The grandson of famous sculptor-monumentalist, graphic artist, and People’s Artist of Armenia Ara Harutyunyan, architect and director of the Ara Harutyunyan Foundation, Ara Harutyunyan, told Aravot Daily in an interview regarding his grandfather’s extraordinary exhibit at the Komitas Museum and Institute, “The ‘Ara Harutyunyan: From Komitas to Komitas’ temporary exhibit opened at the Komitas Museum and Institute, which will stay open until June 1st. It is a presentation of Ara Harutyunyan’s creative journey. He began with Komitas. His work Komitas was displayed in the Pantheon in 1954, which was one of his graduation projects. His last monumental project dedicated to Komitas was displayed in the Yerevan State Conservatory’s park in 1988. Few people know that Ara Harutyunyan sculpted and painted Komitas over the course of his entire life. And we attempted to present Harutyunyan’s journey to society through his creations of Komitas. Around 30 works have been displayed, including blueprints, sculptures, and graphic art. We presented how the Komitas in the Conservatory’s park was created from its blueprints to the end, for example.”
We asked the junior Ara Harutyunyan why his grandfather’s works were only displayed for the first time in 2018 in the history of independent Armenia. He responded that the reason is most likely that the famous artist’s descendants only began to work in that direction in recent years. He also said that there is an Ara Harutyunyan Foundation, and the second exhibition is taking place in Yerevan within the framework of this foundation’s activities. Two exhibits took place in Moscow, and events took place in Yerevan and Moscow.
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Regarding the artist’s interest in Komitas, Ara Harutyunyan said, “I think he felt a closeness toward Komitas. Perhaps he saw some similarities between them. He always listened to classical music, and he was, in general, a lover of music. I think that Komitas was the reason why he loved music so much.”
Regarding his favorite works, Ara Harutyunyan especially told us about the marble Komitas sculpture carved in 1954. “There seems to be a sense of calm on Komitas’ face. That sculpture has a sense of calm. This was carved a long time ago. He created this when he was a student.”
He also spoke about the standing figure of Komitas, which was supposed to be placed in the Conservatory’s park, but then a decision was made that Komitas’ statue needed to be of his sitting, although according to the blueprints, the standing Komitas statue also had the same vibe as the city environment.
Ara Harutyunyan said that he would like for many people to come to the exhibition. He said that an event will also take place on March 28th. That is Ara Harutyunyan’s birthday. He also said that he would like for there to be a museum dedicated to Ara Harutyunyan in Yerevan, which is also one of the goals of the foundation. They must find a vacant building for that in central Yerevan, which must either be resolved by the city government or a benefactor.
“Ara Harutyunyan deserves to have a museum in Yerevan after all the work he did for that city,” he said.
He added that having Ara Harutyunyan’s name also gives him a huge sense of responsibility, despite the fact that he would feel the same way if he had a different name. “That is an internal feeling that I can’t describe in words. I’m happy I feel this way.”
Gohar Hakobyan
