, but I don’t want to spend more time worrying about what my life looks like than I do actually living it. I want a life that not only looks beautiful but feels it as well. One thats validity doesn’t rely solely on being documented and dispersed.
What’s your favorite way to connect with others?
I like small intimate settings the most — I think I shine one-on-one. I’m learning to take space unapologetically, but in a room full of people I tend to be more reserved and just observe. Small talk makes me feel so awkward. And maybe that means I’m not good at it but maybe it means I’d rather skip to the good part, let’s REALLY get to know each other. One thing about me, I genuinely like to ask a lot of questions and get to the heart of things.
I played this game with some girlfriends back when we were all still getting to know each other. We all wrote down a couple adjectives we attributed to ourselves and each other and went around and shared them. It was really touching for us to see ourselves through each other's eyes. I think sometimes things like that feel silly or we can feel so much discomfort in vulnerability. There’s so much to gain on the other end of just letting your guard down, and I think that moment really solidified our friendship.
With all this being said, it’s impossible to connect without being committed to the time that’s being shared. I do my best to stay clear of my phone, especially if I’m just getting to know someone. Time is an investment, attention is our biggest currency. When someone takes out their phone instead of doing the work to try and genuinely connect, what it communicates to the other person is that you don't value their investment. It’s something we all do, but I try my best to avoid making anyone feel that way.
Your work seems to be everywhere recently – Twitter, Sephora, Teen Vogue, the list goes on. All of which portray joyful, vibrant, and empowering illustrations of women of color. How did you land on your distinct style?
It’s been a journey! I think I was lucky enough to have parents who didn’t discourage me from pursuing the arts. From a young age, I was empowered by seeing my mom work in fashion. It allowed me to see that it was possible to have a viable life doing what I loved the most. As a kid I remember filling notebooks drawing pictures of me and friends. In a funny way, what I do now is all an extension of what brought me joy as a child. And that makes me really happy that in someways I got to hold onto those parts of me. I think my style has evolved over the years. You keep playing and imitating until you find something that clicks. But there was definitely a point where I made a conscious effort to draw WOC specifically. I wanted to see myself and the women in my life in my work because I for sure wasn’t seeing us in anyone else's. I think now we have so many incredible artists championing diversity in their illustrations but it didn't feel like that a couple years ago, much less when I first started working. I just started making what I felt like I wanted to see in the world and went from there.
What project are you the most proud of?
I think my Breonna Taylor posters were the most meaningful to me. It’s hard to put into words all that I was feeling at the time. I’m sure there are people who have done a more eloquent job communicating our collective heartbreak over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. It was hard for me to even know exactly how I felt at the time, but looking back I think I was mentally and emotionally at an extreme low. Especially with the sudden demand for Black talent, it felt like corporations were trying to siphon my lived experience for their own personal gain. It took so much out of me. But this particular commission felt much different. There was no brief; the company didn't even make me throw their name on it! They gave me multiple spaces across the city to express myself and how I was feeling at the time. It was one of the few times that year I felt like there wasn’t an agenda or motive behind the hire. To that, I’ll say thank you to Christina Topacio for always moving with intention and leading community first initiatives.
Aside from work, what brings you the most excitement?
Experiencing beauty, sharing moments with people I love, adventuring to new places. I’ve been feeling a little overstimulated and burned out recently, so taking pleasure in moving as slow as possible.
What book has made you feel the most seen? Why?
Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou. I read it in my early twenties while away from home for a couple of months. At the time, I felt a bit estranged from my own mother. To be quite honest, I probably wasn’t very tethered to myself either. I was looking for something to fill the gap I didn’t even know was fully there. I just remember this book feeling like a salve at the time.
What is a quote from a book that you find yourself returning to?
“For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.” ―Khalil Gibran, The Prophet
What cause or organization do you wish others would read up on?
I’d like for us to be better versed in the actual history of our country and how it’s made a practice of disenfranchising so many of its inhabitants over time. I’m really thankful to my mom for taking the time to supplement my education growing up. It was so annoying but she’d always make me do extra book reports outside of school, especially around Black history month. She knew my curriculum wasn’t going to give me a proper and complete look at what we’d been through as a culture in this country and she made it her mission to make sure I was as informed as I could be from a young age. I purchased Lies My Teacher Told Me after [Jordan] posted it. It’s been keeping my bedside table warm for a little bit, but I hope to dive into it soon!
What lights you up?
Unconditional love. Knowing I’m safe to be my 150% self with someone.
What do you hope other people see in you?
Someone who is doing the best with all they’ve been afforded. I hope that anyone in my life feels like I’m someone who can hold space for them without judgment.
Qualities you value in yourself?
My calmness — I really appreciate my ability to move through certain situations with ease and let most things roll off my back. My curiosity. My ambition.
Author or fictional character you’d invite to your dream dinner party?
What was the last book you gifted? To whom?
Kara Walker: A Black Hole Is Everything a Star Longs to Be. To someone very dear to me.
What book do you think could change the world if every person read it?
Joe Dispenza’s Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself was a wild one for me. So many bits of our personality are just hard wired into us. The thought of being able to consciously reconstruct the way your mind works to affect your external world is fascinating to me. I love things that bridge the gaps between science and spirituality. Honestly, I should probably read it again.
If you could go back in time and give younger D’Ara a book that you’ve read more recently, what would it be?
Self Love Poetry: For Thinkers & Feelers by Melody Godfred. I read it in bits because every poem is so impactful, it can be a lot to take in at once. Every time I post a passage, so many people resonate with it. I’ve had friends come over, open it up and immediately tear up. It was gifted to me by my good friend Clark Backo for who I am forever grateful.
Favorite independent bookstore?
Where can people find you?
@dara.nazaryan, www.daranazaryan.com. See you on the internet <3
Photos by Jordan Santos / Intro by Halleta Alemu