Ahead of the 150^th birth anniversary of Hovhannes Tumanyan, 12 stone sculptures and 10 wooden sculptures, the images of which portray the famous characters of Tumanyan’s works (Anush, Saro, Gikor, Kaj Nazar, etc.), will decorate the central part of Dsegh and the premises of the House-Museum of Hovhannes Tumanyan. Journalists had the opportunity to see the sculptures and meet the sculptors during a visit to Dsegh on 17 July.

“The sculptors are young creators from various regions of the Republic of Armenia, as well as Artsakh and Javakhk. All the characters are the main characters of Tumanyan’s works and will be shown in the central park and in the house-museum in order to further revitalize Dsegh and beautify the premises,” RA Minister of Culture Armen Amiryan stated, according to Armenpress. According to the Minister, the trees that posed a danger for the structure have been cut, and the trunks of those trees have been used to create the wooden sculptures. “The atmosphere is amazing and fairy tale-like, and one wants to stay there for a long time. I think the sculptures will convey new air to the museum and the community,” Amiryan emphasized, adding that similar programs will be carried out in the premises of the museums of other great Armenians.

Sergey Abovyan, creator of some of the wooden sculptures, said children love the heroes of Tumanyan’s fairy tales. “Works were still in progress when they would come and follow us with pleasure and amazement. It is a great honor for me to install my works in the premises of the house-museum of the great writer, and I am more than happy,” the graduate of Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts stated. Narek Mkrtchyan, who is also an alumni of the Academy, emphasized the fact that the wooden sculptures look like animated figures since most of the visitors of the house-museum are children and there was a need to spark their interest. “We heard about the tender for the symposium and sent our sketches. Naturally, it was nice that our works were going to be installed here. Currently, there are six sculptures, and another four will be installed. All the works will be ready in a month,” Narek stressed. Mushegh Musayelyan, who has traveled from the Martuni region of Artsakh to Armenia and is a second-year student of Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts, emphasized that he had participated in the symposium with great pleasure and a high sense of responsibility and that he had sculpted the characters of Saro and Anush.

“I chose Tumanyan’s poem “Anush” since it is very close to reality. I have tried to portray my understanding of the poem’s content in the sculpture,” Mushegh emphasized. His friends said Mushegh doesn’t use modern means when creating his sculptures. The young sculptor explained that he prefers to use tools that are harder to use since they are not artificial. According to Suren Grigoryan, who is currently in his second year of studies at Panos Terlemezyan College, he sculpted the image of Gikor since there is no other character that is more accessible and more touching.

“I want to portray not only Tumanyan’s Gikor, but also all the Gikors of our days. Unfortunately, there are few Gikors in our days,” he said. Suren stressed the fact that he was very excited when he found out that he had been accepted. “I have worked with clay and wood in the past. This is the first time I am creating such sculptures, and I am pleased with not only this, but also with the fact that my first major sculpture will be placed in Dsegh and will be publicly accessible,” he concluded.

The Ministry organized the symposium ahead of the 150^th birth anniversary of Hovhannes Tumanyan. The task is to shape the heroes of Tumanyan’s works. The complete sculptures will be placed in Dsegh, which is the poet’s hometown.