კულტურა პლუს 2 (16)

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2 (16) 2019 s a g a n m a n a T l e b l o - s a z o g a d o e b r i v i

J u r n a l i

sarCevi / CONTENTS da eSiniaT niWieris...

2

AND THEY ARE AFRAID OF THE TALENTED…

mTavari simdidre - droa

16

THE MOST VALUABLE THING IS TIME

veneciis bienale

32

'MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES'

daviT gareji da `evropa nostra~

40

DAVID GAREJI AND EUROPA NOSTRA

pirveli reqtori

48

OUR FIRST RECTOR

martvilis mxareTmcodneobis muzeumi

52

MARTVILI MUSEUM OF LOCAL LORE

kulturuli sicariele...

62

A CULTURAL VOID…

rogor vesaubroT bavSvebs

74

HOW TO TALK TO CHILDREN

rameTu mSromeli warvals da naSromi hgies

82

THE MASTER WILL LEAVE THIS WORLD BUT...

xsovna, rogorc samaradiso sicocxle

90

MEMORY AS ETERNAL LIFE

mTavari redaqtori EDITOR-IN-CHIEF revaz iukuriZe REVAZ IUKURIDZE saredaqcio jgufi EDITORIAL STAFF xaTuna kereseliZe KHATUNA KERESELIDZE Salva cxovrebaZe SHALVA TSKHOVREBADZE levan SatberaSvili LEVAN SHATBERASHVILI ramaz Wilaia RAMAZ CHILAIA aleqsandre ServaSiZe ALEKSANDRE SHERVASHIDZE dizaineri DESIGNER nikoloz bagrationi NIKOLOZ BAGRATIONI

el-fosta: kulturaplusm@gmail.com facebook.com/kulturaplusm

gamodis kvartalSi erTxel JurnalSi ganTavsebuli masalis gamoyeneba SeiZleba mxolod redaqciis TanxmobiT

Issued quarterly The materials published in this magazine cannot be used without the authorization of the editorial staff

ISSN 2346-8165 beWdva: Sps „kontrol p“ / Print: Ctrl p fotomasalis mowodebisTvis redaqcia madlobas uxdis: `andRulaZeebis vokalur fonds~, `saqarTvelos erovnul arqivs~, `saqarTvelos parlamentis erovnul biblioTekas~

ydaze: mamuka cecxlaZe, `seiSeli Rame~, tilo, akrili, 50 X 40 sm. 2018 w. ukana ydaze: `palmis rto~, tilo, akrili, 50 X 40 sm, 2018 w.

Cover: Mamuka Tsetskhladze, 'Seychelles Night', acrylic on canvas, 50 x 40 cm, 2018. Back cover: 'Palm branch', acrylic on canvas, 50 x 40 cm, 2018.

2 (16) 2019

da eSiniaT niWieris...

And they are afraid of the talented… es saubari filologma ia anTaZem SarSan seqtemberSi Caiwera da rogorc aRmoCnda, keTili da saSuri saqme Seusrulebia... dimitri (mito) TumaniSvili, romelsac dRes ukve Tamamad SeiZleba gamorCeuli qarTveli mecnieri vuwodoT, manamde da arc Semdgom, ucnauri Tavmdabali xasiaTis gamo, verc erT korespondents sasaubrod ver dauyoliebia... samwuxarod, wels aprilSi igi gardaicvala.

Jurnal `kultura plus~ redaqcia madlobas uxdis ia anTaZes da saqarTvelos sazogadoebriv mauwyebels am fiqrisaRmZvreli `erTaderTi~ masalis gamoqveynebis uflebisTvis.

This conversation was recorded last year by philologist Ia Antadze, and as it turned out, she accomplished a very valuable deed… No other person has managed, neither before or after this interview, to convince Dimitri (Mito) Tumanishvili, whom we can now proudly refer to as an outstanding Georgian scientist, and who featured an unusually modest character, to speak to any correspondent whatsoever… Unfortunately, he passed away in April of this year. The editorial staff of ‘Culture Plus’ would like to express its gratitude towards Ia Antadze and the Georgian National Broadcaster for providing us the rights to publish this unique and utterly interesting material.

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_ batono dimitri, ras flobT iseTs _ an nivTs, an codnas, an gamocdilebas _ ris gamoc usazRvrod madlieri xarT? _ amaze laparaks Tu daviwyeb, SeiZleba sami weli vilaparako, radgan Zalian bevri maqvs samadlobelo gangebasTan, romelmac bevr saintereso, niWier adamians Semaxvedra. erTic unda vTqva: me saerTod ar Semxvedria Cveulebrivi adamiani. xom amboben _ „viRac Cveulebrivi adamianebi“ _ ar vici, vin arian. etyoba, RmerTma isini me damimala. minaxavs, vTqvaT ase, araracionaluri adamiani, minaxavs racionaluri; minaxavs ganaTlebuli, gaunaTlebeli, magram Cveulebrivi ar vici, vin aris. visac Sevxvedrivar, yvela saintereso iyo. magram iyvnen kidev gamorCeulad niWierebic, ra Tqma unda. 1950 wels davibade da kargad maxsovs, 1953 wlidan 1961 wlamde _ es jer kidev iyo „is“, Zveli saqarTvelo, Tavisi cxovrebis wesiT da urTierTobebis rigiT.

– Mr. Dimitri, is there something you possess – an object, some knowledge, or experience – for which you are utterly grateful?

– If I start talking about this, I could go on for years, because there are a lot of things for which I am grateful to providence; but mainly, I am thankful for having the opportunity to meet many interesting, talented people. I have to tell you one thing: I have never, ever met an ordinary person. You know, I don’t really know what it means when they say “ordinary people”. It seems that God has hidden them from me. Let us put it like this: I have seen some irrational people, and rational ones; I have seen well-educated people, uneducated ones, but I have never seen anyone ordinary, I don’t know who they are. Every single person I have met was interesting. But there were also particularly gifted people, of course. I was born in 1950, and I remember the period from 1953 to 1961 very well – it was still that “old Georgia”, with its particular way of life and relationships.

_ 1961 weli ratom axseneT? _ imitom, rom 60-iani wlebia CemTvis is mijna, rodesac sazogadoeba daingra. magram imis gamo, rom Zveli saqarTvelodan gamoyolili adamianebi jer kidev didi raodenobiT iyvnen, es ngreva SeumCneveli darCa. garemo, romelSic me vizrdebodi _ es iyo bevri sxvadasxvanairi xalxi, sxvadasxva Tanamdebobis, sxvadasxva specialobis, sxvadasxva socialuri statusis, magram isini mainc ekuTvnodnen _ me amas CemTvis ase veZaxi _ Zveli saqarTvelos qristianul-rainduli kulturis evropeizebul segments. saqarTveloSi, romelic me maxsovs da me vici _ mefis Camomavlidan dawyebuli, suramel glexkacamde, marTla yvela vnaxe Cemi bavSvobis pirvel aTwleulSi. CemTvis aRsafrTovanebelma mweralma oTar WilaZem dawera or romanSi, rogor iyo daglaxavebuli mTeli qarTuli sazogadoeba. erTgan isic ki dawera, rom, Turme, qarTveli ojaxisSvilebi erTmaneTs Cekistebis dapatiJebas aswrebdnen. namdvilad ar iyo ase. gana me ar vici, rom aseTi ojaxebi arsebobda? magram isini iyvnen gamonaklisi. Cvens mTel uzarmazar sanaTesavoSi _ da Zalian didi sanaTesavo gvyavs dedis da mamis mxridan _ iyo erTaderTi ojaxi, romelzec ambobdnen, rom maT uyvarT aseTi, socialurad dawinaurebuli adamianebis mowveva. gana amis gamo ar uyvardaT, an kilavdnen am ojaxs? yvelas ecineboda, radgan Tanamdebobas marTla ar hqonda mniSvneloba.

– Why did you mention the year 1961?

– Because to me, the 1960s was the decade in which our society collapsed. But because the people stemming from that “old Georgia” were still numerous, this collapse remained unnoticed. The environment in which I grew up was full of very different people, of various positions, professions, and social statuses, but nevertheless, they still all belonged to what I call the “ancient Georgian Christianchivalrous culture’s Europeanized segment”. In that Georgia, which I remember and know well, I really met every kind of people during my first ten years – from descendants of royalty to peasants from Surami (Georgian village). Otar Chiladze, an author that I find extraordinary, shows in two of his novels how humbled the whole Georgian society was. In one of them, he even wrote that Georgian families were once competing each other in order to be the firsts to invite Chekists in their home. But that was definitely not the case. Of course, I know that these kinds of families existed, but they were exceptions. Among our numerous relatives – we have a very large number of them, both from my mother’s and my father’s side – there was only one family known to be fond of inviting those who had gained a high rank in the society. But they weren’t resentful towards this family, nor were they condemning them. Everybody was laughing about it, because positions really didn’t matter at all.

_ im adamianebs Soris, visTanac urTierToba gqondaT „Zvel“ Tu „axal“ saqarTveloSi, vin iyo yvelaze saintereso? _ gamiWirdeba, imitom, rom iyo bevri, bevri sxvadasxvanairad saintereso adamiani. ra Tqma unda, iyvnen gamorCeulad niWierebi, davuSvaT, soliko virsalaZe, romelsac, rom Sexedavdi, ukve es iyo mTeli movlena. da mere roca saubars daiwyebda, misi paradoqsulobiT, rom

– Who was the most interesting person you encountered, both in the “old” or “new” Georgia?

– That would be difficult to say, because there were many, many people who were interesting in various ways. Of course, there were outstandingly talented people, say Soliko Virsaladze – just looking at him was something special. And afterwards, when he would start talking, you would be surprised by his paradoxical character; he had great inner breadth – he was a visionary. Naturally, if there were not many like him, relatively less famous people also presented a particular depth, particular skills.

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mas SeiZleboda, Turme, is moswoneboda, rac moswonda; Zalian didi Sinagani sifarToviT _ maRlamxedi rasac hqvia _ ai, aseTi kaci. ra Tqma unda, aseTi bevri ar iyo. magram SemoqmedebiTad SedarebiT naklebad dajildoebul adamianebsac SeiZleboda hqonodaT sxvanairi siRrme, sxvanairi unarebi. _ imis gasarkvevad, Tu vin varT da ra varT _ Cven, rogorc qveyana, rogorc eri _ mecniereba ufro gvexmareba Tu xelovneba? _ Tu mecnierebas ganvixilavT, rogorc sulieri moRvaweobis erT-erT sferos _ orive. Tu mecnierebas sworad warvmarTavT, ise, rogorc Tavis droze warmarTa Cveni universitetis damfuZnebelTa Taobam, maSin mecniereba daaxloebiT gauTanabrdeba xelovnebas, Tavisi SemecnebiTi RirebulebiT. magram, ra Tqma unda, xelovneba Zalian bevrs ambobs. Cven im tipis kultura varT, sadac sityvier informaciaze meti SemogvrCa sxva materialuri kultura. am mxriv yvelaze TvalsaCinoa arabobis xana. simon janaSia mixvda, rom araboba, sinamdvileSi, araboba ar yofila. arabebma ver gadaaqcies es qveyana Tavis qveynad, rogorc, vTqvaT, irani gadaaqcies _ Seucvales zne, saxe, yvelaferi... aq maT es ver moaxerxes. albaT, Sors viyaviT ufro da imitom. magram dadasturda es xelovnebiT. arasodes imdeni ar gviSenebia, ramdenic VIII, IX, X saukuneebSi... uamravi... da xuroTmoZRvrebam daadastura, rom arabebma ver Secvales qarTuli sazogadoebis, qarTveli eris verc Camoyalibebis gezi, verc SemoqmedebiTi Ziebis gza, verc misi sulieri cxovrebis struqtura... saerTod veraferi. xelovnebis kuTxiT, bevris metyvelia agreTve e.w. „qarTuli xalxuri simRera“. gavuwyale yvelas guli amis laparakiT, magram ra vqna _ Zalian maRizianebs, rom Cven amas folklors veZaxiT. rogor SeiZleba folklori iyos simRera, romelsac samefo karze mRerodnen? vis gaugia aseTi folklori? folklori, romelsac dumbaZe, nakaSiZe da TarxniSvili aswavlian glexkacs _ es folkloria? piriqiT ar unda yofiliyo? sinamdvileSi, es aris raRac sakvirveli movlena, ubralod zepirad Semonaxuli musika, Zalian maRali profesiuli donis. ar aris saWiro musikaluri ganaTleba, rom mixvde, guruli simRera da Cveni saeklesio sagalobeli _ urTulesi musikaa. mas sami moyvaruli ver Seqmnis. es simRera laparakobs sruliad gasaocar rames _ rom Cveni sociumi mTliani iyo. gundi, sadac Tavadi, aznauri da yma erTad mReris, gana sakvirveli ar aris? _ es eklesiaSi xdeboda? _ yvelgan _ sufraze, eklesiaSi. erTad idgnen da

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– What is more useful in order to find out who and what we are as a country and a nation, science or art?

– If we consider science as part of our spiritual life and development, then both. If science is looked after in the right way, just like the founders of our University used to, then it will equal art in terms of educational values. But of course, art teaches a lot of things. We are a type of culture in which compared to oral information, other cultural material was better preserved. In this regard, the most remarkable is the time Georgia spent under Arab rule. Simon Janashia understood that in reality, Georgia didn’t become “Arab”. The Arabs couldn’t manage to transform this country into theirs, like they did, for instance, with Iran – they changed its customs, its appearance, everything… They couldn’t do it here. Perhaps because we were farther. But it was demonstrated by art. We have never constructed as much as in the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries… So many buildings… And architecture has proven that the Arabs couldn’t change the Georgian society – neither the way the Georgian nation was developing, nor the ways of its creative pursuits, or the structure of its spiritual life… nothing at all. In terms of art, “Georgian songs” also have a lot to tell. I am tiring everybody by repeating this, but what can I do, it really makes me angry when people call it “folklore”. How can the songs that were sung at the royal court be folklore? Who has ever heard of that kind of folklore? The folklore that is taught

by Dumbadze, Nakashidze and Tarkhnishvili to peasants – is it folklore? Shouldn’t it be taught the other way around? In reality, it is an amazing thing to have music of a very high professional level preserved by simple oral tradition. You don’t need to have an education in music in order to understand that Gurian songs and our religious chants represent very complex music. It cannot be invented by three amateurs. These songs reveal something wonderful – that our society was united. Isn’t it marvelous when a prince, a nobleman and a serf sing together?

– This was happening in churches?

– Everywhere, in feasts, churches… They were standing and singing together. I think that this is an example for us. But unfortunately, we are always looking for negative things in the past. I am not saying that we should hide what is bad! You can hide slavery as much as you want – it still happened, so what can you do? We have to say it, to assess and analyze it. But what can we learn from it? Shouldn’t we find something on which we can build our future? As a society, we had the chance to unite, and to unite in art and creation instead of enmity.

Sadly, the only thing that unites people nowadays is enmity. What are people saying on television? “We hate each other, so let us unite against someone else”. What value could such union bear? We should unite in creating things. And what’s more, we have more than enough experience for that.

2 (16) 2019

galobdnen. me mgonia, rom es aris is, rasac Cven unda CaveWidoT. arada, warsulSi sul veZebT cuds. me gana imas vambob, rom cudi unda davmaloT?! damale, ramdenic ginda _ iyo tyveTa syidva da sad waxval? Cven es unda vTqvaT, SevafasoT da gavaanalizoT. magram amisgan ra unda viswavloT? xom unda vnaxoT raRac iseTi, razec Cveni momavali SeiZleba avaSenoT? rogorc sazogadoebas, Cven SegveZlo gaerTianeba, SemoqmedebaSi gaerTianeba, ara mtrobaSi. dRes xom erTaderTi gamaerTianebeli aris mtroba. ras laparakoben adamianebi teleekranebidan? gvZuls erTmaneTi, modiT, gaverTiandeT viRacis winaaRmdeg. ra fasi eqneba im gaerTianebas? SenebaSi unda gaverTiandeT. Tan, amis gamocdileba gvaqvs. _ swored am kuTxiT minda, rom visaubroT 1918-1921 wlebis demokratiul respublikaze. ra aris is gakveTilebi, romlebic SegviZlia iqidan wamoviRoT? _ Zalian mniSvnelovani mgonia TviTon 26 maisis kenWisyra. amis win viRacam Tqva Tanamedrove memarjveneTagan: maT sxva gza ar hqondaT, germanelebi mainc aiZulebdnen, damoukidebloba gamoecxadebinaTo. ras niSnavs _ aiZulebdnen? verafers ver aiZulebdnen. da Tu gaxsovT, iq rogor moxda: wina dRes yvela, aramarto social-demokratebi, niko nikolaZec, magaliTad _ gamodioda da ambobda, rom saqarTvelos damoukidebeli arseboba SeuZlebelia. Semdeg noe Jordaniam ixmo Tavisi fraqcia da uTxra: Cven, etyoba, ver SevTanxmdebiT da modiT, fraqciul gadawyvetilebas nu miviRebT. guli visac rogor etyvis, ise mivceT xmao. erTma Seikava Tavi mTel sakrebuloSi, yvelam xma misca saqarTvelos damoukideblobas. imitom, rom iq imuSava sxva raRacam _ ara doqtrinebma, ara partiulma programebma, ara zedapirul-racionalurma sisuleleebma, aramed iman, rac ZvelTagan momdinare kulturas mohqonda da rasac Semdeg axali kalapoti Tergdaleulebma gauWres.

Tergdaleulebis miRweva, sinamdvileSi, is ki ar aris, rom CerniSevski waikiTxes. mTeli ambavi is iyo, rom maT aiRes da qarTul tradicias axali kalapoti misces. erTi finCxa araferi dauTmiaT _ arc „vefxistyaosani“ gadaugdiaT, arc eklesiebi daungreviaT da arc mxatvrobebi CamoufxekavT. rameze uari Tqves, rac Zvel saqarTveloSi iyo? Tu istoriaze Tqves uari? es xom ar momxdara? ubralod, tradicia moaqcies im socialurekonomikur formebSi, romlebic axal dros Seefereboda. aman nayofi moitana XIX saukunis 90-iani wlebidan. da pirveli msoflio omisTvis qarTuli sazogadoeba ukve Camoyalibda im sazogadoebad, romelmac moaxerxa, universiteti Seeqmna. faqtobrivad, damoukidebloba roca movida, qveyanas yvela idea ukve hqonda. ai, aq aris

– I wanted to speak about the 1918-1921 Democratic Republic of Georgia precisely from that perspective. What are the lessons that we can learn from that period?

– I think that the vote of May 26th itself was of great importance.

Recently, a representative of the modern right-wing ideology said: “They had no other way, Germans were forcing them to declare their independence.” What does that mean, “forcing them”? They couldn’t have forced them to do anything. And if you remember, this is how it happened: the previous day, everybody, and not only the socialdemocrats (there was, for instance, Niko Nikoladze), was saying that it was impossible for Georgia to exist as an independent country.

Then Noe Zhordania summoned his fraction and told them: “It seems that we won’t be able to reach an agreement, so let us not make a decision according to our fractions. Let us vote as our hearts tell us to vote.” One person from the assembly didn’t vote, and all the rest voted for Georgia’s independence. Because something else was at hand there: not doctrines, not political programs, not superficialrational foolishness, but what was preserved and brought to us by our ancient culture, which was continued and developed by the Tergdaleulebi (group formed of Georgian intellectuals). In reality, the accomplishment of the latter was not that they read Chernyshevsky.

They actually provided a new orientation to Georgian tradition. They didn’t add anything to it – neither did they throw away ‘The Knight in the Panther’s Skin’, nor did they destroy churches or scrape their frescoes. Did they say no to anything that was existing in ancient Georgia? Did they say no to history? They didn’t, did they? They just placed our tradition in the social-economic framework that was relevant in that new epoch. This has brought results since the 1890s, and during the First World War, the Georgian society was already established as one that could create its own university. When it became independent, the country had practically already processed all of its driving concepts. And that is precisely the difference with our situation in the 1980s. Back then, they knew exactly what they had to do. They were perhaps arguing about the ways, but they knew what they wanted to achieve.

– Why did it happen like that? If back then, the Tergdaleulebi laid the foundations of the first Democratic Republic, why did we meet independence so unprepared in the end of the century?

Aren’t we the same nation, the same people?

– This is because of the way they were educating children back then.

My teacher, Ivane Javakhishvili’s nephew Mr. Levan Rcheulishvili, told me a story that has remained, to my knowledge, unwritten: imagine Mr. Ivane and his two brothers; they are still studying at school, though in their final years. Their father was an inspector of educational institutions. He has already retired. They are spending their Summer vacation in Khovle, and the father calls his wife and children, sits them around the table, and tells them: “A university needs to be established in Georgia. Now let us discuss and decide who will study which field,

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gansxvaveba XX saukunis 80-iani wlebis Cvens mdgomareobasa da maT mdgomareobas Soris. maT Zalian zustad icodnen, ra unda gaekeTebinaT da icodnen, rogor gaakeTebdnen amas. kamaTobdnen gzebze, magram ra undodaT, rom mieRoT, icodnen. _ ratom moxda ase? gasagebia, rom Tavis droze Tergdaleulebma moamzades niadagi pirveli demokratiuli respublikisTvis. magram saukunis bolos ase moumzadeblebi ratom SevxvdiT damoukideblobas? xom isev igive eria? xom isev igive xalxia? _ es aris damokidebuli imaze, rogor zrdidnen maSin bavSvebs. Cemma maswavlebelma, batonma levan rCeuliSvilma, romelic iyo ivane javaxiSvilis disSvili, miambo ambavi, romelic, me ramdenadac vici, arsad weria. da ambavi aris aseTi: warmoidgineT, batoni ivane da misi ori Zma; isini jer kidev gimnazielebi arian, magram ukve maRal klasebSi gadavidnen. maTi mama iyo saswavlebelTa inspeqtori. ukve gadamdgaria. xovleSi arian zafxulSi, ardadegebze da erTxelac dauZaxa mTel Tavis ojaxs _ cols da Svilebs, dasxa magidasTan da eubneba: saqarTveloSi aucileblad Seiqmneba universiteti. axla vifiqroT, Tqvengan romeli ra dargs SeiZleba, rom Seudges da romeli dargebi dasWirdeba am universitets, pirvel yovlisa. ai, im magidasTan maT gadawyvites, rom batoni ivane iqneba istorikosi, giorgi iqneba biologi da mesame, romlis saxeli ver gavarkvie imitom, rom xan svimoni weria da xan mixeili, iqneba iuristi. is, ubralod, Zalian adre gardaicvala. mere es xom cnobilia, rom ivane javaxiSvili studenti iyo, roca agrovebda informacias, vin sad swavlobs, vin ras akeTebs, vis ra warmatebebi aqvs. da es ar exeboda marto gamorCeul adamianebs. dedaCemis deidas, magaliTad, roca is oci wlis iyo da petrogradSi cxovrobda, 1917 wels qarTulma komitetma daavala, TbilisSi Camoeyvana aleqsandre cagareli da meri ServaSiZe. maSin krasnodaris midamoebSi frontidan gamoqceuli saldaTebis brboebi daZrwodnen. matarebeli stepSi gaCerda da lamis daarbies. fanjridan gadaaZvrina es mobarebuli adamianebi da Camoiyvana TbilisSi. roca amas ixsenebda, yveboda, rogorc saxaliso ambavs. imas ki ar ambobda, rom _ „ui, deda, es rogor damavales, azrad rogor mouvidaT!“ es iyo sruliad Cveulebrivi ambavi _ aba, rogor?! adamians hqonda movaleobis swori gageba. piradad me movaleoba aseTi ram mgonia: raRac mogeca da Senc unda gasce. es aris movaleoba, meti araferi. mogeca niWi? im niWisaebr raRac unda gaakeTo. mogeca codna? is unda gamoiyeno sxvaTaTvis. Cems saxlSi jer kidev ase gvzrdidnen. magram, rogorc gairkva, aseTi ojaxi ukve cota iyo. 70-iani wlebis dasawyisSi viRacam Tqva _ netav, risTvis viswavleTo?! da, rogorc mexi, ise dameca TavSi.

