Exhibit Interview with Arpi Krikorian

 

I think more than anything I subconsciously needed it to gain clarity on where I’ve been and where I want to go next. I rediscovered oil painting last year, thanks to Annamieka. However, I had not quite figured out how that’s going to fit into my life. For a while now, I had been contemplating the idea of slowly ending my commercial art business of the products and dedicating my energies to a fine art business and the new project I will be announcing in a few weeks. Because of this exhibit, I decided to continue the product business while incorporating time to oil paint simply for the love of it as I have done for the past few decades. I realized almost all my paintings are very personal in subject matter, making them not commercial but that is what drives me to create them. The product business will give me the financial means to create freely without the pressure of selling paintings.

 

This has been an on-going struggle for me. The story telling of my personal work is what drives me to paint. Yet, my perception has been that if a painting is too personal to the artist, no one will relate to it. I would love some thoughts and conversation around this from you, the reader.

Thinking about my expectations of the exhibit, I was excited to see it all displayed and hear what everyone’s reactions were. I anticipated and wished that the attendees would see all the different aspects of me and and free me from this commercial box I drew myself into for the past five years. Even though the creation of my characters bring me immense joy, I promise myself I will be exploring and sharing all the other styles which light my fire at the same time.

People have been asking me recently, “when are you going to draw a new character, when are you going to have new products available?”  I will be drawing new characters this year and have a few more products in my bucket list that I want to develop but… I really want to paint more than I have been before. I have a desire to document my life through art.

One of the highlights of the exhibit was having my friends (who I’ve known for most of my life) say to me they never knew this side of me. Same with my family members. They had not seen many of the pieces I shared. I’m very happy that I brought them out of the closet and introduced them. Every single piece of creation inspires some thing and someone. My cousin Armig shared with me that as she was watching the retrospective show, she was remembering where these pieces were displayed in my family home and the times I showed her when I had finished a piece. She said she relived her childhood through this display.

 

The emotions I was feeling before and the day of the exhibit were of relief. It was the completion of something that had been sitting on my heart for a while and I had been working very hard to bring to fruition. I knew I did everything I could do in the amount of time I had set myself to do it in. That morning I was wishing for one more week to prepare but don’t we say that about everything?

The main overall feeling was excitement and vulnerability. I was about to show everyone all the sides of me. The number one question constantly playing in my mind was why would anyone care about my story? That came up a lot for me, especially when I was doing my marketing. But I realized after the exhibit and after everyone’s comments that people do care and it’s not specifically about me as a person but about someone who has the courage to create, share and be vulnerable enough to say this is me. It’s those steps that inspire and keep the chain of artistic creation going in our world. I think a lot about what if no artist shared what they made? What if there were no museums? What if there was no social media or art exhibits or the radio? What would our life look like without art? So I feel I’m doing my part and that this is God’s calling for me.

 

 

Having completed this one big accomplishment, I know I have a craving to create more. I showed you my first 50 years, now I have another 50 years to share.

I was surprised actually at the response I got from my abstracts. I was unsure how they were going to be received. The abstract art was created out of the need to just put paint and color on a canvas at times that I needed clarity. They represent the whirlwind of thoughts in my head. The colors I choose instinctively and the shapes that emerge from them give me clarity. It’s not the representational image of something specific that tells a story. It’s the process of creation and the chosen colors and marks that relay the emotion.

The whole five hours came and went like a dream. I remember standing in front of the main gallery and looking back and thinking, “who created all this? When did I do all this?” I was a different person in every stage of these pieces. I remember asking myself, “are my parents watching? my grandparents? Are they proud of me?” All I want to do is honor them for making me who I am today. I  I wish they witnessed it. They’d be so proud.

 

One of the highlights was when my brother said to me, “I had no idea you had created all this. You gave us an insight to yourself that even we did not know.”

 

The part of the exhibit that received the most attention and response were my sketchbooks. I’ve always been intrigued with how the creative mind works and I wanted to share the workings of mine. I thought that the attendees really gravitated towards that. As far as the artwork, there was one abstract that several people commented on that they just were gravitated towards it and loved it. (The one on top right in the photo below.)

Coincidently, it was the first abstract I’ve created. The other piece that there was a lot of conversation about was “My Avatar.” It was painted during the time when I was losing my parents and it represents me looking through the dark forest, as if it’s the real me- the raw, animal side of me, with my red nose from crying inside for their loss.

The advice I would have for anyone hosting their own exhibit is to just do it. We always wait for the right time and think who would care (at least I did)? But it all goes back to this: if we as artists feel that way, we’re doing a disservice to the world. Everybody’s art counts. Everybody’s creation adds to the greater good, adds to the beauty we experience in the world, deepens human connection and evokes emotion to relate to each other’s souls. 

If I could go back and offer advice to the younger Arpi I would tell her “don’t give up”. There was a time period where I did give up, for 10 years actually. I think about all the art I would’ve created in those 10 years. I was so worried about making money and making a living, (which is valid) that I put my art away completely. My advice would be to never put down your sketchbook. It’s your way in.

 

The additional comments I would like to share basically are that this show validated to me that I have to share my story with more people. It’s not a vain decision nor to “toot my own horn.”  It’s simply to show an example of several things. First and foremost, I am a descendent of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Everyone can relate right now with all the unnecessary killing in the world. Imagine how many future artists are not going to get their chance to share their story because of these wars. Secondly, I want to share the idea of the importance of imperfection and process. There’s joy, beauty and freedom in that.  If my imperfect process inspires at least one person to start creating for themselves because they are no longer afraid of being judged, then I have made my contribution to the world.

Lastly, the greatest highlight for me was the impression this exhibit left on my daughters. They both told me how proud they were of me and shared my story with their friends. They have both told me that they know they can do anything they set their minds to do because they’ve watched me do just that. That in itself is priceless.