“One day, an artist was born in the city and the city started giving meaning to the fact that the artist had been born because each new resident gave something to the city.”
An illustrated book/album dedicated to Armenian avant-garde art and sculpture of the totalitarianism era was published recently and it not only consists of the collections of Armenian artists, but also essays about Armenian artists and the analysis of the life and atmosphere of Armenian artists of the 1960s. The essays are totally based on the authors’ outlooks and analyses. It took a couple of years before the book was published because philosopher and expert in cultural studies Ruben Angaladyan had tried to systemize and present the role of each creator in the world of art. This book is the proof of the connection between the Artist and the City and the influence that each one has on the other. The city nourishes us and reminds us of an outlook; the city, which we are all used to considering our home.
“Yerevan took on the image of a city with an artistic atmosphere and the capital of Armenia in the 1960s and the artists of Yerevan started to think and create starting from that period. That’s when the atmosphere of freedom was formed and real competition began. Yerevan was teaching and learning at the same time and the outlook of each artist was what enriched the city,” writes Ruben Angaladyan.
It was during those years that brilliant artists with many styles came into the light thanks to the formation of the cultural atmosphere of freedom and fragility. According to R. Angaladyan, the phenomenon of Armenian art came into the light during that decade and that phenomenon was both freshness and a synthesis. All 15 artists mentioned were young, romantic artists living in 1960s Yerevan. Ruben Angaladyan has refrained from expressing his own likes and dislikes while presenting the artists. The important thing in the book is not to have an emotional influence on the reader, but rather the influence that the artist could have had on the environment and other creators, as well as the creators of the next generation.
“Art itself is a big system. Man always has that system and the harmony inside. Great creators are able to get that harmony out of the person’s inside. The genius doesn’t just write a couple of poems or paint some paintings; he also creates a way of thinking. Outbursts often remain outbursts; they come and go and don’t leave a trace in the hearts of creators.”
Each artist isn’t discovered simply by the 10 pages of paintings in the book, but also the characteristic and unexpected black/white photographs through which he creates an image.
First, we have dreamy and delicate Vruyr Galstyan, who has always loved to create masks. Then we have Onik Minasyan with his lace mosaics and delicate frescos. Ashot Hovhannisyan (Peach Ashot), Ruben Adalyan, the accepted and beloved Minas Avetisyan with his bright and dramatic paintings also come into the light. The book also includes Armenian American sculptor Yervand Khojabashyan- known for his style-great patriot and artist with the desire to search Armenian symbols in art Seyran Khatlamajyan, Canadian Armenian sculptor Martin Petrosyan, the not too stylish sculptor Yuri Petrosyan, poetic and chivalrous Ara Shiraz, the elegant, vivid Robert Elibekyan, Henrik Elibekyan, who goes against the world, the nervous and easily frustrated painter Edward Kharazyan and sculptor Arto Chakmakchyan, who can simply go along with the changes of time.
Sergey Parajanov is also included in the book, despite the fact that his painting career didn’t begin in Yerevan. But he has had a major influence on the city and the artists of the city.
Each painter has his perspective, style and tone. All the artists have created a harmonious image, which must be preserved and transferred to the creators of the new generation because artists remain artists for all times.
The book ends with the essay written by founder of the Contemporary Art Museum Henrik Igityan.
“He created a museum. For the first time in Armenian history, Armenian contemporary artists have the chance to hang their paintings on the walls of the museum and show everyone that they have samples of their paintings. That was the mentality of artists in 1960s Armenia. The contemporary art museum was not created based on the feeling of owing something, but rather for the love of it,” says R. Angaladyan.
All artists have worked differently and have reached success in different ways. There have always been different groups of artists, however in this book the author has refrained from rating this or that artist. The only purpose of this book is to discover and present the artist and it has been done very poetically and professionally.
“I am neither against nor in favor of any artist. I am simply an individual, who is interested in art. I myself have a personal opinion about each artist presented in the book, but I know very well that nobody has the right to do away with the road that the artists have crossed and the years that they have spent creating. If you want to show the period, you have to show it completely,” says R. Angaladyan.
By tying time, the city and art together, we get an image of the portrait of an entire generation of artists. A portrait that makes us feel proud and allows us to free ourselves from, as R. Angaladyan’s calls it, “national short-sightedness”.
“Good and evil are always equivalent for the creator and have the same value. Culture can’t develop when there is aggression, like patriotism in the content of art,” writes Ruben Angaladyan.
Armenians need to create an objective outlook towards culture; an outlook, which will help them understand the experience and richness of the intellectuals and pass it on the next generation.
The book “Armenian avant-garde during the totalitarianism era” has been published in Russian and English; the Armenian version is not in demand at the moment. “Armenians won’t purchase this book from stores,” says the author whose collection of essays will be sent to Saint Petersburg, England and Scotland.
Yerevan is Armenia’s 12th capital and this is the 12th attempt to prove to the world and us Armenians that we can create and appreciate what we have created, guided not only by our emotions, but also by realizing the real value of our creations. Armenian writers, stage directors and architects also feel the need for this kind of presentation.