The philosopher and artist Shota Khachatryan once was the most demanded artists. He has participated in several exhibitions, including the United States and Italy; he had two solo exhibitions. Now the artist has problems, but they are not creative; the space where Shota Khachatryan occupy and worked for almost 10 years, has to be vacated. In the conversation with “Aravot”, the artist said that he was pleased with the landlords, people just have to use their home for their needs. Now the artist has faced a serious problem: where to move the pictures that “deprive” him of liberty. He can not just fill them in a place, lock the door and leave. “I need to solve one: these people (the landlords) and to save the pictures, there are about 200 art works, about 300 graphics. Where can I take these works? I feel pity for them, they are pieces of the museum. I have realized since I was young that you represent a nation, make a nation a universal value. The sons of the nation, speaking at their own kind, raise the value of the nation. The artists create for humans. Every one set its goal, my goal is to fight against fraud. There are villains that reach the top, talented and strong do not need it, they will be acknowledged over the time. I always try to stay next to humans as a spiritual value,” says the artist. We asked when it was the last time when any official on cultural issues had visited him. It turned out that such thing had not happened. He says that he is a creator and often he can not present himself, sometimes he does not want to participate in exhibitions, because, as he says, he does not like ‘to be arrogant’. However, Shota Khachatryan is confident in one thing, “The artist, the creator has no right to present his art, there should be people who will assess, get involved in selling and presenting it, and these presenters will share the glory of the artist and the money from the sale. Otherwise, I can not talk from there, I’m talking with the brush, this is my miracle.” Shota Khachaturian’s apartment-studio, literally, has no room for anything, everywhere we can see his works: very bright, mysterious, as the author says, they are pieces of the museum, and not just drawings. He is willing to compensate the space given to him for the picture. It remains to find a benefactor or someone of good will who would like to solve this problem. Perhaps, the Ministry of Culture will eventually stir. Ultimately, we must respect the dignity of the artist. The artist did not want to talk about the upcoming congress of the Artists’ Union. He just said that he bows before all his artist-fellows, and is against all kinds of noise. He remembered that once this union was a strong structure, and had broad powers, while nowadays it has the status of NGO. Shota Khachatryan lives with other values, the material is not highlighted in his lifestyle, but the man, really, is in need for elementary conditions. He dreams of the universe perfection on earth, and presents the universe in the form of a woman, because the woman is also a specific creator.
“When a man is cut from the universe, it destroys everything. Sometimes, animal demands hinder the harmony of the universe,” said the philosopher artist, who was once accepting state orders, but his paintings were becoming works of art.
Gohar HAKOBYAN