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and most importantly, which departments this university will need.” It is at that table that they decided that Mr. Ivane would become a historian, that Giorgi would become a biologist, and that the third one (whose name I’m not sure of because he is sometimes referred to as Svimon, and sometimes as Mikheil) would become a jurist. Unfortunately, the latter passed away too early.

Then I will remind you the known fact that Ivane Javakhishvili, as a student, was gathering information about who was studying where, who was doing what, who was successful in what, and so on. And this didn’t only concern outstanding individuals. For instance, in 1917, when my mother’s aunt was twenty years old and living in Petrograd, the Georgian Committee asked her to bring Aleksandre Tsagareli and Meri Shervashidze in Tbilisi. At that time, many soldiers who had fled the front were wandering in Krasnodar’s surroundings. The train stopped in a steppe, and it was almost ravaged. She made these two individuals escape through the window and brought them in Tbilisi.

She used to tell this like a funny story. She wasn’t complaining about the decision to give her such dangerous orders – she looked at it like a completely normal thing, and nothing else. People had a good understanding of duty. Personally, I think of duty as something that goes like this: you were given something, and you have to transmit it too. It’s your duty, nothing more. You were given talent? You have to do something that lives up to this talent. You were given knowledge?

You have to use it for others. In my house, they still used to teach us these values. But as it turned out, there were already few families like ours. In the beginning of the 1970s, someone said: “I wonder why we studied?!”. And it was as if lightning had struck my head. I couldn’t understand what he meant. I was ashamed that someone was asking that question, and that I myself had not thought about why I had studied. Then I understood why I had not thought about it: because nobody was speaking about that. Who would speak about the love of one’s country? Who would say that you need to respect your parents?

Just like people don’t talk about the fact that the Sun rises in the morning, it was clear as water that you had to study and then use your knowledge to help your close ones, your country. It was a given.

But unfortunately, it was a given for only a very restricted circle.

– Do you link this with the repressions of 1937? How come that the number of these families was already very small in the second half of the 20th century?

– Of course, it is related to repressions. But it is not a direct result of the repressions. It is a result of the reason why these repressions were held.

– So they reached their goals.

– Yes, and that’s also the reason why they “didn’t notice” the preparations for the 1924 uprising, and why they didn’t react until it happened. Because they knew everything. They knew everything not because there was an informant – there was no informant. They accused everyone, but they could never find out who this informant was. I think – I cannot prove this, but I am sure of it – that some KGB

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ver gavige, ras ambobs. Semrcxva, rom adamiani fiqrobs, ratom iswavla da me amaze ar mifiqria. mere mivxvdi, ratom ar mifiqria: imitom, rom amaze aravin laparakobda. vin laparakobda samSoblos siyvarulze? vin laparakobda, rom mSoblebs pativi unda sce? rogorc ar laparakoben imaze, rom diliT mze amodis, iseve Cveulebrivi ambavi iyo, rom unda iswavlo da mere is codna Sens axloblebs, Sens samSoblos moaxmaro. es iyo mocemuloba. magram es iyo mocemuloba ukve Zalian viwro wrisTvis. _ Tqven amas 1937 wlis represiebs ukavSirebT? ratom moxda, rom saukunis meore naxevridan aseTi ojaxi ukve cota iyo? _ ra Tqma unda, represiebs. oRond, es ar aris represiebis pirdapiri Sedegi. es aris Sedegi imisa, risTvisac represiebi Catarda. _ anu mizans miaRwies. _ diax, risTvisac 1924 wlis ajanyeba ver SeamCnies da sanam ar ajanydnen, acales. maT xom yvelaferi icodnen. icodnen ara imitom, rom gamcemi iyo _ araviTari gamcemi iq ar yofila. vis aRar daabrales, magram ver ipoves verasdros, vin iyo is gamcemi. me mgonia _ amas sabuTiT ver davadastureb, magram darwmunebuli var _ viRaca „kagebes“ agenti SeZvra emigraciaSi da iqidan modioda informacia. oRond ise, rom arc is emigracia iyo saqmis kursSi. viRac erTi iyo ambis gamomtani. 1924 wlis ajanyeba ratom dauSves? aman miscaT saSualeba, gaekeTebinaT iseTi ram, risTvisac qarTuli sazogadoeba mzad ar iyo. jer kidev 1923 wels, roca kote afxazi da misi jgufi daxvrites, gardacvlilebs wesi auges erTdroulad qaSueTis da wminda giorgi kalaubnelis eklesiaSi, romelic kinoTeatr „rusTavelis“ adgilze idga. uamravi xalxi movida. bebia, romelic iq iyo, miyveboda, rom xalxiT gaivso orive eklesiis ezo da mTeli rusTavelis gamziri. miuxedavad imisa, rom „saxelmwifos mtrebis“ panaSvidi iyo, srulebiT daufiqreblad, yovelgvari SiSis gareSe movidnen adamianebi. 1924 wels ki qveyanam naxa pirveli gakveTili, rom SesaZlebelia ar Caataro sasamarTlo da adamianebi pirdapir daxvrito vagonSi, an daxoco simindis yanebSi da yvelgan, sadac moixelTeb. qarTul sazogadoebas aseTi ramis warmodgenac ar SeeZlo. sazogadoebis xerxemali swored maSin gaibzara, 1924 wels. maT moaxerxes, SeeSinebinaT adamianebi da eCvenebinaT, rom arafris winaSe ukan ar daixeven. xom gvaxsovs es cnobili ambebi _ afxazebi, romlebic Caqoles. SeiZleba warmoidginos adamianma, rom erT ezoSi Seyaro aTeulobiT mamakaci 15 wlidan zeviT da qvebiT gantvino? TelavSi satusaRoSi Seayofines tyviamfrqvevs Tavi da vinc sardafSi iyo, yvela erTianad daxoces. romeli ganaCeni, romeli

agent infiltrated the emigration, and that that’s where their information was coming from. But in a way that even the emigration wasn’t aware of the process. The person who was getting the information out must have been alone. Why did they let the 1924 uprising happen? It gave them the possibility to do something for which the Georgian society wasn’t prepared. Back in 1923, when they executed Kote Apkhazi and his group, the funerals took place simultaneously at the Kashueti and the Saint Giorgi Kalaubneli Churches, which were located near where the movie theater ‘Rustaveli’ is now standing. A large crowd of people showed up. My grandmother, who was there, told me that both churches’ yards and the whole Rustaveli Avenue were full. Despite the fact that it was the funeral of “enemies of the State”, people attended it completely fearless, without a second thought. As for 1924, our country learned for the first time that it people could be executed in wagons, or in corn fields or anywhere else, without any judgement. The Georgian society could not even imagine such a thing. This is precisely when the backbone of the society got cracked, in 1924. They managed to put fear in the hearts of people, and to show them that they wouldn’t refrain from anything. Don’t we all remember these tragic events – when they stoned Abkhazians to death? Could anyone imagine bringing dozens of men above 15 years of age in one yard, and then stoning them to death? In Telavi, they introduced the head of a machine-gun in the prison and killed everyone who was in the basement. Without any verdict, without any judgement… People could not even imagine that.

Those who were responsible for the repressions knew exactly what they were doing. On the one hand, they instilled fear, and on the other hand, they made people flee their homes. Landowners who managed to escape this massacre moved to the city.

– They were hiding in Tbilisi?

– No, if you simply moved from Tbilisi to Khashuri, they wouldn’t chase you anymore. The same applied if you moved from Khashuri to Tbilisi. People just shouldn’t have been found in the places in which they usually lived. With this process, they ruined the whole social order. They ruined the society as a whole. Then there was a series of repressions, and with each of them, the society was destroyed more and more. In the end, it is in the 1960s that the backbone of that “old Georgia” was completely ruined. Once, my father mentioned the concept of duty; it was in 1964 or 1965, and the reaction he got was the following: “Come on, why do you need to make your life so complicated? Let’s just live easily, the way we can”. This is what they managed to achieve. The next generation, including the very talented people who did many great things in their respective fields, became socially indifferent. In reality, this was an act of giving up – “We can’t do anything, so let’s take advantage of what we have, the way we can.”

– But there were also people who did not give up, weren’t there?

My friend Maia Chachava’s grandfather’s sister was the famous pediatrician Mariam Ugrelidze. Once, Beria’s child was ill, and a board of doctors was at his house. The door opened, and Beria entered. Mrs.

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sasamarTlo... adamianebs amis warmodgena ar SeeZloT. represiebis avtorebma zustad icodnen, rac gaakeTes. erTi, rom Semoitanes SiSi da meore, rom adamianebi gaaqcies sakuTari adgilebidan. memamuleebi, romlebmac am Jletas gamoaswres, qalaqSi gamoiqcnen. _ TbilisSi imalebodnen? _ ara, Tu Tqven ubralod gadaxvidodiT Tbilisidan xaSurSi, aRar gdevdnen. xaSuridan TbilisSi _ aRar gdevdnen. iq, Tavis adgilze ar unda yofiliyo adamiani. amiT mTeli socialuri qsovili moarRvies. dairRva sazogadoeba, rogorc mTlianoba. Semdeg iyo represiebis wyebebi da yovel jerze kidev irRveoda, kidev irRveoda, kidev irRveoda. bolos ki, 60-ian wlebSi, mTlianad daemsxvra xerxemali im Zvel saqarTvelos. erTxel movaleoba axsena mamaCemma, 1964 Tu 1965 welia da pasuxi iyo aseTi _ „kargi, erTi, rad ginda ase rTulad cxovreba. rogorc gvecxovreba, ise vicxovroT.“ ai, amas miaRwies.

Semdegi Taobis, maT Soris, Zalian niWieri adamianebi, romlebmac Tavis xelobaSi bevri kargi ram gaakeTes, socialurad indiferentulebi gaxdnen. sinamdvileSi, es iyo xelis Caqneva _ mainc araferi gamova da vixeiroT axla, visac rogor gamogviva. _ xom iyvnen adamianebi, romlebic ar danebdnen? _ Cemi megobris, maia CaCavas papida iyo cnobili pediatri mariam ugreliZe. erTxel, Turme, berias Svili iyo avad da mis saxlSi konsiliumi tardeboda. gaiRo kari da Semovida beria. qalbatonma mariamma uTxra, Tqven xels gviSliTo, Tqveni TandaswrebiT ver vilaparakebTo. is Zalian gabrazebuli gasula. viRacas uTqvams, es ra gaakeTeT, xom dagviWeren yvelaso. arafersac ar dagviWereno, upasuxia qalbaton mariams, Cven maT vWirdebiTo. dRes kidev rom arseboben werakiTxvis mcodne adamianebi, es imitom, rom sWidebodaT. mSvenivrad icodnen, rom viRacam unda umkurnalos, viRacam unda SeakeTos avtomobilebi, viRacam maT tankebi unda dauproeqtos. da kidev erTi, Zalian mniSvnelovani faqtori: romelime romen rolani an rabindranaT Tagori rom Camovidoda, viRac xom unda daexvedrebinaT? Tavis budions da voroSilovs daaxvedrebdnen? cxadia, saWiro iyo romeliRac stanislavski. „vitrina“ iyo saWiro _ me ase veZaxi. Cven gadagvarCina iman, rom maT „vitrinad“ vWirdebodiT. gverdiT arsebobda egreT wodebuli „privilegirebuli fenac“ _ gamoarCevdnen viRacas, aavsebdnen didebiT da pativiT. yvelam ver gauZlo am cdunebas. da maT Sorisac iyvnen Zalian niWieri adamianebi, romelTa qceva sazogadoebis normebSi aranairad ar ewereboda. Tumca, niWs mainc ver ukargavdnen da maT mimarT gaorebuli damokidebuleba iyo. mere ukve, 70-iani wlebidan, sruli

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Mariam told him that he was disturbing them, because they would not talk freely when he was there. He got out very angry. Someone told her that she shouldn’t have said that, and that they would all be arrested. “Nobody is getting arrested”, Mrs. Mariam replied, “they need us”. If today, there are still literate people, it is because they needed them. They knew very well that some had to heal, others had to repair cars, to construct their tanks… And another very important factor: when some Romain Rolland or Rabidranath Tagore would visit, they had to meet someone to talk with, didn’t they? They couldn’t welcome them with Budyonny or Voroshilov, could they? It is clear that they needed some “Stanislavskis”. They needed a “store window”, as I call it. We were saved by the fact that they needed a “store window”. Apart from that, there was also a so-called “privileged class” – they would single some people out, and fondle them with riches and honors. Not everybody could withstand that temptation. And among them, there were also very talented people, whose behavior didn’t suit the society’s norms at all. But they still couldn’t take away their talent, and there was an ambiguous approach towards them.

Then from the 1970s, a terrible thing happened: a so-called “elite” was created by blending people of all categories, which was entirely Shevardnadze’s making. In this surprising “elite”, there were, next to each other, some talented and honorable individuals, talented and dishonorable individuals, and some all-round detrimental ones. And they were all seen as one and the same, though it also has to be noted that they could never fully hinder talented people from moving forward. For example, if many people managed to achieve something in our field, it is because we had their support. Georgian intellectuals were helping each other, and each other’s children.

– You mean in the 1970s?

– Before that too, it was always like that. But that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t help others. I know many instances when people helped someone they had never seen before, because that someone was talented.

– But afterwards, this took very ugly forms. For example, the system for enrolling at the University became corrupt, and nepotism was thriving.

– Of course. Let us say that afterwards, they limited the area of influence of “real” people. When the latter were many in intellectual fields, and the “red” professors were few, they could do much more.

But afterwards, when they introduced more and more red ones, they very much hindered their freedom of action. And I firmly believe that this was also one of the goals of the repressions. People of old customs became isolated particles in emptiness.

– You said that they were supporting you in doing your work. If we compare today’s science with that in communist times, what picture would we get?

– Today, there are two main ways of thinking: some say that Georgian science didn’t exist; the others say that it was flourishing.

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saSineleba moxda: yvela kategoriis adamianis aRreviT Seiqmna e.w. „elita“, rac pirwmindad amxanag SevardnaZis Semoqmedebaa. am gasaocar „elitaSi“ erTmaneTis gverdiT arian niWieri da Rirseuli adamiani, niWieri da uRirsi adamiani da yovelnairad wamxdari adamiani. da maT yvelas erTi saxeli hqvia. Tumca, isic iyo, rom niWiers mTlad ver uRobavdnen gzas. magaliTad, Tu Cvens xelobaSi Zalian bevrma adamianma raRacas miaRwia, imitom SevZeliT, rom mxardaWera gvqonda. qarTveli inteligentebi exmarebodnen erTmaneTs, erTmaneTis Svilebs. _ 70-ian wlebs gulisxmobT? _ manamdec, yovelTvis ase iyo. magram es ar niSnavda, rom sxvas ar daexmarebodnen. bevri magaliTi vici, rodesac pirvelad nanax adamians daxmarebian imitom, rom niWieri iyo. _ magram mere aman Zalian maxinji formebi miiRo. magaliTad, umaRles saswavleblebSi Cabarebis sistema korufciaSi Caeflo. Tan nepotizmic yvaoda. _ ra Tqma unda. mere ukve, ase vTqvaT, namdvil adamianebs samoqmedo are Seuviwroes. sanam isini iyvnen bevrni inteleqtualur xelobebSi da es, ase vTqvaT, „wiTeli profesorebi“ iyvnen cotani, amaT meti SeeZloT. mere, roca isini moamravles, amaT Zalian SeuzRudes samoqmedo asparezi. da esec iyo represiebis erT-erTi mizani, Cemi Rrma rwmeniT. Zveli yaidis adamianebi iyvnen ganmxoloebuli nawilakebi sicarieleSi. _ Tqven brZaneT, xels gviwyobdnen, rom Cveni saqme gvekeTebinao. Tu SevadarebT dRevandel da komunistebis droindel mecnierebas, ra suraTi gveqneba? _ dRes xom aris ori polaruli Tvalsazrisi: erTni amboben, rom qarTuli mecniereba ar arsebobda; meoreni amboben, rom yvaoda. ra Tqma unda, arsebobda da arsebobs dResac. yvela etapze mas hqonda garkveuli miRwevebi da yvela etapze hyavda savsebiT Rirseuli warmomadgenlebi. magram TandaTanobiT, yovel aTwleulSi, matulobs fsevdomecnierebis raodenoba, fsevdonawerebis xvedriTi wona. da es namdvili mecniereba Cakargulia ukve. aris dargebi, sadac Rirebul naSroms saerTod ver naxav. kidev erTi ucnauri ram moxda. raRac droidan, qarTul mecnierebaSi CarTulma bevrma adamianma Sewyvita momavalze zrunva. Zalian naklebad ahyavdaT axalgazrda TanamSromlebi. Cven Tavis droze gvecineboda, roca Cveni direqtori, batoni vaxtang beriZe movidoda mecnierebaTa akademiis saangariSo krebidan da yovel jerze kmayofili gveubneboda, rom Cven varT yvelaze axalgazrda instituti. vfiqrobdiT, ra iyo amaSi gansakuTrebuli.

2004 wels moiTxoves statistika da maCveneblis erT-erTi

Naturally, it existed, and it still exists. At every stage of its history, it reached some success, and at every stage, it had utterly honorable representatives. But little by little, with each decade, the number of pseudoscientists and the importance of pseudoscientific works increased. And the real science is difficult to be found behind all those. There are some fields in which one cannot find even one serious scientific work. Another strange thing happened. Since some time, many people involved in Georgian science have stopped looking after the future. They would enroll less and less young colleagues. We would always laugh when our director, Mr. Vakhtang Beridze, returned from his official meetings at the Academy of Sciences, as each time, he would tell us, satisfied, that we were the youngest institute. We wondered what was so special in that. There was a census in 2004, and one of the indicators was the average age of the scientists. It turned out that in Georgia’s research institutes, the average age was higher than 70 years old. At our institute, it was about 40 years old. We were younger by about 30 years. And when I realized this, I asked myself – my God, what did these people do? Did they transform the research institutions into a mausoleum of science?

– This picture doesn’t leave much place for hope.

– Right now, we are seriously lagging behind in some fields. Do you remember that our institute was destroyed by a fire during the Tbilisi civil war? It was a disaster. But we decided that nothing would work if we just gave up. By the way, Vakhtang Beridze helped us a lot in this endeavor. We had an assembly at the Academy of Sciences, where they gave us three rooms. It was a grim winter night, we didn’t have electricity, we didn’t have heating, and we were sitting huddled together, miserable. Mr. Vakhtang was sitting in front of us. He took a look at us and told us: “People can endure anything just because there won’t be a Lenin and a Kalinin district in Tbilisi anymore”. I think that after that, we decided that we wouldn’t stop working because the institute burned to the ground. That motivation has carried us to the present time. We have a young generation. There are very talented young scientists, and I am glad for this. So in our field, for instance – it doesn’t concern me personally, so I can freely say it – thanks to the dedication of our teachers, we are still treated with much respect when we attend congresses. Foreigners often visit Georgia, and if one of them behaves somewhat arrogantly, their arrogance soon fades, as they understand right then that they can amaze no one with their knowledge. But this was the making of our teachers, and unfortunately, many others haven’t achieved the same results.

– Why? – I don’t know, I never understood this. I cannot get how people could be educated in the hands of this old generation, which was always looking after the future, and fail to look after it themselves.

I think that it is also a result of despair and giving up, when people decided that nothing would work out anyway. The number of scientists working in the old way was decreasing with each decade. It was a tragedy.

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muxli TanamSromlebis saSualo asaks exeboda. aRmoCnda, rom saqarTvelos kvleviT institutebSi saSualo asaki samocdaaT welze maRali iyo. Cvens institutSi iyo daaxloebiT ormoci. 30 wliT gavuswariT sxvebs. da es rom davinaxe _ 70 da 75 weli, vifiqre, RmerTo Cemo, es ra gaakeTes am adamianebma? ra, akldamebi gaamzades? mecnierebis mavzoleumad gadaaqcies kvleviTi dawesebulebebi? _ aseTi suraTi progresis did imeds ar tovebs. _ axla ukve raRac dargebSi marTla CamorCenaa.

Cveni instituti xom daiwva Tbilisis omis dros? es katastrofa iyo. magram maSin CavTvaleT, rom ase Tu CamovyareT mxrebi, araferi gamova. sxvaTa Soris, Zalian dagvexmara vaxtang beriZe. sxdoma gvqonda mecnierebaTa akademiaSi, sadac sami oTaxi mogvces. zamTris saSineli qufri dRe iyo, Suqi ar gvqonda, gaTboba ar gvqonda da visxediT abuzulebi, gasacodavebulebi. batoni vaxtangi Cven win ijda. gadmogvxeda da gviTxra: yvelafers SeiZleba adamianma gauZlos mxolod imitom, rom TbilisSi aRar iqneba leninis da kalininis raioni. me mgoni, amis Semdeg gadavwyviteT, rom ki daiwva instituti, magram ar SevepuebiT. im muxtma dRevandlamde mogviyvana. Cven gvyavs axalgazrda Taoba. iseTi niWieri axalgazrda mecnierebi arian, mixaria. ase rom, Cvens dargSi, magaliTad _ es me ar mexeba da amitom Tavisuflad vambob _ Cveni maswavleblebis wyalobiT, dResac davdivarT kongresebze da marTla ubatonod xmas ver gvcemen. ucxoelebi Camodian aq da Tu viRacam cota waiyoyloCina, wauxdeba xolme yoyloCinobis xasiaTi, radgan xedavs, rom ar aris aravin, vinc sxvisi codniT gaogndeba. magram es Cvenma maswavleblebma gaakeTes da, samwuxarod, Zalian bevrgan sxvebma ar gaakeTes. _ ratom? _ ar vici, es CemTvis saidumloa. ar mesmis, rogor SeiZleboda adamianebi gazrdiliyvnen im ufrosi Taobis xelSi, romelic sul momavalze zrunavda da SeewyvitaT momavalze zrunva. me mgoni, esec im xelCaqneulobis Sedegia, rodesac adamianebma CaTvales, rom mainc araferi gamova. Zvel yaidaze mSromeli mecnierebi yovel aTwleulSi iyvnen sul naklebni da naklebni. es iyo Cveni tragedia. _ diax, Tqven bevrjer giTqvamT, rom Zvel droSi adamianebs hqondaT xedva imasTan dakavSirebiT, ra unda momxdariyo mravali wlis Semdeg da amas Tavis saqmianobisas iTvaliswinebdnen. axla problema isicaa, rom Cveni Tvalsawieri Zalian mcire droiT Semoifargleba. es ojaxebsac exeba da saxelmwifosac - Sors ver vgegmavT. amis garRveva Tu aris SesaZlebeli?

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– Yes, you have said many times that in the past, people had a vision about what should happen many years later, and that they were taking it into account in their work. Now, there is also the problem that our vision doesn’t extend far. This also goes for families and the State – we cannot plan far in the future. Is there a way to change this tendency?

– Of course there is a way! We are talking about the recent past; it is like yesterday! Below the “red rust”, there is actually a lot of animate material. This shows, in the first place, in the unimaginable number of talented people. I have been teaching for 43 years, and there was not one group in which there weren’t two or three talented young people.

There is immense talent in Georgia. How could we say that there isn’t any potential? But we need to support it. To me, the events that followed the flood on the 13th of June 2015 were very significant. It turned out that there are some people who can gather tens of thousands of people and make them clean up the streets just like that – I don’t know with which mechanisms; not in order to be seen on TV or to receive some money, but simply because their country needed it. When I was watching this, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It meant that social energy had cumulated, and the existence of potential leaders was also revealed.

– But these leaders didn’t show themselves, neither at that time, or after that…

– This is the most important – the fact that they didn’t want to show themselves. They didn’t do it for a salary raise. They did it simply because it had to be done. If you are a politician, shouldn’t you be looking for this kind of people all over the country? Shouldn’t you find them? Shouldn’t you give them scholarships? Shouldn’t you send them in Oxford in order to learn diplomacy? Shouldn’t you understand that they are the future leaders of your country? What leader can come out of those who want to stand in the front line in order to be seen on the TV screen? Now the question is: how will these real leaders enter a sphere that doesn’t want energetic people in it? But the most important is that there is a drive, and it won’t be stopped easily. It won’t be able to resist, and it will show itself someday.

– Won’t there be an outflow of these talented and energetic people out of the country?

