Hay Zinvor

THE POWER TO CREATE

Recently, an exhibition dedicated to the Armenian soldiers was held at the Union of Artists of Armenia on the occasion of the St. Vardanants and St. Ghevondants holidays. The exhibition featured works by 52 authors. According to the organizers, the event was aimed at supporting our army. The works of Captain George Sahakyan were also presented at the exhibition.

“I painted the portraits of Albert Hovhannisyan and Arthur Sukiasyan, who were killed in the last Artsakh war. I was inspired by their path, their heroic image. Both Albert and Artur fulfilled their duties and fell as heroes,” says the artist. “After watching a few pictures of Albert and a video, everyone understood his devotion and determination to fight.” Albert seems to have become a symbol of the soldier.

Artur has passed no less a military path. During the war, Arhur was wounded, after staying in the hospital for a day or two, he went to join his fighting friends, but this time he did not come back … By the way, I made the portrait from his last photo taken in the hospital. Acquaintances say that serving the Homeland and the people was the basis of any of his actions. He graduated from the Monte Melkonyan school. During the service, he called his relatives and told them to go to Yerablur and clean the area around Monte’s grave.

Artur, a martial arts lover, defeated an Azerbaijani at the age of 15, of which he was very proud. He had friendly relations with many of the athletes. When learning about Artur’s death, Ahmad Bagheripour, an Iranian athlete who won a gold medal at the Kyokushin Karate in the Armenian Open 2017, gave his gold medal as a tribute to Artur Sukiasyan’s family, with whom he participated in a number of championships.

By making portraits of Albert Artur, I hoped that more people would know about the heroic deeds of our servicemen, many of them would become true devotees of the Homeland.

Captain Sahakyan has been in the Armed Forces since 2012. During his compulsory military service, he realized that he loved military service, and now he was performing his unique, responsible service in one of the military units. Ever since he separated painting and service, he thinks they complement each other, help to find more creative solutions in any situation. In the military unit he is a military man, and outside the military unit, in his free time he is an artist.

He has loved painting since he was a child. At the age of 6-7, the artist saw his uncle’s works, found painting accessories and started painting. Painting has become an integral part of his life, a source of inspiration. He received a thorough professional education at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Yerevan State Pedagogical University. While learning, he constantly painted, participated in discussions with teachers after classes. Together with friends he got acquainted with different creative directions և approaches, developed a certain style.

“After graduating from the pedagogical school, I entered the master’s program of YSU Faculty of Arts. I decided to write my final thesis about Minas Avetisyan, my favorite artist. Then I learned that many people write about him, especially Martiros Saryan, and the question arose, what new thing should I write about such famous people to be different and interesting? I changed the topic of my thesis, in the history of photography I referred to Yuri Mechitov, who was Parajanov’s photographer. Gathering materials about Mechitov, I got to know him. I tried to find different compositional solutions in my paintings, to paint in the style of abstractionism, which opens a wide horizon of creativity and perception.

I have been a member of the Artists’ Union since 2019. Now I continue to paint, to implement new ideas. I cannot say that I have found my unique style, handwriting, I am still in search of creativity. Now I am focused on portraits, at the moment it is mine, but I am also trying to bring freshness in that direction. I started painting in a minimalist style with white paper, then I worked on a book, etc.

I listen to everyone’s advice, especially to well-deserved artists, I do research. We have regular discussions with one of my older friends, they greatly contribute to my professional growth, because the creator can not be confined to his own perception, he must listen to different opinions, combine them, be able to reap what is useful for him. For this purpose, until last year, I participated in meetings and discussions entitled “The Story of a Picture”, had personal exhibitions, and listened carefully to the assessments of casual visitors.

Until recently, Captain Sahakyan did not reflect on military issues in his work. The soldier who conveyed his emotions and feelings through a brush did not paint at all during the 44 days of the war. After Albert and Artur’s portraits, perhaps, the creation of military themes will continue. He says about his future plans.

“I have painted two soldiers so far. There were many positive reviews during the exhibition. When I heard that, I was moved. However, this direction requires a much more serious approach. I need to know the details, get to know the person whose portrait I am painting so that I can present a more influential, eloquent character to the hero of the canvas. I think in the near future I will paint new pictures depicting our brave soldiers and officers. Through their service I gain the power to create.