ReArk.org

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Minas Avetisyan, one of the greatest Armenian artists of the 20th century, was comissioned to create a large number of frescoes in the city of Gyumri during the 1970s. The devastating earthquake of 1988 destroyed and damaged many of the buildings in which the frescoes were placed – factories, clubs and theatres. Yet, miraculously most of the paintings had remained intact. But it is only after two decades of utter neglect that the Armenian government has taken steps to rescue these exceptional works… with one pre-condition, that they be moved to Yerevan after their restoration. Three major pieces have already been restored and removed from Gyumri and two are currently hanging in the Government House Hall. Two more have been taken off the walls to be placed in Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport since the work has been paid for its Argentine-Armenian owner Ed. Ernekian. But numerous protests from ordinary citizens and intellectuals of Gyumri has put a temporary stop to this action. The question still remains however… should anyone be allowed to remove the frescoes from their original location by paying for their ‘rescue’?