prepare a group presentation about a famous azerbaijani artist

Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani artists' works included in TOP 15 Most interesting exhibits

By Laman Ismayilova

Russian News Agency TASS has presented a selection of interesting paintings at the 10th International Fine Art Festival "Traditions & Contemporaneity” in Moscow, Trend Life reports.

TOP 15 Most interesting exhibits of the festival feature the work of People's Artist of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Russia Tahir Salahov and honored artist and a member of Azerbaijan Artists Union, Sakit Mammadov.

The Festival, which has become a landmark in Russia’s cultural life, is an established and convenient site to share expertise, opinions and knowledge for people of art, educators and many others who are interested in culture and art.

Over the past 10 years, the project has attracted 4,700 artists and galleries from 50 countries and 60 regions of Russia. Festival events have been attended by more than 2.5 million people.

This year, the exhibition will display the works of 300 artists from 40 countries, including Azerbaijan, Angola, UK, Italy, France, etc.

The most interesting exhibits at the festival also include works by Zurab Tsereteli and exhibits from renewed galleries such as Mamontov's Gallery, Ridzhina Gallery, NEW OLD ART GALLERY and others.

Sakit Mammadov is one of the most famous artists, whose works are in major art galleries and private collections around the world. His latest exhibition in London, which took place in the spring caused a furore among art critics. The artist himself was presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

His paintings "Offended angel", "Heritage", "Unison", "Clowns on holiday "aroused great public interest.

The biography of the Azerbaijani artist is included into the Encyclopedia 'People of our millennium' which is released with the support of the Presidential Administration of Russia, Federation Council, State Duma, UN and UNESCO information center.

National artist Tahir Salahov is one of the most prominent representatives of the Azerbaijani art.

The artist sensitively catches the rhythms of life and able to listen and hear the time. He is the master of portraits, landscape pictures, still-life paintings and large many-figured paintings.

Salahov is the vice-president and honorary president of the International Association of Plastic Arts of UNESCO, the vice-president of the Russian Academy of Arts, People's Artist of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Russia, and is the winner of a number of high awards, including the State Prize of the USSR and Azerbaijan.

He became one of the leading representatives of the so-called "severe style", a trend in Soviet art of the 1960s that aimed to set off a hard, publicist, and realist view against the ceremonial "polished reality" of the Joseph Stalin era.

Portraits occupy a special place in Tahir's creative activity. He has painted the portraits of Azerbaijan's foremost composers - Gara Garayev and Fikrat Amirov along with Azerbaijani poet Rasul Rza and Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, to name a few. Each portrait reflects Tahir's efforts to draw out the inner worlds of his subjects.

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

• Azerbaijani artists
• Tahir Salahov
• IV Moscow International Festival of art
• Sakit Mammadov

Proces du 13-November : ce que ces hommes opaques ont dans la tete, par Emmanuel Carrere

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Azerbaijani art is as ancient and rich as the history of our people. Rock images of Gobustan, artistic ceramic and metal products of caucasian Albania, artistic glass and engraving, examples of Tabriz miniature art, which gained world fame in the middle ages, colorful carpets, embroidery, glazed pottery, tiles, fine carving nets and fine jewelry — all this proves that our artistic heritage is very rich.

Our handicrafts, created thanks to the labor of our people and widely used in his life, have a great and rich history.

Studies have shown that tribes living in the territory of Azerbaijan 4 thousand years ago made original shaped plates of stone, clay, metal, weapons and sometimes samples and used them in their life.

These works of art have long attracted the attention of art researchers with their original form, exact processing and especially its decorations.

Looking at the rich museum collections of Victoria and Albert of London, Louvre of Paris, metropolitan museums of Washington, Vienna, Rome, Berlin, Istanbul, Tehran, Cairo, one can see art works created by skillful hands of Masters of Tabriz, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Gazakh, Guba, Baku, Sheki, Shamakhi and Karabakh.

The spread of these unique works of art to museums and private collections of countries in Europe, Asia and America has a great history. Many of them were taken from separate persons, some were brought by foreign traveler, merchant, diplomat and scientists who visited our country at different times, and some were robbed.

These are mainly in the Kremlin Armory chamber, the Museum of Eastern peoples, the State History Museum, The Museum of folk art, churches in Moscow and its suburbs (Savvo-Storojevsky, Sergiyevo churches, Cyrillic-Belozyersky monastery, etc.).) the sum.

The most artistic and original samples of Azerbaijani craftsmen in Moscow are currently in the arms Chamber of the Kremlin.

Along with samples of Turkish, Iranian, Indian, French, English, German folk art, many original works of art created in Azerbaijan at different times are displayed here.

A large part of the art samples of Azerbaijan in the arms chamber are jewelry and artistic metal products. Of these, the headdresses decorated with precious stones, shields, swords, daggers and ornaments should be especially noted.

An artistic shield of the XVI century among the samples of Azerbaijani jewelry displayed at the Kremlin weapon chamber particularly attracts the attention of the audience.

In connection with the shield, we should mention two interesting works related to this period made in Azerbaijan. One of them is an armored headdress used by nobles during the war, the other is a pair of laces.

There is also no exact information about when and by whom these rare works of art were brought to Moscow as an artistic shield.

Speaking about the decoration of metal items kept in the weapon chamber, sometimes it is necessary to talk about words and words written in Arabic alphabet, which are among paintings and patterns. There are also words that tell which master, for whom, on whose order and when he made it, sometimes words borrowed from the Quran or poems of classical Eastern poets.

Our fabrics stored in the weapon chamber can be divided into two groups according to their artistic characteristics: ornamental and plot fabrics.

Our pieces with a plot are more original and valuable. Because on our pieces of this type we see scenes with different themes, taken from the works of Oriental classics and Azerbaijani folk art.

One of our pieces of this type stored in the weapon chamber is of greater interest.

Examples of Azerbaijani art in the Museums of St. Petersburg.  Museums located in St. Petersburg occupy a prominent place among the museums guarding the art samples created by Azerbaijani Masters. Among such museums, the first place is the St. Petersburg State Hermitage, Kazansky Sobor, etc. places can be attributed.

