Ara Shiraz

Key facts

Lived

1944–2014, Armenian^[1]

Works held in

1 museum

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• What is Ara Shiraz known for?+

  Ara Shiraz is known for his sculptures, including public monuments and portrait busts. His 2002^[1] statue of General Andranik and ornamental sculptures on the Dvin Hotel facade are among his most visible works.
• What is Ara Shiraz's most famous work?+

  Ara Shiraz (1941-2014^[1]) was an Armenian^[1] sculptor, known for his monumental public sculptures and portrait busts. While it is difficult to single out one definitive "most famous" work, several pieces are particularly well known and representative of his style. Many recognise Shiraz's statue of the Armenian national poet Hovhannes Tumanyan. It is located in Yerevan, Armenia. The statue is a bronze figure, seated and contemplative. It captures the poet's intellectual spirit. Another notable work is the statue of Paruyr Sevak, also a celebrated Armenian poet. This sculpture presents Sevak in a dynamic pose, seemingly reciting his poetry. It is located at the Komitas Pantheon in Yerevan. Shiraz created numerous other significant sculptures, including the statue of composer Komitas, and the memorial to William Saroyan in Yerevan. His works often focus on prominent Armenian cultural figures. They are characterised by a realism that aims to capture the essence of the subject. Shiraz's contributions have secured his place in Armenian art history.
• What should I know about Ara Shiraz's prints?+

  Ara Shiraz (1941-2014^[1]) was an Armenian^[1] sculptor. Although he is best known for his large-scale public sculptures, prints of his drawings are also available. Shiraz was born in Yerevan, Armenia. He was the son of poets Hovhannes Shiraz and Silva Kaputikyan. He graduated from the Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts in 1966^[1]. Shiraz became a member of the Artists' Union of Armenia in 1967. From 1968 to 1986, he was the chairman of the Sculptors Section of the Union. His sculptures use bronze, copper, and stone. His work includes portrait busts of William Saroyan, Yeghishe Charents, and Paruyr Sevak. Other sculptures include "Anush" (1967), "Khachkar" (1970), "My City" (1974), and "David of Sasun" (1976). Shiraz's sculptures are installed in Yerevan and other cities. His work can be found in the National Gallery of Armenia, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and other collections. Prints offer an accessible way to engage with Shiraz's artistic vision, providing insight into the preliminary sketches and studies that informed his sculptural work.
• What style or movement did Ara Shiraz belong to?+

  Ara Shiraz (1941-2014^[1]) was an Armenian^[1] sculptor, whose career began in the Soviet era and continued after Armenian independence. His work is best understood in relation to the development of modern Armenian sculpture; it is not easily categorised within Western art movements. Shiraz's sculptures often feature abstracted human forms. These monumental works, cast in bronze or carved from stone, display a concern with mass and volume. While some see the influence of Constantin Brâncuși in his simplification of form, Shiraz's aesthetic also incorporates elements of Armenian artistic traditions. This includes the influence of early Christian stone carving found at sites like Geghard monastery. Shiraz's sculptures are prominent features in the urban environment of Yerevan. Examples include the statue of the writer Paruyr Sevak and the statue of composer Komitas Vardapet, both erected in Yerevan. His work aimed to create a distinctly Armenian modernism.
• What techniques or materials did Ara Shiraz use?+

  Technical knowledge is essential to understanding art history. Artists make choices that are not always dictated by their materials; understanding these choices requires knowledge of the techniques and processes employed. Painters throughout history have used varied materials, including natural and chemical pigments in fresco, egg tempera, watercolour, and oil paint. Contemporary materials include acrylics, household emulsions, and mixed media, which combines different materials in one work. Sculptors have used wood, marble, and bronze, but contemporary artists also use cardboard, plastic, and everyday household items. Techniques and processes describe the methods used in the creative process. In painting, oil paint can be applied thickly in impasto or thinly in glazes. Brushwork can be fine, disguised, or thickly applied with a palette knife. In sculpture, there are differences between carving and modelling, including subtractive processes (removing stone and wood) in direct carving, additive processes (modelling in a soft medium like clay), and casting (such as the lost-wax process), assemblage, and readymades.
• What was Ara Shiraz known for?+

  Ara Shiraz (1941-2014^[1]) was a Soviet-Armenian^[1] sculptor. His early works of the 1960s were stone carvings, and he worked in bronze, wood, and plaster. Shiraz is known for his portrait busts of noted Armenian figures, such as poet Yeghishe Charents (1965^[1]), composer Komitas (1969), and artist Hakob Kojoyan (1973). His sculptures are installed in Yerevan, Armenia, and other public collections. These include the statue of Paruyr Sevak (1978) in Yerevan, and the memorial to his father, the poet Hovhannes Shiraz, at the Komitas Pantheon (2016). Shiraz taught at the Yerevan State Institute of Fine Arts. He was named an Honoured Artist of Armenia (1977) and a National Artist of Armenia (1979).
• When did Ara Shiraz live and work?+

