PAINTER OF SILENCE AND GLOW

Rasad Mehdiyev is an honoured artist, associate professor of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Arts, doctor of art philosophy and an honorary academician of the Imperial Academy of Russia. His paintings are kept in private and public collections in Azerbaijan and around the world. Rasad Mehdiyev is the only Azerbaijani artist, who had an exhibition in the European representative office of the United Nations. Currently, he is a teacher at the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts, teaching young artists the art of painting.

- Rasad, you were born in the family of the people's artist of Azerbaijan, Rafiq Mehdiyev. Tell us about your childhood...

- When I was little, I was a frequent visitor to the studio of my father. I watched him draw and looked at my father's works. Dad didn't paint at home, but did sketches sometimes. He believed that silence and detachment are needed for inspiration. But at home it was always noisy and funny. His friends often visited us: artists, writers, musicians and scientists ... It was interesting for me to watch them and listen to their conversations and reflections. My mother cooked delicious food and entertained distinguished guests with Azerbaijani dishes. On such evenings, our apartment turned into a kind of private club for artists; I felt an unusual inflow of energy and dreamed that one day I, too, would become such a well-known and talented artist. (Laughs) At that time, children had other desires and dreams. It's not like those of today's children. In my childhood, people had other priorities in life. Today, most students see themselves as successful and affluent businessmen, lawyers or ambassadors in the future. Every summer my family and I went to the All-Union house of recreation and work for artists, which was located on the shore of the Lake Senezh in the Moscow region. Art workshops were opened there, various exhibitions and symposiums were held, and there were creative schools for young talents. For me, a boy who dreamed of world fame as a great artist, it was the most interesting and strangest place in the world at the time. It was bustling with real creative life full of crazy ideas and artistic designs. I watched the work of artists who were constantly on the move and sought inspiration, and thought: "Will I become so crazy and reckless too?" After two or three years, when I was 14 years old, I went to Azim Azimzada Art School, and after that, I was going to enroll in one of the leading art colleges of the USSR - the Surikov Moscow State Academy of Arts. I was already imagining how I would conquer the academy, but the collapse of the Soviet Union and the beginning of notorious tragic events in Azerbaijan in 1989-1990 ruined my plans. Dad didn't want to let me go in the darkest time for the country. And I had to enter the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts. Then I continued my studies at the Memar Sinan Istanbul University of Fine Art. After completing my studies in Turkey, I returned to Baku, studied in the assistantship (a form of post-graduate training in creative and performing specialities in the field of culture and art - author) for two years at my university, defended my thesis and started to teach in my native university. In 2000, our teaching staff was transferred to the Azerbaijan State Academy of Arts, which had just opened by the decree of President Heydar Aliyev.

By the way, today, some entrants believe that the Azimzada Art School has completely outlived its usefulness and it's time to close it. They say that in order to get art education, one doesn't necessarily have to spend a few years in college. You can immediately enter the Academy of Arts and get the coveted diploma of higher education ... The Azimzada Art School is an important link in the system of art education and has a significant impact on raising the level of training of artists. By the way, Tahir Salahov, Omar Eldarov, Sakit Mammadov, Nadir Abdurahmanov, Arif Huseynov, Togrul Narimanbayov and many other well-known Azerbaijani artists also graduated from this school. Each of them glorified our country abroad and reached the peaks of artistic Olympus. In the Azimzada Art School, students master the principles, methods and techniques of artistic craftsmanship. They are "stewing" in the special atmosphere of the institution, absorbing all the best and useful things, which are sure to come in handy in future creative development.

College graduates who choose to continue their studies at the Academy of Arts come to this university trained and, as they say, fully prepared. And it's such a pleasure for us, teachers of the academy, to work with these students...

You know, I think, to become a great artist, it's not enough to have inspiration and talent from God. You need to improve your skills, read a lot, study the history of art, have an idea about the creative method of an artist ... In order to become a true professional in your field, you need to constantly learn, experiment, develop and control your gift, relieving yourself of unnecessary information that has filled the modern world and prevents you from achieving your goal. So I always tell my students: talent is a diamond that can shine only after it's treated with knowledge.

- Tell us about your solo exhibitions. Which of them are especially important for you?

- I have more than 10 solo exhibitions to my credit, which were held both in Baku and abroad. Each of these exhibitions is important and significant for me, but there's one among them, which is particularly remarkable for me. It's the exhibition in Vienna, at the UN headquarters in 2006. I was living in Austria, where I was an art resident of Azerbaijan in Vienna. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry offered to put forward my candidacy for the organization of the exhibition. I applied, and it was considered in Vienna for three months, but in the end it did take place.

- Rasad, did your father give you good advice? Did he interfere in the creative process?

- Of course, he gave me tips, but never pushed me to do anything. He always said that I have to get everything myself and make my own way in life. I studied in universities, as say they, "without a backer", read a lot, painted and experimented.

- How are your pictures born? Where do you get your inspiration from?

- I can catch inspiration in all areas: travel, reading, and even in my sleep. An idea comes to an artist in two ways: as something reasonable that bears this or other information or as something irrational that comes from the soul. A professional artist must be able to connect the mind and the soul and make sure that there's no overbalance in any one direction. It's necessary to observe harmony in everything...

(Thinks) I even find it difficult to give a precise definition of the artistic direction, which I adhere to. I think it's a mix of formal and realistic painting.

- Your works often seem to be glowing from inside: How do you achieve such an effect? Do you use a special technique?

- The glow is obtained through long and laborious work. I use no special effects. So I have no special secrets, I'm just trying to make sure that the object is alive again...