Along with the material culture of Iranian, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese and Arab peoples, many unique art samples created by the Azerbaijani people for centuries are demonstrated in the Department of Oriental Art of the State Hermitage.

There are jewelry, pottery, stone, wood carved works and various types of weaving samples made by Azerbaijani Masters from ancient times to the beginning of our century.

The State Hermitage is primarily a cultural center among the museums of the world protecting the most ancient samples of Azerbaijani art. Here are elegantly shaped pots made of bronze, daggers, axes, belts, etc. jewel things make up an interesting page of our ancient era art.

Bronze bull head figure found during excavations in Daghlig Garabagh with its original form and exact operation among our monuments of the 2nd millennium BC displayed in the Hermitage attracts special attention.

Among the monuments of art belonging to the Bronze Age in the State Hermitage, jewelry art such as belts, bracelets, beads of various shapes and colors are also found.

The 3000-year history of jewelry art found during excavations carried out in Khojaly village of Garabagh in due time attracts attention with its original form and technical execution. It should be noted that some samples of gold jewelry related to the Bronze Age were found here at the State Hermitage.

We also have many examples of metal art dating back to the Middle Ages in the St. Petereburg State Hermitage.

These art samples can be divided into two large groups according to their form and content:

1. Monuments of the nature of plastic art. 2. Household items.

In the list of monuments of plastic art, first of all, the figures of birds, animals and people preserved here from bronze of the V-VIII centuries can be included.

Outstanding St. Petersburg scientist engaged in the history and art of Caucasian Albania academician K.Trever describes these figures as the continuation of this type of pottery found in Mingachevir. One of these figures has attracted the attention of scientists for a long time. This figure belonging to VII century was found in Nakhchivan at the end of XIX century. This figure, which is 35.6 cm high, according to scientists, describes Javanshir (638-670), the ruler of Caucasian Albania.

Two lions and a mountain goat are depicted on the face of the quadrangular base of the figure. On the side there is the stage of the Hunter's fight against lions, elephant, fox and plant ornament motifs.  

Shirvan Lule dated to 1206 is considered one of the most interesting exhibits of the Hermitage among our plastic art samples made of metal.

Along with samples of plastic art made of metal, at the St. Petersburg State Hermitage, many original shapes, decorative household items are also displayed. First of all, bronze trays belonging to VI-VIII centuries should be included in the list of such works of art.  

In the Hermitage are Three Compasses, dating back to the early Middle Ages. Two of them are decorated with plot images, and the third is purely ornamental.

Bronze boilers of various forms and ornaments dating back to XIII-XIV centuries can be mentioned among household items made of metal.

Our boilers displayed in the Hermitage belong to XIII-XIV centuries and attract attention with their volume, shape and decoration. One of these boilers is particularly interesting.

As it is known, one of the most advanced types of medieval art of Azerbaijan was ceramic art.

There are many wonderful examples of our folk art in the State Hermitage. Our samples of ceramic art stored here are divided into two large groups, both depending on their use and many artistic features.

The first of these are pottery products used in everyday life, the second is tiles used in architecture. Our pottery products used in everyday life represent several exemplary jugs, bowls and surahs found during excavations carried out in oder-Gala (Goranboy region) at the time.

The State Hermitage also exhibits Kashi samples, which are considered decoration of our architectural monuments of the past period. Among them, the main place is occupied by the tiles of Pirhuseyn khanagah on Pirsaatchay in Gazimammad region.

Pirhuseyn khanagah has about 500 different shapes and decorations in the State Hermitage.

Most of our textile art stored in the Hermitage is made up of pile carpets. Our carpets woven in famous Azerbaijani carpet centers from XVI to XIX century are kept here.

Exemplary Azerbaijani carpets woven in Tabriz and Shirvan are considered valuable pearls of the museum. Our carpets woven in Pirabadil villages of Guba, Maraza villages of Shamakhi attract more attention with their color and rich decorative elements. There is an inscription on the Shamakhi carpet stating that it was woven in 1881-1885.

Besides, well-known Azerbaijani artist, ornamentalist painter Mirza Gadim Irevan, who lived in the middle of XIX century in the State Hermitage also has a unique work known to science of art.

The "khamsa"of the Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi is also protected at the State Hermitage. This unique exhibit is valuable not only as one of the first writings of the five poems of the poet, but also as a wonderful work of art.

Examples of Azerbaijani art in Budapest museums. Art samples of Azerbaijan in Hungary were kept in private collections till 40s of XX century. Over the past 50-60 years, these unique art samples have gradually been taken under state protection and concentrated in museums. At present, most of the art samples belonging to Azerbaijan are kept in "Decorative Arts" and "Oriental Art" Museum located in Budapest city.

At present, more than 200 samples of folk art of Azerbaijan are preserved in these museums. Among them are carpet, cloth, embroidery, metal and wood, there are many works of art.

As in other foreign museums, most of the art samples of Azerbaijan, concentrated in Budapest museums, are carpets.

Azerbaijani carpets kept here consist of carpets woven at different times in famous art centers such as Baku, Guba, Shamakhi, Shusha, Gazakh and Tabriz.

A small Kazakh carpet woven in the XVIII century, exhibited at the Budapest "Decorative Arts" Museum, attracts attention.

Along with ornamental carpets woven in famous art centers at various times, our carpets with several original compositions are demonstrated at the museums of Budapest.

One of the precious pearls of Budapest museums is the embroidery woven in Azerbaijan at different times. Our sewing here consists of different cover, pillowcase, table, saddle and artistic curtains.

The curtain, decorated by Tabriz masters in the XVI century, which is one of our examples of this type of art, is of particular interest.

Samples of Azerbaijani art stored in Budapest's "Decorative Arts" and "Oriental art" museums do not end with our carpet and embroidery art alone. Monuments of art made of metal, wood and pottery displayed here also attract attention.

Most of the monuments of art made of metal are weapons (sword, dagger) and some household items (collection, sale, lamp). The art samples of XVIII-XIX centuries made from these different types of metals (silver, copper, steel) remind the works of Shirvan Masters for their artistic and technological features. We have only one example of wood art in Budapest museums. He is also artistic creature exhibited at the Museum of" Decorative Arts".

Examples of Azerbaijani art in the United States of America. Handicrafts of Azerbaijani masters are more common especially in the United States of America.