– This is a real danger. But recently, one of my students told me that all of his friends who had gone abroad had returned and were trying to start working here. If you have just 15% of the youth like that, it’s already very good, isn’t it? But now, the main thing is for us not to hinder them in their endeavors. Because I also notice fear in my generation. What are they afraid of? It’s quite funny. I’m almost 70. Why should I be afraid of someone coming and replacing me? Of course they have to replace me! What I am sad about is that the numerous things that we could have transmitted to the future generation will now be theirs to prepare. Personally, I often apologize to my students for not being able to help them. The current environment and situation don’t offer me the possibility to do what I should be doing for them.

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_ rogor ar aris SesaZlebeli! es xom axlo warsulia; es xom guSindeli dRea?! „wiTeli Jangis“ qveS, sinamdvileSi, bevri cocxali materiaa. amis maCvenebeli, pirvel rigSi, aris niWieri adamianebis warmoudgeneli raodenoba. ukve 43 welia, vaswavli da ar myolia jgufi, sadac Cems xelobaSi niWieri ori an sami axalgazrda ar mjdariyo. warmoudgeneli raodenobis niWia saqarTveloSi. rogor SeiZleba vilaparakoT, rom aq ar aris perspeqtiva? magram mas xelSewyoba unda. Zalian TvalsaCino iyo CemTvis 2015 wlis 13 ivnisis wyaldidobis Semdgomi ambebi. aRmoCnda, rom sadRac arseboben adamianebi, romlebsac ase uCinrad _ ar vici, ra meqanizmebiT _ SeuZliaT, aTi aTasobiT adamiani darazmon da daagvevinon quCa; imisTvis ki ara, rom teleekranze gamoCndnen an premiebi miiRon, aramed, ubralod, imisTvis, rom es maT qveyanas sWirdeba. amas rom vuyurebdi, Tvalebs ver vujerebdi. ese igi, dagrovda socialuri energia da potenciuri liderebis arsebobac dadasturda.

– What do you mean exactly?

– For instance, as a professor, I should be able to know where, in our small country, I can employ a talented art historian. I have been observing this phenomenon for a long time: in some cases, talented people support the less talented or ordinary candidates. And they are afraid of talented ones. Why? Is it satisfactory to look back and see emptiness?

_ Tumca, es liderebi ar gamoCndnen arc maSin, arc Semdeg... _ es aris yvelaze mniSvnelovani, rom maT ar moindomes gamoCena. maT es dawinaurebisTvis ar gaakeTes. gaakeTes ubralod imitom, rom gasakeTebeli iyo. Sen, politikosi rom gqvia, ar unda gamoacxado mTeli qveynis masStabiT Zebna am adamianebze? ar unda staco xeli? ar unda misce stipendia? ar unda gagzavno diplomatiis Sesaswavlad oqsfordSi? ver unda mixvde, rom eseni arian Seni qveynis momavali liderebi? visac wina xazze dgoma unda imisTvis, rom zedmetad gamoCndes teleekranze, imisgan ra Tavkaci gamova? axla mTeli saqme is aris, rogor Semovlen es namdvili liderebi sivrceSi, romelsac ar nebavs energiuli adamianebis SemoSveba. magram muxti arsebobs da ase ver gaCerdeba. ver moiTmens da, erTxelac iqneba, iCens Tavs.

– It is an instrument of authoritarian control.

– The older generation didn’t fear anything. If someone is dependent on one’s knowledge, and not on an inscription next to their office’s door, why should they be afraid of anything? Nobody can take away their own selves from them, can they? And what if they move from one office to the next – is that such big a deal?! And if someone – someone they employed, someone they educated – turns out to be successful, isn’t it better for themselves? I don’t know any talented person who is disloyal and untrustworthy. As for untalented people who pretend to be loyal, and who will betray their teacher on the first occasion, there are as many as you can imagine.

_ qveynidan gadineba xom ar moxdeba am niWis da energiuli adamianebis? _ es xifaTi aris. Tumca, amis win erTma studentma miTxra, Cemi amxanagi, vinc wasuli iyo, yvela dabrunda da cdiloben, saqme aq daiwyono. 15% aseTi axalgazrda Tu gvyavs, es xom Zalian kargia? oRond, axla saqme isaa, Cven maT xeli ar SevuSaloT. imitom, rom Cems TaobaSic vxedav SiSs. risi eSiniaT? es xom Zalian sasaciloa. me var 70-s mitanebuli. ratom unda meSinodes, rom viRaca mova da Semcvlis. unda Semcvalos, aba, ra unda gaakeTos? guls is mtkens, rom uamravi ram, rac Cven SegveZlo momavali TaobisTvis dagvexvedrebina, axla maTi gasakeTebeli iqneba. me, magaliTad, Cems studentebs bodiSs vuxdi, rom ver vexmarebi. garemo ar maZlevs saSualebas gavukeTo is, rac, wesiT, maTTvis unda gamekeTebina.

– Yes, many choose to hire untalented people without initiative.

– Why? Isn’t it horrible to be in charge of untalented people? They can’t do anything right, can they? You have to think for them; then you have to explain them how to execute what you have thought of; and you never know if they will be able to execute it or not.

– In his essay about tyranny, Joseph Brodsky wrote that the people in power spend all their energy in finding someone who will be loyal to them.

– Isn’t that stupid?

–In the past, people would do anything they could for each other; as you mentioned yourself, serving others was their way of life. Today, this isn’t the case anymore, and many people just look at each other, thinking – “Why should I be the one doing it? Let them do it themselves”.

– I still believe that this was done on purpose. People have been told for a long time that they should have claws and fangs. Perhaps I am not the best example, but never in my life have I ever had the wish to get in conflict. I never reacted in these cases, even for a millisecond.

If there ever was an apparent victory, it was always stemming from the wish of someone else. I am not bragging when I say this. What I mean is that if I could do that, why can’t another? It’s simply because the importance and orientation of values have changed.

– How dangerous is a conflict between different segments of the population? They name them in different ways: pro-western and anti-western; individualists and collectivists; rightists and leftists; liberals and conservatives…

– In general, a sharp conflict in the society is dangerous everywhere. But here, it would be a catastrophe. Not many other

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_ konkretulad ras gulisxmobT? _ magaliTad, me, profesors, unda mqondes saSualeba, Cvens patara qveyanaSi vicode, niWieri xelovnebaTmcodne sad davabinavo. ukve didi xania vuyureb, niWieri adamianebi, raRac SemTxvevebSi, rogor uwyoben xels yvelaze susts, yvelaze uferuls. da eSiniaT niWieris. ratom? sasiamovnoa, ukan miixedo da sicariele dagxvdes? _ diax, bevris arCevania, marTos uniWo, uiniciativo adamianebi. _ ratom? uniWos marTva xom saSinelebaa? is xom kargad verafers akeTebs? Tqven mis magivrad unda ifiqroT; mere unda auxsnaT, Tqveni mofiqrebuli rogor ganaxorcielos; da ganaxorcielebs Tu ara, kidev kacma ar icis. _ iosif brodski werda Tavis esseSi „tiraniaze“, rom mmarTvelebi mTel energias xarjaven imaT ZebnaSi, vinc erTguli iqneba. _ hoda, sisulele ar aris? _ avtoritaruli marTvis instrumentia. _ ufros Taobas arafris eSinoda. Tu adamiani damokidebulia Tavis codnaze da ara kabinetis karTan warweraze, risi unda eSinodes? imaSi, rac aris TviTon, xom veravin Seecileba? kargi, didi ambavi, gava erTi kabinetidan da Seva meore oTaxSi _ ra moxdeba?! da Tu is viRac _ misi moyvanili, misi gamozrdili _ kargi aRmoCndeba, misTvisve ar aris ukeTesi? ar meguleba niWieri adamiani, romelic orguli da moRalatea. uniWo, viTomda erTguli, romelic aucileblad danas gauyris Tavis maswavlebels _ aseTi, ramdenic gindaT, imdenia. _ dRevandel sazogadoebas, ZvelTan SedarebiT, is problemac aqvs, rom warsul droSi adamianebi erTmaneTisTvis yvelafers akeTebdnen, rac SeeZloT; rogorc Tqven ambobT, maTi cxovrebis wesi iyo sxvisTvis msaxureba. dRes ki bevri erTmaneTs uyurebs _ me ratom gavakeTo? iman gaakeTos. _ me mainc mgonia, rom es xelovnurad moawyves. adamianebs didxans umtkiceben, rom Sen unda gqondes klanWebi da eSvebi. SeiZleba, Cemi magaliTi mosatani ar aris, magram Cems cxovrebaSi araTu ar mibrZolia, arc momindomebia rame. saerTod ar gavtokebulvar. Tu rame garegnuli warmateba momxdara, yovelTvis sxvaTa survili iyo. amiT arc Tavs viwoneb, arc araferi. magram Tu me SevZeli, sxvas ratom ar SeuZlia? ubralod, RirebulebiTi orientirebia moSlili. _ sazogadoebis segmentebs Soris dapirispireba ramdenad saxifaTod migaCniaT? maT sxvadasxvanairad arqmeven:

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countries have had their backbone crushed. The supposedly freethinking contemporary liberals – who only give us the right to agree with them – can rage all they want, but other countries have the “skeleton” of a society. Then can say what they want, but abroad, there are working farmers; there are factories producing high-quality material; there are financiers who look after finances; there is a church, about which they say that it is currently gathering forces, for instance in Italy. And so on. These things constitute the backbone of a society, and it is solid. Here, everything is crumbled.

– What can come out from today’s situation? How can we begin to develop and which steps do we have to take? Should we look after education in the first place? Or something else?

– Naturally, we should start with education. It will be a step forward when we will have well-prepared individuals. But that is not enough.

Recently, I read two collections of new Georgian authors, and two things surprised me. It seems to me that today, they write, on average, better than before, at least in terms of grammar. The average skill level is also higher. But they have nothing to say. I read two collections and I had the impression that there is a country where the Sun never rises, where there is only fog, and that the people walking in this fog are in a bad mood and half drunk. This is how 15 different authors write. Should I believe that they have never seen any fresh pasture? Or a violet flourishing at the foot of a bush? I think that considering our literary tradition, we can expect more. A long time ago, my father – Givi Tumanishvili – created a theory, which he named the Theory of Crystallization Centers. He was saying that we don’t have any lever to do anything great at that moment, and that therefore, we should bring about small circles in which people of the same views could gather. They could have a symbolic sign, let’s say a flower on their clothes, and recognize each other in this way. And afterwards, when these small cells would multiply, they would assemble and create one crystallized frame. This is the way he had imagined to create a new frame for our society. Naturally, this is only a metaphor, but that is the kind of thing that we have to do. The most difficult thing is that today, the youth doesn’t realize its strength.

This generation has two characteristic features – they are not afraid of working (unlike some people in my generation), and they are sincere.

Sometimes, this sincerity is a bit too much, and it would be better if they also learned some politeness, but I think we shouldn’t get lost into these details. The most important is for them to say the truth, and we will find a way to give it a more beautiful form if needed. Or someone else will find it – the next generation. That is not the main issue.

In old times, it was considered completely normal to work.

Nino Brailashvili was an interesting painter, she was working with ethnographers. Her mother was an Eristavi [Georgian nobility], and she grew up in an Eristavi family. She wrote a small study that she put as an introduction to her ethnographic paintings – “This is the Georgia that I remember”. It is a wonderful album. This is how she ends her introduction: “I have never had a hard time working, and for this, thank you, my ancestors!” The Eristavis taught her to work. Afterwards, she was plowing and removing weed, and this was a completely normal thing to her – You are in trouble? You need to do something about it.

2 (16) 2019

prodasavlurebi-antidasavlurebi; individualistebikoleqtivistebi; memarjveneebi-memarcxeneebi; liberalebikonservatorebi... _ sazogadoebaSi mkveTri dapirispireba, zogadad, yvelgan saxifaToa. magram CvenTan katastrofaa. sxva qveynebSi ar momxdara xerxemlis gadamtvreva. ramdenic ar unda iboboqron am viTomda Tavisuflad moazrovne Tanamedrove liberalebma _ romlebic mxolod imis uflebas gvaZleven, rom daveTanxmoT _ ucxoeTSi sazogadoebis ConCxi arsebobs. ramdenic ar unda ilaparakon, iq sinamdvileSi arian fermerebi, romlebic muSaoben; meqarxneebi, romlebic xarisxian nawarms qmnian; finansistebi, romlebic finansebze zrunaven. aris eklesia, romelic, amboben, rom bevr qveyanaSi dRes Zalas ikrebs, italiaSi, magaliTad. da ase Semdeg. es aris xerxemali, romelic myaria. CvenTan yvelaferi dafSvnilia. _ am mocemulobidan, rac dRes gvaqvs, ra SeiZleba gamovides? riTi SeiZleba daviwyoT da ra nabijebi unda gadavdgaT? pirvel rigSi, ganaTlebaa misaxedi? Tu raRac sxva? _ cxadia, ganaTleba. wingadadgmuli nabiji iqneba, roca momzadebuli adamianebi gveyoleba. magram es sakmarisi ar aris. boloxans ori krebuli wavikiTxe axali qarTveli mwerlebis. orma ramem gamakvirva. meCveneba, rom dRes saSualod ukeT weren, gamarTulobis TvalsazrisiT. saSualo done xelobisa ufro maRalia. magram saTqmeli araferi aqvT. ori krebuli wavikiTxe da iseTi gancda mqonda, rom aris raRac qveyana, sadac mze ar anaTebs saerTod, aris marto nisli da am nislSi dadian ugunebo, naxevrad mTvrali adamianebi. ase dawera 15-ma sxvadasxva mweralma. kargiT, Cemo batono, moli ar unaxavT? ia ar unaxavT, buCqis Ziras rom xarobs? im tradiciidan, rac Cven gvqonda, cota meti ar mogveTxoveba? didi xnis win mamaCemma _ givi TumaniSvilma _ Seqmna Teoria, romelsac daarqva sakristalizacio centrebis Teoria. is ambobda: Cven axla aranairi berketi ar gvaqvs da dids verafers gavakeTebT. amitom, unda gavaCinoT patara wertilebi, romlebic Semoikrebs saerTo Sexedulebebis mqone adamianebs. SeiZleba raRac pirobiTi niSani, vTqvaT, yvavili ekeTos yvelas da amiT icnon erTmaneTi. da mere, roca es patara ujredebi gamravldeba, isini SeerTdeba da erTi kristaluri meseri gamovao. am gzas xedavda sazogadoebis axali CarCos Sesaqmnelad. es metaforaa, rasakvirvelia, magram raRac amgvari gvaqvs gasakeTebeli. yvelaze rTuli dRes is aris, rom axalgazrda Taoba Tavis Zalas jer ver xvdeba. am Taobas aqvs ori Tviseba _ erTi rom mas ar eSinia Sromis, rac Cems TaobaSi iyo da meore, rom is aris

– Do you see the same rational approach towards work in today’s youth?

– I definitely do. My students, unlike their parents, can freely say that they work at this or that place… Sometimes I pity them, because they have so many things to do, but on the other hand, I prefer that to pampered thick-headedness.

– In 2015, Gaga Nizharadze wrote that a social survey with the following question was carried out: “Do you want to have a lot of money and do nothing?”. Gaga said that he pondered for a long time about whether or not he should make the results public, because the research wasn’t going to be published. In the end, he refrained from publishing them, but he said that the percentage of positive answers were close to the Patriarch’s ratings. Imagine, the absolute majority of the respondents answered that yes, they wanted to have a lot of money and do nothing.

– It doesn’t surprise me at all. Because that’s what they tell them, that’s what they put in their heads. But in the young generation, we have a different picture. They are not ashamed of working. “I need money to pay my studies. I will work and I will miss two nights of sleep per week” – today, this is an ordinary situation.

– What’s the best that can come out of this?

– Us, the older generation, who think more or less the same way, should try to find each other. And if we don’t succeed, let us at least try to do what we deem right, wherever we are. Let us not look at what the neighbor is doing, but think about what is right. The first thing that a human should be doing is to improve oneself. If someone else is bad, it doesn’t mean that I am good. If he is bad, I could be even worse. I was reading a collection of works from the Theological Academy, and a female student wrote the following – “Instead of modernists, we have to be eternalists.” If we agree that this is what each of us should be aiming for, it would be a great step forward. The environment is very difficult to deal with. It always turns out that you are right in something, but in some other thing, it’s not like you would have wished. But what can you do, you have to bear with it.

– I remember that many years ago, you said a sentence that stuck to my mind. You said that our ancestors’ way of life was that they were doing everything they could, and were thankful for what they were getting in return.

– That is how it was.

– Perhaps this is the formula that will save us.

– I have actually seen how this approach has saved people. My father’s grandfather’s sister had a husband and children, but it so happened that she only had a pension of 20 rubles. Fortunately, she was living with one of her children, and just like in fairy tales, she had an evil daughter-in-law. Suddenly, this old woman, who spoke perfect Georgian, Russian, and French, and who was translating in Russian and French, found herself in a small room of eight square meters,

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gulwrfeli. zogjer es gulwrfeloba cota zedmetia da ukeTesia, adamianebma cota zrdilobac iswavlon, magram ar daveZeb. simarTle Tqvan da mere lamaz formas ramenairad movuZebniT. an viRac sxva mouZebnis, Semdegi Taoba mouZebnis. es imdenad saxifaTo ar aris.

Zvel droSi Sroma srulebiT Cveulebriv movlenad iTvleboda. nino brailaSvili iyo saintereso mxatvari, eTnografebTan muSaobda. deda hyavda erisTavis qali da erisTavebis ojaxSi izrdeboda. man dawera patara narkvevi, romelic warumZRvara Tavis eTnografiul naxatebs _ „aseTi maxsovs saqarTvelo“. araCveulebrivi albomia. is ase amTavrebs winasityvaobas: Sroma arasodes gamWirvebia da madloba, Cemo winaprebo, amisTviso! erisTavebma Sroma aswavles. mere baravda, marglavda da es iyo Cveulebrivi ambavi _ gagiWirda? diax, unda gamoiRo xeli. _ dRevandel axalgazrdebSic xedavT Sromis mimarT racionalur damokidebulebas? _ vxedav namdvilad. Cemi studentebi, maTi mSoblebisgan gansxvavebiT, sruliad martivad amboben _ me vmuSaob iq... zogjer ise mecodebian, iseTi saSineli jafa adgaT, magram, meore mxriv, es mirCevnia gazuluqebul situtuces. _ 2015 wels gaga niJaraZe werda, rom Catarebula sociologiuri kvleva aseTi kiTxviT: ginda Tu ara, bevri fuli gqondes da arafers akeTebde? gaga ambobs, didxans vfiqrobdi, damewera Tu ara Sedegi, radgan is kvleva ar qveyndebao. bolos Tavi Sevikave, oRond, erTs vityvi, rom dadebiTi pasuxi patriarqis reitings uaxlovdebodao. warmoidgineT, gamokiTxulebis absoluturi umravlesoba ambobda, rom diax, me minda, bevri fuli mqondes da araferi vakeTo. _ eWvi ar mepareba, ase iqneboda. imitom, rom amas agoneben, amas TavSi udeben. magram axalgazrda TaobaSi sxva suraTs vxedavT. ar Takiloben Sromas. „mWirdeba Tanxa, rom gadavixado Cemi swavlis fuli. vimuSaveb da kviraSi ori Rame ar daviZineb“, _ dRes es Cveulebrivi movlenaa. _ aqedan ra SeiZleba, yvelaze kargi rom gamovides? _ Cven, ufrosma Taobam, vinc daaxloebiT erTnairad vfiqrobT, unda vecadoT, vipovoT erTmaneTi. da Tu es ar gamogviva, is mainc vcadoT, rom Cven Cvens adgilze gavakeToT ise, rogorc aris swori. imas ki nu vuyurebT, mezobeli ras akeTebs, aramed, swori ra aris, imaze vifiqroT. sakuTari Tavis gaumjobesebaa pirveli, rasac

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where there was her bed, one box, which acted as the guests’ divan, and another box, which acted as a table. When she was in a bad mood, she wouldn’t get out, so that nobody could see her. How could she walk the streets in that condition? Because if she had something to complain about, she would talk to the Virgin Mary.

– We will finish our discussion with your commentary on two quotes from famous individuals. The author of the first quote is the actress Faina Ranevskaya (1896-1984): “You have to teach the science of solitude to children from the very first class.”

– This is a very modern view and I understand what she means. Of course, people should know that they might end up alone. They should know that there are givens that they should endure. But in principle, I think that what we should teach people more is how to not stay alone.

It could happen that someone runs out of friends and relatives, but if the reason is that all of them have passed, this doesn’t make it solitude, does it? This is just your lot. People should neither plan for someone to be supporting them all the time, nor plan to remain alone for good. They should be planning only one thing: to help as much people as they can.

– The author of the second quote is contemporary British scientist Ken Robinson, an education specialist who wrote books about creative thinking. In one of your lectures, you said that creativity was a great force that was behind the establishment of Georgia’s backbone. Therefore, I would like to hear your comment about Robinson’s following idea: “Creativity doesn’t belong to any specific field. It can appear everywhere human intellect is at work. Creativity isn’t some field of activity – it is the brain’s nature itself.”

– I fully agree. But I wouldn’t say that it is the brain’s nature, I would say it is an inner state of mind. I found three practical instances of this.

Do you know who “gutnisdedas” [sowing specialists in Georgia] were?

They were not the people who were showing the places to sow. It turned out that “gutnisdedas” were people who intuitively knew when seeds should be planted for them not to get frozen. They had an inner connection to the cosmos and were feeling that after some point, it wouldn’t get cold anymore. Isn’t understanding nature talent? There are two other cases like this. Shepherds, who remember the individual bleating of each and every sheep they ever had, and dog specialists, who remember the barking of each individual dog. Can you imagine the level of their audition and how close their relationship is with these living beings? Aren’t all the winemakers, orchardists, every real cleaning person – who cleans not because they are paid, but to add some order to our world – creators? Of course, this is all creative work.

And it is what brought us to this day.

