A ‘DREAM OF ETERNITY’ HEWN IN GRANITE
The Business Times Singapore
January 9, 2015 Friday
by : Cheah Ui-Hoon , A ‘dream of eternity’ hewn in granite
WHAT could be more inspiring to a sculptor than to be be born where it
all began – in the land of the great pyramids and ancient sculptures?
But it’s not where he grew up, or the artforms around him that inspired
Armen Agop as much as the sheer sense of timelessness they represent.
“Egypt is a good place for a sculptor to be born. There is no doubt
that it was an endless source of inspiration,” declares Agop, whose
family originated from Armenia, whose people were almost wiped out
by genocide a century ago.
>From his heritage and his adopted land, Agop could identify strongly
with the idea of survival and the dream of eternity.
“Every Armenian has a strong association with the word koyadevel,
which means to exist and to continue to exist. In the Ancient Egyptian
civilisation, you find the dream of eternal existence. So in both
the Armenian present and the Egyptian past (one finds) the dream of
eternity or survival,” he shares.
Ancient Egyptian art isn’t only about physical perfection, but “an
intensified will in the transformation of the material and adapting
it to human design”, he observes.
The masterfully carved stone masses and perfectly defined space
surrounding the form (with almost alien accuracy) demonstrates the
highest physical achievement in transforming the material by human
hands.
Such is what inspires Agop, and he sees it as a unification of
humans’ beliefs and actions. “It is the state of being – a higher
self-awareness in the cosmic existence.”
While his ideas are lofty, Agop has chosen to work with a very
“grounded” material – granite. And with them, he creates works which
can be seen as futuristic yet ancient.
“I have experimented with a vast variety of different materials in the
past such as clay, plaster, wood, paper, limestone and resin. I enjoyed
exploring the individual character of each material at that time.”
When he came to granite though – he could compose a new “being”
altogether with the material, concept, and form.
“Ever since this meeting, my relation with other materials became
secondary. Although they were easier to work with technically, (being)
more obedient and more flexible to manipulate with more immediate
expressiveness, at the same time, they were less consistent, and
(more changeable over time).”
Granite’s “strong character” and “firm personality” make it a different
state of being. “Granite is more resistant, slow in working and
expressing but at the same time it is a more durable expression,”
he adds.
Granite is also sourced from the core of the earth, he points out,
as it’s a volcanic stone which has been pushed out to the surface of
many different parts of the earth. Agop prefers the black granites,
which are more uniform in colour and have a sobre expression. “I
usually work with stones from Zimbabwe, Africa; Sweden, Europe;
and India in Asia.”
His creations either balance lightly on the surface, despite their
weight, or can be wall-mounted; but all have the trademark curves
and razor-sharp points.
Do they hark back to ancient influences? As for external influences on
the shapes he creates, Agop believes first and foremost in the human
being’s instinctive desire to create. “We all played and drew as kids.
The question is, why stop? In my case, I didn’t have a good reason
to stop so I just carried on drawing and making things, sculptures,
etc,” he relates.
“So before one mentions any external inspiration, we must remember
the internal drive – the instinctive desire – which remains the fuel
for the creative human experience.”
Agop sees his as a way of living together with stone, an age-old part
of nature, and co-existing with these enduring materials on earth.
Armen Agop: Transcontemporary will be exhibited from Jan 22 to Feb 21,
at Level 4, Art Plural Gallery, 38 Armenian Street. Opening hours are
Mon-Sat, 11am-7pm. The exhibition unveils more than 20 new granite
and bronze sculptures that are both free-standing and wall-mounted.