At present, there are rare works of hundreds of Masters in museums, art galleries and private collections in Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Cleveland, Detroit, Boston and other cities of the USA.

Most of our works of art kept here are samples of carpets, fabrics, artistic metal and pottery.

It is the oldest metal products among our works of art, which are kept in the USA as a historical one.

Our oldest example of metal art is currently in the Metropolitan Area in New York City, USA, and the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

Among our works of art metal art kept in the Metopoliten Museum, the most interesting are jewelry items dated to VIII-centuries BC found in ziviya district around Lake Urmia.

Within these works of art, a bracelet made of gold has attracted the attention of many world art critics for its artistic feature and execution.

In the United States, we have especially many examples of metal art dating back to the Middle Ages. These include bronze tableware made in Nakhchivan dating back to XII-XIII centuries, kept in Pierpont Morgan's private collection in New York, bronze tableware with the words "Oljayt Khudabanda" written on Mr. Harari's personal collection, 703 Hijri (1304), and oysters kept in that collection, bronze bowl of XII century with rich ornamental decoration stored in Cleveland Art Museum and other examples.

As in other foreign museums, antique goods stores and private collections, in the USA, Azerbaijani art is most often represented by our carpet art.

At present, we have thousands of samples of pile and pileless, ornamental and excellent types of carpet art woven in the main art centers of our country.

The most ancient Azerbaijani carpets in the United States are displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of New York.

Consider one of our carpets of this type.

The circle-shaped Velvet part kept at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts attracts more attention with its depictions on it.

Examples of Azerbaijani art in Great Britain. One of the places where rare art samples of our people are kept is Great Britain.

There are hundreds of works of art in museums, antique goods stores and private collections in London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester.

The most original works of Azerbaijani Masters in terms of craftsmanship are collected at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Examples of art related to Azerbaijan are displayed in the Middle East section of the museum. These are artistic fabrics, embroidery, carpets, jewelry, pottery and other works of art.

The oldest of our works of art, historically collected at the Victoria and Albert Museum, is the bronze glass dated 1319.

Azerbaijani carpets occupy the most prominent place among our folk art samples kept in Victoria and Albert Museum. They can be divided into two groups according to their artistic and technological features: the first group includes Tabriz carpets of the XVI century, the second group includes Guba-Shirvan, Ganja-Gazakh and Karabakh carpets woven in the XVI-XIX century.

The carpet woven in Karabakh in 1892 is displayed at the London Carpet Museum.

Among the Tabriz carpets displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, one should especially mention the carpet woven in Tabriz in 1539 for Ardabil mosque on the order of Shah Tahmasib and famous in the world of science as "Sheikh Safi".

Azerbaijani carpets of the XVII-XIX centuries, stored in the Victoria and Albert Museum, were eventually woven in Guba, Baku, Shamakhi, Gazakh and Karabakh.

As in other museums of the world, the Victoria and Albert Museum has many samples of artistic fabrics of the XVI-XVII centuries. Most of our works of art stored here are narrative works. Among them, three works of art attract special attention.

Examples of Azerbaijani art in France. At present, the largest part of the samples of Azerbaijani crafts kept in France is our samples of weaving art. Hundreds of high-quality fabrics woven in Shamakhi, Sheki, Ganja, Nakhchivan and Tabriz cities of Azerbaijan are kept in many museums and private collections of France. A special place among them is occupied by our fragments of the plot belonging to the XVI-XVII centuries.

Among our pieces of the plot displayed at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, one of them attracts special attention.

In the Museum of Decorative Arts of Paris we have one piece of original plot of 26 cm in length dating back to the XVI century.

Speaking about examples of French textile art, we should especially mention our carpets displayed in rich museum collections of this country. At present, the most valuable carpets of Azerbaijan both art and technology are in the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts and Louvre.

Let's take a look at one of the carpets kept in the Paris Museum of Decorative Arts.

At present, this cultural center, which is considered one of the world's richest museums, stores hundreds of pottery, tiles and artistic metal samples besides the weaving art we mentioned above.

In the Louvre museum we also have some rare samples of art metal made of silver, copper and bronze. Among them, a bowl with the original figure of 1190, made of bronze, attracts particular attention. This work of art is currently displayed on the first floor of the Louvre Museum, in the middle of the Hall of Oriental Art, on top of a high cut with a glass sleeve.

The originality of this bronze dish, which looks like a bird with a long beak, is not only in its shape, but also in its decoration. The decorations on the bowl consist of three different size belts and medallions placed in the spaces between them.

These ornaments engraved with the technique of forging and scratching were installed from stylized floral ornament elements and writing samples. In one of these writings the name of the master who created it — Osman Salman Oglu Nakhchivan was given.

Along with European and American material culture, many fine examples of Azerbaijani art are demonstrated in the historical museums of Bern.

The center of the museum's exposition is a large mafrash stylized in combination of blue and red colors and woven with ornament motifs and a rug placed under it. Along with these samples of weaving art on a big label it was mentioned in German that he was woven in Azerbaijan in XVIII century. For its artistic and technological features, reminding the way of execution of Karabakh carpets, this Folk Art sample is considered one of the most beautiful exhibits of the Department of Oriental Art.

One of the interesting carpets kept in the Historical Museum of Bern is "Gollu Chichi" carpet woven in Guba in 1830.

Dagger, sword, pistol and gunpowder containers made in XVIII-XIX centuries in Shamakhi, Goychay, Ganja, Sheki, Baku, Tabriz, Ardabil attract the attention of the audience. In number, the Historical Museum of Bern dominates the works related to the name of Shirvan Masters.

Among the artistic designs of our weapons displayed in the museum, we can see not only floral, geometric patterns, pictures taken from the animal world, but also small plot compositions.

By the way, it is necessary to talk about words and words written in Arabic alphabet, which are sometimes coincided with patterns of different shapes of these weapons. They are skillfully placed between the patterns and drawings of the item by the hand of a skilful craftsman, reminiscent of the beautiful decoration, forming an indissoluble part of the overall composition. In addition to decoration, these articles are also valuable historical sources. For example, on a beautiful silver gunpowder decorated with a tattoo, garasavad method we can see the words "Seyidzade from Shamakhi" (inventory № 832), the places of nappies and barrels attached to the bed - "Amali Ali" (inventory №  766) on a pistol covered with black literacy embroidered silver particles, "Amali Muhammad Ardabili" (inventory № 1178) on a small dagger 38.2 CM and on a dagger with a curve, we read the name of both the master and the owner of the dagger.