06,09,2018 Interview by Ia Antadze Photography: Irakli Gedenidze

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adamiani unda akeTebdes. sxvisi siglaxe Cems sikarges ar niSnavs. is rom cudia, me SeiZleba kidev uaresi viyo. sasuliero akademiis Sromebis krebuls vfurclavdi da iq erTi studenti gogona aseT rames wers _ unda viyoT ara modernistebi, aramed, maradistebio. Tu Cven sindisis kategoriebs davubrundebiT da SevTanxmdebiT, rom es aris, rasac yoveli Cvengani unda eswrafvodes, Zalian didi wingadadgmuli nabiji iqneba. garemo Zalian rTulia. yvela jerze gamodis, rom sadRac marTali xar, magram raRacaSi ise ara, rogorc mogindeboda. magram ras izam, esec unda itvirTo. _ maxsovs, bevri wlis win Tqven brZaneT erTi fraza da imis mere es fraza sul TavSi maqvs. Cveni winaprebi ase cxovrobdneno, akeTebdnen yvelafers, rac SeeZloT da iyvnen madlobeli imisTvis, rac amis sanacvlod eZleodaTo. _ namdvilad ase iyo. _ es, albaT, is formulaa, romelic yvelas gadaarCens. _ praqtikulad minaxavs, rogor gadaurCenia adamianebi aseT damokidebulebas. mamas hyavda erTi bebida. qmarSviliani qali iyo, magram ise moxda, rom 20 maneTi hqonda pensia. samadlod cxovrobda erT-erT SvilTan da, rogorc zRaprebSi xdeba xolme, Sexvda avi rZali. uceb, es xnieri qali, romelic erTnairad laparakobda qarTuls, rusuls, franguls da rusulad da frangulad Targmnida, aRmoCnda rvametrian oTaxSi, sadac idga misi sawoli, erTi yuTi, romelic iyo stumrebisTvis taxti da kidev erTi yuTi, romelic iyo magida. da es adamiani Tavs yovelTvis bednierad grZnobda. me is gauRimari ar minaxavs. roca cud gunebaze iyo, saxlidan ar gamodioda, rom aravis enaxa. moRuSuli quCaSi rogor gaivlida? imitom, rom RvTismSobels elaparakeboda, Tu rame hqonda saCivleli. _ saubars davasrulebT Tqveni komentarebiT cnobili adamianebis or gamonaTqvamze. pirveli citatis avtoria cnobili sabWoTa msaxiobi faina ranevskaia (1896-1984): „bavSvs skolis pirveli klasidanve unda aswavlo martoobis mecniereba“. _ es Zalian Tanamedrove Sexedulebaa da mesmis, rasac gulisxmobs. ra Tqma unda, adamianma unda icodes, rom is SeiZleba darCes marto. unda icodes, rom es aris mocemuloba, romelsac unda gauZlos, romelic unda

aitanos da gaitanos. magram, principSi, me mgonia, adamians ufro is unda aswavlo, rogor ar darCes marto. SeiZleba moxdes ise, rom yvela Semoecalos, magram mizezi Tu is aris, rom misi axloblebi wavidnen, es xom martooba aRar gamodis, sinamdvileSi? es aris mxolod xvedri. adamiani arc imas unda gegmavdes, rom viRacam sul xeliT ataros da arc imas, rom aucileblad marto darCeba. is unda gegmavdes mxolod erT rames: rogor daexmaros rac SeiZleba met adamians. _ meore citatis avtoria Tanamedrove britaneli mecnieri ken robinsoni, ganaTlebis specialisti, SemoqmedebiTi azrovnebis Sesaxeb wignebis avtori (dab.1950). Tqven erTi leqciis dros brZaneT, rom SemoqmedebiToba iyo Zalian didi muxti, romelmac saqarTvelos xerxemali Seqmna. amitom mainteresebs Tqveni komentari ken robinsonis am mosazrebaze: „Semoqmedeba romelime konkretul sferos ar ekuTvnis. is SeiZleba gaCndes yvelgan, sadac adamianis inteleqti qmediTia. Semoqmedeba moRvaweobis raime saxeoba ki ar aris, aramed _ tvinis Tvisebaa.“ _ absoluturad veTanxmebi. oRond, tvinis Tvisebas ar vityodi, Sinagan mdgomareobas vityodi. me amis sami praqtikuli magaliTi vipove. iciT, guTnisdeda vin yofila? ara is, visac kvali gahyavs. Turme, guTnisdeda iyo adamiani, romelmac gumaniT icoda, rodis SeiZleba Caagdo Tesli, rom aRar moyinos. mas hqonda Sinagani kavSiri kosmosTan da grZnobda, rom amis Semdeg aRar acivdeba. es niWi ar aris, roca buneba gelaparakeba? kidev aris ori aseTive saocreba. mwyemsebi, romlebsac sicocxlis ganmavlobaSi rac cxvari xvdebaT, yvelas kikini cal-calke axsovT, rogorc individualuri xma. da aseTive meZaRleebi, romlebic yvela ZaRlis yefas individualurad imaxsovreben. warmogidgeniaT, ra smenaa da rogori urTierTobaa am cocxal arsebebTan? yovelnairi mevenaxe, mexile, yovelnairi namdvili damlagebeli, romelic alagebs imitom ki ara, rom fuls uxdian, aramed imitom, rom samyaros wesrigi Sematos _ Semoqmedi ar aris? ra Tqma unda, es yvelaferi Semoqmedebaa. dRevandlamdec aman mogviyvana.

06,09,2018 esaubra ia anTaZe foto: irakli gedeniZe

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SELF-PORTRAIT, OIL ON CANVAS, 100 X 80, 2019

avtoportreti, tilo, akrili, 100 X 80, 2019

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mamuka cecxlaZe:

Mamuka Tsetskhladze:

mTavari simdidre _ droa

The most valuable thing is time

oTxi wlis win zemelze saxelosno viyide da Zveli, puris moedanze, Svilis davuTme. Cemi meuRle, lia SveliZe da me axla aq, zemelze vmuSaobT. garda amisa didi xnis ocnebasac visruleb da saguramoSi saxls vaSeneb; iq sagamofeno sivrcesac vakeTeb, sadac CrdiloeTis mxridan samuSao farTic gveqneba didi fanjrebiT. karg amindSi win kavkasionis xedi iSleba, ukan ki zedazenia. male gadaval, am naxatebs waviReb da iq vicxovreb.

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Four years ago, I bought a studio in the Zemeli district, and I left my old one, on Puri Square, to my son. Myself and my wife Lia Shvelidze now work here.

Apart from that, I am making an old dream come true, as we are building a house in Saguramo, where there will also be an exhibition space as well as a working room with large windows from the northern side. When there is good weather, a beautiful landscape of the Caucasus unfolds before you, and on the other side, of Zedazeni. I will soon move; I’ll take these paintings and I’ll live there.

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roca akademias vamTavrebdi, `perestroika~ iwyeboda da `tradicia~, swavlis dasrulebis Semdeg axalgazrda mxatvrebs saxelosnoebs rom urigebdnen, TandaTan iSleboda. simarTle giTxraT, samxatvro kombinatTan, e.w. `xudfondTan~ ar vTanamSromlobdi da aRarc kargi saxelosnoebi iyo darCenili. erTxel SemomTavazes, Sors da meTxuTmete sarTulze, sadac namdvilad ver vimuSavebdi _ marto naxatebis atana-Camotana meCveneboda warmoudgenlad. Tan iyvnen iseTi mxatvrebi, romelTac, albaT, Cemze metad sWirdebodaT farTi. diplomze muSaobisas akademiis axal korpusSi, meaTe sarTulze xuT megobars Teqvsmeti kvadratuli metris oTaxi mogvces... da amitom daerqva Cvens jgufs `meaTe sarTuli~.

When I was graduating from the Academy of Arts, it was the beginning of the “Perestroika”, and the “tradition” to hand out studios to newly graduated artists was gradually disappearing. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t collaborating with the Artists’ Center, the so-called “Khudfond”, and there weren’t any good studios left anyway. Once, they offered me one that was located very far from the center, on the 15th floor, where I definitely couldn’t have worked – only bringing the paintings up and down seemed unimaginable. And there were painters who probably needed a studio even more than me. When I was working on my graduation work, they gave a 16-squaremeter room to myself and four of my friends, on the 10th floor of the Academy of Arts’ new building… And that is why our group was named the ‘10th Floor’.

Tbilisi, tilo, zeTi, 120 X 100, 2017 / TBILISI, OIL ON CANVAS, 120 X 100, 2017

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1985 wlidan daviwyeT da sadRac 1991 wlamde vimuSaveT. viyaviT oleg timCenko, mamuka jafariZe, niko cecxlaZe, karlo kaWarava da me. es iyo ZiriTadi birTvi, iyvnen sxvebic, momsvlel-wamsvlelebi. SemoqmedebiTi urTierToba Cvenze ufros TaobasTanac gvqonda: irakli farjianTan, levan WoRoSvilTan, gia buRaZesTan, gia eZgveraZesTan. erTadac gamovfenilvarT, Tundac 1984 wels Telavis musikalur festivalze gia buRaZesTan erTad. mere karlo kaWaravam da me jgufi `arqivariusi~ davaarseT, sadac gia loria da goga maRlakeliZec iyvnen. im dros germanuli romantizmiT da hofmaniseuli samyaroTi viyaviT gatacebulebi da ideac, saxelwodebac misgan aviReT. maSin TbilisSi mxatvrebis cxovreba duned midioda da Cvenma wamowyebam yuradReba miiqcia. amazed saarqivo masala guram wibaxaSvils bevri aqvs, romelic megobaria da CvenTan erTadac ifineboda.

Tbilisi, tilo, zeTi, 120 X 100, 2017 / TBILISI, OIL ON CANVAS, 120 X 100, 2017

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We started in 1985 and we worked there until 1991 – Oleg Timchenko, Mamuka Japaridze, Niko Tsetskhladze, Karlo Kacharava, and myself. This was the main group, but there were others too, who were coming and going. We also had a good and productive relationship with our older generation: Irakli Parjiani, Levan Choghoshvili, Gia Bugadze, Gia Edzgveradze. We had group exhibitions together, for instance with Gia Bugadze at the Telavi Music Festival in 1984. Afterwards, Karlo Kacharava and myself founded the group ‘Archivarius’, in which there were also Gia Loria and Goga Maghlakelidze. During that period, we were captivated by German romanticism and Hoffmann, by whom the idea and the name of our group were inspired. At that time, the art world was quite sluggish in Tbilisi, and our initiative attracted people’s attention. Guram Tsibakhashvili has a lot of archive material about this, he is a friend and was also exhibited with us.

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Tqveni jgufis Sesaxeb akademiaSi icodnen? es araformaluri jgufi iyo da albaT, egonaT diplomze vmuSaobdiT... Tumca isic davxate, sulxan-sabas mogzauroba evropaSi, romelic xuTi suraTisgan Sedgeba. es ganzogadebuli namuSevrebi iyo da ara ilustraciuli. diplomis xelmZRvaneli jer korneli sanaZe iyo, bevri ram viswavle misgan, magram im wels gardaicvala da mis adgilze edmond kalandaZe movida. diplomze muSaobisas Tavisufali iyavi? rom giTxraT, Zalian ereodnen meTqi an gaxrCobdnen _ ara da Temasac Tavad virCevdiT. Tumca, dacvaze moiwvies cnobili sabWoTa moqandake vladimir cigali, romelmac gaigo Cemi diplomis Tema da samiani damiwera; komisiis sxva wevrebma xma ver amoiRes da `sababad~ civi da Tbili tonebis nakleboba moimizezes. maSin diplomze qarTul cekvas an meCaieebs xatavdnen, ukeTes SemTxvevaSi msaxiobebs an arlekins. Temis arCevisas politikaze ar mifiqria, ubralod im dros sulxan sabas `mogzauroba evropaSi~ wavikiTxe, axalgazrda viyavi da am tragizmma, gamouvalma mdgomareobam imoqmeda. ise, maSin samians Tavisi plusic hqonda _ akademia sadiplomo namuSevars ar itovebda da saxlSi gatanda. mec wamoviRe, gaiyida da... dRes misi sami nawili qarTuli saxviTi xelovnebis muzeumSia gamofenili; akademiaSi rom darCeniliyo, Tagvebi SeWamdnen. gamofenebs awyobdiT? vawyobdiT, saxlebsa da saxelosnoebSi. im dros daiwyo saSinao gamofenebi da Tu kargad maxsovs, pirveli levan WoRoSvilTan iyo. maSin sxva gza arc gvqonda, kerZo galereebi jer ar arsebobda, `cisferSi~ ki mxolod `sagazafxulo da saSemodgomo~ seriebi midioda _ kosmosis an raime amgvar Temebze. gamonaklisi, qarvasla iyo, patara kunZuliviT... pirveli kerZo galerea `oreinti~ baia wiqoriZem 92 wlis 25 dekembers gaxsna. `mxatvris saxli~? `mxatvris saxlSi~ erTaderTi didi aqcia movawyeT, kibis ujredi movxateT... da daviwyeT muSaoba marjaniSvilis TeatrSic. gia buRaZem gaioz kandelaks, romelic maSin Teatris direqtori iyo uTxra Cvenze da Teatris butaforiis saamqro dagviTmes _ Cvenc meti ra gvindoda, ocdaoTx-ocdaxuTi wlisebs, saxelosno da erTad muSaoba gvsurda. Tan im dros axali xalxic dagvemata: gia rigvava, koka ramiSvili, lia SveliZe; mxatvar-dekoratorebad gagvaformes, sadac sami-oTxi weli gavatareT. mere daiwyo Tbilisis omi da saxlebSi wavediT, Tumca mainc vaxerxebdiT xatvas da gamofenebis mowyobasac.

ZiriTadad muyaoze vxatavdiT, yvelaze iafi eg iyo, normaluri saRebavebic ar gvqonda da teqnikurs

Tbilisi, tilo, zeTi, 120 X 100, 2017 / TBILISI, OIL ON CANVAS, 120 X 100, 2017

Did they know about your group at the Academy?

It was an informal group, and they probably thought that we were working on our diplomas… Though I did actually paint my graduation work, in a five-canvas composition based on Sulkhan Saba’s ‘A Journey through Europe’, during that period. These were abstract works, not illustrative ones. At first, my diploma director was Korneli Sanadze, from whom I learned many things, but he passed away that year, and was replaced by Edmond Kalandadze.

Were you “free” in the making of your graduation work?

I couldn’t say that they were very much involved and were “choking” us, and we could choose the theme ourselves. Nevertheless, during our defense, they invited famous Soviet sculptor Vladimir Tsigal, who heard about the theme of my work and gave me a grade of three out of five; the other members of the commission couldn’t say anything, and mentioned the lack of cold and lukewarm colors as a pretext. Students were usually painting Georgian dances or tea plantations as graduation works back then, or at best, actors or harlequins. When choosing the theme, I wasn’t thinking about politics, but I had just read Sulkhan Saba’s ‘A Journey through Europe’; I was young, and his tragedy and desperate situation had an impact on me. On the other hand, a mark of three out of five also had its advantages – if you received that grade, the Academy wouldn’t keep your graduation work, and you could take it with you. So I took it at home, it was sold, and today, three of the five parts are exhibited at the Georgian Museum of Fine Arts. If it were kept at the Academy, it would already have been eaten by mice.

Were you arranging exhibitions?

We did, in both houses and studios. This was when people started arranging exhibitions at their homes, and if I am not mistaken, the

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baTumi, tilo, akrili, 100 X 80, 2019 / BATUMI, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 100 X 80, 2017

viyenebdiT _ fexsacmlis sacxsac ki. zogadad, am periodis namuSevrebi amiT gamoirCeva _ teqnikuri saRebavebiTaa Sesrulebuli. dros gauZlo? gauZlo da kargad. rac saxlSi maqvs an sxvebiTn minaxavs, mSvenivradaa Senaxuli. `meaTe sarTuli~ 1995-Si isev SevikribeT, davbrundiT TeatrSi da axalgazrdebic SemogvierTdnen _ murTaz SveliZe, gio sumbaZe, salome maCaiZe, nino CubiniSvili, romlebmac sajaro biblioTekaSi gavakeTeT gamofena _ `zamTari gadasatania~. momdevno wels, firosmanis dabadebidan 130 wlisTavisadmi miZRvnili, Tanamedrove xelovnebis

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first one was arranged at Levan Choghoshvili’s house. We didn’t have any other option anyway, there were no private galleries yet, and only “Spring and Fall” series were exhibited at the National Gallery of Georgia (or “Blue Gallery”) – about the cosmos or such themes.

The Karvasla was an exception, it was like a small island… The first private gallery, ‘Orient’, was opened by Baia Tsikoridze on the 25th of December 1992.

What about the ‘Artists’ House’?

The first large project we did was at the ‘Artists’ House’, where we painted the walls around the staircase. After that, we also started working at the Marjanishvili Theater. Gia Bugadze told Gaioz Kandelaki (the theater’s director) about us, and they offered us to work at the theater’s stage props workshop – we wouldn’t have dreamed of a

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bienale movawyeT `cisfer galereaSi~. idea mxatvar gogi gunias ekuTvnoda, maSin kulturis ministris moadgiles, romelsac Tanamedrove mxatvroba ainteresebda da Cveni didi gulSematkivari iyo. mas firosmanis iubile gansxvavebulad surda warmoedgina. miTxra, iqneb am TariRs Tanamedrove xelovnebis bienalec mivabaTo... mec davukavSirdi ucxoel megobrebs da Camoviyvane mxatvrebi _ amerikidan, azerbaijanidan, somxeTidan, ruseTidan.

better situation, us, 24 or 25-year-old artists, as we simply wanted a studio and to work together. At that time, new people joined us: Gia Rigvava, Koka Ramishvili, and Lia Shvelidze; officially, we were set decorators, and we spent three or four years there. After that, the civil war began in Tbilisi, and we went back to our homes, though we still managed to paint and even to arrange exhibitions.

We mainly painted on cardboard, as it was the cheapest. We didn’t even have normal paint, so we used technical ones – even shoe wax.

In general, this is what characterizes works from that period: they are made with technical paint.

baqo, Tebervali, Tovli, tilo, akrili, 150 X 150, 2014 / BAKU, FEBRUARY, SNOW, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 150 X 150, 2014

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ucxoeTma rodis gagicno? pirvelad germaniaSi migviwvies 1986 wels. sergo farajanovTan Camosuli iyo germaneli publicisti, mTargmneli da bardi ekehard maasi, mweral/filosofos givi margvelaSvilis uaxloesi megobari. maSin qarvaslaSi gamofena gvqonda da farajanovma urCia, aucileblad naxeo. im dros sxva raRaceebi ixateboda da maassac, albaT, gansxvavebuli molodini hqonda. gamofena rom daaTvaliera gviTxra, CemTan CamodiT, erTi TviTo. berlinis kedeli jer isev idga. iq vin CagviSvebda, aRmosavleT nawilSi Zlivs SegviSves xuTi mxatvari, Tan `ovirSi~ gagvafrTxiles _ kedelTan siaxloves ar xatoTo,

istambuli, tilo, zeTi, 100 X 80, 2017 / ISTANBUL, OIL ON CANVAS, 100 X 80, 2017

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Did they survive time?

They did, and quite well too. The ones I have at home and that I saw at other people’s places are very well preserved.

In 1995, we gathered again as the ‘10th Floor’, and we returned at the theater, where we were joined by younger artists – Murtaz Shvelidze, Gio Sumbadze, Salome Machaidze, Nino Chubinishvili.

Together, we arranged a group exhibition at the public library – ‘We have to survive Winter’.

The next year, we organized a contemporary art biennale at the “Blue Gallery”, in dedication to the 130th year since Pirosmani’s birth.

The idea belonged to Gogi Gunia, a deputy Minister of culture interested in contemporary art, and a great supporter of our group.

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romi, tilo, zeTi, 100 X 80, 2017 / ROME, OIL ON CANVAS, 100 X 80, 2017

_ mxatvrebi varT da erTi Tve ra unda vakeToT meTqi? mokled, berlinSi olegTan, nikosTan, mamukasTan da kokasTan erTad wavedi.

Semdeg iyo gamofenebi budapeStSi, ludvigis muzeumSi; sami gamofena gvqonda kiolnSi _ fransuaza fridrixis galereaSi. Eigen+Art Galerie-Si laipcigSi; gela wulaZem parizSi, iuneskoSi waiRo Cveni namuSevrebi marjaniSvilis saxelosnodan. parizSi Salva TayaiSvilmac gamogvfina; cota mogvianebiT iuneskos organizebul bienaleze CavediT montenegroSi. 1995 wels moskovSi, `kaSirkaze~. vTanamSromlobdiT moskovSi, kabakovis centris direqtor iosif bakSteinTan, Tanamedrove xelovnebis centris direqtor leonid baJanovTan; mxatvrebTan konstantin zvezdaCotovTan, andrei filipovTan, Jora litiCevskisTan, `furmanski pereulokTan~.

He wanted to celebrate Pirosmani’s jubilee in a different way. He told me that we could perhaps combine a biennale of contemporary art to this date… So I contacted some of my foreign friends and invited artists in Georgia – from America, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia.

When did they get acquainted with your works abroad?

The first time, we were invited in Germany in 1986. Sergo Parajanov had been visited by a German journalist, a translator, and singer Ekkehard Maaß, a very close friend of author and philologist Givi Margvelashvili. It so happened that we had an exhibition at the Karvasla, and Parajanov advised them to visit us at all costs. At that time, artists were mainly painting different things than us, and Maaß probably had very different expectations too. When he visited the exhibition, he told us that we should all visit him and stay at his place for a month. The Berlin Wall was still standing, but who would have

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samaryandi, tilo, akrili, 100 X 70, 2014 / SAMARKAND, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 100 X 70, 2014

stili romelic axla gaqvs, rodis Camogiyalibda? amaze arasdros mifiqria da arc raime Camoyalibebuli azri maqvs. ubralod vxatav ise, rogorc momwons. bolo TxuTmeti welia qalaqebi da arqiteqtura mainteresebs, Tbilisze da samaryandze gavakeTe gamofenebi. parizis rkinigzis sadgurebmac damainteresa. mas mere rac Cveni jgufi daiSala, yvelam Cveni saqmis keTeba daviwyeT _ olegma jujebis, infantebis xatva, me qalaqebis. mogzaurobis Temac mainteresebs: bolo namuSevrebi seiSelis seriaa, sadac SarSan dampatiJes da ori kvira `samoTxeSi~ vicxovre. iq patara zomis namuSevrebic ki gavakeTe, magram imdenad didi STabeWdilebiT davbrundi, rom aq didi zomis tiloebi davxate da `abreSumis galereaSi~ gamovfine. qalaqebs cocxali STabeWdilebiT xatavT? italiaSi mxolod gavliT var namyofi, magram italiis Temaze uamravi naxati davxate. londonSi ki arasdros vyofilvar, magram am qalaqis seriebic maqvs Sesrulebuli. parizSi gamofenaze erTma qalma iyida Cemi `londoni~

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let us go there? They hardly let us enter the Eastern part, and what’s more, they warned us at the “Ovir” (Soviet Visa and Registration Department) not to paint near the Wall – I asked what else we, five painters, could do for a month. Anyway, I went to Berlin together with Oleg, Niko, Mamuka, and Koka.

Then there was an exhibition at Budapest’s Ludwig Museum; we had three exhibitions in Cologne – at the Françoise Friedrich Gallery; one at the Person + Art Gallery in Leipzig; Gela Tsuladze also brought some of our works from the Marjanishvili Theater to the UNESCO in Paris. Shalva Takaishvili exhibited us in Paris; a bit later, we visited Montenegro for a biennale organized by the UNESCO. In 1995, the Kashirka Gallery in Moscow, a city in which we collaborated with Joseph Backstein, director of the Kabakov Center, and Leonid Bazhanov, director of the National Center for Contemporary Arts; as for artists, we worked with Konstantin Zvezdochetov, Andrei Filippov, Zhora (Georgi) Litichevski, and the ‘Furmanskii Pereulok’.

When did you find the style that you now have?

I have never thought about it, and I don’t really have a clear opinion. I just paint as I like. For the last 15 years, I have been

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da Zalian gaukvirda, namyofi rom ar viyavi _ aba rogor daxateo? rogor unda amexsna? aRmoCnda, rom londonis es xedi zustad misi fanjridan Canda. amsterdamzec ase iyo, jer davxate da ramdenime wlis mere Cavedi. yvela adamians Tavisi `amsterdami~ aqvs da is SenSia _ aucilebeli araa nanaxi gqondes. me Cemi damokidebuleba davxate amsterdamTan, magaliTad _ cis feri. amsterdamSi Casulma milionma kacma qalaqi swrafad unda Semoirbinos, fotoebi gadaiRos da ra rCeba? _ imis nacvlad, rom ijde mSvidad da ubralod uyuro garemos. axla amis dro xalxs aRar aqvs, amitom cxovrebasac daekarga xarisxi. adamianis mTavari simdidre droa, romelsac TandaTan gvimcireben. me amgvar cxovrebas ver miveCvie, arasdros mimuSavia da Tavs xatviT virCen. kompoziciebs an Temebs imeoreb? ki, aseTi praqtika mxatvrebs gvaqvs. is rac sxvas moewoneba da rac erTma ukve iyida, zustad igives ver daxatav. es komerciaa da van gogis gamkvirvebia... imdeni samaryandi davxate, rom calke gamofena mivuZRveni `gamrekelis galereaSi~.

Tu naxati ar gamogdis? vSli. ar vtoveb, xels miSlis da mirCevnia ar arsebobdes, Tumca minania kidec, Sevmcdarvar, magram gvian mivxvdi. ferweris garda?

1996 wels `Tbilkreditbanki~ movxate. es namuSevari dResac arsebobs. xaraCoze videqi da rogorc freskas, ise vxatavdi. movxateT respublikis moednis qveda kedlebic. gamikeTebia instalaciebi. 1988 wels qarvaslaSi mqonda performansi. mimuSavia kinoSic, kaxa meliTauris da daTo SengeliZis filmze `axali weli~. magram kinos mxatvrobam ar damainteresa; CemTvis arafrismomcemi iyo, albaT ufro kostumirebul filmebze vimuSavebdi, sadac feris da SuqCrdilebis TamaSia; magaliTd tarkovskisTan vimuSavebdi, an farajanovTan, Tumca is TviTon iyo mxatvari.

