BACKGROUND

Who is John Avakian?

The Horse that Led My Dad to Painting

Vanessa Avakian, October 2, 2006

Revised April 19, 2013

The little boy he was,

Captured in a moment of sheer bliss and innocence

that would soon fade into sentiment and ecstasy,

igniting a flame from which the heart breaks.

It was an unspoken world,

Hushed in secrecy, fear of the Turks.

Being Armenian had its aftermath of suffering

Threatening beyond belief.

The little boy who smiled for the camera;

holding back the tears because he knew his

inner world didn’t match the outer

But he remembers the night

his father drew him a simple drawing;

A man on a horse,

A lead pencil drawing imprinted for all eternity

An animated image seeped into his heart,

bursting forth a rainbow of love and longing

that he and his father both shared.

In the twilight of a tragic fallen world

where vision seems obscure, not opaque.

Yet Looking, Found a special place

His own.

A magical place of inner beauty.

This would mark the beginning

of the artist.

To This Bond So Rare

David Avakian, December 29, 2023

In the realm of colors,

where life's canvas unfolds

A father and artist, their stories are told.

John, the creator, with brush and a dream.

Through the years they've traveled hand in hand.

A father and artist, a dedication that's grand.

The canvas of life, filled with memories

and reflections.

For John, Vanessa and Dave,

on this day so dear,

we celebrate the love that has brought us all here.

For the warmth of their hearts,

for the family and art that they share,

We raise our glasses high, to this bond so rare.

There's more ... continue scrolling down for Background, Medium, and Influencess.

Background: AN art Odyssey

BACKGROUND

Education: BFA and MFA degrees and a four-year diploma with honors from the SMFA. Also Completed 38 semesters of monoprinting in Continuing Ed at the SMFA

Awards: Numerous prizes received for “printings on paper”. Awarded Traveling Scholarship from the SMFA in 1969 for travel to Paris and England. In 1970 Avakian was awarded a scholarship for research in creative art from the Blanche E. Colman Foundation. In 2016 he received a lifetime honorary membership from the Monotype Guild of New England for many years of service.

Lectures: Visiting critic, 2001, 2008 and 2009 in painting at Mass College of Art. In 2003 lectured at the University of the Arts on monoprinting and a demo on paper-litho transfer, and also at Holy Cross College in 2005, and Wheaton College in 2017.

Publications: IF I BEGIN TO CRY is a 187-page catalog on Avakian's monoprints in full color with a critical essay by Todd Bartel on the Armenian Genocide Art and the paper-litho plate method of printing images. Included also is a short play: THE PAST IS NOT THE PAST by playwright Elliot Baker, partially inspired by Avakian's life.

His monoprints are in permanent collections of the New Haven Paint and Clay Club, the Boston and New York Public libraries, the Fogg Museum, and many private collections.

MEDIUM

BACKGROUND

After many years of exile from painting and teaching, in 1990 Avakian made a life saving shift to printmaking from painting, specifically monotypes and monoprints. His foray into this medium necessitated an intensive exploration of traditional and non-traditional methods, tof printing, tools, papers, and found materials to expand his skills and knowledge. These acquisitions were combined with Avakian's painting skills, color and compositional acumen provided him with having a solid experience and technical ability to solve many printmaking issues creatively in future undertakings. During this intense period, Avakian's unwavering interest began with abstract visual elements as imagery that eventually included representational subjects such as human figures within abstract settings as an integrative challenge. From then on, a radical change took place that included serious issues of content such as sociopolitical, psychological, and existential.

In 1992, Avakian came across a novel plate-making method introduced in the 20th century called paper-litho that utilized xerographic printing technology and imaging software. This exploratory paper-litho method turned out to be a quirky process, but surprisingly suited his temperament and printmaking vision.

As yet paper-litho printmaking has not reached the same status as woodcut, etching, and mezzotint. Perusing the

the internet does not provide any kind of demonstration that is inspirational, nor is it introduced in printmaking classes. equivalent way.

The paper-litho medium became a long term mission for Avakian and a long standing passion for his own work. His temperament is a perfect match for the unexpected nature of paper lithoraphy. Fragility and unpredictability of the outcome is a welcome challenge to the creative and problem solving process.