The words "Baku", "Guba", "Amali Samad", "Omar" and other names are found on the weapons of Azerbaijan kept in the Historical Museum of Bern.

In addition, there are examples of copper home equipment widely used in the life of our people in XVIII-XIX centuries in the eastern section of the Historical Museum of Bern. Our copper utensils of this original shape are displayed in frames that remind us of the niche on a large stent attached to the wall of the museum.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Bonn, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt-Main, Manheim, etc. thousands of samples of carpet art are kept in museums, antique goods stores and private collections located in the cities.

Along with our carpets having ordinary mass character in this country, you can also find sample carpets which are considered very rare in our country woven in hundreds of different centuries.

In terms of originality Kazakh carpet of XVIII century demonstrated in antique goods store in Munich in 1960 also attracts attention.

With its constructive structure, these ornaments, widely spread in the Eastern world, reminiscent of swastika, the ends of which are separated in four different sides, are woven in such a realistic style that they rotate around one point and move. This ornament element is found not only in Kazakh carpets of this type, which received the name "stigmatized", but also in other types of our decorative and Applied Art.

Examples of Azerbaijani crafts in Turkey. Among the Turkish cities, Azerbaijani examples of decorative, applied and fine arts are most concentrated in Istanbul.

The gold belt, which is kept in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Museum, among our samples of crafts made of metal, attracts particular attention.

The steel hood, dated 1528, kept in the Topkapi Palace Museum, is also considered to be one of the valuable monuments giving an idea of medieval Azerbaijani jewelry.

Bronze handicrafts made in Tabriz and Ardabil can be included in our list of metal art samples kept in Istanbul's museums. Bronze alms were religious in the past, clinging to the hills of mosques, madrasa and minarets. Due to the fact that the trunk part of the Alamas was put on the top of the construction, the inside was empty, and the upper one was without ornaments.  

The most beautiful part of alms is their upper rescue. It seemed that this part of the hands of a skilful jeweler was given both religious writings and symbolic figurines. At present, our hands are kept in Turkish museums mainly in two forms: horn and pear-shaped. We find on some of them the words of Allah, Muhammad, Ali, depicted in an artistic style, and in others symbolic images.

A number of rare samples of Azerbaijani textile art are kept in Turkish museums. Of these, pieces, artistic embroidery and carpets produced in Shamakhi, Ganja, Sheki, Shusha and Tabriz at the time should be especially noted.

At present, we have several high-level works representing our fabric and embroidery art in Turkish museums, which are mainly concentrated in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Museum. Within our fabric and embroidery art kept in this outstanding museum, two of them are particularly striking. One of them is a garment of water of the XVI century, and the other is a robe of gold.

Well-known in the world, Azerbaijani carpets are also considered the most beautiful pearls of Turkish museums.

Azerbaijani carpets are concentrated in four large museums in Turkey. These are in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic works in Istanbul, the Topkapi Palace Museum and The Carpet Museum, the Mevlana Museum in Konya.

The oldest Azerbaijani carpet kept in Turkey dates back to XIII century. According to the information given by Turkish art critics, this unique weaving art work of 254 length and 170 cm Width was one of the carpets of Ashraf oghlu jamesinin Nazir was given earlier in Beysahar. In 1932, he was taken to the Mevlana Museum in Konya.

We can also mention the complex painted vase exhibited in the Archaeological Museum in Izmir to the list of our original art samples kept in Turkey.

Samples of Azerbaijani crafts in Iranian museums. Currently, Iran's museums, mosques and private collections hold thousands of unique examples of crafts created by the Azerbaijani people over the centuries. In this regard, the exhibits of the British, Gulistan, archaeological and carpet museums located in the capital Tehran attract special attention.

Artistic metal items found in Hasanli Hill among our art monuments displayed in Tehran's Archaeological Museum attract particular attention.

Iran Hasanli Hill is located in the Sulduz District of Azerbaijan. Having beautiful natural conditions, this place was one of the rich cultural centers in the Middle East a thousand years ago. Sources show that the manna tribe, which was part of the Great median state, once lived in this area. In 1956-1957, among the monuments of art found in Hasanli Hill, the golden glass, which is currently displayed in Tehran's Archaeological Museum, attracted the attention of scientists from around the world.

There are also many scenes in the following row that attract attention. It depicts a hunter with a snake on his head, a naked woman standing on two Rams next to him, a man stretching his hands to the pahlav standing on the side to escape from the claw of a three-headed dragon. These scenes are located in the middle of the glass. In the relatively low parts of the glass is depicted an old man sitting in small sandals. A woman stands in front of him, stretching her little child to him. A man with his face towards the sandalwood stood on top of this scene holding an unknown pot in his hand. There are three other drawings in the picture above, the description of a hunter with a snake on his head.

The interaction of Azerbaijani culture with neighboring states during these periods is clearly evidenced by the golden chest found in the area of Lake Urmia, dating back to the VIII-VII centuries BC.

Carpets woven in Azerbaijan are also kept in Iranian museums. The carpet woven in Pirabadil village of Guba can be mentioned among them.

In the 90s of the XX century, as a result of the aggressive policy of Armenia, our cultural heritage was severely damaged, our national cultural monuments were brutally destroyed. Valuable items related to the history and culture of the Azerbaijani people, works of painting and culture, world-famous carpets, memorial items of prominent personalities of Azerbaijan and other valuable materials were plundered in our museums looted by Armenians.

Now, thanks to the care of our state, art samples of Azerbaijan are preserved and introduced in the world under the care of its owner and stand in the most honorable place. Since 2008, Azerbaijan's material and cultural values have taken their place in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. This is a reliable guarantee to prevent the theft and embezzlement of our cultural monuments in the future. In this sense, the role and hard work of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and its president Mehriban Aliyeva are undeniable.

