29 March 2024

Friday, 10:25

FROM BAHRAM GUR TO ALI AND NINO

Sculptor Qorxmaz Sucaddinov is working on a project to create a monument to the legendary characters of Essad Bey's novel

Author:

01.08.2007

The fate of this painter is typical for people of his generation. When he was five years old, he lost his father - he was arrested in 1937. When he was 14, he began to make his living, dreaming of a sculptor's career. One of his first professional works is, without exaggeration, well-known in Azerbaijan. This is the Bahram Gur decorative fountain in front of the Baku funicular. One of his latest works is also well-known - this is the gravestone and memorial plaque to the best "mother-in-law" in the world, Nasiba Zeynalova.

Between them there is a whole life, many, large carved sculptures scattered all over the world and monuments, each of which takes its honorary place in its own city. It seems that they have always existed - the bas-relief of Samad Vurgun on the fasade of the Russian Drama Theatre, the Abseron decorative composition at the main entrance to the Ganclik tourist base, the Xamsa composition near the Nizami mausoleum in Ganca, the monument to Qatir Mammad in the same city… Now he is working on a bronze composition of Ali and Nino and dreams that it will be installed in the Governor's Garden in Baku.

 

Both on aluminium and wood

 

Unfortunately, the sculptor was fated to outlive some of his monuments. For example, the bronze monument to Lenin disappeared from the square in front of the Ganca executive building in the past. We understand why it happened, although the sculptor himself is sure that monuments of the past epoch that have artistic value should not be destroyed, but should be taken to a separate park, which would create a wonderful historical museum in the open air. Qorxmaz Sucaddinov has even invented a name for it - "Totalitarianism Park". But how can you explain the disappearance of completely neutral work - the composition "The girl with a cup" which stood at the entrance to Ganca in the past? It disappeared under Popular Front rule as well. Perhaps, the problem here was not about ideology. The fact is that this figure was as tall as a four-storey house and was made of aluminium. It was simply sold for its metal…

In any case, most of Sucaddinov's monuments have had a happy life. For example, the "ornamental" Xamsa composition which consists of several elements - the five poems and a portrait of the poet himself - fits into the landscape perfectly well. "Now I understand that I should have kept the initial version - the one where this complete composition was a single whole or a kind of canvas," Sucaddinov says. "It was examined as well, but then they selected the current version, because it was more suitable for harmonic interaction with a park. This composition is very dear to me, it is single and indivisible, and I hope that one day it will be able to adorn some new fountain, probably in Ganca."

For his larger compositions, Sucaddinov uses not only bronze, but also wood - he is very keen on his warm material. He has used it to make portraits of Xaqani, Fuzuli and Dada Qorqud, and many wonderful nudes (wood conveys the texture of human skin very well). We would like to especially highlight the compositions "Adam and Eve" and "The Kiss". A slim young couple embracing each other and the rude forefathers of mankind organically fit into his unique material which is a gift from nature itself. The subject of love is one dearest to the sculptor's heart.

Portraits are another "eternal love" of this master. He has a whole string of memorial plaques to outstanding contributors to our culture, as well as monuments to Yunus Emre (Turkey), Fuzuli and a double monument to Vidadi and Vaqif… There are also many carved portraits among which the portrait of Cavadxan occupies a special place. It is based on an approximate reconstruction created from the remains of the last ruler of Ganca. The bronze Cavadxan has an impressive power that can be seen in his face. The nose of an eagle, sharp cheekbones, heavy carved bows above the eyebrows and a massive chin… His shaven head is not covered - no crown. This is not so much a ruler as simply a Ganca warrior… Incidentally, his appearance resembles many present-day residents of this city - everyone who sees this work of Sucaddinov says so.

 

Saving Cavadxan

 

The sculptor himself is also originally from Ganca, as is obvious from his affectionate relation of the history of the city. Qorxmaz Sucaddinov is also involved in its secrets. Cavadxan is the hero of one such story. The main city square of Ganca was reconstructed in the 1960s. Small, old houses were demolished at night by small explosions - they were quite strong since egg yolk was used to build them. When they came to Cavadxan's grave, he was secretly reburied, and no-one knew where he was buried and who had done it. In the early 1990s, when the country gained its independence, people started looking for the ruler's grave which had been in the courtyard of the Shah Abbas Mosque until the 1960s. No-one knew where it was.