2005 wels `vefxistyaosani~ `gavakeTe~ levan gvelesianTan erTad, romelmac rusTavelis prozauli versia dawera. es idea manana kartoziasi iyo. `vefxistyaosanis~ Temaze manamde, es namuSevrebi ukve mqonda gakeTebuli, maT Soris didi zomis tiloebic. teqstis ukeT gasagebad, viqtor nozaZis wigns viyenebdi. vecade ZiriTad TemebTan erTad, is Temebi da niuansebi damexata, rac Cveulebriv ar Cans xolme, magaliTad qajebis dis dakrZalva, qorwilis anturaJi, musikosebi.…

Seni namuSevrebis katalogi Tu gamogicia? arasdros mizrunia da formasac ver mivageni, minda

interested in cities and architecture, and I did exhibitions about Tbilisi and Samarkand. Paris’ railway stations have also sparked my attention.

After our group split up, we all started doing our “own stuff” – Oleg started painting dwarfs and infants, and I started painting cities.

I am also interested in the subject of traveling: my latest works are a series about the Seychelles, where I was invited last year, and where I spent two weeks in “paradise”. I also painted some small-size works there, but I was so amazed by this place that when I returned in Georgia, I had to paint on this subject on large canvasses; I exhibited these works at the Silk Museum.

Do you paint cities from your spontaneous impressions?

I’ve only been in Italy as a passerby, but I have painted numerous works about this country. As for London, I’ve never actually been there, but I have done series about this city. In Paris, a woman bought my painting ‘London’, and she was very surprised when she learned that I had never been there – “then how did you paint it?”. It turned out that my painting presented the exact view of London that unfolds from her window. How could I have explained that to her? It was the same with Amsterdam, I painted the city several years before visiting it. Every individual has their own, inner “Amsterdam” – you don’t have to have seen it to feel it in you. I painted my view of Amsterdam. The millions of people visiting Amsterdam have to hurry and run around the city, take pictures, and they are left with what exactly? – Instead of sitting in tranquility and just watching the environment. People don’t have the time for this anymore, and therefore, the quality of life has decreased. The most valuable thing for humans is time, and they are taking it away from us, little by little. I couldn’t get used to that kind of life, I have never worked, and I sustain myself by painting.

masxara sigaretiT, tilo, zeTi, 30 X 30, 2016 CLOWN WITH CIGARETTE, OIL ON CANVAS, 30 X 30, 2016

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Do you sometimes reproduce compositions or themes?

Yes, us painters sometimes use this practice. Though you can never paint exactly the same work that someone liked but was already bought by someone else. This is simply commerce, and like Van Gogh did with his sunflowers, I painted so many Samarkands that I dedicated an entire exhibition to it at the Gamrekeli Gallery.

What if you don’t like the painting you are working on?

I erase them. I don’t keep them, they impede my work, and I prefer them to not exist at all, though I sometimes also have regrets, when I realize that it was a mistake to destroy them, but it’s always too late.

Jani da luka, mekobreebi, tilo, akrili, 40 X 70, 2018 JEAN AND LUCA, PIRATES, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 40 X 70, 2018

standartuli ar gamovides. albaT, sxvam unda aiRos Tavis Tavze, me mxolod koreqtivebs Sevitandi. romc damafinanson, ver gavakeTeb, ver vivli stambaSi, im fuliT saRebavebs viyidi an samSeneblo masalas saguramosTvis (icinis). Tumca SeiZleba erT mSvenier dRes azri Sevicvalo da gavakeTo kidec. namuSevrebis umetesoba gayidulia? gayiduli metia, bevrs aqvs saqarTveloSic da saqarTvelos gareTac _ maT Soris, moskovis `caricinos~ muzeumis da budapeStSi, `ludvigis~ koleqcias, es 90-ianebis namuSevrebia. niu iorkSic aris arqiteqtor jon portmanis koleqciaSi, aseve, parizis, kiolnis koleqciebSi.

pastori mixeili, tilo, akrili, 50 X 40, 2018 PASTOR MICHAEL, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 50 X 40, 2018

ana da maria, mekobreebis colebi, tilo, akrili, 40 X 70, 2018 ANNE AND MARIA, PIRATES' WIVES, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 40 X 70, 2018

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What do you do apart from paintings?

In 1996, I painted frescos on the walls of TbilCreditBank. This work is still there. I was standing on a scaffolding to do it. We also painted the lower walls of the Republic Square. I did some installations too. In 1988, I did a performance at the Karvasla. Apart from that, I worked in cinema, for Kakha Melitauri and Dato Shengelidze’s film ‘New Year’.

But I wasn’t that thrilled by working as an art director; it didn’t teach me much, I would have probably preferred to work on films with lots of costumes, where there are interactions between colors, lights, and shadows; for instance, I would have loved to work with Tarkovsky, or with Parajanov, even though he was an artist himself.

In 2005, I worked on ‘The Knight in the Panther’s Skin’ with Levan Gvelesiani, who wrote a prose version of Rustaveli’s poem. This was Manana Kartozia’s idea. I had already done works about ‘The Knight in the Panther’s Skin’ before, including some large canvasses. In order

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giswavlebia?

90-ianebSi ratomRac mominda rom meswavlebina da `nikolaZis~ saswavlebelSi mivedi. oTxi Tve gavZeli; rogorc ki damiwyes sayvedurebi, gamoviqeci. didad arc mainteresebda, ufro akviateba iyo. saRebavebsac saxelosnodan vezidebodi, maT araferi hqondaT, palitraze ferebi ar esxaT, Tumca mobiluri yvelas eWira. risTvis swavlobdnen, Tuki ar ainteresebdaT? mec dros vkargavdi, vigrZeni, rom Cems mTavar saqmes ver vakeTebdi. xatva CemTvis Tavisuflebaa, ginda daxatav, ginda _ ara. Tavidanve ase viyavi, dros vebRauWebodi. an arada, samsaxurSi unda mevlo, ufrosisTvis Tavi

to better understand the text, I was using Victor Nozadze’s book.

Together with the main themes, I tried to paint the nuances and details that are usually less visible, like the burial of the Kaji’s ruler’s sister, the entourage at the wedding, and musicians.

Did you ever publish a catalogue of your works?

I never really took the time, and apart from that, I couldn’t find the right form, I don’t want it to be a standard one. I think that it probably must be done by someone else, and I would just make some corrections. Even if I were financed for this, I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t go to a publishing house, I would spend the money on paints and on construction material for my Saguramo house (laughs). But one day, this might change, and I might indeed make a catalogue.

momewonebina, konkurencia gamewia...

seiSelis sasaflao, tilo, akrili, 60 X 50, 2018 / SEYCHELLES CEMETERY, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 60 X 50, 2018

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konkurencia mxatvrobaSic xom aris? ara, mxatvrobaSi naklebadaa da ici ratom? es naxati esaa da is sxva, erTmaneTis konkurentebi ver iqnebian... mones konkurenti xom ver iqneba van gogi? an pikasosi lotreki? studentobisas gavlena gqonda? holandiuri ferweris _ rembrandtidan dawyebuli, espanelebis, italielebis TavisTavad, iqneba es veroneze Tu sxva; ZiriTadad am sami skolis. fanqriT bevrs vxatavdi, leqcia rom mimTavrdeboda, sxva jgufTan vrCebodi da saxlSi gvian vbrundebodi. maSin akademias profesionali `naturebi~ hyavda, vinc dgomas specialurad swavlobda... xatvas levan cucqiriZe, SoTa kupraSvili da rusiko gaCeCilaZe gvaswavlidnen. rusiko gamorCeuli moqandakea, misiT gvian dainteresdnen da axla misi albomic gamoica. Zalian kargi pedagogebi myavda da vfiqrob, aman Camomayaliba mxatvrad.

seiSeli, tilo, akrili, 120 X 150, 2018 / SEYCHELLES, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 120 X 150, 2018

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Are most of your works sold?

The majority are sold. Many of them are in Georgia, but there are some abroad, including at Moscow’s Tsaritsyno Museum, and at the Ludwig Museum’s collection in Budapest – these are mainly works from the 1990s. Some of my works are also in New York, at architect John Portman’s collection, as well as in collections in Paris and Cologne.

Did you ever teach?

In the 1990s, for some reason, I had the wish to teach, so I went to the Nikoladze Art College. I could only cope for four months; as soon as they started reprimanding me, I fled. It turned out that I wasn’t that interested in teaching, it was more some kind of fantasy. I was bringing paints from my studio, because they had nothing, no colors on the palette – but everybody had mobile phones. Why were they studying if they weren’t interested? I was losing time, and I realized that I wasn’t doing what I should have been doing – painting. To me, painting is freedom: if you want to, you can paint, if you don’t, you

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seiSeli, tilo, akrili, 190 X 150, 2018 / SEYCHELLES, ACRYLIC ON CANVAS, 190 X 150, 2018

axla rogor warmogidgenia akademia?

Tu ginda rom xarisxi daicva, ormocdaaT studentze meti ar unda aiyvano da pedagogs kargad gadauxado! ise ara rogorc axlaa, Zalian kargi mxatvrebi mxolod imitom muSaoben am fasad, rom sxva gamosavali ar aqvT da amiT ar unda isargeblo! misaRebi gamocdebic Zalian gamartivebulia. erTxel zafxulSi damiZaxes da vnaxe aTasxuTasi erTnairi naturmorti fanqarSi, kinaRam cudad gavxdi, rogor unda Semefasebina _ an yvelasTvis ori unda damewera, an xuTi, maT Soris sxvaoba ar iyo. gamocdebamde, abiturientebi naxevari wliT adre iwyeben

don’t paint. It was like that from the start, I was clutching to time.

Otherwise, I would have had to go to work, to gain my superiors’ favors, to enter in competition with others...

There is also competition among painters?

No, it doesn’t really exist in painting, and you know why? Because one painting is something, and another is something else, they cannot be competitors... Van Gogh can’t be Monet’s competitor, can he? Or Lautrec be Picasso’s?

Did you have influences when studying?

From Dutch painters – Rembrandt – to the Spaniards, the Italians of

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mzadebas da pedagogi aswavlis, rogor mrgvaldeba forma, rogori Strixebi daitanon, an sad iyos refleqsi, magram sadRac xom unda Candes SemoqmedebiTi procesic! gamosavali ra aris? unda dabrundes sxva sistema, iyos xuTi mxatvris saxelosno, vinc am ormocdaaT students gauZRveba. mTavaria, idealuri pirobebi Seqmna, rom am ormocdaaTidan ori-sami mainc dadges namdvil mxatvrad. karg mxatvars ramdenime studenti rom eyoleba xuTi wlis ganmavlobaSi, sagans mainc Seayvarebs da... amas xom mainc buneba aCens. ar iswavleba? iswavleba, magram Zalian mcire doziT. SeiZleba sagnebis xatva aswavlo, magram maT erTmaneTTan mimarTebas ver aswavli. raRac unda gawuxebdes Sinaganad. Cem dros xatvis swavla aucilebeli iyo, unda gyvareboda fanqari, funji, saRebavi, TiTebidan ofli unda gamogsvloda. albaT, amitomac erqva maSin mxatvari da dRes artisti hqvia _ TiTqos erTidaigivea, magram artistma bevri rame SeiTavsa _ instalacia, videoarti da sxv. namdvil ferweras amdeni tvinisWyleta ar sWirdeba, karg naxats rom uyureb, koncefciebze aRar fiqrob. Tanamedrove xelovnebis sistema didi xania awyobilia msoflioSi, Cven ki isev ar gvaqvs Tanamedrove xelovnebis muzeumi. mxatvars hyavs dRes momxmarebeli? mxatvrisTvis didi mniSvneloba aqvs Tu ramden adamians moswons. axla xalxi amoZravda, ucxoeTSi dadis da mgoni fantaziac gaexsna. maT Soris arian iseTebic, visac mxatvrobaSi fulis gadaxda SeuZlia. xSirad erTmaneTis

course, be it Veronese or others; mainly from these three schools. I was also drawing a lot with pencils; when my lessons were finished, I used to stay with other classes, and I was always going home late. At that time, the Academy had professional “nudes”, who had learned how to pose... Levan Tsutskiridze, Shota Kuprashvili and Rusiko Gachechiladze were teaching us drawing. Rusiko is an outstanding sculptress, but unfortunately, people got interested in her only later; her album got published recently. We had very good teachers, and I think that it is thanks to them that I had the chance to become a painter.

How do you imagine the situation at the Academy now?

If you want to preserve quality, you shouldn’t accept more than 50 students, and teachers should be paid well! Not like it is now: very talented painters work on low wages only because they have no other choice – you shouldn’t take advantage of this! The entrance exams have also become very easy. They called me one summer, and I saw 1500 similar still lifes done in pencil, I almost got sick, how could I have evaluated them? I either had to give everybody the worst mark, or everybody the best mark, there was no difference between the drawings. Entrants start preparing themselves half a year before the exams, and they are taught how to give roundness to a shape, what kind of strokes they have to apply, or where the reflection needs to go, but there’s no creative input to be found!

What could be the solution to arrange this situation?

A different system should be introduced, there should be, again, studios for a group of say five painters who will take charge of these 50 students. The most important is to create ideal conditions for at least two or three of these 50 students to become real painters. If a talented painter has a group of students for five years, at least several of them will develop a fondness for painting… But isn’t this the making of nature anyways?

You can’t learn it?

You can, but very little of it. You can teach someone to draw objects, but you cannot teach them the interaction between objects. One needs to be distressed from the inside. In my time, it was obligatory to learn to draw, and we had to love our pencil, our brush and paint – our fingers had to be sweaty. Perhaps this is why painters used to be called “painters” [“mkhatvari” in Georgian, literally “drawer”], and are now called “artists” – it seems to be one and the same thing, but artists have assimilated a lot of other fields such as, for instance, installations and video art. Real painting doesn’t require to get into such details: when you see a good painting, you don’t think about its concept anymore.

The contemporary art system has established itself around the world a long time ago, and we still don’t have a contemporary art museum.

saRamo, tilo, zeTi, 20 X 30, 2017 / EVENING, OIL ON CANVAS, 20 X 30, 2017

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Do today’s painters have clients?

The number of people who like your works is very important to painters. It seems that recently, people got more active, they go abroad and have more fantasy. Among them, there are some who can afford

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portugalia, tilo, zeTi, 20 X 30, 2018 / PORTUGAL, OIL ON CANVAS, 20 X 30, 2018

wamxedurobiTac yiduloben, esec komerciis kanonia. maT visac fuli aqvs, magram xelovneba ar esmis, qiraobs adamins, vinc rCevas aZlevs. yovelTvis koleqcionerma ki ara, mxatvarmac ki ar icis, romeli ferweraa kargi an cudi. saukeTeso SemTxvevaSic ki karg koleqcioners asidan mxolod samocdaaTi namuSevari SeiZleba hqondes Rirebuli. naxati dRes socialur statuss gansazRvravs.

to buy paintings. They also often buy artworks through imitating each other, a characteristic widely found in commerce. Those who have money but don’t understand art hire people who advise them. It’s not only about art collectors, sometimes, even painters don’t know which work is good or bad. At best, an art collector will have a maximum of about 70 good artworks if he has a total of 100. Today, paintings have become a sign of their owner’s social status.

bolos TbilisSi rodis gamoifine?

SarSan `abreSumis galereaSi~, amis mere `moma TbilisSi~ miviRe monawileoba portretebis gamofenaSi da budapeStSi `ludvigis~ daarsebis ocdaaTi wlisTavisadmi miZRvnil gamofenazec gaitanes Cemi Zveli namuSevrebi.

When was the last time you were exhibited in Tbilisi?

I was exhibited last year at the Silk Museum. After that, I took part in an exhibition of portraits at MoMA Tbilisi, and some of my old works were also displayed in Budapest for an exhibition arranged for the Ludwig Museum’s 30th anniversary since its inauguration.

axla? axla arc vici ra minda, warmodgenlic ar maqvs ra unda davxato. iseTi SegrZneba dameufla, rom TiTqos rac ormoci weli vimuSave, axla `seiSelis~ seriiT davasrule.

Zalian vCqarob, erTi suli maqvs saguramoSi gadavide. ukve aRarsad mimeCqareba...

And now?

Right now, I don’t even know what I want, I haven’t figured what I want to paint yet. I am under the impression that I have concluded my 40 years of work with the Seychelles series. I am in a rush and want to move to Saguramo as soon as I can. Apart from that, I don’t have any hurry...

esaubra S. c. foto: a. S.

Interview by Sh. Ts. Photography: A. Sh.

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veneciis bienale 'MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES' veneciis 58-e saerTaSoriso xelovnebis gamofena wels ralf rugofis kuratorobiT gaimarTa. arsenaleze da jardinize kompleqsurma da pirobiTma saTaurma May You Live in Interesting Times ori mTavari gamofena gaaerTiana, 79 mowveuli xelovaniTa da 89 erovnuli pavilioniT. frazis _ May You Live in Interesting Times qarTuli analogi daaxloebiT ise jRers, rogorc CvenSi damkvidrebuli gamoTqmaa _ „gecxovros cvlilebebis dros“. es gamoTqma did britaneTSi farTodaa gavrcelebuli, romelic uZvelesi `Cinuri wyevlis~ zust Targmanad miiCneva da misi damkvidrebis istoria XX saukunis 30-iani wlebis britaneli politikosisa da diplomatis ostin Cemberlenis saxels ukavSirdeba. Cemberlenis azriT es `Cinuri wyevla~ zustad asaxavda britaneli xalxis im periodis beds, maT Tavs damtydar omebs, qaoss da `saintereso~ cxovrebas. SemdgomSi, es gamoTqma mravalma politikosma Tu mwerlma sxvadasxva konteqstSi gamoiyena.

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This year’s 58th edition of the Venice International Art Exhibition was curated by Ralph Rugoff. The complex and ambiguous title ‘May You Live in Interesting Times’ has united two main exhibitions at the Arsenale and the Giardini, with 79 invited artists and 89 national pavilions.

The sentence “May you live in interesting times” has an almost equivalent saying that is quite widespread in Georgia – “May we live in times of changes”. This sentence is also widespread in Great Britain, and is considered to be an accurate translation of an ancient “Chinese curse”; it is related to a speech given in the 1930s by the British politician and diplomat Sir Austen Chamberlain, according to whom this “Chinese curse” was very representative of the fate of the British people in that period, because of all the wars they were suffering, the chaos, and other such “interesting” events. Afterwards, it was used by many politicians and authors in various contexts. But if one takes a deeper look at the origins of this saying, they will discover that it is apocryphal, as no equivalent can be found in Chinese sources.

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magram May You Live in Interesting Times-is warmomavlobas Tu safuZvlianad gamovikvlevT, aRmoCndeba, rom is apokrifulia da misi zusti analogi arc erT Cinur wyaroSi dasturdeba. britaneli filologebis azriT am `wyevlis~ miaxloebiTi analogi SesaZloa Semdegi Cinuri andaza gamodges: Better to be a dog in a peaceful time, than to be a human in a chaotic (warring) period- `sjobs iyo ZaRli mSvidobian droebaSi, vidre adamiani qaossa da omianobaSi~. da marTlac, ras SeiZleba niSnavdes gamoTqma, romelic dalocvasaviT JRers, Sinaarsobrivad ki `wyevlaa~... ralf rugofma amgvari kompleqsuri midgomiT da istoriuli winapirobebiT datvirTuli saTauris gamoyenebiT damTvalierebeli aiZula mocemulobisTvis, rogorc istoriul-kulturuli, politikuri konteqstis uwyveti, ganuyofeli nawilisTvis Seexeda da eWqveS daeyenebina is sazrisi, rwmena, miTebi Tu tendenciebi, rac WeSmaritebisa da artefaqtebis saxiT memkvidreobiT gadmogvecema. meore mxriv, am gamoTqmis gamoyenebiT da misi warmomavlobis dauzusteblobis xazgasmiT man kidev erTi mniSvnelovani kiTxva wamoWra; da rogorc Tavad ganmartavs, ararsebuli `Cinuri wyevla~ gansakuTrebiT mniSvnelovani da arsebiTia im epoqaSi, sadac informaciis cifruli gavrcelebis SeuzRudavi, umarTavi procesebi, socialuri qselebi mraval yalb codnas, rwmenas, imeds, alternatiul realobas, politikur ideologias, iluzias da simulacis qmnis. Sesabamisad, im realobaSi, romelSic gviwevs cxovreba, umniSvnelovanesia dro da imis gaazreba Tu ra aris es „omis Semdgomi wesrigi“, ganviTarebis uswrafesi tempi, cifruli teqnologiebis revolucia, virtualoba, droisa da sivrcis mudmivi internetkavSiri, kulturaTa Soris TanamSromloba da is axali socio-teqnologiuri, egzistencialuri mocemuloba, rac aramarto yoveldRiurobas gardaqmnis, aramed TviTgenerirebul

ANNA K.E. REARMIRRORVIEW, SIMULATION IS SIMULATION, IS SIMULATION, IS SIMULATION…(2019)

3D VISUALIZATION: RUSSELL KIRK.

According to British philologists, the most recent equivalent of this “curse” could be the following Chinese proverb: “Better to be a dog in a peaceful time, than to be a human in a chaotic (warring) period”.

And if you think about it, what could a saying that sounds like a blessing, but is actually a “curse”, really mean? With this complex approach and the use of a title charged with historical associations, Ralph Rugoff compelled visitors to look at givens as an uninterrupted, inextricable part of the historical-cultural and political context, and to question the opinions, beliefs, myths or tendencies that we inherit as absolute truths. On the other hand, by using this saying and underlining its unclear origins, he also tackles another important issue – as he explains himself, this nonexisting “Chinese curse” is especially meaningful in an epoch where the unlimited, uncontrollable processes linked to the spread of digital information and to social networks create many fake news, beliefs, hopes, alternative realities, political ideologies, illusions, and simulations. Accordingly, in the reality in which we have to live, it is of critical importance to understand the notion of time and to analyze the essence of this “post-war order”, its fast-paced development, digital revolution, virtual features, the constant connection in time and space with the internet, the collaboration between various cultures, and the new social-technological, existential givens that not only transform our everyday lives, but also create a self-generated reflection, making us wonder about our own self-perception in connection to all this.

Let us banally agree that art cannot transform the world for the better. It cannot put an end to destructive political changes, or to the establishment of authoritarian states, to the migration of refugees and poverty; nevertheless, it can be a “distress signal”, a reflection, a torchbearer – be it subjective, objective or allegoric, a chronicler who sees the invisible below the surface; art can be a reflection that offers a different understanding, a different interpretation of events through cultural and visual signs and codes.

With the participation of 79 artists, the Venice Biennale resulted in precisely this kind of torchbearer at its two main exhibitions, which were bringing together various media, means of expression, and

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refleqsias qmnis, imas Tu rogor aRviqvamT Tavs am yvelaferTan kavSirSi. modi, banalurad, SevTanxmdeT, rom xelovnebas ar SeuZlia samyaros Secvla ukeTesobisken. is ver aCerebs damangrevel politikur cvlilebebs, verc avtoritaruli saxelmwifoebis Camoyalibebas, devnilTa migracias da siRaribes; magram SeuZlia iyos `garemoebis sayviri~, anarekli, gzamkvlevi, subieqturi, obieqturi, alegoriuli an is mematiane, romelic zedapirze uCinars xedavs _ xelovnebas SeuZlia iyos is refleqsia, romelic kulturuli da vizualuri niSnebiT da kodebiT movlenebis sxvagavar gagebas, gaazrebas axdens. samocdacxrameti xelovanis monawileobiT, swored aseTi gzamkvlevi Seiqmna veneciis bienales or mTavar gamofenaze, romelic aerTianebda mravalferovan formas, gamomsaxvelobiT saSualebas Tu masalas. dawyebuli tradiciuliT _ foto, ferwera, a.S., aseve virtualuri realobiT, interaqtiuli instalaciiT, monacemTa bazis vizualiaciiT, video TamaSebiT da sxv. radgan Tavad gamofenis zogadi koncefcia ufro metad yuradRebas cifruli informaciis, fsevdosiaxleebis prolematikas usvamada xazs, wlevandelma bienalem axal mediebsa da cifrul teqnologiebs didi asparezi dauTmo.

