Critics’ Forum
Visual Arts
Art in the Time of Change: Contemporary Art in Armenia
By Tamar Sinanian and Taleen Tertzakian
In order to understand where art in the now independent Armenian
republic is going, we need to look back at where it has been,
especially since the fateful days of independence in 1991.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 instigated change not only
in the economic, political, and military spheres of the former
republics but in the everyday freedoms of its people. The sister
policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, established in the late 1980s
by Gorbachev in his feeble efforts to save the Soviet structure,
ultimately resulted in the beginning of the end of the Soviet era.
Glasnost (meaning "openness") promoted a spirit of intellectual and
cultural openness which encouraged public debate and participation in
support of the program of Perestroika (or, "economic restructuring").
By promoting an exchange of ideas and information, a concept long
foreign to that area of the world, Glasnost allowed the introduction
of the western tenet of freedom of speech. Soviet citizens began to
artistically and journalistically express themselves in ways that for
years had been forbidden by the Soviet regime. The introduction of
such "anti-soviet" concepts, and the resulting relaxation of
censorship, eventually lead to the Communist Party losing its grip on
the media and ultimately to the dismantling of the tight soviet
structure that had been in place for the past 75 years. Each of the
former soviet republics reacted differently to this loosening of
control and in their own way contributed to the eventual fall of the
system.
Armenia proved to be one of the more vociferous republics, as its
citizens took full advantage of the changing political and social
atmosphere. In 1988, soviet tanks firmly planted themselves in
Yerevan’s city center, the then "Lenin Square", in response to
demonstrations against soviet policies, including religious,
environmental, and political issues. People took to the streets in
demonstration and some camped out in front of the Opera House,
bringing attention to their cause by organizing a hunger strike.
While this political and social chaos kept escalating on the streets
of Yerevan, artists were in their studios recreating their art to
reflect the times and documenting the birth of a new era. At this
time, a small group of these artists organized a number of exhibits
called "Third Floor," named after the floor in the Artists Union
where they would exhibit. At Third Floor, artists experimented with
different art forms and techniques, fomenting change while
foreshadowing the creative freedom to come.
The abundance of artistic styles that emerged in Armenia during this
tumultuous time of rapid transition revealed the anticipated need of
release the art community was struggling with. This post-
collapse "fresh breath" was a long time in coming. Artists in Armenia
stripped themselves of the constraints placed on them by the state-
imposed genre of Socialist Realism, a style of representational art
that furthered the goals of socialism and communism, and began
exploring other techniques and forms of expression. No longer did
artists need to restrict their subject matter and purpose when
creating art.
This new-found freedom resulted in artists casting aside the stale,
contrived images of tractors, workers, and other proletariat models
of socialist realist art for newly discovered inspirations, forms and
techniques as artists were finally allowed to openly learn, study,
and discover western art. The abstract and modern schools of thought,
which had streamed out of 1950s and 60s New York (abstract
expressionism followed by pop art) and had taken the rest of the art
world by storm became more accessible and tangible to these artists.
They began studying Rauschenberg, Rothko, Warhol, and their American
peers as well as various members of Germany’s 1980s neo-expressionist
movement. The influence of these various schools of thought in
correlation with the social and historical context surrounding the
artists created a new perspective – and ultimately a new school of
Armenian Art.
The dichotomy of pre- and post-soviet influence is very much apparent
in the art work of many of the artists who have established present-
day Armenia’s contemporary art scene, including Yerevan-based Arthur
Sarkissian. Like many of his contemporaries, during the 1980s,
Sarkissian steered away from Socialist Realism and began
experimenting with abstraction. During an interview in 2005,
Sarkissian suggested, "my approach to painting developed from the
desire to free myself from Socialist Realism. Abstract thought was
the means of free expression. I have never given up and always
experimented. So, now there are no boundaries for me; I create freely
and at any desired moment I can return to abstract art, or
incorporate several styles."
This notion of freedom that Sarkissian yearned for in his desire to
depart from the restrictive principles of Socialist Realism can be
seen in his style and technique. Often compared to one of his great
influences, American artist Robert Rauschenberg, Sarkissian’s collage-
like method of painting juxtaposes silkscreen images on a canvas with
painterly gestures. In his work, Sarkissian incorporates signs,
texts, manuscripts, photographs, interiors and exteriors of different
architectural structures, as well as images of Renaissance and
Baroque art. The spontaneous placement of these images on canvas
along with expressionist brushstrokes demonstrates the freedom of
expression he enjoys in making his art today.
In present-day Armenia, artists, such as Sarkissian, experiment with
their various inspirations, moods, philosophies, and perspectives,
without having to pay homage to any ideological dogma. Sarkissian
takes this freedom and runs with it. And the western world is taking
notice. In a review of Sarkissian’s work, Peter Frank, an art critic
for LA Weekly has written: "Just as he can transit from manual
gesture to photographic document, his imagery can fluctuate in mood
from lighthearted and sweet to ominous and grave, from fluid and
beautiful to stark and coarse. The shifts between tonalities can be
more dramatic than the tonalities themselves."
Like Sarkissian, many artists in Yerevan have embraced the creative
freedom of Armenia’s new era and are collectively changing the
historico-cultural discourse of Armenia’s contemporary art scene.
With such an auspicious beginning, we cannot wait to see where the
artists, and their art, will take us.
All Rights Reserved: Critics’ Forum, 2008
Tamar Sinanian holds a Master’s degree in Contemporary Art from
Sothebys Institute in London. She is also the co-founder of T&T Art,
an art consulting company.
Taleen Tertzakian is an attorney and holds a Master’s degree in
Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from Stanford
University. She is also the co-founder of T&T Art, an art consulting
company.
You can reach them or any of the other contributors to Critics’ Forum
at [email protected]. This and all other articles published
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