Eduard Balasanyan, the founder of the Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (ACCEA), talking with www.aravot.am about the fatty lady installed in Cascade and generally, about Botero’s art, stated, “Botero is a marvelous artist. Many years ago, when we were representing Armenia in the Venice Biennale, there were Botero’s statues everywhere – a human, an animal, everything was in an original style. It is very good that the art of that quality is exhibited in Armenia. Perhaps, the statue or another piece stirs up feelings of a certain layer of the society, but it cannot cause censorship. It is not acceptable, particularly in Armenia, where the ACCEA operates too. I have stressed everywhere, also abroad, that there is tolerance, at least, toward contemporary art in Armenia, certainly, we were criticized a lot, but it is the very beauty of democracy.”
Vahram Harutyunyan, aka Kuk, the director and a painter of the Kuk art gallery, thinks Botero’s statue is a marvelous gift for Armenia. “One must go to New York, London, I don’t know where to see a statue of such quality. By the way, it is installed very well, as opposed to Rodin’s statue. If I don’t see it as a painter, how can ordinary people see it? Whereas they should notice the statue, communicate with it and take pictures with it. If they say before or after installing a statue that it is bad, then it is a very good one indeed. For example, when Rodin was sculpting Balzac at the time, students of the academy were told to go and smash it and they really damaged it. It is good that the shape was preserved and they cast a new one. Now all France admires Rodin’s Balzac. Let me make another example too – nobody sees the Marshall Baghramyan Statue, although it is a piece created with much talent and they used to criticize the Babajanyan Statue at the time, but now they take pictures with it.”
Botero’s statue seems contradictory to poet Vahe Arsen; he even thinks that it has drawbacks in terms of technique. On the other hand, according to the poet, it is interesting, “It is probably the image of the 20th century woman who wants to do nothing, tries to admire life from above and in reality, is out of business life. The contours of the body show that she is not thick, but is, sorry for the language, fat like a pig; there is no erotica, no sex. Other things like cigarettes replace joys of life; that woman doesn’t have a brilliant mind either, but she is interesting, nonetheless.”Vahe is impressed by Botero’s Antelopes and particularly his Cat, “The Cat is good, it is an allegorical character and I didn’t like the fatty lady’s statue very
much, although it makes one think. Anyway, we need conflicting and contradictory statues; otherwise, if we flood the city with classical statues, it will be sad….”
Gohar HAKOBYAN
