I have seen many of the pieces of Arshile Gorky (Vostanik Adoyan) in museums of different countries and exhibitions, in which Gorky is presented in a worthy manner. He is considered one of the creators of surrealism (according to Andre Breton) and first of all American expressionism.
Months ago I visited Kafesjian museum in Yerevan to view the pieces of Arshile Gorky that people have been speaking about so much. Indeed it is great that the founder of the museum J. Kafesjian was able to bring the pieces belonging to him to Armenia. However, the pieces of Gorky were demonstrated in a quite poor and unclear manner. The impression was that these pieces were the scratches of the artist or maybe some fragments of his main pieces. Those didn’t tell anything about this world-known artist. The exhibition didn’t have a conception either. Nonetheless, months ago, on February 10 the exhibition of Gorky’s pieces was moved to London Tate Modern museum from Philadelphia, USA. The exhibition will remain in London till May of the current year. The masterpieces of Gorky are among the most expensive in the world, the most part of which is the property of collectors. In general, there are only a few of Gorky’s canvasses in the world because of the fire set in his studio, as a result of which most of the canvasses were destroyed. Every single painting of Gorky is considered a national value and they very rarely are moved outside the borders of the US. In this huge retrospective exhibition over 120 canvasses, graphical pieces are exhibited. In all the halls in parallel with the pieces of the painter his biography was the best presented and information about his cruel life after the 1915 genocide, his activities in various ages. The exhibition was full of visitors. In a separate hall a documentary film was on. Moreover, the visitors would not only take impressions received from the exhibition but also an inclusive booklet and could even buy the creative catalog of Gorky’s pieces. The initiators and organizers of the exhibition have really done a great job and a huge investment. They have exhibited the pieces of Gorky dating 1920-40s from around the world – realism, surrealism and abstractionism. This wondrous exhibition was a result of cooperation among the Art Museum of Philadelphia, Modern Art Museum of Los Angeles and London Tate Modern Museum. The main sponsor is the American art foundation Terra but this project was ideologically and financially supported by Armenian origin benefactors and foundations – Vache and Tamar Manukyans, Galust Gyulbenkyan, Benlyan and Saint Sargis charity foundations, world-famous collectors and specialist of arts Larry Gagosyan, Armen and Noune Sargsyans. In parallel with being introduced to the art of Gorky the visitors would also receive information about Armenia and the Armenian Genocide. The mysterious and tragic Gorgy has abided the genocide, the starvation of his mother, has gone through implacable destitution, found his father and settled down in the US. Two months ago after the fire in his studio in 1946, where 36 canvasses and the library were destroyed and the doctors found intestinal cancer. He is later operated on. In summer of 1948 his wife Agnes McRoder starts loving relationships with his friend Roberto Matta and thus leaves Gorky by taking two of their children. Some time later a cruel car accident takes place, which harms Gorky’s neck and spine and this deprives him of the ability to paint. In 1948 he commits a suicide. None of his biography-writers and artists was able to allude to his art by passing his tragic life and death, the cruel route of his life and the fact of the genocide. Regardless of the fact that some of the artists would say that “Gorky is greater than his tragic life” they cannot help noticing that by migrating from his fatherland Gorgy had settled down in various countries (Armenia, Russia, Europe and the US) and was educated. This had left its track in his art by often adverting to the idea of his lost fatherland. The memory and fact of the genocide is also mentioned during the exhibition in the London Tate Modern museum. The great British magazines have also alluded to this fact. “I was to be born to suffer for art,” once mentioned the painter. “Sometimes I am able to hunt the colors of the fatherland and sometimes not. A lot of efforts are needed to deliver the varying colors of fruits to the canvasses – apricot, apple, pear, grapes, the colors of our plants and flowers. I always try to reproduce the colors of Armenia in my paintings…,” mentioned the painter about the colors he uses. Here, perhaps for the first time next to each other are represented the two versions of Gorky’s “the painter and the mother” canvasses. He had painted those for years and had also changed them. The thorough and clear accents of the coordinator of this exclusive exhibition of Gorky in London Mathew Gale couldn’t stand outside the attention of the Turkish organizations. The Turkish organizations functioning in Great Britain demanded from the London Tate Modern Museum to take out the information about the genocide, which would describe the biography of Gorky. They demanded that the genocide shouldn’t be included in the booklets and information sheets. Moreover, according to Cumhuriyet daily the representatives of Federation of the Turkish Unions of England (ITDF) and the Turkish Forum of the Great Britain met with the management of the museum. “The exhibition fully carries an advocacy purpose,” said the coordinator of the ITDF. “For me the most important thing is the opinion of the expert. I am especially encouraged about the reaction of the painters, by which the art of Gorky is still vital for them and has great influence of their arts. For me this is the most important thing,” said Mathew Gale, the coordinator of the London exhibition, who prior to that didn’t exclude that this large-scale exhibition would acquire a political context as well. In fact it is impossible to present a painter without the era he/she had lived in, his lifestyle and past. This is especially impossible to do for Gorky, on whose art the genocide had played an immense role. Gorky was born on April 15, 1904 in Khorgum village of western Armenia. During the massacres of 1915 his family had to move from van to Igdir and from there to Echmiadzin. Later Gorky’s sister Vardush had told, “Soon diseases were spread and at that time Gorky saved us. He brought a cart and told us that we should leave. On July 16 we came to Yerevan. We used to live on a street near the station. It was a miserable place. My mom used to work in an orphanage and Gorky – in a printing house. In 1916 my sisters Agapi and Satenik left for the US. I was often speaking with Arshile about his hard life but he was always saying that he’d work so that we wouldn’t worry by giving us hope that everything would be fine. He believed that everything would be alright. We loved each other very much. After school classes Gorky used to work in a roof-maker’s warehouse and was bringing books house from the printing home to fix hard cover. So we were making money without rest. Gorky made sure that mom didn’t worry or need anything. Unfortunately mom got sick because she had lost her energy. Gorky’s money wasn’t enough to buy food. In order to buy food he started to trade fruits by traveling to nearby villages of Yerevan buying grapes and grain to sell in the capital city. But what could a 14-year-old boy do? My mom’s health was deteriorated and she died in our hands on March 20, 1919. She was only 39 years old and we were still little. My mother was a real Goddess for Gorky. Mom was reading poems for us, was teaching us to love the fatherland, Van and Armenia. When painting my mom Gorky would put his soul in the canvass. And so she left us… First we had left for Tbilisi, then to Batumi. From there we took the ship to Polis. During the voyage Gorgy would never part from the pencils. She was drawing birds, animals, ships and the sky, writing poems. Arshile was always missing Van. Then my father came after us and took us to Providence.” Gorky worshipped and her image had constantly escorted Gorky in his art. “My mother was the most artistic and romantic image, who I ever met. Some day she will become immortal due to my paintings,” said Gorky. Vardush was saying that the mother made Gorky a painter. Allen Juffrey has written the following about Gorky, “There are no words to say what Gorky expressed in his art. The doors that he has closed are being knocked even after his death. There are knocking because there is no one that could open those. The doors can be opened only by another Gorky, who will be indifferent to everything just like him except for art…” The samples of London Tate Modern will be moved to Los Angeles Modern Art Museum and will be demonstrated from June 6 to September 20. Unfortunately, the Armenian society cannot see this immense exhibition because not only organization but also transportation of the items cost very expensive and for now we should be sufficed only with the comments of international media outlets. And we should also feel very proud that the most outstanding founder of abstract-expressionism in the world is Arshile Gorky of an Armenian descent.
By S. Seyranyan
London-Yerevan