Azad-hye exclusive interview with Arman Davitian (NUR)
By Carlos Jose Bourdjian
Arman Davitian or simply NUR, Please introduce yourself.
For me it is very difficult to introduce myself. Basically I am a painter and make sculptures as well, but now I have my own style to express myself, and as becoming mature year by year I feel this style grows with me and it can express my feelings and my world that I want to share with people around me.
Why NUR (pomegranate)? Because it is the symbol of
You don?t have a showroom where people can come to choose whatever they want to buy. How do you manage to do your sales?
Speaking about my works, I don?t think they look like any other stuff you can see in a store. If clothes are made to protect and keep you warm, then everybody can find them in a store ready to be sold. They have a reason to be made for and they are for the public, but the only purpose my works have been made is because each one of them belongs to somebody, that?s why they are exclusive. I believe the same concept was adopted ages ago when man felt the need for something to represent him, a symbol for example. The concept changed through years and became commercialized.
I chat with the customer and review with him what he likes and dislike, what are his priorities and his desires. The discussion is not related to the ring or necklace he wants to order, rather to life in general. I have to know what kind of life he had, maybe some interesting stories from the past and what he still expects from life. These all help to create an image about this person. All I have to do next is to use the information to shape what represents the customer ? the unique model. I don?t believe in the ?Horoscope? of stones and that every month has its own stone, I think it?s all in emotions. I can look at the customer and see the stones he or she must use. I just feel it. I pick up a stone and see what it represents in itself, what it carries inside it and what kind of feeling can radiate out of it. I create the final shape in harmony with the ?genetics? of the stone and the nature of the customer. After finishing the work the customer has the right to take it or refuse to take it.
And did anyone return his order because of not liking it?
It didn?t happen yet, but sometimes after finishing the work the customer has some doubts about it. In this case I propose to take it for 2-3 days to try it and then return with either the payment or the work itself. I don?t bother if the piece is returned back and in that case it will be melted down and won?t be sold to anyone else.
This is the reason why I don?t have a shop or a showroom to display my works, because each item bears the stamp of both the creator and the person for whom it was made.
You use precious and semi precious stones beside gold and silver. What are other materials you use in creating your compositions?
I use everything nature offers. If you watch a tree you see how wood grows next to the green leaves, stones are next to the tree and soil is beneath them all. Birds and butterflies fly over the scene. If all these ingredients can live together in Mother Nature, why not to take advantage of them all. That?s why in my works you see gold next to wood, leather next to silver, copper next to rope and turtle shell as well.
Beside your jewel works you have made several mini sculptures as well. Are these made by requests?
No, actually I began making sculptures for myself because they reflect my feelings, my desires, hopes and dreams. They were not supposed to be sold in first place, but then I realized I would be very egoist to keep them all for myself, since people loved to buy and share them with me. So I decided to sell my mini sculptures, except two works which will stay with me forever, ?Genius? and ?Lilit?, I?ll never sell both of them with any price, though there is a secret admirer of ?Genius? who follows my exhibitions from one country to another. He hopelessly keeps increasing his offers, but in vain. Before I sell any sculpture I need to know the person and his purpose for buying it. I must visit his house to know where exactly he wants to display it. My sculptures are like my babies. I get permission from their owners to visit them from time to time for polishing and making sure they are still in good appearance.
Let?s talk a bit about the series ?Genius?. What is the story behind these little tiny dancing figures?
This is my best theme. I love to talk about ?Genius? endlessly, but let me make it short and give you a brief idea about its concept. ?Genius? represents the process of how mind works and the levels that ideas are channeled; starting from the minute they are born till their accomplishment. When a brilliant idea comes to your mind, you don?t accept it in first place since it is still new and strange. You try to delete the idea but cannot, because it is already settled in your mind and you keep thinking about it. This scares you and makes you uncomfortable and frustrated, because you were living peacefully without it. So you face problems because your daily routine is distracted by new thoughts caused by this new idea. You feel exhausted and begin dreaming about what it will look like if it came true. Suddenly you realize that dreaming will not make it happen, so you adopt practical solutions till you succeed to transform your idea into an action. You believe you have completed a long awaited mission but it starts all over again with another idea striking your mind.
Everybody goes through this process, but it is different from one person to another because not everyone can make his ideas happen. I think God created this system. He keeps sending more ideas to active people and less to lazy ones. This is a vicious circle. Creative work is a vicious circle too, a sphere. Is creative work also sufficient in itself? I think it?s not.