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Woven in Time: How Faig Ahmed is taking Azerbaijani carpet-making to the Amazon

The tradition of carpet making is enjoying a renaissance, with baku-based contemporary artist faig ahmed leading the crowd, particularly with his latest project, which takes him deep into the amazon, discovers tess thackara.

To some, carpets are mundane, utilitarian objects — background decoration to brighten a room or muffle noise. For others, they are nothing less than portals to the human subconscious. Count Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed in the latter camp. The Baku-based artist is known for his hallucinogenic carpet-cum-sculptures that combine research into ancient weaving techniques and iconographic systems with more contemporary imagery — the patchworks of colour that make up digital pixels seen at close range, or the effect of a computer glitch, where abstract forms seem to melt like liquid paint or wax. Looking at them can sometimes make you feel like you’ve accidentally fallen into another dimension. In one 2016 piece, a red and blue carpet filled with an abstracted pattern of flowers and plants appears to be possessed; a warped, mandala-like form emerges from the center of the textile and spills out of its edges.

Ahmed’s latest investigations into the world views and histories contained within rugs have recently taken him deep into the Amazon rainforest, along the Pisqui and Ucayali rivers where the indigenous Shipibo-Conibo people live. While the patterns woven into carpets around the world share certain similarities, the Shipibo’s, Ahmed explains, “are radically different from neighbouring regions and from all the rest of the world.” Made by Shamans and applied to the body, ceramics, and textiles, their kene or quene designs feature networks and bands of lines that snake — like the anaconda or cosmic serpent, or like “the paths of life… the meanders of the rivers,” according to scholars Nancy Feldman and Claire Odland, who produced a study on Shipibo textile practices — from one side of the object to the other.

The designs come from shamanic visions produced by consuming the hallucinogenic herb ayahuasca. The shaman, they believe, has a special relationship with the cosmic world, or collective unconscious, and transmits these patterns — a kind of code or language — to women, who then work the patterns into their craft objects. For the Shipibo, humans are the point of connection between the material world and “the invisible forces of nature,” as Ríos Cairuna, a Shipibo born in Paoyan, says in Feldman and Odland’s report. This may sound like a lot of mumbo-jumbo, but having spent time with the Shipibo, Ahmed is convinced of their deep bond between humanity and nature, the “relationship between biology and art” that “can be seen in the form of patterns,” he says. “We are the ones who came to this world recently, and must actively learn from the nature.”

How, exactly, does one go about expressing all of this in a carpet? In  Liberation I  (2018) (below), inspired by his journey to the Peruvian Amazon, Ahmed has gone for a rich, maximalist texture. A thick red carpet with a geometric border and a central flower-like motif, the piece erupts half way down into a voluminous wave of shaggy red fiber, as though it has grown a skirt. It seems to evoke the indigenous women of the Peruvian Andes who craft intricate textiles, with their wide, patterned skirts — as well as the profound relationship these patterns have to their makers’ worldviews. Ahmed’s carpet is a kind of life force of its own, capable of sprouting three-dimensional form. After all, the carpet is, Ahmed has said, one of the few objects that is entirely “complete.”

Faig Agmed, Liberation, 2018

Faig Ahmed is not the only Azerbaijani artist with a particular fondness for carpets. Farid Rasulov famously covered an entire room in handmade red textiles for his contribution to the Azerbaijani Pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale . It suggested an invitation to grapple endlessly with their coded messages, albeit a tongue-in-cheek one, since Rasulov insists on a lack of any hidden meaning in his work. And Eldar Mikailzadeh is something of a local treasure in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, known as a master carpet artist who weaves colorful, otherworldly designs into textiles.

Contemporary artists in other parts of the world also employ this age-old medium — in many cases to weave political, feminist, or environmental messages. Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri ’s  Flying Carpet , for instance, is a fighter jet composed of a stack of 32 cutout Persian carpets — suggesting the relationship (or the dissonance) between culture and power. Argentine artist Alexandra Kehayoglou creates sometimes-vast carpet installations that mimic and honor the mossy, grassy textures of the natural world. They are an expression of her passion for the creeks, streams, and hills that she feels close to, and an effort to advance the preservation of the natural world. Meanwhile, Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum has in the past created textiles that are significantly less warm and fuzzy. Her  Pin Carpet is made from thousands of pins, giving it a seductive, shimmering quality that belies its sharp, hostile nature.

Farid Rasulov, Chelebi Carpet Room, Venice Biennale, 2013

Alexandra Kehayoglou, Santa Cruz River, 2016-2017

Farhad Moshiri, Flying Carpet, 2007

Images courtesy of the artists, Francisco Nocito and Getty Images 

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What’s next for Azerbaijan’s flourishing art scene?

As Azerbaijan’s art scene blossoms, we explore its rapid creative renaissance, and what lies ahead. Plus, the best contemporary art galleries in the capital, Baku

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Having only emerged from more than 50 years of communist rule in 1991, Azerbaijan has spent the last 25 years redefining itself. Gentrification has been rapid, especially in the past decade, and in the capital city of Baku, a skyline of ambitious architectural projects has sprung up among the austere Soviet-era housing blocks, while designer boutiques dot the city centre and Azerbaijan art turns heads around the world.  While much of this petrodollar-funded gentrification is only surface deep – accusations of corruption and human rights abuses still swirl around the current government – in among the glitz, a burgeoning contemporary arts scene is taking root. On Baku Boulevard, which swoops around the city’s crescent moon-shaped harbour overlooking the Caspian Sea, there are a number of extravagant museum buildings and cultural institutions. Among the more bold architectural offerings such as the Carpet Museum and the acclaimed Azerbaijan World Expo pavilion, is Yarat Contemporary Art Centre, one of the city’s blossoming arts organisation. Housed in an unassuming 2000 sq m converted Soviet-era naval building, Yarat – meaning ‘create’ in Azeri – is a not-for-profit, non-governmental contemporary art organisation that was set up by young artist Aida Mahmudova in 2011. Mahmudova – a 36-year-old graduate of Central Saint Martins and the niece of Azerbaijan’s First Lady, Mehriban Aliyeva – has spent the past  seven years using her connections in society to champion Azerbaijani artists both locally and internationally.

