Minas Halaj: Every artist needs to have a revolution

by Maria Titizian

Published: Friday October 23, 2009

Metamorphosis, oil, 48x36, 2007.

Minas Halaj.
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Yerevan - Minas Halaj is back in Armenia for the first time since leaving seven years ago as an aspiring 19-year-old artist. His journey initially took him to New York City and then to Los Angeles where he now lives and works. While he admits there were difficult moments on his chosen path, he is slowly but surely making a name for himself in the art world.

What would make a young man, coming for a family of artists, living a relatively comfortable life to leave his home, his family, friends and existence? "I started to think that I needed to change my environment, to find inspiration," he explains. "When I moved to New York, I had nobody there. I didn't know where I was going, I was just alone."

Minas says that being in a city all alone with nobody to depend on motivated him to think more aggressively about what he wanted from life as an artist. "In many ways I was alone and I had only myself to depend on, there was nobody who could help me," he says. "If I had stayed in Armenia I would've been more comfortable. People don't rush here, it's more laid-back. When you're on your own, you can't be laid-back."

He found solace in painting and that is what he started to do. He also began taking orders for graphic design, illustration, anything to do with art. "People began noticing my work and after three years in New York I decided to move to Los Angeles," Minas says. Afterward, he went to San Francisco where he was at UC Berkeley for three years studying art. It was at Berkeley that Halaj began connecting with his art.

The liberal atmosphere he found himself in at Berkeley became somewhat of a challenge for the young artist. "It took me 3-4 years to forget how to paint classically. It was difficult to break that mold," he says. "I try to deconstruct classical themes now and then reconstruct them forgetting those classical styles."

Minas believes that every artist has to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Every artist must experience a revolution in his/her life in order to be able to see what is behind the canvass. "If I hadn't left, I think that there would have been many secrets that I would not have been able to disclose or understand in my life," explains Halaj. "By leaving behind everything I found other spiritual values and a higher state of consciousness. When you are in ‘odarutyun' you have to work harder, compose yourself, meet people, contact galleries. In your own home, you take your time and sometimes don't think about future plans."

But by expanding his horizons, and achieving another spirituality, there was also the element of ‘garod.' "When I saw Mount Ararat from the plane, I said to myself, ‘I have returned home.'"

He says that when you are confident, a hard worker and have talent, you are appreciated in the United States. "I want to transmit what I have learned abroad. I have all my knowledge that I received from the homeland, I further developed that in ‘odarutyun.' I understood many things and I want to be part of my country, to somehow help my country," he says. "I want to do something through my art that represents my nation and to also give something back. I want my contemporaries here in Armenia to know that it is possible to think differently, to see things differently."

Minas' first solo show was at the Tracy Park Gallery in Santa Monica, California. Since then he has participated in many solo and group exhibitions. His work was also showcased at the Susan Alexander Gallery and the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in the United Kingdom.

Close to 1,500 of his paintings today are with private collectors, including actor Jim Carrey. He works in oil, mixed media and graphics. "I love all styles; I can work in all styles. The medium is not the important thing, the meaning is the important element, the medium is secondary," he explains. "What you are trying to say is the important thing."

His latest graphic series, entitled Magnetic Flower is a mixture of many different styles, influences and elements. He incorporates flowers, nature, animals, anatomy and Roman sculpture techniques. He envisions that there will be 15 pieces in the series, five of which he has already completed.

The materials he uses for his graphic pieces are totally organic. He makes the ink himself. "I get the ink powder, I add oil or water to it, I leave it under the sun," he says. He hopes to transform these graphic images into sculptures.

When Minas Halaj paints, he speaks in his own language. "The power of art is to talk with your language. You need to be able to create your own language to speak to people," he says. "We all speak in our language, that is the meaning of art."

A few days ago, as he was walking along the streets of his native Yerevan after a seven year absence, Minas came face to face with his teacher. "You have become a master," his teacher said to him. A lot of things have changed for Minas since the day he decided to have a revolution in his life. And how does he see the city of his birth? "So many things have changed, people have changed. There is something new in my city, my city is light. Slowly things are moving toward brightness," Minas says, smiling.

connect:
www.minashalajart.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2SQGFYiKec