But this was not the starting point of his work. He was a link between the medieval heritage and modern Armenian art, felt for centuries formed a system of values that ought to move into the modern world. In his paintings there is the attraction to firstling source and its basic form-building properties. It is no accident every civilization in their mythology has paid great attention to the place of formation of their tribes, their ancestors, totem and primary cultural background of society.
Talented person makes a great direct appeal to their roots, without any deviations and false affectation. This can be seen in the works of Minas. He created his paintings, not for a moment forgetting the sacred images for him. The squat, but arhitektonichnye huts. Bent, but firmly, as obelisks, standing people. Unavailable as a dream, the mountains, creating its internal movement of the eternity. He used in his smears sharp dynamic curves, but turned into a constant set up in a static mass of an effort to perpetuate forever living.
The images Dzhadzhura Minas using elementary geometric forms reaches completion arrangement. This is only by a man born with a natural gift, or easily slip into the channel schematics. When creating figures, Minas avoid excesses and is limited to only a few bends of the lines.
In the painting "Girl with a handkerchief" (1966), as well as on the Egyptian reliefs, flat figure of a woman is not allocated to the general, equivalent to her background. In the reliefs of the Egyptian background was the basis and continuation of the image, because it was the memory in the present. In ancient peoples lived, guided by the rule of life, where the cause - is the past, but the result - the present. Therefore pictorial background played a huge role, as the foundation and as the past - he combined elements of a harmonious system.
Colors, active brushstrokes, geometric shapes play an important role in enhancing the background. In landscapes, Minas people seem natural derivatives of the natural disaster, bringing the same power as the mountains or the cabin. This confirms the picture "In the mountains. Powerful black silhouette reigns over the mysterious mountain scenery, tying together the entire composition. No artistic tricks do not distract the eye of the viewer. All the attention is focused on a skeleton of black silhouettes which pulled into the mountains and open the inner impulses of vital energy.
If the composite work of Minas depicts figures as one with nature, the self-portraits, he is left alone with their inner feelings, doubts and disappointments. This is the only genre where the artist wants it or not, should be accountable to each other. If he does not try to escape from his own eyes, bit of truth on the canvas still remains.
In his self-portraits Minas mostly staring straight at the viewer, revealing to look rebellious, Critical and judging beginning. Created in different periods of art a few self-portraits with a stern vseponimayuschim glance, it seems to give an assessment of that part of creativity, which remained behind. And the answer is always the same: to give all the work himself without regret. He does not avoid his gaze, and his face on the canvas in the same stern look in response, arguing that the traversed path was honest.
Returning to the sense of attachment, one can not mention the incident, which dramatically altered the future of Minas Avetisyan. While studying at the Yerevan Fine Arts and Theater Institute is one of the teachers dissed work Saryan. Enraged Minas ran into a chair. Rector Ara Sargsyan has helped to hush up the incident, Minas ended up in Leningrad, and continued his studies at the Leningrad Institute named after Repin.
Saryan, Minas was for something like a spiritual mentor and a powerful symbol of his childhood experiences and later even more entrenched because of the frequent meetings and communication. Memorandum from childhood, favorite book of fairy tales Minas Toumanyan Saryan was illustrated clearly and concisely. Local immediate color and strong clear picture entered into the soul of the future master and became his criterion of high artistry.
In Leningrad, where Minas saw the great artists of the avant-garde and their predecessors - Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh, Cezanne - born of his own color. It is sometimes argued that the origins of this color come from the medieval Armenian manuscripts. Minas himself did not claim to be the bearer of medieval values. If it is due to inner freedom approached the golden age of Armenian heritage, it confirms once again the greatness of his talent.
It is not necessary, however, forget that the Middle Ages, transfer of concepts of ancient art in the characters, limiting their rigid framework. Modern art began with moving characters in the concept, not to lose the beginning and end of the very connecting thread that unites the different life cycle events. In the art of Minas there are clear signs: the mountains, houses, schematic figures, dense, opaque color. This is not the characters as such - the shape and color are not suspended, not separated from the general mood of the painting. Is a kind of archetypes of certain concepts.
The coloring is often called Minas fovistskim or expressionistic. Yes, he has seen these trends, and they appeared to him creative incentives, but we must not forget that all trends in the arts have their own history. We can not ignore half-century distance between these lines and creativity Minas. Naturally, Minas could not feel like feeling at the time.
Fauvism inherent in bright, clean, optimistic color, he wanted to break with the past, with a dependence on him. Matisse wanted to waft just calm and serenity, but this is not true of Minas, who could not leave the viewer unmoved by their grief and internal rivalries.
Birth of Expressionism among other things was caused by the First World War, he carried in his notes of disappointment, pessimism and cruelty. For Minas such feelings were alien, he was too closely linked with its own past.
The art language generously glues labels on the creative personality. This leads to stagnation in the evaluation of the artist's creations, as well as incorrectly used the word creates an unnecessary obstacle to the study. Minas created his own language of color, where the color of a kind of "immaculate conception" gives the breath of the entire canvas. This creates a lot of difficulties for epigones and copyists of Minas, which sooner or later realize his helplessness.