Installation view of ‘Non-Imagined Perspectives’ by Aida Mahmudova at Yarat Contemporary Art Centre, Baku.

As well as the Art Centre on the Boulevard, Yarat also operates the Artim Project Space – a gallery dedicated to showing experimental work by emerging Azeri artists, and Yarat Studios, where it runs a residency programme for international and local talents. In addition, Yarat has also established the more polished Yay Contemporary art gallery, and runs an extended educational and public programme that encourages the community to engage with contemporary art. ‘What’s really exciting is that the next generation of artists that we are working with are equally balanced between male and female,’ says Yarat’s newly minted artistic director Suad Garayeva-Maleki, who took over from Belgian curator Björn Geldhof earlier this year. ‘The previous generation were nearly all male. In a patriarchal society, women in Azerbaijan feel like they need to prove themselves to society, their families and peers. As this generation grows up, I think there will be more females in leadership positions.’ Leading the way was Mahmudova herself, who last month, seven years after founding the organisation and three years after establishing the Art Centre, opened her first solo show at Yarat. ‘It’s a very exciting and emotional moment,’ says Mahmudova, who tries to keep her work as an independent artist separate from her role as founder of Yarat. ‘The space is very large with its vaulted ceiling so it is a new experiment in scale for me; this compelled me to expand my horizons in terms of considering what might be possible.’ Occupying the entire top floor of the exhibition space, the show included a monumental textured wall work that resembled a green patchwork of fields. Nearby a series of cube-shaped sculptures made from thick layers of resin, stone and pigment appear like cross-sections of colourful stratum that have been pulled from the earth’s crust. The exhibition was completed by a set of crumbling pillars in the centre of the room that Mahmudova says are intended to create a feeling of a ‘transient place, half ruined and half built... one is reminded that entropy is an essential step of creation.’ Curated by Garayeva-Maleki, the show marked a new chapter in Mahmudova’s work. ‘I always experiment with new media in my painting and now sculptures. The process of working with my hands and observing the interrelations between various materials is something very therapeutic and deeply analytical for me. So for this show I ventured more into a sculptural aspect of my work and the materiality of it was largely dictated by that.’

Installation view of ‘Do It’ by Michelangelo Pistoletto at Yarat Contemporary Art Centre, Baku.

Downstairs, a show of work by Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto is drawing in crowds while also reaching out into the community. One of the works – a papier mâché sphere made using Azerbaijani newspapers will be rolled along Baku Boulevard at the close of the show. The performance called Scultura da Passeggio  ( Walking Sculpture ), is a recreation of Pistoletto’s seminal Walking Sculpture performance in Turin in 1967. ‘In a country where there isn’t a tradition of visual arts, we want to get people to understand that art is very much about engagement in and with society,’ says Björn Geldhof, the exhibition’s curator. ‘Pistoletto is the perfect artist for this.’

The best contemporary Azerbaijan art galleries in Baku 

Heydar Aliyev Center

Built in 2012, Zaha Hadid’s swooping design for the Heydar Aliyev Center is considered to be one of the architect's greatest realised buildings and a symbol of modern Baku. Inside the curvaceous cultural centre, visitors will find an auditorium/convention center, a museum, exhibition halls and administrative offices.  1 Heydar Aliyev Prospekt, Baku; tel: 994.12 505 60 01; www.heydaraliyevcenter.az Yeni Gallery

Meaning ‘new’ in Azeri, Yeni was set up in 1986 by a group of emerging artists (known as the Association of Creative Youth of Azerbaijan) who wanted to create an independent space to showcase their work. Over the years the gallery has established itself as cultural hub in the city providing a platform many young artists, photographers, architects, composers, vocalists and poets. Aziz Aliyev St, Baku; tel: 994.12 598 45 98 Baku Museum of Modern Art

The Baku Museum of Modern art's collection of 800 works spanning over 70 years focus primarily on works by Azerbaijani painters and sculptors who were working in the second half of the 20th century. Interestingly, the museum’s all-white, Jean Nouvel-designed building eschews the typical museum layout of ordered halls and square rooms, and instead opts for open passages and walls that meet at different angles, creating a multidimensional perspective of the exhibits. 5 Yusuph Safarov, Baku; tel: 994.12 490 84 04; mim.az The Museum Center of the Ministry of Culture of the Azerbaijan Republic

Housed in an imposing 1960s building that once served as the Soviet Lenin Museum, Baku’s Museum Centre and Art Gallery was established in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. As well as several Azerbaijani State Museums, the building also houses a modern art gallery on its fourth floor. Measuring 400 sq m and flooded with natural light, the space has hosted the first Baku photographic festival, and exhibitions dedicated to works by Polish architects in Baku as well as a solo exhibition by the famous Bulgarian artist Emil Stoichev.  49 Neftchilar Avenue, Baku; museumcenter.az

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For more information, visit the Yarat Contemporary Art Space  website

Yarat Contemporary Art Space Bayil District (near National Flag Square) Baku

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Azerbaijani Fine Arts and Architecture

Azerbaijani fine arts were already developed in primitive form by the Paleolithic period, as evidenced by the collection of petroglyphs known as Gobustan Rock Art which are dated to this era. The prevalence of diverse motifs incorporated into historic art and architecture is seen everywhere, from ceramic items now on display in the National Art Museum of Azerbaijan to decorative column foundations unearthed by archeologists in Nakhchivan and Gabala. The growth of local cities was both an impetus and a result of increased caravan trade along the Great Silk Road, whose influence accelerated Azerbaijani carpet weaving, fine art forms, pottery production, jewelry making and even weapons manufacture.

With the arrival of the Arabs in the 7th century, Islamic influence began to seep into the traditions and culture of Azerbaijan. Islam's restriction on the replication of images of living beings proved a stimulus for the development of local ornamental art forms. Yet after Persian influence inspired the development of miniature paintings in Azerbaijan in the 14th-15th centuries, manuscripts containing intricate and miniscule depictions of people, animals and landscapes became wildly popular.

Although local skirmishes and wars between Turkey and Iran impeded the development of the fine arts in Azerbaijan in the 17th -18th centuries, developments were still made in stride. Wall paintings, mainly plant motifs, began to appear in the homes of wealthy townsmen, and in 1797 Persian architect Khadali Zeynalabdin built Sheki Khans’ Palace, an architectural masterpiece adorned with vivid paintings created by local masters.

