I’ve always been a fan of Minas Avedissian, a Soviet Armenian artist who produced lush canvases during a time when social realism dominated official Soviet art.
His murals for a factory in Armenia’s second city, Gyumri (formerly Leninakan), are being restored and among them is the one pictured here of the “Birth of Toros Roslin“–who is the great medieval Armenian illuminator.
While I don’t agree with the politics and social realities of communism I do wish we’d, like the Soviets, allow artists to decorate and beautify our industrial spaces and add some life to otherwise dreary factories that seem to suck the life out of, well, life.
Via the AGBU News website:
MINAS AVETISIAN’S WALL-PAINTING TOROS ROSLIN’S BIRTH BEING RESTORED [NOYAN TAPAN, 09/26/08]
….a jubilee exhibition of painter’s works will be opened at the National Gallery of Armenia in October…in the spring of 2009, an exhibition of Minas Avetisian’s works will be also organized in Moscow and Florence.
…adviser to the Republic of Armenia’s Minister of Culture, said at the meeting held on September 25 at the Novosti Armenia club….specialists…have already arrived from Italy on the occasion of the jubilee to restore one out of eleven wall-paintings of the painter….”Toros Roslin’s Birth,” which was at the Gyumri Electrotechnical Factory. The other four wall-paintings of Minas are also at the same factory. They also need urgent restoration.
Painter’s son Arman Avetisian said that the state has allocated 5m drams for the restoration of wall-painting Toros Roslin’s Birth. However, according to him, the other 10 wall-paintings also need restoration. Three out of the other wall-paintings of M. Avetisian are in Yerevan and the rest are in the Shirak region…
While the “Birth of Toros Roslin” was among those that survived the horrific 1988 Armenian earthquake which devastated the region, others were not so lucky.
Here is the saved “Armenia” (1973) mural by Avetisian in situ post-earthquake:
Here’s a better image of the “Armenia” (1973) mural:
Here is part of one of the destroyed murals by Minas Avetisian, “Armenian Pastoral” (1973):
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