The last draft of the artist 1972

Curator: Martiros Sarian created this expressive drawing titled "The Last Draft of the Artist" in 1972. It’s an ink drawing on paper and currently resides in a private collection. Editor: My immediate reaction is a sense of wildness, despite the simplicity of the materials. There’s a tangled energy to the lines, but they resolve themselves into recognizable forms—mountains, foliage. It feels unfinished, raw, like capturing a landscape mid-explosion. Curator: That sense of wildness connects strongly to Sarian's broader interest in Armenian identity. Landscape served as a potent symbol of national belonging. Editor: So, these aren't just any mountains. What about that frantic, almost scribbled application of ink, does that contribute to what you are suggesting? The symbol that makes sense for this territory? Curator: Precisely. The frantic line work represents the resilience, also the persistence of memory and tradition through periods of immense socio-political instability. His technique evokes this deeply rooted sense of identity. Editor: I notice he allows some areas to remain completely untouched by ink. Patches of plain paper offer as the eye rests or takes flight. This almost hallucinatory technique may be another way for the land to exist, at once concrete, symbolic, and fleeting. Curator: I agree. These choices resonate strongly with movements for national revival taking place during Sarian's lifetime, a longing to revive tradition amidst changing circumstances and the public function of national expression in art. Editor: And that perhaps accounts for the title. Sarian captures what is the 'Last Draft,' which evokes a powerful statement to memory and visual symbols over the course of many ages. It's fascinating to think how those symbols still resonate, generations later. Curator: Absolutely. He uses deceptively simple means to connect individual perception with collective experience. The symbolism and how it connects back into the culture. It feels so right. Editor: Definitely, there's a cultural weight conveyed here. It’s been such a pleasure to pick this apart.