The 19th century ushered in easel painting and other fresh ideas, yet save in the realm of traditional miniature paintings, artistic progress was generally slow. Nonetheless, the masterpieces of artists such as Mirza Gadim Iravani served to pioneer the field of realistic easel painting, which reached its peak in the late 1920s.

The Soviet period in Azerbaijan saw the development of realistic paintings, placards and illustrative art. In 1928, the Azerbaijani Union of Young Artists held its first exhibition, although much of the art served as political propaganda. By the mid-1950s, local artists were toying with ideas such as Tahir Salahov's "severe realism," a truthful depiction of the grim reality of the working class.

The collapse of the Soviet Union brought further progress to Azerbaijani fine arts as the population gained access to the international art scene. Today, successful Azerbaijani artists display their works both in the country and outside of its borders, while Baku and other large cities regularly host art festivals. Many of these exhibitions are held in the shadow of Azerbaijani architectural wonders such as Baku's famous Flame Towers and Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center.

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The art of Azerbaijani Ashiq

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The art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs combines poetry, storytelling, dance and vocal and instrumental music into a traditional performance art that stands as a symbol of Azerbaijani culture. Characterized by the accompaniment of the saz, a stringed musical instrument, the classical repertoire includes 200 songs, 150 literary-musical compositions known as dastans, nearly 2,000 poems in different traditional poetic forms and numerous stories. The regional variations may include other musical instruments, but all are united by a common national language and artistic history. Ashiqs take part in weddings, friendly parties and festive events throughout the Caucasus and appear on concert stages, radio and television, sometimes synthesizing classical melodies with contemporary ones as they continue to recreate their repertoire. Their art is considered an emblem of national identity and the guardian of The art of Azerbaijani Ashiqs combines poetry, storytelling, dance and vocal and instrumental music into a traditional performance art that stands as a symbol of Azerbaijani culture. Characterized by the accompaniment of the ''saz,'' a stringed musical instrument, the classical repertoire includes 200 songs, 150 literary-musical compositions known as ''dastans,'' nearly 2,000 poems in different traditional poetic forms and numerous stories. The regional variations may include other musical instruments, but all are united by a common national language and artistic history. Ashiqs take part in weddings, friendly parties and festive events throughout the Caucasus and appear on concert stages, radio and television, sometimes synthesizing classical melodies with contemporary ones as they continue to recreate their repertoire. Their art is considered an emblem of national identity and the guardian of Azerbaijani language, literature and music. Even as Ashiqs represent the consciousness of a people, they also help to promote cultural exchange and dialogue: Kurds, Lezhins, Talishes, Tats and other ethnic groups living in the country often perform the Ashiqs' art, and their poems and songs have spread across the region.

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10 Influential Azerbaijanis You Should Know

Azerbaijan might not be on the global radar and at the forefront of our minds, but the nation gave birth to several influential Azerbaijanis who made worldwide contributions. Here are 10 of those people, including medieval poets, Soviet scientists, cosmonauts, and the intriguing man who lived to 168 years old.

Nizami ganjavi (1141-1209).

Nizami Ganjavi is the most celebrated and revered Azerbaijani in history. Not only did the 12th-century poet produce some of Azerbaijan’s finest literature, but his legacy also influenced global writing. Combining romanticism and realism, several lines of double rhyming verses creep into his masterpieces. The collection of five poems called the Khamsa are said to be his best. Nizami has such a legacy that roads bear his name, including Baku’s Nizami Street. His elegant mausoleum lies on the outskirts of his hometown, Ganja .

Heydar Aliyev (1923-2003)

Ilham Aliyev (1961-present)

Heydar Aliyev’s son, Ilham, became the fourth president of Azerbaijan in 2003. Despite criticism from the West, Illham has helped Azerbaijan progress into the 21st century. State reforms on culture, science, sports and healthcare as well as hosting sporting events are just a few of his progressive policies. Azerbaijan entered the Eurovision under Ilham in 2008, and the introduction of the eVisa makes the country more accessible to tourism today.

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Ahmad Javad (1892-1937)

Ahmad had a fruitful career as a poet, author and activist who fought for Azerbaijan’s independence in the early 20th century. With an impressive linguistic capacity (fluent in four languages) and famed for composing the National Anthem, Ahmad quickly became known as an influential Azerbaijani. The National Anthem was used after declaring independence as Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918-1920) and again after independence was reinstated in 1991 . He fell victim to Stalin’s Purges where he later died.

Aygun Kazimova (1971-present)

Switch over to the music scene and meet Azerbaijan’s most successful female singer : Aygun Kazimova. Born in 1971 and boasting a music career stretching more than 30 years, Aygun currently holds the record for the highest number of bestselling singles in Azerbaijan. The singer received multiples awards, both locally and on the international scene, and often gets attributed to bringing modern music to the country. Today, she’s a judge on a popular Azerbaijan talent show called Ozunu Tanit .

Aygun Kazimove: Sevdim

Ell & Nikki (2011 Eurovision Song Contest Winners)

Ell & Nikki deserve a special mention. Ell, or Eldar Gasimov, and Nikki, Nigar Jamal, performed Running Scared in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest held in Dusseldorf. The duet won the competition, instantly transforming Ell & Nikki into national heroes. Today, both singers enjoy prosperous solo careers.

Ell & Nicki: Running Scared

Musa Manarov (1951-present)

Born in Baku and educated in Moscow, Musa quickly climbed the ranks to become an influential cosmonaut for the Soviet Union. The flight engineer spent a total of 541 days in space, including a stint of 176 consecutive days giving him the former record. Musa also spent over 20 hours performing space walks. In the 21st century, astronauts/cosmonauts perhaps fail to get the recognition they deserve. But one must remember that Musa’s career was at the height of the Cold War Space Race.

Lotfi Zadeh (1921-2017)

Mathematician and computer scientist Lotfi Zadeh has an impressive record. Baku-born before moving to Iran and later the United States, the prominent figure developed and pioneered a new mathematics concept called fuzzy-sets . Applications range from unmanned devices to car mechanics, air-conditioning and medicine. Lotfi is credited for contributing to the field of time signals, which later revolutionised the digital world. To put this great scientist’s achievements into perspective, his publications received more than 180,000 citations at the time of his death. Arguably, Lofti ranks as the most influential Azerbaijani scientist of all time.