NATIONAL PAVILION OF ROMANIA, UNFINISHED CONVERSATIONS ON THE WEIGHT OF ABSENCE (2019)

ZHANNA KADYROVA, SECOND HAND (2014-ONGOING)

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materials – from traditional media such as photographs and paintings to virtual reality, interactive installations, database visualization, video games, and so on. Because the exhibition’s general concept itself was primarily underlining the issue of digital information and fake news, this year’s biennale prominently featured new information media and digital technologies.

The Georgian national pavilion at the Venice International Art Exhibition was officially opened on the 10th of May at 3 PM sharp, and will be open to visits until the 23rd of November. The pavilion was opened by Commissioner Ana Riaboshenko, Georgia’s Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary Konstantine Surguladze, curator Margot Norton, and Barbara von Münchhausen, director of the Goethe-Institut.

This year, the Georgian pavilion presented a work from the young New York and Berlin-based artist Anna K.E. – ‘REARMIRRORVIEW Simulation is Simulation, is Simulation, is Simulation…’

The Georgian pavilion was commissioned by ‘Creative Georgia’, and supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia. It was curated by Margot Norton from the ‘New Museum’ in New York, and the organization of the project was carried out by the Simone Subal Gallery and Project ArtBeat.

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10 maiss, zustad 15 saaTze, veneciis xelovnebis saerTaSoriso gamofenaze qarTuli erovnuli pavilioni oficialurad gaixsna, romelic 23 noembramde gagrZeldeba. pavilioni komisarma ana riaboSenkom, saqarTvelos sagangebo da sruluflebian elCma konstantine surgulaZem, kuratorma marto nortonma da saqarTveloSi goeTes institutis direqtorma barbara miunhauzenma gaxsnes. wels veneciaSi qarTuli erovnuli pavilioni niu-iorksa da berlinSi mcxovrebma axalgazrda mxatvarma Anna K.E.-im waradgina namuSevriT: `REARMIRRORVIEW Simulation is Simulation, is Simulation, is Simulation‌~ qarTuli pavilioni `SemoqmedebiTi saqarTvelos~ organizebiTa da saqarTvelos ganaTlebis, mecnierebis, kulturisa da sportis saministros mxardaWeriT xorcieldeba. pavilionis kuratori niu-iorkis New Museum-is kuratori margo nortonia, xolo proeqtis organizatorebi galerea Simone Subal Gallery da Project ArtBeat-i.

NATIONAL PAVILION OF INDIA, OUR TIME FOR A FUTURE CARING (2019)

NATIONAL PAVILION OF POLAND, FLIGHT (2019)

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The 11th of May marked the end of the pre-opening period (8th, 9th, 10th of May) arranged for invited guests, as well as the opening of the exhibition to the public; most importantly, it is the day on which they announced the national pavilion that won the Golden Lion, one of the most prestigious awards in contemporary art. This year, the award went to Lithuania’s large-scale installation-opera-performance, presented in an utterly interesting format – ‘Sun & Sea (Marina)’; director Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, scriptwriter Vaiva Grainytė, and art director and composer Lina Lapelytė.

Up to 20 performers were taking part in this opera-performance, and visitors will be able to watch and listen to it every Saturday until the 23rd of October. The pavilion isn’t located in the Arsenale or the Giardini, but next to Venice’s former military shore ‘Marine Military’ – hence the addition of “Marina” in the work’s title. Visitors can watch and listen to the performance from the second floor of the mezzanine-type gallery, which is remindful of the classic spectatorscene configuration in theaters.

TAVARES STRACHAN, ROBERT (2018)

11 maisi veneciis bienales datvirTul programaSi erT-erTi yvelaze mniSvnelovani dRe iyo. es is dRea, rodesac mTavrdeba winaswari Cvenebebi (8, 9, 10 maisi) mowveuli stumrebisTvis, ixsneba gamofena yvela damTvarieleblisTvis, da rac mTavaria, cxaddeba, Tanamedrove xelovnebis erT-erTi yvelaze prestiJuli jildos _ oqros lomis mflobeli erovnuli pavilioni. wels es jildo lietuvas masStabur da gansxvavebuli formatis instalacia-opera-performanss „mze da zRva“ / Sun & Sea (Marina) ergo- reJisori ruili barjdijiuki, scenaristi vava grintiti, mxatvari da kompozitori lina lapileta.

YIN XIUZHEN (2012)

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NATIONAL PAVILION OF LITHUANIA (2019)

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opera-perfomansSi „mze da zRva“ 20-mde Semsrulebeli monawileobs da misi xilva-mosmena damTvalierebs 23 oqtombramde, yovel SabaTs SeeZleba. pavilioni ki mdebareobs ara arsenalesa an jardinize, aramde veneciis yofili samxedro sanapiros Marine Militare-s mimdebared, swored aqedan gamomdinareobs namuSevris saxelwodebaSi ganmarteba Marina. damTvalierebels perofmansis naxva da mosmena SeuZlia e.w mezzanine-s tipis galeriis meore sarTulidan, rac garkveulwilad Teatralur warmodgenaSi scenis da mayureblis urTierTobis analogia.

ZHANNA KADYROVA, MARKET (2017-ONGOING)

Through various figurative and performative media, ‘Sun & Sea’ created the simulation of a shore, an artificial beach in the exhibition space; its strong lights created the illusion of a Sun, and the golden sand – of a shore… As for the children playing in the sand, the couples calmly conversing in colored bathing suits, the middle-aged woman and man, the mother and child, and in general, the typical holiday scenes, they were, together, creating the illusion of a happy and serene summer vacation.

ANTHEA HAMILTON (2019)

„mze da zRva“ sagamofeno sivrceSi sxvadaxva gamosaxvelobiTi da saSemsruleblo saSualebebiT sanapiros simulacias, xelovnur pliaJs qmnis; Zlieri ganaTeba mzis, oqrosferi qviSa ki, sanapiros iluaziaa... xolo qviSaSi moTamaSe bavSvebi, ferad sacurao kostumebSi gamowyobili mSvidad mosaubre wyvilebi, Suaxnis qalbatoni da mamakaci, deda-Svili da, zogadad, damsvenebelTa tipuri scenebi, erTianobaSi bednieri da mSvidi sazafxulo dasvenebis iluziur STabeWdilebis gviqmnis.

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ANDRA URSUŢA ( 2019)

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NATIONAL PAVILION OF LITHUANIA (2019)

mnaxvels meore sarTulis aivnidan saSualeba aqvs daakvirdes am sazafxulo dasvenebis scenebs, personaJebis TiToeul qmedebas da rac mTavaria, mousminos maT istoriebs, romlebic saopero partiebis meSveobiT JRerdeba. zafxulis mwveli mzis, oqrosferi pliaJis da bednieri bavSvebis fonze, mSvidad namReri personaluri istoriebis Sinaarsi ki mayurebels afiqrebs iseT globalur da mwvave sakiTxze, rogoric klimatis cvlileba da garemosadmi adamianis momxmarebluri damokidebulebaa. gamosaxvis formasa da Sinaarss Soris amgvari kontrastis SeqmniT, erTis mxriv cxovrebiT tkboba, mSvidi dasveneba, mze, zRva da ojaxuri idilia, xolo meore mxriv, klimatur katastrofaze pop musikis maneriT simRera, is mesijia, romelic „mSvidi da bednieri“ cxovrebis iluziis miRma globaluriUproblemebiskenaa mimarTuli. xatia WoxoneliZe

From the balcony of the second floor, spectators could watch these summer holiday scenes, the actions of each character, and they could listen to their stories, which were told by way of opera parts. Against the backdrop of the scorching summer sun, the golden beach and merry children, the smoothly sung narrative and meaning of the personal stories make the spectators think about such global and urgent issues as climate change and the consumerist approach of humans towards the environment.

By creating such a contrast between the form of the representation and its meaning – on the one hand, the enjoyment of life, tranquil holidays, the sun, sea, and a family idyll, and on the other hand, singing opera parts about environmental disasters in a pop fashion, the artwork goes beyond the illusion of a “calm and happy” life to convey a message about global issues.

Khatia Chokhonelidze

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daviT gareji da `evropa nostra~ DAVID GAREJI AND EUROPA NOSTRA `evropa nostra~ kulturuli da bunebrivi memkvidreobis dacvis organizaciebis pan-evropuli gaerTianebaa, romelic 1963 wels daarsda da dRes am sferos yvelaze warmomadgenlobiTi evropuli qselia. organizaciis mizani evropis bunebrivi da kulturuli memkvidreobis unikaluri Zeglebis SenarCuneba, dacva da popularizaciaa. `evropa nostra~ evropis 50-mde qveynis 250 kerZo da sajaro organizacias, 150 asocirebul da 1500-ze met individualur wevrs aerTianebs. organizaciis prezidenti, msoflioSi cnobili saopero momRerali da diriJori, plasido domingoa. evrokavSiris kulturuli memkvidreobis prizi _ `evropa nostras~ jildo evrokavSiris mier evropuli memkvidreobis sferoSi umaRlesi Sefaseba-aRiarebaa. konkursi oTx kategoriaSi saukeTeso proeqtebs avlens: restavracia/ konservacia; samecniero kvleva; organizaciebis da individebis mier memkvidreobis sferoSi gaweuli gansakuTrebuli Rvawli; kulturuli da bunebrivi memkvidreobis sferoSi sazogadoebis cnobierebis amaRleba, treningebi da sxva saganmanaTleblo programebi. xelovnebis saerTaSoriso centri, evropis kulturuli memkvidreobis organizaciaTa panevropul gaerTianebas 2016 wels SeuerTda da memorandumis gaformebis safuZvelze saqarTveloSi mis oficialur warmomadgenlobad daarsda. amave wels `evropa nostras~ asocirebuli wevris statusiT, saqarTvelos kulturisa da ZeglTa dacvis saministroc SeuerTda. evrokavSiris kulturuli memkvidreobis prizi, `evropa nostras~ jildo 2002 wels evrokomisiis mier daarsda, romlis mxardamWeri evrokavSiris `SemoqmedebiTi evropis~ programaa.

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Founded in 1963, Europa Nostra is a pan-European federation of organizations safeguarding cultural and natural heritage, and currently the most representative European network in this field. The aim of the organization is to protect and celebrate the unique monuments of natural and cultural heritage in Europe. Europa Nostra unites 250 private and public organizations from up to 50 European countries, 150 associate and more than 1500 individual members. The president of the organization is the world-famous opera singer and conductor Plácido Domingo.

The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards is the highest recognition by the European Union in the heritage field. The competition unveils the best projects in four categories: conservation – research – dedicated service by individuals and organizations – education, training and awarenessraising. The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards (as of 2019 the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards) was launched in 2002 by the European Commission, is supported by the EU’s Creative Europe program and has been organized by Europa Nostra ever since.

The Georgian Arts and Culture Center (GACC) joined the pan-European federation of European cultural heritage organization Europa Nostra in 2016, and established the representation of Europa Nostra in Georgia on the basis of a signed memorandum. In the same year, the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia joined Europa Nostra as an associate member.

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2019 wlis 18, 19, 20 aprils TbilisSi, xelovnebis saerTaSoriso centrma, romelic imavdroulad evropuli kulturuli memkvidreobis pan-evropuli gaerTianebis _ „evropa nostras“ saqarTvelos warmomadgenlobas warmoadgens, or saerTaSoriso RonisZiebas umaspinZla _ samecniero konferencias _ „daviT gareji mravaldargobrivi kvleva da ganviTarebis strategia“ da qarTuli gamarjvebuli proeqtebis dajildoebis ceremonials _ „evropa nostra saqarTveloSi“. daviT garejis samonastro kompleqsi qarTuli kulturuli da bunebrivi memkvidreobis umniSvnelovanesi Zeglia, Sedgeba or aTeulze meti monastrisa da mravali aseuli qvabulisgan. daviT garejis kldeSi nakveTi monastrebi saqarTvelos samxreT-aRmosavleT nawilSi mdebareobs, ivris zeganze, naxevarudabnoSi, misi mcire nawili _ saqarTvelo-azerbaijanis sasazRvro teritoriebzec vrceldeba. daviT garejis monastris daarseba VI saukunis I naxevarSi moRvawe asureli mamebis, qristiani misionerebis _ daviT garejelisa da misi mowafeebis lukianes, dodos da sxvaTa saxelebTanaa dakavSirebuli. monasteri VI-XVII saukuneebSi gafarTovda da Camoyalibda erTmaneTisgan kilometrebiT daSorebul, kldeSi nakveT, or aTeulze meti monastrisgan Semdgar, Sua saukuneebSi erTerT udides religiur da kulturul kompleqsad. mis SemadgenlobaSi Sedis sakuTriv monastris damaarseblis daviTis lavra (sadac wminda mamis saflavia), VI saukuneSivea daviTis mowafeebis, dodosa da lukianes mier daarsebuli _ naTlismcemelis da dodosrqis monasterebi.

IX-XIII saukuneebSi, saqarTvelos aRmavlobis periodSi, garejelma berebma misioneruli cxovreba ganavrces udabnos, berTubnis, CiCxituris axlad daarsebul monasrtebSi, aseve samonastro cxovreba mimdinareobda verangarejas, wamebulis, TeTrisenakebis, mravalwyaros, sabereebis, pirukuRmaris, qolagiris, didiqvabebis, pataraqvabebis, satorges, berebisseris, Savisenakebis, kowaxuras, cxrawyaros, Savimindoris da sxva qvabulebSi.

On 18-20 April 2019, the Georgian Arts and Culture Center (GACC), the country representative of Europa Nostra in Georgia, hosted two international events in Tbilisi: the scientific conference ‘David Gareji – Multidisciplinary Study and Development Strategy’, and an awards ceremony for Georgian winning projects, ‘Europa Nostra in Georgia’.

The David Gareji monastery complex is an extremely valuable Georgian cultural and natural heritage site, composed of more than two dozen monasteries and several hundred cave cells. The rockhewn monasteries of David Gareji are located in the south-eastern part of Georgia, in a semi-arid area on the Iori plateau, a small portion of which extends to the Georgian-Azerbaijani border territories.

The founding of David Gareji Monastery is linked to the Assyrian fathers and Christian missionaries David Garejeli, and

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saukuneebis ganmavlobaSi, marTlmadidebeli berebis asketuri cxovrebis paralelurad, monastrebSi mimdinareobda didi aRmSeneblobiTi samuSaoebi da kulturuli cxovreba, rac mas religiuri samyofelis paralelurad, kulturul centradac aqcevda. david garejis kldeSi nakveTi arqiteqtura, kedlis unikaluri mxatvroba, yofa-cxovrebisTvis aucilebeli sameurneo nagebobebi da Sua saukuneebis kulturis sxva mravali gamovlineba qarTuli Suasaukuneebis am unikalur Zegls, msoflio kulturuli memkvidreobis unikalur ZeglTa nusxaSi aqcevs. monasteri meTormete saukuneSi qarTvelma mefem, daviT aRmaSenebelma samefo patronaJis qveS myof kuTvnilebad gamoacxada da am nabijma mis kulturul aRmavlobas udidesi biZgi misca; sxva mraval SedevrTan erTad, garejis Zeglebs dResac amSvenebs qarTuli samefo sagvareulos _ bagrat IV-is, daviT aRmaSenebelis, demetre I-is, giorgi III-s, mefe Tamaris, laSagiorgis, daviT soslanis portretebi (maTi nawili amJamad saqarTvelos erovnul muzeumSia daculi). daviT garejis maRalmxatvruli Rirebulebis mqone kedlis TviTmyofadi mxatvroba, saerTaSoriso akademiur wreebSi cnobilia, rogorc `daviT garejis skola~, romelic VIII-XVIII saukuneebis qarTuli kedlis mxatvrobis, da Sesabamisad, aRmosavleT qristianuli samyaros farglebSi ewereba.

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his disciples Luciane, Dodo, and others, in the first half of 6th century. The monastery was expanded in the 6th-17th centuries and formed one of the largest religious and cultural complexes in the Middle Ages, encompassing more than two dozen rock-hewn monasteries located kilometers from each other. The complex includes founder David Garejeli’s “lavra” (where the grave of holy father is located), and monasteries Dodo’s Horn (Dodos Rka) and Natlismtsemeli, founded in the 6th-century by David’s disciples Dodo and Luciane. In the 9th-13th centuries, a period of high prosperity in Georgia, the Gareji monks extended their missionary life to the newly established monasteries of Udabno, Bertubani, and Chichkhituri. Monasticism was also carried out in Verangareja, Tsamebuli, Tetri Senakebi, Mravaltskaro, Sabereebi, Pirukughmari, Kolagiri, Didi Kvabebi, Patara Kvabebi, Satorge, Berebis Seri, Shavi Senakebi, Kotsakhura, Tskhratskaro, Shavi Mindori, and other cave monasteries.

For centuries, amidst the ascetic lifestyle of Orthodox monks, the monasteries were experiencing expanding construction works and a prominent cultural life, which transformed the complex into a cultural center alongside a religious dwelling. David Gareji’s rock-cut architecture, unique wall paintings, agricultural buildings necessary for survival, and many other manifestations of medieval culture, put this medieval Georgian site on the list of the

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daviT gareji, saukuneebis ganmavlobaSi, piligrimuli moZraobis mniSvnelovani centri iyo, rasac monastrebis gamoqvabulTa kedlebze berZnuli, somxuri, sparsuli Tu arabuli aTasobiT piligrimuli minaweri adasturebs. daviT garejis samonastro kompleqss miniWebuli aqvs erovnuli mniSvnelobis statusi. 1976 wlidan samonastro kompleqsi funqcionirebs rogorc muzeum-nakrZali, sami moqmedi monastriT. 2007 wels kompleqsi UNESCO-s msoflio memkvidreobis erovnul winaswarul nusxaSi, xolo 2018 wels _ `evropa nostras~ da `evropis sainvesticio bankis~ institutis mier evropuli kulturuli da bunebrivi memkvidreobis gansakuTrebuli safrTxis qveS myofi, Svidi Zeglis programis nusxaSia Setanili. 2007 wlidan azerbaijanTan sasazRvro teritoriaze ganlagebuli daviT garejis samonastro kompleqsis nawilze Seqmnilia muzeumnakrZali, azerbaijanuli saxeliT „qeSikCidag“.

2018 wels, david garejis samonastro kompleqsi, `evropa nostras~ da `evropis sainvesticio bankis~ institutis mier, Seitanes evropuli kulturuli da bunebrivi memkvidreobis Svid safrTxis qveS myof ZeglTa programis nusxaSi; Sedegad saqarTvelos da uSualod daviT garejs 2018 wlis Semodgomaze eqspertebis saerTaSoriso misia ewvia, romelmac garejis kompleqsis dRevandeli

world cultural heritage’s unique monuments. In the 12th century, Georgian King David the Builder assigned the monastery under the royal patronage, a step that greatly aided the monastery’s cultural advancement. To this day, along with other masterpieces, the Gareji monuments are decorated by portraits of the Georgian royal family: Bagrat IV, David the Builder, Demetrius I, George III, Tamar the Great, Lasha-Giorgi and David Soslan (some of them are now kept at the Georgian National Museum). The artistically significant and unique wall art of David Gareji is known in international academic circles as the “David Gareji School”, falling within the framework of 8th-18th-century Georgian wall painting, and therefore within the Eastern Christian world.

For centuries, David Gareji was an important pilgrimage center, which is confirmed by thousands of Greek, Armenian, Persian or Arabic pilgrimage writings on the cave walls of the monasteries.

The David Gareji monastery complex has gained the status of monument of national significance. Since 1976, the monastery complex has been functioning as a museum-reserve with three active hermitages. In 2007, the complex was submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage State Tentative List, a museum-reserve has been created on the portion of David Gareji monastery complex, which is located near the border with Azerbaijan, and bears the Azerbaijani name ‘Keshikchidag’. Furthermore, in 2018, Europa Nostra and the

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mdgomareobis, arsebuli problemebis da maTi gadawyvetis gzebis SeTavazebebis amsaxveli angariSi SeimuSava. misiis angariSi gacxadda saerTaSoriso konferenciaze, «daviT gareji: multidisciplinaruli kvleva da ganviTarebis strategia», romelic xelovnebis saerTaSoriso centrma `evropa nostras~ saqarTvelos warmomadgenlobam, saqarTvelos kulturuli memkvidreobis erovnul saagentosTan TanamSromlobiT, SoTa rusTavelis erovnuli samecniero fondis grantis farglebSi gamarTa. `evropa nostras~ mier SemuSavebuli angariSis warmodgenis paralelurad, konferencia miznad isaxavda: Zeglis mravaldargobrivi kvlevebis xelSewyobas, kompleqsis bunebrivi da kulturuli memkvidreobis winaSe mdgari problemebis wamowevasa da gadaWris gzebis Ziebas; msjelobas, ganviTarebis strategiasa da samoqmedo gegmaze, daviT garejis uaxlesi kulturuli, istoriuli da saxelovnebaTmcodneo aspeqtebis, sarestavracio da Zeglis menejmentis aqtualuri sakiTxebis gaSuqebas da saerTaSoriso da adgilobrivi akademiuri wreebis warmomadgenlebis dialogisTvis platformis Seqmnas.

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European Investment Bank Institute listed the monastery in the ‘Seven Most Endangered Programme’.

As a follow up of the inclusion of the David Gareji monastery complex into Europa Nostra’s “Seven Most Endangered Programme” list, in the fall of 2018, an international experts’ mission visited Georgia, and in particular, David Gareji, with the aim of producing a report on current state of the Gareji complex, the existing problems, and the paths to their solutions. The mission’s report was publicized at the international conference ‘David Gareji – Multidisciplinary Study and Development Strategy’, organized by the Georgian Arts and Culture Center (GACC) country representation of Europa Nostra in Georgia, in cooperation with the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, and co-funded by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation.

Alongside with the presentation of the report developed by Europa Nostra, the conference aimed to stimulate multidisciplinary studies of the site, to highlight the threats faced by the complex’s natural and cultural heritage, and to define the best ways to find solutions;

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konferencia 18-20 aprils Catarda da moicavda, rogorc plenarul sesiebs, ise vizits daviT garejis samonastro kompleqsis or monasterSi (daviTis lavrasa da udabnoSi).

18 aprils saerTaSoriso konferenciis monawileebs misasalmebeli sityviT mimarTes: saqarTvelos ganaTlebis, mecnierebis, kulturisa da sportis ministris pirvelma moadgilem mixeil giorgaZem, saqarTvelos sapatriarqos xuroTmoZRvrebis, xelovnebisa da restavraciis centris Tavmjdomarem, abba alaverdelma mitropolitma daviTma (maxaraZem), saqarTvelos kulturuli memkvidreobis dacvis erovnuli saagentos generalurma direqtorma nikoloz anTiZem, `SoTa rusTavelis saqarTvelos erovnuli samecniero fondis~ generalurma direqtorma zviad gabisoniam, `evropa nostras~ oficialurma warmomadgenelma saqarTveloSi, xelovnebis saerTaSoriso centris direqtorma maka dvaliSvilma. konferencias eswrebodnen `evropa nostras~ generaluri mdivani sneSka qaidvlig-mixailoviCi, `evropa nostras~ vice-prezidenti pit jaspaerti, da `evropis sainvisticio bankis~ institutis eqspertebi; konferenciaSi monawileoba miiRo dargis 66-ma wamyvanma specialistma da mecnierma saqarTvelodan, italiidan, israelidan, saberZneTidan, aSS-dan, azerbaijanidan.

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to raise discussions on the development strategies and the action plan; to overview the current cultural, aspects of history and art history of David Gareji, its preservation and site management issues; to create a platform for dialogue for international and local academic representatives.

The conference was held on April 18th-20th and included both plenary sessions and visits to two monasteries of the David Gareji complex (David’s Lavra and Udabno). On the 18th of April, the participants of the international conference were greeted by Mikheil Giorgadze, First Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Abba Alaverdeli Metropolitan David (Makharadze), head of the Center for Architecture, Art and Restoration of the Georgian Patriarchate, Nikoloz Antidze, general director of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, Zviad Gabisonia, general director of the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia, Maka Dvalishvili, director of the Georgian Arts and Culture Center, the country representative of Europa Nostra in Georgia. The conference was attended by Secretary General of Europa Nostra Sneťka Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, Vice-President of Europa Nostra Piet Jaspaert, and experts from the European Investment Bank Institute. Up to 66 leading scholars and

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konferenciis mimdinareobisas muSaobda sami damoukidebeli seqcia: 1. daviT garejis samonastro kompleqsis istoriuli, kulturuli da saxelovnebaTmcodneo aspeqtebi; 2. daviT garejis bunebrivi memkvidreoba; 3. Zeglis marTvisa da dacvis sakiTxebi.