It is important to mention that the five figurines of ?Genius? are made of silver and they won many international prizes. Each mini sculpture can be formed between five to seven years; each reflects a certain psychological state of character as mentioned above.
Is it true that you have been invited to
I was invited by the Italian Union of Jewelry Designers ?Vincenzo?. They organize an annual exhibition, where all the jewelers, besides displaying their designs, can attend special classes. I met the ?Vincenzo? people in
Now that you have your own way of understanding and explaining certain things. A simple general question. Do you believe in God?
100% I do and if it is possible I say I believe 200% in God. He is inside my heart and soul. God is certainly inside each one of us and that is the meaning of Life, although some people admit that they have found God in them and others don?t.
Your wife, Lilit. What does she mean to you? And is it true that she was your inspiration?
(Laughing loud) 200% yes. I mean, my best creations have been made after I got married. She is my true inspiration and I don?t think my career would be the same today if I was married to someone else. I don?t call her my wife; she is my Lilit, my legendary flame. I was made from earth but she was created from fire and this is what makes it perfect between us. She inflames my life and gives it a meaning.
Your life has been changed and flavored since the birth of Nare and Nane, your twin daughters. How much do you miss them when you spend your time at work?
I miss them a lot and they are very much connected to me. Sometimes I feel scared that my long absence at work will create a different ideal in their mind than I would like to see. Before their birth I wasn?t scared from death and thought that one day my time will come and I?ll be away, but after their birth everything was changed. Now I have responsibilities towards them and it kills me thinking I won?t accomplish my duties as a loyal father. That?s why I try to dedicate every single free minute to them.
What does Friendship mean to you? Do you make friendships with clients too?
Friends are very important to me; they are the result of my experience through the years. It is something you can choose and not be obliged to accept. Beside my lifetime friends I have made relations with clients. Sometimes they turn to be good friends too because by constant visits the person becomes an open book, he shares certain feelings and stories with me. I have friends from Diaspora too. Not going too far, you met me through a friend of mine and thus the circle became bigger. Usually when my friends meet the Diaspora Armenians they recommend them to visit my studio as one of
I love my friends, they refresh my soul after a busy day at work and I keep learning from them. It hurts me when I hear someone speaking badly about my friends and then I become the other NUR, very angry and upset, not the calm type everybody thinks I am always.
And do these friends get any gifts from NUR?
(Smiling) They certainly do. I like to give my friends some of my works as gifts, and usually it is silver what I offer them.
To log in www.nur.am you will find certain guidelines to follow. Access is possible only in case you recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
First, I have to say that the recognition issue of Armenian Genocide is well known to everybody and I think I?m taking part of it with this action in my website. Secondly, my art works are usually imitated by various visitors of my website. In recent years I noticed that most of the website visitors were Turkish designers; they copy images from the site. If you browse their recent catalogues you can see my designs copied badly. There?s nothing I can do about it if people want to steal my designs and I don?t have time to fight this. All I?m saying to Turkish designers is that I?m ok if they want to steal, but do it after accepting the Genocide.
Do you think that there is improvement in jewel designs in
It hurts me to say that it is still in the early steps, because it is more commercial than creative. People find it very easy to copy a design because it saves them time and thus the ability of creating dies in them. I think the reason is the absence of design schools. Armenian jewelers have the ability to learn and accept what is new, then to transform this to a creation of their own. I have almost 50 students graduated from my studio. My students will continue my mission in art and I will grow up more through their achievements because their every successful work is my victory.
What is your biggest dream? What do you wish for? And have all your dreams come true?
It is hard to make all dreams come true. I wish there would be kindness and forgiveness rather than jealousy and evil among people, I wish peace to the whole world. But these are too good to be true. On the other hand I wish my country to be more happy and prosperous. I wish my people be more educated and
It is worth to mention that if anyone has new thoughts or ideas about the meaning of ?Genius?, he can send them to Nur and will receive a memorable prize, provided that he?finds them interesting.
Read Part I here.
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Ar set | Intrusion |
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Me and You | Path to nature |
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Ring with a rose | Ring with gold, leather and rope |
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Ring with pomegranate and snow | Genius: dancing men positions |
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Talisma owned by Andre Agassi | ?Nur talking about Genius project |
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