The global economic meltdown has diminished any hopes artist
extraordinaire Avedis Baghsarian had held of staging an exhibition of his
latest works.
"According
to
the
galleries
and
art
experts
conditions
are
so
bad
that
they
claim
you
can
purchase
masterpieces
such
as
Picasso's,
for
1/4
the
price
of
their
estimated
value,"
he
told
this
correspondent,
echoing
the
current
feeling
in
the
worldwide
financial
market.
But
despite
the
setback,
Avedis
remains
undaunted.
And
on
the
go.
Although
in
his
mid
seventies, he still keeps himself busy and his keen eyes miss nothing.
"I
strongly
believe
an
active
mind
is
the
best
way
to
stay
young
and
healthy,
because
creativity helps us renew our brain cells," he concurred.
The
renowned
former
Jerusalemite
has
found
a
home
and
a
niche
in
Southampton,
where
he
has
ample
opportunity
to
hone
his
multifaceted
skills
in
photography,
architecture,
industrial design and lately sculpture.
For
kaghakatsi
Armenians,
sculpture
has
been
an
esoteric
facility,
one
they
admire
mainly
from
a
distance.
Only
a
handful
have
had
the
tenacity
to
experiment
with
clay,
metal,
or
stone.
Alas,
we
have
no
records
of
their
achievements
-
a
sad
commentary
on
this
otherwise
vibrant
community.
That
is
one
mistake
our
contemporary
artists
will
never
make. Artists like Avedis Baghsarian.
He
has
tried
his
hands
at
a
wide
range
of
arts
from
photography
to
architecture,
reflecting
his
eclectic
talents.
But it is for sculptor that he has now found a long lost love.
Sculptor,
architect,
photographer,
industrial
designer
...
all
reflect
the
eclectic
talents
of Avedis Baghsarian
It's
a
long
way
from
the
cobblestoned
alleys
of
the
Armenian
Quarter
of
the
Old
City
of
Jerusalem,
the
setting
he
credits
with
making
him
feel
the
first
stirrings
of
an
artistic
spirit.
Despite
the
acclaim
and
accomplishment,
he
remains
a
"kaghakatsi"
at
heart,
that
enterprising
breed
of
individuals
reared
in
the
Armenian
Quarter
(where
most
people
knew
him
as
Hanno
or
Hovannes),
who
have
enriched
the
cultural
heritage
of
the
region
with their contributions, particularly in art and literature.
His
first
foray
was
in
photography
at
one
of
the
leading
Armenian
practitioners
of
the
craft
in
town
-
but
it
was
in
the
US,
after
his
discharge
from
the
Army,
that
he
began
to
hone
his
art
to
perfection.
His
work
earned
him
accolades
across
the
country
but
there
was
always
something
more
challenging
beyond,
and
he
soon
turned
his
hand
to
other
mediums
and
disciplines.
(In
the
meantime,
he
took
enormous
joy
in
designing
his
own
house)
One
of
the
table
top
vases
he
created,
has
found
its
way
into
the
Jerusalem
Museum
of
Art.
But
he
has
also
carved
out
a
name
for
himself
in
over
a
score
of
prestigious
museums,
including
New
York's
Guggenheim,
San
Francisco's
Metropolitan
and
Kobi's
Museum of Art.
Avedis
recalls
the
pleasant
surprise
he
got
in
1993
when
Interior
Design
Magazine
honored him for his "Satellite Collection." Others had taken note of him as well.
"Some
people
from
a
Jewish
organization
in
New
York
City
found
out
that
I
was
born
in
Jerusalem
and
I
was
asked
if
I
would
like
to
contribute
a
vase
for
a
silent
auction
for
the
benefit of the museum," he told this correspondent.
"About
6
months
later
a
manufacturer
of
home
furnishings
from
Israel
who
had
seen
the
piece
in
Jerusalem,
and
came
to
my
showroom
and
asked
to
be
my
exclusive
distributing
agent
-
he
placed
a
very
large
order
-
but
I
have
not
heard
from
him
since
and
I
can't
tell
how
successful
he
was
with
my
products,"
he
said.
When
he
moved
to
his
second
home,
he
discovered
he
had
a
landscape
that
was
perfect
for
a
new
experience,
and that gave him his start in environmental sculpture.
The
Hamptons
where
he
has
his
home
is
a
very
unique
place,
he
notes.
Because
it
is
an
island
and
surrounded
by
water,
light
reflects
in
a
special
way
and
gives
an
unusual
glow
to the landscape.
Avedis
believes
he
has
been
more
successful
with
his
Manhattan
skyline
sculptures
than
with
other
works.
He
started
creating
them
after
9/11,
and
held
an
exhibition
on
the
first anniversary of that horrendous day.
The
skyline
effect
is
achieved
by
multiple
layers
of
building
facades
scored
on
styrene:
each
building
is
individually
scored,
colored
and
cut
by
hand
into
shapes
to
simulate
certain existing structures in that particular district of Manhattan, Avedis explains.
His
intention
has
not
been
to
duplicate
the
actual
buildings
but
rather
interpret
their
aesthetic
vision.
With
his
outdoor
sculptures,
mostly
based
on
motifs
taken
from
nature,
Avedis
has
created
an
appealing
set
of
effects
culminating
in
3D
dioramas
that
seem
to
exude life.
Grasshoppers,
birds,
frogs
and
snails
are
captured
in
natural
finish
steel
or
powder-
coated steel, perched in settings that are a producer's dream
He
notes
that
his
work
is
reminiscent
of
the
oriental
art
form
of
origami
which
utilizes
a different medium, paper.
"I
call
my
creations
'metalgami'
because
they
are
folded
metal,"
he
told
one
interviewer.
One
of
the
most
moving
sculptures
is
a
three-piece
representation
of
wild
geese
in
flight,
titled
"Migration."
Their
craning
necks
reaching
up
to
the
skies,
the
geese
are
poised for immediate flight, the illusion created by the slanted angle of the bodies.
"Curvaceous"
is
the
way
one
gallery
owner
has
described
these
outdoor
sculptures.
"When you see them, you want to touch them," he is quoted as saying.
Lately
and
specially
during
the
winter
months,
Avedis
has
begun
creating
videos
of
images
he
had
photographed
during
summer
and
winter
months.
Eschewing
elaborate
motion
picture
apparatus,
he
has
opted
for
a
simple
digital
camera
in
capturing
these
sights and sounds.
"The
challenge
for
me
is
not
the
quality
of
the
images
but
rather
in
finding
and
incorporating
the
proper
music
to
the
images
that
interest
me.
I
find
it
very
relaxing
and
it releases some of my creative energy," he told this correspondent.
Avedis
has
been
lucky
in
more
ways
than
one:
his
wife,
Arsho,
is
an
equally
renowned
artist,
a
footwear
designer
who
has
spent
a
"colorful
career"
designing
for
such
names
as
Christian
Dior
and
Stuart
Weitzman.
Last
year,
she
was
inducted
by
America's
leading
footwear
publication,
Footwear
News,
into
its
Hall
of
Fame
for
her
lifetime
achievement
(45 years).
The
couple's
support
for
each
other
has
been
instrumental
in
helping
them
further
their different careers, Avedis concedes.