Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku International Multiculturalism Centre Azerbaijani Multiculturalism Textbook for Higher Education
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Rauschenberg. What’s most interesting is that the artist returned to the Italian theme. He focused on a place with a 300-year-old history – the Café Greco in Rome, frequented down the years by poets and artists. Rome. Café Greco (1986, 2002) is the title of Salahov’s sketch and painting created ten years apart. The Azerbaijani artist left his signature on the picture by painting his own reflection in the café’s mirror.
The series of foreign paintings by Azerbaijani artists convey not only a sense of the landscapes, cityscapes, people and life in these countries, but also show the Azerbaijani artists’ great interest in the basic values of European, Asian and African cultures. On the one hand, the paintings reflect the values of foreign cultures through complex symbolic images, and on the other they depict the people who hold these values. The first trend is typical of the work of Toghrul Narimanbayov (1930-2013). The artist, who visited India and revived oriental mythology, created a monumental image – a giant spiral of development – in his work. The tree-globe and the first waters of the universe are reflected in his mural Folk Tales (1975-78) at the Puppet Theatre and in his stage sets for Fikrat Amirov’s ballets The Arabian Nights (1980) and The Epic of Nasimi (1973). The second trend can be seen in Asaf Jafarov’s (1927-2000) Italian series of paintings. These oil paintings include Bridge in Rome, Assisi, Church Clergy and The Church of Santa Maria della Croce (all created in 1972). The first three canvases depict Roman Catholics against the background of various city scenes, while the final picture is of a Catholic church. In terms of compositional structure, Bridge in Rome is of particular interest. The silhouettes of three Catholic nuns are walking directly towards the viewer down the centre of the bridge. This picture conveys high spirits and optimism. 212
Society’s interest in Italian culture has increased in independent Azerbaijan, not fallen away. Portraiture is of particular interest in this regard. Sakit Mammadov (born in 1958) preserves the classical traditions of the portrait genre, having mastered the best of both the European and Russian schools in developing his own unique style. His sense of light is bound up in Azerbaijani art traditions. He is a successful painter of landscapes, still lifes and genre work, but he is known most of all for his portraits. He has painted portraits of Pope John Paul II (2004) and the actress Monica Bellucci. These portraits have a deep psychology, sophisticated sense of nature and great atmosphere. The holding of exhibitions to show the work of foreign artists in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani artists abroad is another form of expression of multiculturalism in art. In 1950-70, Baku hosted exhibitions of Chinese, Syrian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Sri Lankan, Indian, Iraqi, Japanese, Mongolian, Norwegian and French art. At the same time, the work of Azerbaijani painters was exhibited in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Egypt, Mongolia, Poland, Norway, Italy, France, Denmark, Austria, Spain and Cuba. Since independence Azerbaijani artists have continued to develop the foreign theme in their work. This includes a French series by Khalida Safarova, an Egyptian series by Mir Nadir Zeynalov, a Turkish series by Ismayil Mammadov, a Mongolian series by Jahid Jamal and Indian series by Chingiz Farzaliyev and Ashraf Heybatov. Altay Sadiqzada’s (born 1951) paintings of French and British scenes deserve a special mention. The British capital has caught the artist’s eye, which can be seen in his pictures A London View, London and Churchill’s Statue. When it comes to France, Altay Sadiqzada enjoys depicting places of leisure – Nice and the Côte d’Azur (French Rivera). It is possible to visualize 70 years of the development of Azerbaijani art within the framework of Soviet artistic culture in the
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example of three consecutive generations of painters. Elements of modernism entered the language of Azerbaijani art in the 1960s, while modernism had become the norm by 1985 and remained so until 1993. Mirjavad Mirjavadov and Rafiq Babayev are considered exponents of modernism among the older generation of painters, while Fazil Najafov and others are modernist sculptors. Two poles in the artistic language, namely, traditionalism based on the values of national culture, and postmodernism, based obviously on Western values, emerged later. Malik Aghamalov (born 1962) is one of the main exponents of postmodernism. A graduate of Tahir Salahov’s studio at the Surikov Moscow State Academic Art Institute, Malik Aghamalov has a perfect sense of composition and colour and a rich ability to depict images and shapes. His mature period is characterized by extensive postmodernist features, such as the use of series and abundant quotations. But the most distinctive feature of his work is the artist toying with the viewer, or perhaps with himself, through his representational system. Aghamalov’s canvases feature everything in life: genesis, the primary shapes, their growth and interaction, spiritual and material food, erotica and piety before the sounds of the heavens. His work is grouped thematically; for example, Angels, Still Lifes, Games and so on. But this is all part of a postmodernist game, as is the subject of classical painting itself. To this end, the artist uses the effect of ‘spoiled’ paintings, when ‘spots’ and ‘flaws’ are deliberately added to brilliant images. Some of them appear to bear a grid of crease marks, as if magazine reproductions of old masters had been carefully folded several times and then just as carefully unfolded and smoothed out. In the years of independence the subjects and genres of the plastic arts have changed. As monumental sculpture is an art form that requires great financial expenditure, the creation of large 214
