ARAVOT newspaper, Yerevan, Armenia February 9, 1995
“Whomever I paint, it always looks like my mother" - An Interview with Razmik Pogosyan
By Saro Gyodakian
When creating, which color do you prefer?
- The warm color
Do you choose your themes ahead of time?
- No. If they were to ask me, while painting, what am I creating, I would not be able to explain. The painting comes out all by itself.
Are you working with the same inspiration today?
- Yes. You know, hardship presents its own interests.
Do you have any unfinished works?
- Many. Because while creating I do not know when it begins, when it ends.
What do you prefer to paint the most?
- Nationalist subjects.
Do you have any particular favorite work?
- “Mother Armenia” and “My Family”
Is art indeed born from its native soil?
- Yes. Without the mother soil, how can one live, create?
Have you had many happy days?
- When years before we had a meeting with William Saroyan, the world-renowned playwright, who had traveled the entire world, answered to that very question, “When I open my palm, in it I only see maybe five days when I have lived happily…
What is the power of true art?
- The power of life.
Who were your teachers?
- Eduard Isabekian and Mkrtich Kamalian. I admired Bazhbeuk Melikian.
Have you ever painted your mother?
- A lot. My mother, Siranush, would pose with great patience for me to paint her. And in general, whomever I paint, it always looks like my mother.
Are bright works born at any time?
- Yes. If you have light inside you. And if there is light, then there is everything. Light is life itself, is it not?
Have you ever tried to paint God?
- I have an entire series devoted to Christ. Last year I finished the “Crucifixion.”
Do the brushstrokes always follow your command?
- No. It is difficult to always match one’s inside to the outside. That only came to Van Gogh..
Is it possible to give the torments of the soul to the canvas?
- Whatever I paint is the very torment of the soul. As Isabekian said, “The soul is emptied by painting.”
What does time represent for you?
- Time does everything. When Picasso passed, it seemed to me that the world should stop. Yet, that did not happen. Nothing changed.
Will these difficult times ever become a memory?
- Without a doubt. Our nation has seen tougher days. They have come and gone. We are still here.
This article was published in the Armenian newspaper ‘Aravot’ during a time of great hardship in the country, stricken by a deadly earthquake, war, and a complete socio-economic shutdown. And yet, the artist’s brisk and optimistic responses are a powerful tribute to the undying willpower and love of one’s country, family, and everything that is beautiful in life, even in times of difficulty.