One can recall many artists who all his creative life to a single theme - the place of birth - and never repeated. Immediately comes to mind great Vermeer, depicting the everyday life of their own and the Dutch town of Delft. How mysterious attraction in his paintings. X-rays are found in almost all the canvases of the artist added to the lead paint, radiant from the inside. Sweep the sky of Paris, the great Cezanne, left all the competitors and returned to his native fold in Aix-en-Provence. He realized that he could win in this relentless battle, if you listened to the call of his soul. Each of the many landscapes of Mount Sainte Victoire is new experiences and sentiments.
In connection with Cézanne can not remember how the power of affection again showed itself in the life of Minas. He was lucky to see France and one in Marseilles Minas separated from the whole group of tourists to visit the house of Cézanne in Aix. For it was characterized by the desire for solitude, where you can find a kindred spirit, an additional impetus for its creation.
You can see how the ratio of Minas nature is gradually changing in the direction of growth of artistic tension. Since the beginning of creative activity through to mid 1960's, he uses bright, local, saturated colors. "Autumn Wind" (1959), "Dzhadzhur" (1960), "Mount Eranos" (1961), and other landscapes are created as if without respite, shadow and tonal gradations escape under the pressure of an inclusive and powerful color. From 65 th to early 70's the main emphasis made on the ground ocher tones, giving rise to the unshakable sense that all art comes from Minas structures and forces of the earth - "Threshold" (1966), "After the Rain" (1969 ) etc. Since the early 70's the surface of his paintings is like a fresco. Outwardly, they are smoothly polished, but the technical virtuosity created visual roughness, the artist sought to give the pictures of the same monumental, static, eternal, like a huge wall of a medieval castle - Disturbed Day "(1969-70 gg.)" Outskirts "(1974 ), etc. At the end of his work came to Minas very realistic letter: he brings the subject to a minimum, use a thick layer of paint, interprets the surface is very hard, leaving the impression that the paint eroded acid - "Houses and Trees" (1974), "Rest" (1974), etc. All of this evolution in the works of Minas is modified tension of his feelings with regard to its cradle.
One storyteller, wrote: "Beauty in nature is connected with sadness and no heroism can not remove the sorrow, without destroying the beauty." Grief at Minas dominates everywhere, because it is his reality, his memory is inseparable from grief. And you should not look for an explanation of its special attachment to his roots - this is one of the great mysteries of his talent and life.
In December last year re-opened Museum of M. Avetisyan Dzhadzhure destroyed by an earthquake in 1988. The permanent exhibition is the fresco Minas made in Gyumri, and high-quality reproductions of his famous works. Let's hope that the museum will not forget their responsibilities, do not turn into a cold, impenetrable wall for the visitors. It is important to form the basis of "minasologii" to further research, periodization, the new reading of creativity Minas would help form a group of art historians are able to become the core of the museum and turn it into a research center.
Another important aspect of the submission of the artist - books, albums, publications. Now they are printed almost one after another, repeating the same pictures and ratings of creativity Minas. It is important to discover and to adequately represent the hitherto unknown work of masters from various collections around the world. It is important as new and fresh will be the analysis of art criticism, as he will take into account the achievement of world art history.
It is impossible today to write about creativity Minas, not touching the problem of the many fakes that are flooding the world market of art. In Yerevan are already a "Center of Expertise in cultural property" under the Ministry of Culture - in 2005 he became a licensed institution. In the Center's work involves highly qualified experts of all branches of art. Peer Council conducts scientific expertise and issue an expert opinion that it is important to identify fakes.
Creativity Minas covers only 15 years old, but in such a short time he was able to open a new page in the history of Armenian art. This novelty is not yet completely understood nor intellectuals nor society at large. Minas - a true national artist. National reveals not a typical Armenian story, and inner spirit, the artist is a native nature. This attachment to his roots separates the artist from the local area and makes it universal significance. Inspired by the new phenomenon in the art in the face of Minas, Sarian said: "The true followers of mine will be those artists whose paintings are not outwardly resemble mine."
At home Minas, in Armenia, it is impossible to see all the stages of his work, only about 10-15 paintings put on display in the State Art Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art, the rest is in private collections. Of course, quantity is not important - a man who understands and loves art, that's enough and what to eat. But why a country that has spawned such talent, he can not adequately provide neither myself or abroad? This is partly due to the money, but lacks the most important thing - the desire to achieve goals. No, instead we will not. Just getting to know themselves, turning to the past, we can properly move on.
How long will remain unappreciated artists who broke into the art of a sudden, like a flash fire. They have not found true followers, but in this and there is no need. Is it possible to imagine the successors of Picasso or Rembrandt? Similarly, in the Armenian art of Minas edinichen: his art can not be learned. One can only understand it, but it is a great happiness to all those who would like to see our past on a pedestal radiant future.
http://aniv.ru/view.php?numer=4&st=9&rub=7
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Pictures
http://www.armsite.com/painters/avetisian/