sculptures stopped during the transition period. But in the 2000s monumental sculpture began to revive. As befits a sovereign state, public consciousness began to see Azerbaijan as part of world culture. This led on the one hand to public demand for statues of foreign historical and cultural figures to be erected in Azerbaijan, and on the other hand for statues of prominent Azerbaijanis to be erected abroad. Statues of Navai, Pushkin, Taras Shevchenko, Mozart and Nikola Tesla were erected in Baku and a statue of Thor Heyerdahl was put up in Shaki. Local culture and history were represented by statues of poet Khaqani Shirvani (2000), painter Azim Azimzada (2002), football referee Tofiq Bahramov (2004), and composers Qara Qarayev (2014) and Fikrat Amirov (2011). A statue of the epic hero Koroghlu, on horseback, (2014) by sculptor Tokay Mammadov was erected in Baku. The Dada Qorqud Park, designed by Gorush Babayev, opened in the centre of the city. (Dada Qorqud is the narrator of the Oghuz epic Book of Dada Qorqud.) The exquisite works of the sculptor Fuad Salayev (born 1943) adorn the streets of Baku, including his piece Wayfarer in front of the Museum Centre, which has a deep philosophical meaning. Academician Omar Eldarov (born 1927), a living legend of Azerbaijani sculpture, combines two periods in his work. His sculptures are so capacious and diverse that it is impossible to take them in at a glance. Omar Eldarov is still working in almost all types and genres of sculpture. He is a skilful professional in monumental sculpture, portraiture, busts, bas-reliefs and gravestones. In the last 25 years he has created monuments for the graves of playwright Huseyn Javid, Academician Zarifa Aliyeva, singer and composer Muslum Magomayev, Academician Hasan Aliyev, Academician Ziya Bunyadov, orientalist Aida Imanguliyeva, writer Shikhali Qurbanov, singer Rashid Behbudov, composer Tofiq Quliyev and others. In his varied work, the great master creates forms closely
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related to their urban environment. Omar Eldarov has recently worked on sculptures to be erected abroad; for example, a bas-relief of Uzeyir Hajibayli in Vienna (2005), a bust of Nizami Ganjavi in Cheboksary (2004) and a statue of Ihsan Dogramaci in Ankara (2003). The monument to the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in front of the Turkish embassy in Baku is of particular significance. The sculptor’s work combines two periods in his profession – the 20th and 21st centuries. He has created a bronze monument, entitled 20th Century, which describes a human silhouette broken in two; this composition represents the dramatic collisions of two centuries was created in 2000, i.e. at the intersection of the two periods, adding to its metaphorical significance.
New popular names have emerged in the field of sculpture. For instance, Natiq Aliyev (born 1958) developed his career rapidly after graduating from the Vera Mukhina Higher School of Art and Design in Leningrad. His monument to the Azerbaijani poet Aliagha Vahid is especially interesting (1990). His talent is revealed further in the monuments created in the 2000s to Mozart (2011), Romanian composer George Enescu (2006), architect Zivarbay Ahmadbayov in Baku (2011), and to the Serbian writer Milorad Pavic in Belgrade. The latest thematic trends in contemporary sculpture are concentrated in Natiq Aliyev’s work and reflected in his new artistic language. His innovative solutions can be seen in his statues of the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev erected in Kiev (2004), Tbilisi (2007), Astrakhan (2010) and Belgrade (2011). The ability to embody a theme in different compositions and to penetrate the depth of the inner world of the image are central to Aliyev’s work. This feature can be seen in Natiq Aliyev’s monuments to the genocide of Azerbaijanis, i.e. to the mass murder of civilians in Khojaly in February 1992. He has created memorials to the Khojaly victims in Mexico (2012), Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012), and Ankara (2014). His contribution to the development of sculpture has been highly appreciated: he was honoured with the title of People’s Artist of Azerbaijan in 2005, and became an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts. A major multicultural event of recent years is the foundation of the YARAT contemporary art space by a talented young artist, Aida Mahmudova (born 1982), who studied in London. YARAT is dedicated to nurturing an understanding of contemporary art and creating a hub for artistic practice, research and thinking in Azerbaijan and abroad. During the five years of its existence YARAT has brought together some 130 artists in over 120 cultural and artistic projects. Its members create work in all the visual arts, such as painting, graphics, sculpture, design, photography, video art and installation, and today YARAT defines the Azerbaijani art of the 21st century. It is appropriate that one YARAT exhibition should have been entitled Merging Bridges. It featured both local and acclaimed foreign artists including Sarah Lucas, Keith Coventry, James Turrell, Idris Khan and Olympia Scarry. The exhibition was co-curated by Aida Mahmudova, founder and director of YARAT and London-based curator Adam Waymouth. The main goal of Merging Bridges was to develop cultural dialogue in the modern world. In conclusion, it should be noted that multiculturalism in Azerbaijani fine art takes different forms. Its deepest and most complex manifestation is the change of the artistic language under the influence of foreign art. In more than a century this has happened three times in Azerbaijani fine art: at the intersection of the 19th and 20th centuries; in the 1920s and 30s; and in the early years of independence. The thematic works of art of Azerbaijani artists dedicated to numerous countries can be appreciated as a remarkable and diverse manifestation of multiculturalism. A vital,
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integral part of multiculturalism in fine art is the organization of exhibitions, which introduces a local audience to world art, and a foreign audience to the work of Azerbaijani artists. Another feature of multiculturalism concerns the stages in the development of sculpture: monuments are erected to foreign historical and cultural figures of note in Azerbaijan, while monuments to prominent Azerbaijanis are erected abroad. Yüklə 2,25 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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