19 aprils, konferenciis programis farglebSi, zaqaria faliaSvilis saxelobis Tbilisis operisa da baletis saxelmwifo TeatrSi gaimarTa sazeimo RonisZieba «evropa nostra saqarTveloSi», sadac damswre sazogadoebas waredgina kulturuli memkvidreobis sferoSi evrokavSiris umaRlesi jildos _ `evropa nostras~ _ gamarjvebuli Svidi proeqti saqarTvelodan (2007-2018) da evropa nostras “gansakuTrebuli safrTxis qveS myofi evropuli kulturis Svidi Zeglis” programis mier aRiarebuli qarTuli Zeglebi: _ WiaTuris sabagiro gzebi, nominatori _ saqarTvelos kulturisa da ZeglTa dacvis saministro. Seyvanilia 2018 wlis winaswarul nusxaSi. _ daviT garejis samonastro kompleqsi, nominatori _ xelovnebis saerTaSoriso centri. Seyvanilia 2018 wlis ZiriTad nusxaSi. maka dvaliSvili, marita saxlTxuciSvili foto goCa buaZe

professionals of the field from Georgia, Italy, Israel, Greece, USA, and Azerbaijan presented their papers.

The conference had three independently operating sections: 1. Historic, Cultural and Art Historical aspects of the David Gareji Monastery Complex; 2. Natural Heritage of David Gareji; 3. Site Management and Preservation.

On the 19th of April, the festive event ‘Europa Nostra in Georgia’ took place at the Zakaria Paliashvili Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre.

At the ceremony, the Georgian laureates of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards (2007-2018) have been revealed, and the Georgian sites listed by Europa Nostra’s ‘Seven Most Endangered Programme’ have been acknowledged, among them: Aerial Cableway Network in Chiatura. Nominator – Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia. Shortlisted in 2018.

David Gareji Monastery Complex. Nominator – Georgian Arts and Culture Center (GACC). Inscribed in the main list in 2018.

Maka Dvalishvili, Marita Sakhltkhutsishvili Photography: Gocha Buadze

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pirveli reqtori „petre meliqiSvili cnobili mecnieria ruseTSic da sazRvargareTac, da misi arCeva didi prestiJs Seuqmnis Cvens universitets“. ivane javaxiSvili

Our first rector “Petre Melikishvili is a renowned scientist both in Russia and abroad, and choosing him will bring great prestige to our university”.

Ivane Javakhishvili

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ivane javaxiSvilis saxelobis Tbilisis saxelmwifo universitetis pirveli korpusis kedelze mimqrali, TiTqos Cakarguli memorialuri dafa gvauwyebs, rom Cveni universitetis pirveli reqtori petre meliqiSvili gaxldaT... mravalmxrivi ganaTlebisa da interesebis mqone mecnieri 1918 wels uyoymanod gamoexmaura ivane javaxiSvilis wamowyebas da Cveuli energiiT, uSurvelad aitaca universitetis dafuZnebis idea. ukve xanSiSesuli odesidan TbilisSi dabrunda da... momavali universitetis profesorTa kolegiis pirvelma sxdomam pirvel reqtorad daasaxela. am winadadebaze meliqiSvilma uari brZana da, Tavis mxriv, kolegias reqtorad ivane javaxiSvilis kandidatura SesTavaza. sabolood ivane javaxiSvilis xmam da avtoritetma gaWra da samecniero kolegiam pirvel reqtorad mxcovani mecnieri airCia.

A faded, almost unnoticeable memorial plaque on the wall of the first building of the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) instructs us that the first rector of our university was Petre Melikishvili… A scholar knowledgeable in many fields and following many interests, he accepted Ivane Javakhishvili’s proposition without any hesitation in 1918, and with his characteristic energy, he enthusiastically developed the idea of founding the university. He was already advanced in years when he returned to Tbilisi from Odesa, and… when the first assembly of the future university’s professors’ college named him as the first rector. At first, Melikishvili refused this position and suggested that the rector should be Ivane Javakhishvili.

In the end, Ivane Javakhishvili’s arguments and authoritativeness have settled the issue, and the college of professors chose the venerable scholar as the first rector of the university.

Still, who was Petre Melikishvili?

da, mainc vin iyo petre grigolis Ze meliqiSvili? igi 1849 wels, TbilisSi mesxeTidan gadmosaxlebul qarTvel kaTolikeTa ojaxSi daibada; maTTan saxlSi ilia WavWavaZe, akaki wereTeli, niko nikolaZe, giorgi wereTeli da im drois sxva progresulad moazrovne qarTveli moRvaweni ikribebodnen. am garemom, urTierTobebma didad ganapiroba qarTuli universitetis pirveli reqtoris samomavlo cxovreba da sazogadoebriv-samecniero interesebi. meliqiSvilebis ojaxs tradiciulad hqonia wignierebisken midrekileba, mamas _ grigol meliqiSvils aqtiurad uRvawia TbilisSi kerZo stambis gasamarTad, sadac periodul gamocemebTan erTad, literaturulpublicisturi Txzulebebic istambeboda. petre meliqiSvili Tbilisis pirveli gimnaziis gamorCeuli moswavle iyo, romelic 1868 wels warCinebiT daamTavra; Semdgom, odesis universitetis sabunebismetyvelo fakultetze gaagrZela swavla, romelic niWier students winswrebiT (eqsternulad), ori wliT adre daumTavrebia. odesaSi kursgasrulebuli evropaSi gaemgzavra, sadac cnobil mecnierTa gverdigverd muSaobda, raSic germanuli, franguli, inglisuri da rusuli enebis srulyofili codna exmareboda. evropidan isev odesis saimperatoro universitetSi dabrunda da 1885-1917 wlebSi, qimiaSi wamyvan profesors, saganmanaTleblo saqmianobis paralelurad, araerTi mniSvnelovani kvlevac Cautarebia. kerZod, man pirvelma miiRo organul naerTTa klasi, romelTac glicidmJavebi uwoda; masve ekuTvnis XIX saukunis miwuruls, samecniero gamokvlevebSi, qimiur procesebSi pirvelaRmomCenoba. dimitri mendeleevma sakuTari sistemis siswore swored petre meliqiSvilis kvleva-eqsperimentebiT gaxada sarwmuno; igi didad afasebda qarTveli mecnieris Rvawls qimiis ganviTarebaSi da, albaT, amis dasturia is, rom 1899 wels petre meliqiSvils lomonosovis saxelobis premia mieniWa.

He was born in 1849 to a family of Georgian Catholics who settled in Tbilisi from the Meskheti region; Ilia Chavchavadze, Akaki Tsereteli, Niko Nikoladze, Giorgi Tsereteli and other progressive Georgian public figures of the time used to gather in their house. This environment and these relationships have greatly influenced the future life and interests, both social and scientific, of the first rector of the TSU.

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zemomoyvanili mSrali da trafaretuli nusxa-CamonaTvali erTgvari valis moxda Tu Sesavalia im umTavresi naazrevnafiqralisa, romelic zedmiwevniT principulma da RirsebaaRvsilma mecnierma momaval Taobebs gadadgmuli nabijiT dagvidastura _ petre meliqiSvili, erT axalgazrda mecnierTan universitetis ganviTarebis xedvis SeuTanxmeblobis gamo, 1919 wlis oqtomberSi reqtorobidan gadadga! Tumca, man Tanamdeboba datova da ara universiteti... am araioli nabijis Semdgom, man ufro gaaZliera pedagogiur-samecniero Sroma da, studentebisa da axalgazrda mecnierTaTvis Tavdauzogavad gaagrZela dagrovili codnisa da gamocdilebis gadacema. da mainc, kiTxvas _ vin iyo petre meliqiSvili? _ pasuxs 1918 wlis 26 ianvars, Tbilisis saxelmwifo universitetis gaxsnasTan dakavSirebul zeimze warmoTqmuli dinjad gasaazrebeli, yovelgvar paTetikas moklebuli, eriskacis sityva iZleva; sityva, romelic dResac safiqrals gviCens ara marto axalgazrdebs, aramed ukve xanmokidebul adamianebsac: `sazogado-samecniero kvleva-Ziebis garda, Cveni universitetis mTavars mizans Cveni qveynis mecnieruli Seswavla Seadgens. vin ar icis, ra Zvirfasi ganZia Senaxuli mecnierebisaTvis kavkasiis mravalgvars enebSi da qarTulis mravalsaukunovan samwerlobo enasa da kiloebSi. amitomac aris, rom ukve karga xania, rac evropel mecnierTa gulisyuri am sagnisaken iyo mipyrobili. mxolod Cveni enebis sruli TaviseburebebiT aixsneba, rom maT enaTmecnierebis am dargis siZnele jerovnad ver sZlies. vin ar icis, raoden sagulisxmoa Cveni qveynis warsulica da nivTieri kulturac, romelTa mravalricxovani Zeglebi Cvens samSoblos amkoben da mnaxvelTa Tvals akvirveben. arc gasakvirvelia, rom Cveni universitetis arsebobas safuZveli swored humanur

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The Melikishvili family had a natural inclination towards literature: the father – Grigol Melikishvili has played an active role in the establishment of a private publishing house in Tbilisi, where apart from periodicals, literary and publicist works were also published.

Petre Melikishvili was an exceptional student of Tbilisi’s First Gymnasium, which he finished with the most honorable distinctions in 1868; afterwards, he enrolled in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Odesa University, where the talented student completed his studies two years in advance of the program. After Odessa, he traveled in Europe, where he worked alongside famous European scientists – his perfect knowledge of German, French, English and Russian helping him in this regard.

After Europe, he returned to the Imperial University in Odessa, and in the years 1885-1917, in parallel to giving lectures, the chemistry professor carried out several significant researches. Namely, he discovered one of the classes of organic compounds, which he named glycidacids; he was also a torchbearer in several scientific researches related to chemical processes carried out in the end of the 19th century.

Dmitri Mendeleev demonstrated the accuracy of his system precisely thanks to Petre Melikishvili’s research and experiments; he greatly valued the achievements of the Georgian scientist for the development of chemistry, which were rewarded in 1899, when Petre Melikishvili received the Lomonosov award.

This dry and stereotypical short biography is but a foreword or introduction to the significant feats that the utterly principled and righteous scholar demonstrated to the future generations – in October 1919, because of a disagreement with a young scientist about the vision of the university’s development, Petre Melikishvili resigned as a rector! But even though he left his position, he didn’t leave the university… After this difficult decision, he could spend more time on pedagogic and scientific work, and he continued to diligently transfer the knowledge and experience he had accumulated to students and young scientists.

But still, the answer to the question “who was Petre Melikishvili?” will be provided by the tempered, pathos-free speech the public figure held on the 26th of January 1918, in the framework of the inauguration of the Tbilisi State University; this speech gives food for thought to this day, both to the younger and older generations: “Apart from social and scientific research, the main objective of our university is to study our country in a scientific way. Who could ignore the great treasure preserved for scientists in the multiple languages of the Caucasus, and in Georgian’s centuriesold written language and dialects? This is why the interest of European scientists has been directed towards this field for a long time already. Only the idiosyncrasies of our languages can show that they haven’t yet overcome the difficulties of this field of linguistics. Who can ignore the significance of our country’s past and its material culture, the numerous monuments of which adorn

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mecnierebaTa dargis mowyobiT edeba, magram marto am mxriv xom ar aris sayuradRebo Cveni turfa saqarTvelo. misi buneba mimzidvelia mecnierisaTvis ara marto Tavisi garegani silamaziT, aramed im saidumloebiT, romliTac savsea misi guli. CvenSi, magaliTad, bevri iseTi mcenarea Senaxuli, axlac cocxlobs da xarobs, romelnic evropaSi didi xania gaqrnen ukvalod. maSasadame, Cveni qveynis buneba mecnierisaTvis cocxali wignia, romelSic mravalsaukunovani warsulis amokiTxva SeiZleba. metad mdidaria Cveni samSoblo agreTve samkurnalo wylebiT, romelTac didi mniSvneloba aqvT gankurnebaSi, magram mometebuli maTgani sakmarisad mecnierulad Seswavlili ar aris arc Semadgenlobis mxriv. ai, aqac raodeni samecniero samuSao aris qimikosebisa da mkurnalebisTvis. kidev bevri ram iTqmis, magram esec kmara. is mxurvale siyvaruli mecnierebisadmi, romelTac yoveli Cvengani, am didi saqmis ganxorcielebis monawileTagania gamsWvaluli, da is aRtaceba, romelic qarTul sazogadoebas etyoba, imis Tavdebia, rom Cveni universiteti warmatebis gzas daadgeba, rom igi dRegrZeli iqneba da momavalSi ayvavdeba. imedi maqvs, rom amas Cveni universitetis studentebic TavianT mxne da nayofieri muSaobiT xels Seuwyoben da moemzadebian momavali muSaobisaTvis Cveni samSoblos sakeTildReod~.

our land and amaze their onlookers? It isn’t surprising either that the foundations for the existence of our university were laid by the establishment of the department of Human Sciences, but naturally, our beloved country needs to be looked after in all fields. Its nature attracts scientists not only because of its external beauty, but also because of its secrets, of which it is full. For instance, there are still many plants preserved here, still living and blooming, that have disappeared without a trace a long time ago in Europe. Therefore, our country’s nature is a living book for scientists, in which they can read about a centuries-long past.

Our homeland is also very rich in healing waters, which play an important role in curative processes, but too many of them haven’t been scientifically studied, be it only in terms of their composition.

In this field too, there are many scientific studies to be carried out by chemists and doctors.

There are many other things to say, but this is already enough.

This passion towards science, inspiring all the participants of this great enterprise, as well as the exaltation that shows in the Georgian society, guarantee that our university will walk a path of success, that it will have a long and flourishing life. I hope that our university’s students will also support this endeavor with their hale and fruitful work, and prepare themselves to work for the well-being of our country.”

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martvilis mxareTmcodneobis muzeumi saqarTvelos regionuli muzeumebis umravlesoba, romelic XX saukuneSia daarsebul-Seqmnili, im Rvawlmosili adamianebis damsaxurebaa, romlebsac kargad qondaT gaTviTcnobierebuli qveynis istoriisaTvis kulturuli memkvidreobis ama Tu im Zeglis Segrovebisa da dacvis mniSvneloba. aseT adamianTa rigs miekuTvneba givi eliava, romlis daarsebulia misive saxelobis martvilis mxareTmcodneobis muzeumi.

Martvili Museum of Local Lore The majority of Georgia’s regional museums created and founded in the 20th century owe their existence to the dedicated people who were well aware of the importance of collecting and preserving different monuments of cultural heritage for the history of the country. Givi Eliava is one such individual, who founded the Martvili Museum of Local Lore, which is named after him.

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m

artvilis mxareTmcodneobis muzeumi yovelTvis aqtiurad asrulebda regionis kulturuli centris rols. garda mowesrigebuli fondebis, mravalmxrivi da im droisTvis maRali donis eqspoziciisa, romelsac arasodes aklda damTvalierebeli, muzeumSi sistematurad imarTeboda samecniero konferenciebi, romelSic mTeli saqarTvelodan iRebdnen monawileobas mecnierebi.

2013-2014 wlebSi martvilis mxareTmcodneobis muzeumSi saqarTvelos erovnul muzeumTan aqtiuri da nayofieri TanamSromlobis Sedegad ganxorcielda proeqti (martvilis municipalitetis dafinansebiT), romelic iTvaliswinebda saeqspozicio sivrcis gadagegmarebas, axali eqspoziciis momzadebas, giorgi Wyondidelis saganmanaTleblo centrisa da Rvinis sagamofenosadegustacio darbazis Seqmnas. saeqspozicio sivrce ganTavsebulia I sarTulze da iwyeba geologia-paleontologiis amsaxveli masaliT (I darbazi). geologiuri koleqcia warmodgenilia saqarTvelos sxvadasxva regionSi aRmoCenili liTonuri da araliTonuri wiaRiseuli nimuSebiT, samSeneblo da sanaxelao qvebiT da karstuli naRvenTi originaluri formebiT samegrelos kirqvuli masividan. paleontologiur nimuSebs Soris uZvelesi eqsponatebia: trilobiti (Asaphus sp.), Tavfexiani moluski (Orthoceras sp.), marjani (Favosites sp.), romlebic siluruli periodiT (443.7-416.0 mln.w.) TariRdeba.

The museum has always diligently served the role of the cultural center of the region. In addition to the well-organized funds and exceptional and varied exhibitions that never lacked visitors, the museum regularly organized scientific conferences in which scientists from all over Georgia participated.

In 2013-2014, following an active and fruitful cooperation with the Georgian National Museum, a project was implemented in the Martvili Museum of Local Lore. Funded by the Martvili municipality, the project included the reordering of the exhibition space, the arrangement of a new exhibition, the creation of the Giorgi Chqondideli Educational Center, and a wine-tasting and showcase hall.

martorqis qveda yba. sof. saeliavo. Sua mioceni 14-12 mln.

LOWER JAW OF A RHINOCEROS. VILLAGE SAELIAVO, MIDDLE MIOCENE (14-12 MA)

The exhibition space is located on the 1st floor and begins with geology and paleontology materials displaying (1st hall).

The geological collection is represented by metallic and nonmetallic mineral samples discovered in various regions of Georgia, construction stones, gemstones, and unique karst formations from the limestone massif of Samegrelo.

Among the paleontological specimens, the oldest exhibits are a trilobite (Asaphus sp.), a cephalopod mollusk (Orthotseras sp.), and a coral (Favosites sp.), which date back to the Silurian period (443.7416.0 mya).

gansakuTrebiT mniSvnelovania 1962 wels martvilTan, sofel saeliavoSi 14-12 milioni wlis winandel qanebSi aRmoCenili xmeleTis xerxemlianebs Soris TvalsaCino namarxi martorqis qveda ybisa da menjis fragmentebis nimuSebi, romlebic saqarTvelos teritoriaze am asakis ZuZumwovrebis naSTebSi iSviaTobaa, rac saeliaos monapovars gansakuTrebul samecniero mniSvnelobas sZens.

Semdegi II darbazi mxaris geologiuri agebulebis amsaxveli masaliT da Sesabamisi rukebiTaa warmodgenili.

III darbazSi warmodgenilia _ mxaris arqeologiuri monapovari dawyebuli qvis xanidan damTavrebuli

ganamarxebuli Tevzi Tixaze; didi Wyoni, matvili, zeda mioceni (11.61-5.33 mln.w) FOSSIL FISH IN MUDSTONE; DIDI CHKONI, MARTVILI, UPPER MIOCENE (11.61-5.33 MA.)

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Suasaukuneebis masalebiT. qvis xanis artefaqtebis koleqcia martvilis mxareSi aTeulobiT adgilze adamianis arsebobis kvalis maCvenebelia da warmodgenilia _ qveda paleoliTis (1.700000-300000 ww.), Sua paleoliTis (300000-40000 ww.), zeda paleoliTs (40000-12000 ww.), mezoliTis (12000-9000 ww.), neoliT-eneoliTis (90004000 ww.) periodebisTvis damaxasiaTebeli koleqciiT, rac imis niSania, rom samegrelos teritoria, iseve, rogorc zogadad kavkasia, is areali iyo, sadac adamianis winaprebi uadresi xanidan gansaxldnen da preistoriuli sazogadoebis ganviTarebis TiTqmis yvela ZiriTadi safexuri gaiares.

Particularly significant are samples of the lower jaw and pelvic fragments of a rhinoceros fossil, discovered among the terrestrial vertebrates in rock layers (14-12 mya) in the village of Saeliavo, near Martvili, in 1962. These types of samples are rarely found in the fossils of mammals of this age on the territory of Georgia, which adds a special scientific significance to the Saeliavo findings.

The 2nd hall houses materials depicting the geological structure of the region and the relevant maps.

The 3rd hall showcases the region’s archaeological findings from the Stone Age until the Middle Ages.

Zveli kolxeTis Tema arqeologiis darbazis wamyvani Temaa. berZnuli da urartuli wyaroebisTvis cnobili legendaruli Zveli kolxeTi, romelic Tanadroulma Zvelma samyarom berZnuli miTologiuri TemebiT (argonavtika, promeTes miTi) gaicno, arqeologiurma aRmoCenebma miTidan realobad aqcia da daadastura, rom ukve Zv.w. II aTaswleulidan Zveli kolxeTi ganviTarebuli brinjaos metalurgiis, miwaTmoqmedebisa da xelosnobis qveyanaa da warmodgenilia dasavlurqarTveluri tomebis _ kolxebis winaprebis mier Seqmnili protokolxuri kulturiT, xolo Zv.w. II aTaswleulis meore naxevridan _ Zv.w. I aTaswleulis pirveli naxevris CaTvliT aq yvavis protokolxuri kulturis wiaRSi aRmocenebuli kolxuri brinjaos kultura misi ganmsazRvreli

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aSeluri xelculi, naxarebao, danaleqi qani ACHEULEAN HANDAXE, NAKHAREBAO, SEDIMENTARY ROCK

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sxvadasxva niSniT: liTonwarmoebis mravalricxovani masaliT, liTonis mravalferovani saomari da sameurneo iaraRiT, samkauliT da tansacmlis aqsesuarebiT, jargvaluri tipis nagebobebiani namosaxlarebiT da iq aRmoCenili specifikuri keramikiT, artefaqtebis siuxviT gamorCeuli samarovnebiT da sxvadasxva tipis samarxebiT (ormosamarxebi, osuariumebebi, koleqtiuri kremaciuli samarxebi). gansakuTrebiT mniSvnelovania brinjaosa da adrerkinis xanis metalurgiis sruli procesis amsaxveli araerTi monapovari Zveli kolxeTis nawilis, martvilis mxaris, ocdaaTamde Zeglidan _ madnis, widebis, naRvenTebis, saqSeni milebisa da liTonis sadnobi qurebis Selesilobis

The collection of the Stone Age artifacts is the proof of human existence in dozens of places in the Martvili region, and is reflected in a collection characteristic of the Lower Paleolithic (1.700000-300000), Middle Paleolithic (300000-40000), Upper Paleolithic (40000-12000), Mesolithic (12000-9000), and Neolithic-Eneolithic (9000-4000) periods. These artifacts indicate that the territory of Samegrelo, as well as the whole Caucasus, was an area where the earliest human ancestors resettled and passed through almost every major stage of prehistoric societal development.

The topic of ancient Colchis is the main theme of the archeology hall. The legendary ancient Colchis, known to Greek and Urartian sources, and which the ancient world became familiar with from nukleusebi, naxarebao. kaJi / CORES, NAKHAREBAO. FLINT

fragmentebis mravalricxovani nimuSebi, sxvadasxva wonis brinjaos zodebi (udidesis wonaa 55 kg). es koleqcia gviCvenebs Zveli kolxeTis liTonwarmoebis simZlavres da amyarebs berZeni istorikosis da geografis, strabonis cnobas imis Sesaxeb, rom `...simdidre oqroTi, vercxliT, rkiniTa da spilenZiT gvixsnis (argonavtTa) laSqrobis swor sababs~. muxurCis samarovnisa (petres nakarus samarovani) da SemTxveviT aRmoCenili artefaqtebi warmodgenas gviqmnis kolxeTSi ara mxolod meliToneobis ganviTarebis masStabze, aramed maTi meurneobis mravalferovnebaze da intensiurobaze, rwmena-warmodgenebsa da esTetikur normebze. adgilobrivi nawarmia sardionis, aqatis, qalcedonis, iaspisis, kvarcis, kaJis, giSris mravalferovani mZivsamkaulebi, romlebic Zvelkolxur saxelosnoebSi

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Greek mythology (the myths of the Argonauts and Prometheus), was transformed from myth into reality through archeological findings.