INFlUENCES

BACKGROUND

INFlUENCES

Avakian became interested in drawing during his toddler years when his father drew him a horse and rider. This moment was a bond of love for Avakian. In high school he admired thel story telling and painting technique of Norman Rockwell. He was mentored by his art teacher. For his dedication as an art student was awarded 5-gold keys; for photography, drawing, and painting. At the SMFA, he studied with the Belgian painter Jan Cox who's paintings had a strong influence on him. Avakian traveled to NY city to see Cox's bewitching Orpheus and Eurydice paintings at the Catherine Viviano Gallery. Jan Cox was there, and was willing to sit in front of his his large-scale painting for a historic snapshot. In grad school, Alber's color course had a powerful effect on him, while his he was paintings were judged "idiosyncratic" and judged to be "unteachable" by an abstract painter from New York. His enrollment in Existential Philosophy introduced him to the writings of Heidegger, Husserl, Sartre, and others that opened his mind in a wondrous way beyond anything he could have imagined. Also his on-going interest in visual organization brought him in contact with Gestalt psychology, and the interior world of the psyche by C. G. Jung whose writings profoundly influence him. After grad school, Avakian discovered a biographical book BLACK ANGEL: A Life of Arshile Gorky. In the life of Gorky, Avakian found soulful kinship with Gorky's existential challenges: multiple losses, abject loneliness and medical problems that finally drove him to suicide. However, Gorky's art lives on in spirit, and in my heart.

*See monoprint "Gorky & Me" under "Portraits" in slide show.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE EXHIBIT 2005

Genocide Hangings 2, above, is from a large-scale series of work that was included in a one-person show called: LEST WE FORGET held at the Providence College, Hunt-Cavanagh Gallery in 2005. This monoprint (in the background) exemplifies the potentiality of paper-litho method, and how far it has progressed in transferring images of large-scale to paper. This powerful image of inhumanity was sourced from a 1915 historical photo of a public hanging. It was digitally stylized, enlarged, inked, and printed on BFK paper in a seamless undertaking. The small text of approximately 50 towns were printed later.

FAMILY BIOGRAPHY EXHIBIT 2014

The above monoprint is from the FAMILY BIOGRAPHY series exhibited at the Attleboro Arts Museum. Previously FAMILY BIO 30 (not in photo) received the Best of Show Award. These prints are a combination of family and historical photos. It was conceived as an expansive horizontal format reminiscent of an ongoing epic of time beginning with genocidal horror more than 100 years ago. The aftermath of the 1915 Armenian Genocide continues through a timeless passing on to the next generation their legacy and history through protective silences, stories, secrets, anger, and nightmares.

PAINT & CLAY CLUB EXHIBIT 2017

This monotype/monoprint combination, CUPID ENTERS THE RUINS was selected by Samuel Quigley, Director of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum for the 2017 National Exhibition of the New Haven Paint and Clay Club. This print is from a large group of experimentations with a variety of materials and tools. Figurative subjects were also introduced into abstract settings as an integrative challenge. Thus Cupid appears in this print— full of love, daring to enter a strange world of manifest ruins in hope of bringing some semblance of love to those devastated, even if it's for a brief passing of time.

MGNE - Fifth National Juried Exhibit 2018

PORTRAIT OF INNOCENCE received Honorable Mention by Prof. Judith Brodsky, Rutgers University at the Duxbury Art Complex. This large-scale provocative monoprint of innocence and mass murder is seamed together in a 9-part bleed monoprint printed on 42" h x 31" w BFK gray paper. The image depicts a naked toddler sitting cross-legged on a chair in a photo studio, unaware that in the background lies a heap of naked dead Armenian male bodies flanked by Turkish soldiers based on a photo taken during the Genocide of 1915.

About Monotypes and Monoprints

Monotypes and Monoprints is an artist specializing in monotypes and monoprints. With a passion for printmaking, Monotypes and Monoprints creates unique and expressive artwork that captures the beauty of spontaneous creation. Each piece reflects a blend of skill and creativity, inviting viewers to explore new dimensions in art.

120th Paint & Clay Club Juried Art Exhibition 2021

AN IMMIGRANT'S SONG GOES UNHEARD selected by the Judge of selection and Awards: Hollis Dunlap. This monoprint received the Weiss Sisters Prize for printmaking, and purchased for the permanent collection of the NHP&CC. The printing medium is paper-litho that is seldom utilized in any distinguished way. The image is from a photo of the artist's father, who survived the Armenian Genocide, and held on to the dream of going back to his place of birth.

ART PORTFOILIOS TO VISIT:

vibrant Works on paper: Monoprints that capture the essence of life

Who is John Avakian?

Background: AN art Odyssey

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

MEDIUM

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

INFlUENCES

BACKGROUND

INFlUENCES

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE EXHIBIT 2005

FAMILY BIOGRAPHY EXHIBIT 2014

PAINT & CLAY CLUB EXHIBIT 2017

MGNE - Fifth National Juried Exhibit 2018

About Monotypes and Monoprints

120th Paint & Clay Club Juried Art Exhibition 2021

My Blog

vibrant Works on paper: Monoprints that capture the essence of life

Who is John Avakian?

Background: AN art Odyssey

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

MEDIUM

BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND

INFlUENCES

BACKGROUND

INFlUENCES

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE EXHIBIT 2005

FAMILY BIOGRAPHY EXHIBIT 2014

PAINT & CLAY CLUB EXHIBIT 2017

MGNE - Fifth National Juried Exhibit 2018

About Monotypes and Monoprints

120th Paint & Clay Club Juried Art Exhibition 2021

My Blog

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