A reviving sculpture about the strangeness of love and other works by Georgian master Tamara Kvesitadze

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The new era demands from sculptors who create decorations for modern cities, extraordinary creative solutions. Therefore, some of them have long tried to go beyond the generally accepted concepts of sculpture. Their inventions, called "kinetic art", delight the public with indescribable delight. It would seem that at first glance, their creations are based on a simple idea: the effect of wind, light and movement, but it is they who create a stunning spectacular art object that literally "comes to life" before our eyes. In our publication you will get acquainted with amazing kinetic sculptures and no less stunning mechanical dolls by a Georgian sculptor - Tamara Kvesitadze.

Everyone has long been accustomed to seeing sculptural compositions, monuments and other creations in the architectural ensembles of cities, frozen in static. Some have stood on their pedestals for centuries, like giants, others, more modern, although they reflect the spirit of the present time, are still static. But what Tamara Kvesitadze creates really boggles the imagination. This woman-sculptor and architect by profession has become famous all over the world for her kinetic compositions that adorn the cities of her native Georgia, and mechanical dolls, which have long become a rarity and sold in private collections of connoisseurs of beauty.

Today Tamara is one of the most popular and interesting representatives of contemporary art in Georgia. The sculptor has exhibited in the USA and many European countries. Her work was also exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2007 and 2011. In 2018, she hosted a virtual exhibition on the Google Arts and Culture online platform, which brings together the world's leading museums and archives. By the way, Tamara Kvesitadze is the first modern master from Georgia, whose works Google has officially presented on its site. In addition, her work is of great interest to the public, critics and auction houses from all over the world.

The kiss of Ali and Nino

The name of the Georgian sculptor became widely known after she presented her 2-year grandiose work to the public. For the first time, the pair sculpture "Man and Woman" by Tamara Kvesitadze was seen at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007. The artist named her composition of moving figures quite symbolically - “Re-Turn”. A little later, the stunning creation was shown in London. And since 2011, this sculptural work has been installed in the artist's homeland in the city of Batumi on the coastal boulevard of the Batumi Bay and renamed "Ali and Nino's Kiss" - in honor of the heroes of the famous novel by Kurban Said.

Everyone who saw this composition in motion was shocked by the incredible idea and its execution: first, the meeting of lovers is visible, then - the attraction to each other, a passionate kiss in a burst of love that flared up, and at the end - the inevitable separation. But, as they say, it is better to see once than to hear several times. And this video presents you with such an opportunity.

Every evening at 19.00 local time, two eight-meter steel giants literally pass through each other. The figures begin to move, acting out a real love drama in front of the audience. In about 10 minutes, this pair of giants has time to show the whole story of their love: from meeting to separation. They gradually move towards each other, pass through each other, merging into a single whole and part, diverging in different directions. And then everything starts all over again … And I must say - this incredibly touching love story, executed in metal plates and the mechanisms that move them, does not leave a single spectator indifferent.

As conceived by Tamara Kvesitadze, the sculpture depicts the Azerbaijani Muslim Ali and the Georgian Christian princess Nino from the famous novel written by Kurban Said in 1937. It was with this literary work that Tamara was inspired, creating her Ali and Nino.

The novel takes place against the backdrop of the events of the First World War in the Caucasus. This literary work vividly showed both the life and the dramatic love of a Muslim guy for a Christian girl, as well as the story of their growing up in the tolerant atmosphere of Baku. The novel "Ali and Nino" raises the most difficult issues related to the search for ways to reconcile Islam and Christianity, West and East, man and woman. It also talks about the search for compromises between the two cultures and the further fate of lovers.

In Azerbaijan, the novel is considered a national treasure. The true authorship of "Ali and Nino" is still in question. It is only known that the writer used the pseudonym Kurban Said. In Azerbaijan, it is believed that the famous Azerbaijani writer Yusif Vezir Chemenzeminli was the author of this novel. According to another version, the work was written by Baroness Elfried Ehrenfels von Bodmershof, wife of Baron Omar-Rolf von Ehrenfels. According to the third, the author was the writer Lev Naussimbaum, also known as Essad Bey, the son of the Baku oil magnate, Avram Naussimbaum. But, be that as it may, over 80 years from the date of publication, the novel gained considerable popularity and was translated into 29 languages of the world.

And finally, I would like to note that the sculptural composition "The Kiss of Ali and Nino" is a must-see item on the program of any tourist or guest of the city who comes to the resort city of Batumi. She is not only the hallmark of the city, but also a symbol of the mutual attraction of all lovers, regardless of nationality and religion. It is also worth noting that this paired sculpture was included in the list of the most romantic monuments in the world.

Rotation

There is another original kinetic sculpture by Tamara Kvesitadze in Batumi, which is located opposite the House of Justice. A moving sculpture in the form of a ring of a female figure inside which a figure of a man is spinning is called “Rotation”.

This composition reflects the reunion of a man and a woman, symbolizing, according to the author, the constant change of time. "Rotation" is installed near the singing fountains and at the very beginning of the Sheikh Nakhayan Mubarak Alley, named after the Sheikh and as a token of gratitude for the tens of thousands of palm trees he donated for the city of Batumi.

The author has embodied the sculpture using glass and metal. It constantly revolves around its axis. In addition, movement occurs from the structure itself: a glass disk is fixed in the curved figure of a woman, and the figure of a man continuously moves around this disk along its inner part. This pair seems to be fused together, embodying an endless flow of yin and yang energy.

Thus, sculptures designed by Tamara Kvesitadze adorn Batumi, becoming a special attraction for both local residents and tourists and guests of the city. For once, having seen such a sight, hardly anyone will ever forget it.

About the sculptor

Tamara Kvesitadze (1968) is a native of Tbilisi, now living in the United States. She is an architect by profession, graduated from the Tbilisi Technological University. In the 90s of the last century, she happened to live for some time in sunny Italy, which conquered her not only with its beauty of nature, but also with the Venice Carnival. This fascination with theatrical action on the streets of Venice prompted the artist to start making dolls, moreover, unusual, but prone to movement. Initially rejecting statics, Tamara Kvesitadze began to create such dolls that seemed to live their own lives, acting out some scenes in front of the viewer.

However, soon Tamara went overseas from Italy. Having settled in the United States, together with her colleagues, she opened Tamara Studio and decided to radically change the direction in her art - to move from mechanical dolls to kinetic sculpture. Moreover, the artist was increasingly attracted by the idea of dynamics, which was supposed to symbolize the cycle of life. Therefore, she began to create her sculptures moving, that is, mechanical, and large-sized and even monumental.

And her dolls, created in the 1990s together with engineer Paata Sanaya, are now considered highly valuable rarities. The artist has about 150 such dolls, and all of them are in private collections. However, when the sculptor arranged her personal exhibition in Baku in 2020, she created several new dolls, in connection with which it is safe to say that the audience saw an unforgettable sight. Here is some of them:

Having long departed from the framework of the usual classical and static dolls and sculptures, the author turned to originality, uniqueness, and also to movement as a source of life and, as you can see, this gave its amazing result. Today, the unique works of Tamara Kvesitadze cause delight and admiration far beyond the borders of her homeland.

Every year in the modern world of art, the kinetic direction is developing more and more intensively. We bring to your attention video of 8 best "come to life" sculptures.