Levon Tokmajyan: 'I Haven't Had Peace for 3-4 Days'

Recently, the statue of the Armenian People's Artist and sculptor Levon Tokmajyan, titled "Paruyr Sevak: The Silent Bell Tower," was installed in the yard of the Zangakatun Secondary School. Users criticized the sculptor for not accurately representing the character of Paruyr Sevak.

In an interview with Aysor.am, the sculptor noted that he is aware of the criticisms: “I haven’t had peace for 3-4 days. Until now, I hadn’t received so many calls. Now, I have to explain the statue to everyone. I kindly ask you to go and see the statue in person, talk to the school principal, and you will see that there is nothing terrible about it. I didn’t sculpt the physical appearance of Paruyr Sevak; I created an ideological composition called 'The Silent Bell Tower.' What are people mixing up? One says the hands are big, another says the nose is big. Isn’t that silly? Perhaps the hands can be big, what’s wrong with that? Do you remember what stories arose around the statue of Arno Babajanyan? It was damaged, and the poor sculptor suffered a heart attack and died. All those who criticized it have since passed away, but the statue remains.”

According to Tokmajyan, creations require time to be appreciated correctly: “I am conveying an idea through my work. The figure appears to be sitting and looking at his gravestone, as if foreseeing his fate. Now to say that the statue doesn’t resemble Paruyr Sevak, that the nose is large, the hand is large, is nonsense. My purpose was not to depict the physical person of Paruyr Sevak but rather his idea, spirit, and struggle against time and reality. If they don’t understand, that’s not my fault.”

When asked about the opinions of cultural figures and his sculptor colleagues regarding the statue, Tokmajyan responded, “Who comes to discuss their work with me for me to discuss? This is a donation, a gift from me to the school. I have been working on this statue for two years. The world has turned upside down today; I don’t understand what they are looking for in that statue. Those criticisms are incomprehensible to me. It is a group that does this. I have always said I am grateful to that group for following my creative ascent so closely. Let them do nothing but sit and gossip while I work hard in my studio. Maybe there’s something they don’t like; what can we do?”