Mesbah Prosser’s Art

By Diane Findlay, submitted July 2023

Mesbah, son of Al & Taraneh Prosser, is a 31 year old Bahá’í artist who lived in West Des Moines, Iowa from 1997 until 2022, when his family moved to Texas. Mesbah was diagnosed with autism at age four. By age 7, he showed signs of remarkable artistic talent, cutting intricately detailed train shapes from paper, drawing, and painting. He had a piece of art in the Des Moines Art Festival in 4th grade, had art in shows in High School, and his first personal show in 2015. His 9th grade teacher, Emily Johnson, recognized his talent and encouraged his pursuit of art. He took art classes throughout High School and at the Des Moines Art Center for several years. He was in several art shows a year from 2015 until 2021.

According to a brief biography on the Light in the Lamp website at www.lightinthelamparts.com/mesbah.html, “Mesbah has an impressionist style; he draws what he feels more than what he sees. This is particularly evident in his choices of colors. He is intense about putting in details, but then splashes or swipes color across the scene. Mesbah draws freehand, he sometimes paints without drawing first, and often from memory.”

In addition to taking classes at Des Moines Art Center, Mesbah had help developing his art from Tom Murphy at Valley High School and Concetta Morales, as well as his mom Taraneh and Margey Davis. A prolific painter, Mesbah has exhibited work at many community galleries, art fairs, and other venues. You can learn more about Mesbah and see examples of his work on the website linked above or his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/mesbahprosser.

Mesbah’s work is evocative and beautiful. Of particular interest to Bahá’ís are his paintings of Bahá’í Houses of Worship or shrines, some of which I’ve added here.