ROMANTICISM OF CRAFT

Butunay Haqverdiyev grew up in a family of famous artists and was surrounded by easels, canvases and paints from childhood. Like many of his peers, the boy liked to draw, sculpt figures from plasticine and carve them from wood. And small Butunay dreamed of becoming an astronaut. "I still wouldn't refuse to fly into space," the member of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan, Butunay Haqverdiyev, admits. "It's interesting to go where no man has gone before." The young and promising artist loves all unknown and unusual things and likes to experiment and create unusual installations and paintings. Today Butunay's works are kept in private collections in Azerbaijan, Australia, Lithuania, the UK, Germany, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Norway, Russia and the United States.

- Butunay, if you were not an artist, what would you do in life?

- I think I would have become a craftsman: a joiner, carpenter or furniture maker. I like physical labour. As a child I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, writer, or an astronaut. Speaking of astronautics, I still dream. I'm attracted to the unknown space and journeys to distant stars. When I was a kid, I loved to read fiction. I didn't think about painting then despite the fact that I grew up among artists - my father Ucal Haqverdiyev, mother Yelena Haqverdiyeva, uncles Huseyn and Ali Haqverdiyevs and grandfather Hasan Haqverdiyev. I grew up among easels, paints and paintings. Of course, I tried to follow adults, took paper and brushes and painted. For a long time I thought that painting was just a hobby for me. My parents expected me to become a lawyer or garage director. But I, all of a sudden, after the 9th grade I entered the Azim Azimzada Art College.

- Where did such zeal come from?

- (Laughs) To be honest, I was just fed up with school. I wanted independence, a change of the environment. I was attracted by the romanticism of the life of a freelance artist.

- And were your parents aware of the real reasons for your sudden "departure" to painting?

- They didn't even guess (laughs). They thought that the son was "followed in their footsteps". By the way, I spent a whole year preparing to enter the college, studied art books and drew. I passed all exams easily. When I became a student, I became involved and started painting so much that I realized that I made the right choice! When I was 14, I decided to help my father in his work to paint the Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael in Baku. Together with me, my mother and their friends helped my dad in this job. I was an apprentice, which greatly helped me in my work later. My father painted the church for five years and the work there was completely diverse - from coating the walls to painting and coating them with gold leaf. I remember how he taught me to use putty and said that an artist should be able to make a mirror out of the wall. Dad was already very ill and often travelled to Moscow for treatment. And every time he returned, he went to the church and continued to paint the arches and walls of the church. He worked in the church for five years and died in December 2004 at the age of 44.

- Tell us what kind of father Ucal Haqverdiyev was?

- He was the best. He was strict but fair. He didn't like cheating and forgery. He tried to surround himself with sincere and good people. For me, he was a trusted friend who could help in time of need and give the right advice. Dad never sat idle. He worked mainly at night and slept during the day.

- Did the relationship with a famous artist help you during your studies in the art school?

- On the contrary. I had to be serious about everything I did and said. After all, I had great responsibility, although teachers did me a lot of favours. In general, I'm very lucky to be born in the family of a well-known artist. A lot of doors opened in front of me, and I managed many things effortlessly and easily. After college, I was drafted into the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. I served in the internal troops, where I continued to paint. I helped publish an army wall newspaper. I was given any work somehow related to painting (laughs). I remember that some TV commercials were going to be shot in our unit, and I was instructed to make markings on the parade ground where soldiers were to line up for filming. I accomplished my mission as necessary ... After the army, I went to Moscow, where I enrolled at the British Higher School of Art and Design, which is a member of the British Design & Art Direction, the International Council of Graphic Design Associations, the Interior Educators Association and the International Interior Design Association. Education in this university takes place in the form of an interactive practice. Unfortunately, I still haven't finished the British school. I was forced to quit education because of my participation in the 55th Venice Biennale as a painter of the Azerbaijani national pavilion. I just couldn't miss this event, which is eagerly awaited by all leaders and art lovers, as it's considered one of the most authoritative and representative exhibitions in contemporary world art. I prepared an unusual 3D-installation in the form of ancient Turkic runes especially for the Venice Biennale. I wanted to protest against the narrative nature of contemporary art. I used letters that no one knows and mean nothing to people. The result was a purely visual anthem to the art of calligraphy. These were Turkic runes that were once filled with meaning. In our time, the meaning has been lost, which does not prevent these symbols from being aesthetically beautiful. I wanted to say that the loss of meaning doesn't deprive signs of their value. In a sense, this is my answer to the older generation which complains about this loss. I wanted to show that young people haven't yet forgotten how to see beauty in the past.

- Butunay, what do you regard yourself - an artist or?

- Today I'm a craftsman. I've stopped painting and have devoted myself entirely to wood carving. The thing is that from early childhood I loved to carve various figures from wood. I remember how my father taught me to hold the cutter in my hands and move it smoothly to get streamlined shapes. Generally, wood carving is a very difficult profession. The master doesn't have a second chance to correct the error.

- Why wood?

- It's very a rewarding, supple and warm material. Wood also is a versatile material for making sculptures, and you can create incredible forms and compositions from it, having mastered wood carving. This summer I took part in the exhibition "Azerbaijani Carpets in Art", which took place in Cannes during the Days of Culture of Azerbaijan. The exhibition presented my carpet installation based on Azerbaijani carpet ornaments. The wood installation stood out in the 3D format. That's to say if you look at the composition from above, you'll see famous national carpet "signs" - buta, gel and others.

- What are you working on right now?

- On a series of wooden sculptures. Currently, I carve a ram out of wood... (laughs). Yes, a ram. I've spent a lot of time creating a shield for the future sculpture: I glued pieces of wood, combining them into a desired shape, and then I began to cut the shape with a fretsaw. Work on the huge wooden horns of the ram lies ahead.

- Tell us about your solo exhibitions. Your works are ambiguous and sometimes even a little strange.

- My first personal exhibition took place at the Contemporary Art Centre in April 2011. It was called Before, During, After... Then I exhibited a series of my art works made before the army, during military service, and after its completion. In my opinion, it was a very interesting transformation of emotions, feelings and attitudes. The second solo exhibition Crossing took place in the spring of 2014, and it included works devoted to Baku and Moscow. You know I really like to combine opposites - some funny pop art compositions with gloomy and disturbing characters - such as the work "Biological threat", which depicts a smiling man against the background of a biohazard (a biohazard warning sign). I like to surprise and shock the audience and make imagination work.