Then they asked Sucaddinov. His cousin A. Alizada, a philologist and party functionary, was secretary of the city's party committee in those years. It turned that Alizada, who was already suffering from a serious illness, was the only one who knew this secret. In those years he was a patriot of Ganca and, at night and unknown to the Communist Party, he had moved Cavadxan's remains from his grave on the square to the Saviskar cemetery, together with two workers and the director of the cemetery. There are two eight-pointed mausoleums at the entrance there. The remains of the ruler are between those mausoleums. Alizada remembered how many steps you had to take along the wall to the grave. In any case, it was found. Such a detective story…

Sucaddinov himself does not boast about his involvement in this important event, while others… "Five years ago, I went to a funeral in Ganca," says the sculptor. "We walked out of the cemetery and saw a group of people standing there. It turned out that one of them was the current director of the cemetery. We spoke to them, and he told us that he knew where Cavadxan was buried and had told the authorities about the site of the grave. I asked him how old he was. I calculated that in 1961 he was only seven years old. How could he know about the site of Cavadxan's grave if he was a seven-year-old boy? I told him about that, and he was very ashamed… Now many say that they allegedly took part in Cavadxan's reburial. God help them. The main thing is that it has been returned to its previous place to be preserved for future generations, and a mausoleum has been built over his remains."

Qorxmaz Sucaddinov also remembers how the new Nizami mausoleum was built. He himself took an active part in it. Farman Imamquliyev, who worked as the chief architect of the city for 40 years, wanted to set up a ziyaratxana (a shrine with a caf?, park and so on) instead of a separate mausoleum, in 1989. He managed to persuade the sculptor that his composition would be appropriate there. He had some doubts at first. It is a sheikh's grave… The interior with a bypass balcony was made to look like the fa?ade of the church of 'Les Invalides', an architectural masterpiece of the 17th century, where the grave of Napoleon I is located (Sucaddinov assessed the greatness of its interior while in Paris).

The Council of Ministers promised financial aid for the construction work, while Ganca itself pledged to supply specialists and materials. "God, this eternal Ganca boasting! Do you think that we cannot do anything for our own Nizami," the sculptor said with irony. The executive authorities suggested that he use his connections in Leningrad - he made most of his works at the bronze workshop of the Monumentskulptura factory there. "They summoned me and said - you have to go to Leningrad with some others. I said - okay, we'll go there some time. They answered - what do you mean some time? Your flight is in two hours… I was terrified. I did not even have enough money with me. They said we'll give you money; we'll give you anything you need. So I flew. People accompanying me flew with me - carrying boxes of wine and brandy. In a word, we managed to build this complex with Soviet roubles which had already lost their value, plus five or 10 boxes of brandy. Such a project would cost one million dollars today," Sucaddinov remembers.

The 25-metre mausoleum was built solidly, as the sculptor proposed, from whole granite blocks (the material was taken to Leningrad from Ukraine). Facing crumbles in the course of time, while whole blocks remain for centuries. The old mausoleum, built from soft chalkstone, had been hopelessly eroded by the waste products from a nearby aluminium factory, while polished granite cannot be destroyed even by acid. Black granite looked gloomy so we chose a red one. There is no similar monument in Azerbaijan. It consists of several large blocks. Their size is from one to 1.5 metres. While these blocks were cut in Leningrad, Sucaddinov moulded his sculpture at home. This is the last big monument to be cast here in Baku, he says.

The mausoleum has a sort of "insignia" - a polyhedron made of chalkstone above the entrance. There is a quote from the Koran engraved on it. The then executive authorities of Ganca, fearing Moscow's anger, ordered that the seditious ornament be removed, but Sucaddinov had the courage to say that this ornament could not be removed without destroying the upper part of the mausolem. And the authorities gave up… This is how the sculptor paid his tribute to the sheikh.

Now Sucaddinov is literally obsessed by the idea of creating a monument to the heroes of Essad Bay's novel "Ali and Nino". The project has already been completed - even two projects, so that the city authorities can choose. It is necessary to make these projects as carved sculptures without linking them to the environment. For this reason, the city authorities cannot identify a site for this composition in Baku. Alas. According to the author's idea, and from a logical point of view, this monument could become a monument to love itself. Young couples could meet up near this monument… So let's hope that as these heroes have found their place on the shelves of bookshops and on the stage of the Baku theatre, they will find some cosy park in the capital as well. And the march of love will sound in a song in bronze…


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