Leyla Mammadbeyova (1922-2006)

Quba-born Leyla broke many taboos to become a highly influential Azerbaijani woman. Not only did Leyla have a successful and fruitful career as a scientist in the Soviet Union, but she was also Azerbaijan’s first female pathologist. With a record of 200 publications contributing to the advancement of pathology and science as well as winning medals for her achievements, Leyla ranks among the most celebrated women ever in Azerbaijan. She also holds the title as the first female pilot in the east .

Shirali Muslimov (1805-1973)

As a final entry into this list of most influential Azerbaijanis, Shirali Muslimov features for a different reason. Born in a small village near the Iranian border, the shepherd hailing from the rural hills might have lived to the ripe old age of 168. As the story goes, he worked until the age of 167 as a shepherd, preferred to ride a horse instead of a car and apparently had a daughter at the age of 136! Most dispute this claim because of a lack of records. However, his passport states the date of birth in 1805 and his death certificate records 1973. True or not, most believe he lived several years as a centenarian. Shirali attributed his longevity to a diet of fruit, yoghurt, low-fat cheese and hard work.

Rare footage of Shirali. He’s claims to be 165 at the time of the interview

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Azerbaijani Contemporary Art: Interview with Curator Asli Samadova

Asli Samadova, a culture manager and museum specialist living in Baku and Milan, studied business, management and public administration before a career shift in 2013. Originally educated in Azerbaijan, the United States, Italy and UK, her business experience has helped her develop cultural organizational skills. Since student times, she has been an active advocate of Azerbaijani heritage, in addition to working towards the popularization of cultural history among local and international audiences. .art speaks to Samadova about her past and future projects and the effects that the pandemic has had on artists.

Above: Asli Samadova, photo courtesy of Adil Yusif How did you get into the arts?

I attended the Academy of Public Administration in Baku and won a Department of State UGRAD scholarship to spend one year at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Alongside my Economics major, I began taking studio art classes. However, it was not until I was on a sabbatical and went to the Victoria & Albert museum’s The Clothworkers’ Centre that I realized that I should make a career change. I call myself a curator by chance, someone who was lucky enough to be the right person at the right time and in the right place, multiple times. My curiosity led to an international academic project titled Silk Treasures, and I continued from then on. 

You identify as a nomad. Where do you consider to be your home?

According to one of my friends, ‘Home is where your phone automatically logs into a house wifi’. Going by this definition, I have multiple homes in Europe and of course, Baku. I would also add that home is where you have people waiting for you and you feel needed. 

You have an extensive education. What knowledge was the most useful to you in your career? 

The knowledge I gained outside universities from people I’ve worked with or met. Out of all the universities I’ve studied at, Milan’s Bocconi University prepared me best. 

What are you driven by in your projects? 

I am driven by both passion and my mission. My mission at the moment is to help Azerbaijani artists get more visibility, especially internationally. I also aim to showcase high-quality international art that otherwise is unlikely to be known and seen in Baku. These two missions are interlinked: without a local interest in art and an ecosystem in place, it is very difficult to be relevant internationally. 

The Ta(r)dino 6 Art Platform is one of your latest projects. What is the idea behind the project? 

Ta(r)dino 6 is the first Baku-based, self-organised, independent and women-run art initiative launched almost 1.5 years ago. At Ta(r)dino 6, we support the discourse around Azerbaijani contemporary art within an international context, with a special focus on gender, identity, and equality. Ta(r)dino 6 is a relationship, trust, and a mutual respect-built union, so all our projects are based on our mission statement and values. We are the only self-organised project in Azerbaijan that’s also a member of several international and regional professional associations. Last year, the project was mainly driven by free time and serendipity, but now it’s beginning to take more shape and structure. Thanks to this unity of likeminded individuals, things that otherwise are considered impossible are actually attainable. We operate with the principle of ‘when there are no opportunities, create them’. Funds are still necessary, however, to achieve higher visibility and support our artistic community. We hope to fundraise the first essential amount (at least €5,000 to launch our permanent space in Baku) with the help of Wolfgang Tillmans’ 2020 Solidarity campaign . The principal fundraising event will be a crowdfunding campaign at the end of 2020 and early 2021. This will be also a good test to see whether a niche project like ours would break the glass ceiling and reach its fundraising goals.

Artist Irina Eldarova’s digital interpretation for the ‘Art on a Wall’ project, initially planned as a public art project that would display an artwork as an outdoor banner in Icherisheher at Kichik Qala 58 address. Credit: @tardino6 instagram.

We know that you had big plans for offline exhibitions this year. How has the pandemic affected these plans? 

The Off the Velvet Chest exhibition from Moscow Triumph’s gallery extension series was scheduled to tour several cities in Russia. The opening in Kazan at Smena Contemporary Art Center was rescheduled from April to July 22. The exhibition will be there until September 6. The gallery had plans to show it in Ekaterinburg and Saint Petersburg, but now the situation is unclear. 

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A nation is known, recognized and distinguished among the world nations by certain characteristic features. The highest and the greatest of these features is culture.

Azerbaijan`s magnificent folk dances

The history of folk dances of Azerbaijan is very old. The scenes of dances reflected on Gobustan rock pictures are proof of that. Azerbaijani folk dances are very colorful from the viewpoint of themes and these types are – labor, ceremony, household, heroism, sport, chorus game.

Azerbaijan`s national dance shows the characteristics of the Azerbaijani nation. These dances differ from other dances with its quick temp.

Azerbaijani folk dance expresses symbolically a wide variety of emotional themes, ranging from the hospitality and generosity to friendship and the unity of the people, from the high spirits of young girls to the courage of the young men, to the expression of simple joie de vivre. The narrative of the awakening of spring and feelings of love is depicted through the graceful, aesthetic, lithe and sensuous movements by the girls as they dance, while other dances are simply happy and joyful. Also famous are the heroic Caucasian dagger dances executed by the men, spirited dancers with their heads held high, making every effort to display their consummate dancing abilities.