  Ara Shiraz was born in 1941 in Yerevan, Armenia, and died in 2014^[1]. He was the son of two well-known Armenian^[1] poets, Hovhannes Shiraz and Silva Kaputikyan. Shiraz studied at the Yerevan State Institute of Fine Arts from 1961^[1] to 1966. Best known as a sculptor, he also produced drawings and prints. His work was exhibited widely during his lifetime. Examples include shows at the Muramatsu Gallery, Tokyo, in 1960; the Mudo Gallery, Tokyo, in 1961; Galerie Schmela, Dusseldorf, in 1964; and Galerie Aujourd'hui, Brussels, in the same year. Further exhibitions followed in Los Angeles, Milan, and Stuttgart. Shiraz's work continued to be shown internationally through the 1970s and 1980s.
• Where can I see Ara Shiraz's work?+

  Ara Shiraz's artwork can be found in numerous public and private collections. These include institutions such as the British Museum in London, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Other locations include the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Shiraz's pieces also appear in the collections of the Middle East Culture Centre, Tokyo, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Private collections that hold Shiraz's work include the Keir Collection in London and the Minassian Collection, formerly located in New York. The Victoria and Albert Museum's collection was largely assembled between 1873 and 1885 by Sir Robert Murdoch Smith. Smith acquired pieces from Jules Richard, a French resident of Tehran, who had been collecting for 30 years.
• Where was Ara Shiraz from?+

  Ara Shiraz was an Armenian^[1] sculptor. He was born in 1941 in Yerevan, Armenia's capital. Shiraz was the son of two well-known Armenian poets; Hovhannes Shiraz and Silva Kaputikyan. He received his initial art education at the Yerevan Fine Arts College from 1956^[1] to 1961. He continued his studies at the Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts from 1961 to 1966. Ara Shiraz created many notable sculptures, including busts of William Saroyan, Paruyr Sevak, and Hovhannes Shiraz, his father. He also produced several monuments and memorials. His works are installed in Yerevan and other locations in Armenia. Shiraz's art is characterised by its expressive forms and emotional depth. He died in 2014^[1].
• Who did Ara Shiraz influence?+

  Ara Shiraz's influence is difficult to pin down to specific artists or movements. One source notes a general trend in the 1970s where artists selected elements of past art and applied them to their own work. They avoided clean surfaces, favouring roughness and spontaneity. This approach relates some artists to Abstract Expressionism; however, they differed in their aims. They wished to convey private feelings in a more intimate manner, through involvement with the object, rather than grand statements. Another passage mentions artists drawing inspiration from varied sources such as Cubism and Abstract Expressionism. Some artists consciously distorted these influences. This suggests a broader environment of artistic experimentation and reinterpretation, rather than a direct line of influence from Shiraz to particular artists. It is more of a shared sensibility among artists of that time.
• Who influenced Ara Shiraz?+

  It is difficult to identify specific influences on Ara Shiraz from the reference texts provided. One passage does mention Roberto Clemente, who cultivated friendships with Alighiero Boetti, Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, and Cy Twombly. Boetti, Beuys, Warhol and Twombly may have served as mentors and inspirations to Clemente. Boetti met Clemente in Rome in 1972^[1], and they shared an interest in Eastern philosophy. In 1974, they travelled together to Afghanistan. Boetti's openness to collaboration and chance encounters influenced Clemente's artistic approach. Another passage discusses Shirazeh Houshiary, an Iranian installation artist and sculptor living in London since 1974. Houshiary draws inspiration from Sufi mystical teachings and the poetry of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. This may or may not relate to Ara Shiraz's influences.
• Who was Ara Shiraz?+

  Ara Shiraz (1941-2014^[1]) was an Armenian^[1] sculptor. Born in Yerevan, Armenia, he was the son of poet Silva Kaputikyan and writer Hovhannes Shiraz. Shiraz studied at the Yerevan Institute of Fine Arts from 1961^[1] to 1966. He became a member of the Artists' Union of Armenia in 1967. From 1968 to 1986, he taught at the Yerevan Fine Arts Institute. His sculptures include the busts of William Saroyan (in Yerevan's Opera Square), Paruyr Sevak (Yerevan), and Yeghishe Charents (Charentsavan). He also created monuments such as "Anush" (Alaverdi), and Khachatur Abovian (Yerevan). Shiraz's work can be found in the National Gallery of Armenia, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and other museums. In 1977, he was awarded the State Prize of Armenia for his sculptural portrayals. He received the title of Honoured Artist of Armenia in 1979, and that of People's Artist of Armenia in 1987. In 2007, he was awarded the Movses Khorenatsi medal.