Remembering Karelia 1979

Editor: This watercolor and oil painting is titled "Remembering Karelia" by Petros Malayan, created in 1979. It has a dreamlike quality. What are your thoughts when looking at the materiality and composition? Curator: It’s intriguing to consider the dual usage of watercolor and oil. This blurring of traditional boundaries raises questions about Malayan’s process. How does combining these mediums alter the production and even our perception of 'landscape' itself? Does it soften the boundaries of the visible world or sharpen the emotional impact of “place?” Editor: That’s a good question! It almost feels like the blurred boundaries of identity of a displaced people is rendered materially, through the chosen mediums. So, beyond just the mediums themselves, does the social context surrounding Karelia impact your understanding of the artwork? Curator: Absolutely. Karelia’s history is fraught with shifting borders and displacement, impacting the means of production for many in the region. Consider the artist, his access to these materials, perhaps impacted by soviet policy –how does this influence our interpretation of a “remembered” landscape? Does the dreamy aesthetic represent a lost idealized version of Karelia or a lived reality? Editor: That’s fascinating. I hadn’t considered how material availability could shape artistic choices and thus the meaning itself! Curator: Exactly! The landscape is not just a visual scene but a site of production, material availability, and complex historical forces. Editor: I see it so differently now. Thank you for showing me how the social and material impact artwork meaning! Curator: My pleasure. Art encourages us to always think about the conditions of its making.