These discoveries confirmed that from the 2nd millennium BC, ancient Colchis was a country of well-developed bronze metallurgy, agriculture, and craftsmanship, and is represented by the protoColchian culture created by the western Georgian tribes, ancestors of the Colchians. Moreover, from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC to the first half of the 1st millennium BC, a Colchian bronze culture, originating from the proto-Colchis culture, flourished and had various defining features: a multitude of metalwork materials, a variety of military and agricultural metal tools, jewelry and clothing accessories, settlements with log-type structures and the distinct pottery discovered there, necropolises characterized by an abundance of artifacts and different types of burials (pit graves, ossuaries, collective cremation burials).

olxuri culi, brinjao, Zv.w. VIII-VII ss COLCHIAN AXE, BRONZE, 8TH – 7TH CENTURIES BC

adgilobriv nedleulze mzaddeboda. maT dasamzadeblad gamoyenebuli Rarebiani saxexi qvebis meSveobiT daxelovnebuli kolxi ostatebi samkauls sasurvel formas aZlevdnen, Semdeg ostaturad xvretdnen da aprialebdnen. adgilobrivi nawarmis mravalricxovnebis da mravalferovnebis miuxedavad, samkaulze didi moTxovnilebis gamo, Zvel kolxeTSi ucxo qveynebidanac SemohqondaT sxvadasxva saxis mZivebi (qarva, mina). martvilis mxareSi, iseve, rogorc mTel kolxeTSi, Zv. w. II-I aTaswleulebSi mravalferovani Tixis WurWelic mzaddeboda, upiratesad Savad an monacrisfrovardisfrad gamomwvari: Tasebi, jamebi, qoTnebi, koWbebi, tolCebi, qilebi, didi zomis dergebi da sxv. tipologiuri mravalferovnebis garda, kolxuri keramikis Tavisebureba WurWlis zedapiris mravalgvari ornamentiT Semkoba iyo _ iribi Tu mrgvali Wdeebi, reliefuri kopebi, wiwviseburi Strixebi, Rarovani festonebi, Sevronebi,

abzindebi, brinjao, muxurCa, kurzu, Zv.w. VII-VI ss BUCKLES, BRONZE, MUKHURCHA, 8TH – 7TH CENTURIES BC

Especially worth noting are the extensive discoveries, which reflect the full process of metallurgical production in the Bronze and Early Iron Ages, made in 30 monument sites in the Martvili region, a part of ancient Colchis. These are abundant samples of ore, slags, drippings, fragments of bellow’s nozzles and plastering of metal-melting

kolxuri culi, brinjao, Tamakoni, Zv.w. I aTaswleulis pirveli meoTxedi COLCHIAN AXE, BRONZE, TAMAKONI, FIRST QUARTER OF THE 1ST MILLENNIUM BC

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furnaces, bronze ingots of different sizes (the biggest one weighing 55 kg.). This collection demonstrates the capacity of metalwork in ancient Colchis and reinforces the Greek historian and geographer Strabo’s assertion about how “… the riches of the country in gold, silver, and iron, proclaim the motive of (the Argonauts’) expedition.”

The Mukhurcha necropolis (Petres Nakaru’s necropolis) and the incidentally discovered artifacts reflect not only the scale of development of metalwork in Colchis, but also the variety and intensity of their agriculture, their beliefs, perceptions, and aesthetic norms. dugma, brinjao, Zv.w. XVI-XIV ss HOOK, BRONZE, 16TH – 14TH CENTURIES BC

zaraki, brinjao, muxurCa, Zv.w. VIII-VII ss BELL, BRONZE, MUKHUCHA, 8TH – 7TH CENTURIES BC

sxvadasxva saxis kanelurebi, agreTve, ,,frinvelis mkerdiseburi~ da zoomorfuli yurebi. Tixis nawarmis raodenoba Zvel kolxeTSi demografiuli suraTis, xolo misi mravalferovneba, mravaldargobrivi soflis meurneobis arsebobis maCvenebelia. arqeologiur darbazSi aseve warmodgenilia antikuri da Suasaukuneebis xanis masalis SemTxveviT mopovebuli artefaqtebi _ samkauli, tansacmlis aqsesuari, minis WurWeli, keramika, sabrZolo iaraRi. muzeumis eqspoziciis IV darbazSi warmodgenilia numizmatika, Suasaukuneebis kedlis saeklesio mxatvroba, xelnawerebisa da saeklesio nivTebis koleqcia. numizmatikuri koleqcia moicavs sxvadasxva periodis

isrispirebi, brinjao, Zv.w. VIII-VII ss

xviebi, brinjao, kurzu, Zv.w. VIII-VII ss PENDANTS, BRONZE, KURZU, 8TH – 7TH CENTURIES BC

Another distinguishing feature of the museum is the variety of beaded jewelry from carnelian, agate, chalcedony, jasper, quartz, flint, and jet, created in ancient Colchian workshops from local raw materials. Colchian craftsmen would give jewelry the desired shape using grooved abrasive stones and subsequently skillfully pierce and polish them. In ancient Colchis, despite the wealth and diversity of the local products, due to the large demand for jewelry, various beads (amber, glass) were still imported from foreign countries.

In the Martvili region, just as in all Colchis, in the 2nd-1st millennium BC, a diverse assortment of pottery was also produced, mostly baked in black or greyish-pink: cups, bowls, pots, small pots, jugs, jars, large pitchers and so on. Besides the typological diversity, the peculiarity of Colchian pottery was the variety of ornaments which adorned their surface – slanting and round notches, raised knobs, needle-like patterns, grooved festoons, chevrons, various kinds of cannelure, as well as bird’s breast-like and zoomorphic handles. The number of pottery products in the ancient Colchis gives us an idea of its demographics, while their diversity is the indicator of the existence of a varied agriculture.

ARROWHEADS, BRONZE, 8TH – 7TH CENTURIES BC

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figurebi, brinjao. Zv.w. VIII-VII ss / FIGURINES, BRONZE. 8TH –7TH CENTURIES BC

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adgilobriv da ucxour monetebs. maTi nawili aRmoCenilia samegrelos teritoriaze, nawili ki, nasaxsovrebia simon janaSias saxelobis saqarTvelos saxelmwifo muzeumis koleqciebidan numizmat daviT kapanaZis mier. koleqciis uadresi monetebi Zv. w. V saukuniT TariRdeba, esenia: saberZneTSi, kunZul eginaze moWrili moneta da adgilobrivi `kolxuri TeTris~ nominalebi. `kolxuri TeTris~ koleqcia warmodgenilia samoneto ganZiT adgil isuladan (15 erTeuli naxevardraqmiani), agreTve, am samoneto tipis erTeuli aRmoCenebiT. muzeumis meore ganZi, romelic sofel inCxurSia aRmoCenili, vercxlis arabuli dirhemebisa da oqros erTi bizantiuri monetisagan Sedgeba. is VIII-X saukuneebiT TariRdeba da sxvadasxva zarafxanaSi moWrili aTeulobiT monetis nakrebs warmoadgens. xelnawerebis koleqciaSi ZiriTadad Tavmoyrilia XIXXX saukuneebis sasuliero xasiaTis Semcveli nimuSebi: kiTxva-migebani, saeklesio ganmartebani, katexizmo, locvaTa krebuli. sasuliero mwerlobis garda, fondSi daculia saero literaturis nimuSebic _ `vefxistyaosani~ (1825 w. 1929 w.), astrologiuri krebuli (1874 w. 1880 w.), istoriuli Canawerebi (XIX s.), leqsTa krebuli (XIX s.), niadagisa da mcenareTa aRweriloba (XIX s). xelnawerebis garda, warmodgenilia XVII-XIX ss. nabeWdi wignebic: saxareba, kurTxevani, locvani, Jamni, triodioni. muzeumSi inaxeba XX saukunis 60-ian wlebSi martvilis RvTismSoblis saxelobis monastridan konservaciis mizniT moxsnili kedlis mxatvrobis fragmentebic, romelTac restavracia-konservacia Cautares saqarTvelos erovnuli

The archaeological hall also displays the inadvertently discovered artifacts from the Classical epoch and the Middle Ages – jewelry, clothing accessories, glassware, pottery, weapons, etc.

The museum exhibition’s 4th hall showcases numismatics, a medieval church wall painting, a collection of manuscripts, and ecclesiastical items.

The numismatic collection includes local and foreign coins of various periods. Part of it was discovered on the territory of Samegrelo, while another was donated by numismatist David Kapanadze from the collections of the Simon Janashia State Museum of Georgia. The collection’s earliest coins date back to the 5th century BC – a coin cut on the Aegina island in Greece and the local Colchian coins “tetri”. The collection holds a coin hoard (Isula, 15 pieces of hemidrachm), as well as other occasional findings of this type of coin.

The second hoard of the museum, which was discovered in the village of Inchkuri, consists of silver Arabian dirhams and one Byzantine gold coin. It dates back to the 8th-10th centuries AD and represents a set of dozens of coins cut in various mints.

The collection of manuscripts is composed mainly of 19th-20th century theological writings: questions-and-answers, religious interpretations, catechisms, collections of prayers. Besides the theological writings, the foundation also contains examples of secular literature: ‘The Knight in the Panther’s Skin’ (1825, 1929), an astrological collection (1874, 1880), historical records (19th century), a collection of poems (19th century), soil and plant descriptions (19th century). In addition to manuscripts, books printed in the 17th-19th centuries are also preserved: The gospel, the breviary, prayers, the book of hours, Triodion.

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inCxuris ganZi, 78 arabuli vercxlis dinari, erTi bizantiuri oqros solidi, ax. w. VI-IX ss INCHKHURU HOARD, 78 ARABIC SILVER DIRHEMS, ONE BYZANTINE GOLD SOLIDUS, 6TH–9TH CENTURIES AD

muzeumis TanamSromlebma saqarTvelos kulturis saministros dafinansebiT. saeklesio nivTebis koleqciaSi gamofenilia xatebis, jvrebis da liturgikuli nivTebis nimuSebi.

VI da VII darbazi eTmoba eTnografiul eqsponatebs (liTonis, xis sasoflo-sameurneo da saxelosno iaraRebi, spilenZisa da xis saojaxo nivTebi, tradiciuli samosi,

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The museum houses fragments of the wall painting from the Martvili Monastery of Virgin Mary, transferred from the monastery in the 1960s for preservation purposes. The paintings were restored and conserved by the staff of the Georgian National Museum with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of Georgia.

The collection of church items contains examples of icons, crosses, and liturgical objects.

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cxenis aRkazmuloba, WurWleuli, vercxlis qamrebisa da iaraRis koleqcia), romelebic asaxaven martvilis mxaris gviandeli Suasaukuneebisa da XX saukunis dasawyisis sxvadasxva socialuri fenis yofa-cxovrebas, rac dimitri ermakovis fotonamuSevrebiTacaa gacocxlebuli.

I sarTulze ganTavsebuli giorgi Wyondidelis saganmanaTleblo centri, romelic aRWurvilia mdidari biblioTekiT, yovelmxriv amarTlebs miseul funqcias.

Rvinis sagamofeno-sadegustacio darbazSi SesaZlebelia muzeumisave sacdel nakveTebSi moyvanili adgilobrivi vazis kolxuri jiSebisgan dayenebuli Rvinis dagemovneba. muzeumis II sarTuli eTmoba qarTveli mxatvrebis droebiT gamofenebs. martvilis mxareTmcodneobis muzeumi, dasavleT saqarTveloSi koleqciebiT erT-erTi umdidresia da safuZvlianad asrulebs am tipis dawesebulebis umTavres _ kulturul-saganmanaTleblo centris funqcias. nino sulava saqarTvelos erovnuli muzeumis mTavari kuratori istoriis mecnierebaTa doqtori foto: TaTa aRapiSvili

The 6th and 7th halls are dedicated to ethnographic exhibits (metal and wood agricultural and workshop tools, copper and wooden household items, traditional garments, horse harnesses, dishware, silver belts, and weapons collection), reflecting the lives of the different social groups in the Martvili region during the late Middle Ages and early 20th century, brought to life by Dmitri Yermakov’s photography.

The Giorgi Chqondideli Educational Center, located on the 1st floor and equipped with a rich library from different fields, perfectly justifies its purpose.

In the wine-tasting and showcase hall, it is possible to savor wine produced from Colchian species of local grapes, cultivated on the museum’s provisional plot.

The 2nd floor of the museum is dedicated to temporary exhibitions

by Georgian artists.

The Martvili Museum of Local Lore has one of the richest collections in Western Georgia and serves the main objective of a museum - that of a cultural and educational center of the region.

Nino Sulava Georgian National Museum’s Chief Curator Doctor of Historical Sciences Photography: Tata Aghapishvili

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90-ian wlebSi musikiT gaJRenTil erT patara oTaxSi movxvdi, sadac Seufereblad didi ferweruli tiloebi ekida. kedelTan ki magidaze, sabeWdi manqanis garSemo, uamravi wigni, firfita da kompaqtdiski elaga. yovelive es gafiqrebinebda, rom aq mwerali, musikosi an mxatvari cxovrobda; miTumetes, Tu im didi tiloebTan erTad, gansakuTrebuli StrixiT Sesrulebul grafikul Canaxatebsac mokravdiT Tvals. iyo sxva saxlic, sadac tradiciulad, wlebis ganmavlobaSi, didi musikaluri procesi mimdinareobda _ ori Taobis didi maestroebis xelSi qarTuli vokaluri skola iWedeboda. aq ki, Cemi didi survilis miuxedavad, verasdros movxvdi, magram am saxlisa da misi mkvidrebis Sesaxeb, pirvelxsenebuli saxlis patroni, mwerali da dramaturgi laSa buRaZe mogviTxorbs.

In the 1990s, I found myself in a small room drenched with music, where unfittingly large paintings adorned the walls. Near the latter, around the typewriter on the desk, there were numerous books, vinyls and compact discs. All this would make you think that you were in the home of an author, a musician, or a painter – especially if together with the large paintings, you noticed the particular strokes of the neighboring graphic sketches. There was also another house where traditionally, a great musical process was taking place for years – the Georgian vocal school was being established in the hands of great maestros of two generations. Despite my yearning, I didn’t get to visit that place, but the owner of the first house, writer and dramaturge Lasha Bugadze, will tell us about the second one and its inhabitants.

kulturuli sicariele...

A cultural void… pirveli Sexeba musikasTan... saxlSi, albaT, mamaCemis wyalobiT da deidaCemisac. bavSvobisdroindeli mTavari Teatraluri da musikaluri STabeWdilebebi Tojinebis Teatrs ukavSirdeba, romelic deidaCemma skamisgan Seqmna fardiT, dekoraciiTa da im TojinebiT, romlebsac keravda. pirveli `dadgmebi~ saopero speqtaklebis fragmentebi iyo, magaliTad mocartis `jadosnuri fleitidan~, romelSic me mxolod mayurebeli viyavi. ase garTobiT Semovida musika da Teatri Cems cnobierebaSi. rogorc yvela melomans, mec Cemi musikaluri miTologia maqvs. am miTologiis erT-erTi nawili isaa, Tu rogor asmeninebda ocdaerTi wlis mamaCemi Cemze fexmZimed myof oci wlis dedaCems, mocartis 23-e safortepiano koncerts. cnobili idea, rom pozitiuri impulsebisTvis orsulma mocarts unda usminos, sabWouri

Could you tell us about your first encounter with music?

It was probably at home, thanks to my father and mother. My most significant childhood memories about theater and music are related to the puppet theater that my aunt created with a chair and a curtain, some small decorations, and puppets she was crafting herself. The first “stagings” were fragments of operas, for instance Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’, in which I was only a spectator. This is how music and theater entered my consciousness, with entertainment.

Like every music lover, I have my own music mythology. One of the parts of this mythology is how my 21-year-old father was making my 20-year-old mother, who was carrying me in her womb, listen to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 23. The idea that a pregnant woman should listen to Mozart for positive impulses was also popular in the late Soviet 1970s, but it could also simply have been my father’s intuition. One could say that my fondness for classical music has followed me from the womb.

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nodar andRulaZe da gia buRaZe / NODAR ANDGHULADZE AND GIA BUGADZE

70-iani wlebis bolosac cnobili iyo, an sulac mamas intuiciam ukarnaxa. SeiZleba iTqvas, rom nayofad yofnis droidan damyva klasikuri musikis siyvaruli.

Semdeg ukve, rac CemTvis samwuxaroa, da meores mxriv SeiZleba piriqiT, raRacas gadavurCi kidec _ musika profesiulad arasdros miswavlia da yovelTvis diletanturi, magram `cocxali~ damokidebuleba mqonda. marTlac, ar maxsovs dro, roca CvenTan saxlSi musika ar JRerda. mamaCemi xatavda da Tan firsakravic wripinebda. umeteswilad es iyo klasika, Tumca mas CemsaviT gansazRvruli Janruli CarCo ara aqvs da sxvadasxva musikas usmens, gansakuTrebiT germanuls _ vagners, malers, rixard Strauss... da aseve roks. maxsovs, eqvsi-Svidi wlis asakSi Cemi mSoblebis megobris, jarji balanCivaZis saxlSi `jadosnuri fleitiT~ miRebuli udidesi STabeWdileba, mamam mas am speqtaklis foni dauxata. mere iyo `legenda qiramis da solomonis Sesaxeb~, aseve maxsovs TumaniSvilebis saswauli, cnobili Tojinebis `Teatri~ qiaCelze. Tan saxlSi xom deidaCemis skami-Teatric gvqonda, Zalian patara, magram Zalian sayvareli da originaluri. samwuxarod, dRes aRarc is saxlia da aRarc is skami, Tumca deidaCemi dResac qmnis dro da dro Tojinebs.

TviTon ar gicdia dadgma?

WavWavaZis 51-is ezoSi, avtofarexebis ukan, xeebSi, mezobel bavSvebTan erTad, arc meti, arc naklebi goeTes `fausti~ davdgi, ufro sworad davarqviT, rom goeTes `faustia~, sinamdvileSi ki es iyo Tqmulebebi faustze. me mefistofels vTamaSobdi da mecva fraki, mgoni es roli ufro am frakis xaTriT avirCie, radgan maSin diriJoroba mindoda, an pianistoba, an momRerloba. am `dadgmis~ Canaweric ki arsebobs _ vmReri Cems mogonil serenadas

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As for my later musical development, I sometimes regret it, though it also has positive aspects to it: I have never learned music professionally, and therefore, I always had a dilettantish, though “natural” approach. I don’t remember one instance when music couldn’t be heard at our home. The turntable was always squeaking when my father was painting. It was mainly classical music, but he didn’t have a determined frame of genres like myself, so he listens to various music, especially to Germans – Wagner, Mahler, Richard Strauss… and to rock.

I remember my amazement at ‘The Magic Flute’ I saw at my parents’ friend’s, Jarji Balanchivadze’s place, when I was six or seven years old; my father had painted the background for this performance.

Afterwards, there was ‘The Legend of Hiram and Solomon’; I also remember the Tumanishvilis’ wonderful and popular Puppet Theater on Kiacheli Street. And at home, we had my aunt’s chair-theater, a very small, but lovely and original one. Unfortunately, today, neither the house nor the chair exist anymore, even though my aunt still creates puppets from time to time.

Have you never tried to stage a play yourself?

In the trees of the yard on Chavchavadze Street #51, together with my neighbor kids, I staged no more, no less than ‘Faust’; to be more exact, we said that it was Goethe’s ‘Faust’, but in reality, it was

nodar andRulaZe da laSa buRaZe / NODAR ANDGHULADZE AND LASHA BUGHADZE

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greTxenisTvis. ZiriTadad gogonebi vaTamaSe da mxolod erTi biWi; sxvebs, albaT, eTakilebodaT, iseT asakSi viyaviT. Tumca, patara ezo iyo, bevri biWi arc gvyavda. vinc viyaviT, isini gaverTeT, magram mainc seriozuli raRac gamovida, gind ase Tqvi, gind ise _ `fausti~ iyo. im dros ukve kiTxulobdi? kiTxva mezareboda. TerTmeti wlisas sizarmacis periodi mqonda, ubralod xalxs Tavs ise vaCvenebdi, TiTqos vkiTxulobdi, sinamdvileSi ufro vismendi da advilad viWerdi ambebs. rasakvirvelia iyo germanuli skolis gavlenac, sadac gviyvebodnen Tqmulebebs faustze, nibelungebze da a.S. Tumca, Sen operiT daiwye... opera SemoiWra konkretuli faqtiT, principSi Zalian banaluri epizodis gavleniT. 1990 wels `karakalas TermebSi~ gamosuli sami tenoriT movinusxe _ italiaSi fexburTSi msoflio Cempionatisas luCano pavarotim, plasido domingom da xose karerasma zubin metasTan erTad gamarTes es cnobili koncerti. maxsovs CvenTan Semosuli mezoblis replika: `fexburTi mindoda da es ra daiwyo?~. ra daiwyo ki ara, es daiwyo Tu daiwyo _ gavogndi, gamovSterdi, ufro metad pavarotize. sami momRerlis yureba, CemTvis sul sxva aRmoCena, brwyinvaleba iyo _ momRerali adamiani _ rogorc individualoba, homo cantor momewona. amis Semdeg momRerloba mominda da daviwye `pavarotobanas~ TamaSi TiTebze moxveuli TeTri cxvirsaxociT. mogvianebiT, radgan karikaturebs vxatavdi, axalgazrda mxatvrebTan erTad kopenhagenSi aRmovCndi, sadac firfitebis maRaziaSi SokSi Cavvardi; iqve vnaxe sami tenoris koncertis firfitac _ pirveli, romelic cxovrebaSi viyide da Camovitane. karga xans vusmendi da axla vbrazob, sad da rogor davkarge, roca vinilis firfitebis epoqa brundeba. Semdgom, roca `agresiuli koleqcioneri~ gavxdi, mSral xidTan xalxma firfitebis gamotana daiwyo da isev da isev mama, Tuki raRac fuls momcemda, vyidulobdi. zustad maxsovs, pirvelad mocartis `ase iqceva yvela~ da misive koncerti fleitisTvis SeviZine, aseve etore bastianinis `rigoleto~. operaSi Tu dadiodi? davdiodi da ver vityvi, rom didi STabeWdilebiT vbrundebodi. 90-iani wlebidan daviwye, maincdamainc maSin, roca yvelaferi daiqca da sruli qaosi iyo. erTi saRamo gansakuTrebiT damamaxsovrda, `rigoleto~ movismine, bebiaCemTan erTad viyavi da gareT rom gamovediT, Cabnelebul rusTavelze, gviani Semodgomis foTlebi eyara da pirquSi atmosfero idga. erT TveSi Tbilisis omic daiwyo.

a composition of stories about Faust. I was playing Mephistopheles, and I was wearing a tailcoat. I think I chose that role because of the tailcoat, as at that time, I wanted to be a conductor, a pianist, or an opera singer. There’s even a video of this “staging” – I am singing a serenade of my invention to Gretchen. The actors were mainly girls, and there was only one boy apart from me. Others were probably embarrassed to act, we were in that age… Also, it was a small yard, and there weren’t many boys living there. We gathered and had a lot of fun, but it resulted in something serious – you can turn it in every way, it was still ‘Faust’.

Were you already reading at that time?

I was too lazy to read. I was very lazy when I was 11 years old, but I was presenting myself as someone who reads a lot, while in reality, I was more of a listener, and I was easily “catching” stories. Naturally, there was also the influence of my German school, where they were telling us stories about ‘Faust’, the Nibelungs, and so on.

But you started with opera…

Opera entered my life on one specific occasion, through a very banal episode, actually. In 1990, I was mesmerized by the performance of three tenors at the Baths of Caracalla in Italy, when Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras performed their famous concert with conductor Zubin Mehta for the FIFA World

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Semdeg gaicani nodar andRulaZe... diax, is iyo yvelaze didi da waruSleli STabeWdileba.

Cemi azriT, nodar andRulaZe udidesi movlenaa qarTul kulturaSi, erTgvari akademia, renesansuli figura, radgan es adamiani ar iyo mxolod momRerali, is iyo universaluri pedagogi, moazrovne, mkvlevari. vokali misi kvlevis iaraRi iyo da ara mxolod xmis, aramed zogadad adamianisac. adamians da samyaros ikvlevda vokalis teqnologiis meSveobiT. masTan urTierToba sruliad unikaluri gamocdileba aRmoCnda. Cveni gacnoba SemTxveviT moxda, mamaCemTan stumrad iyo mosuli nodaris mowafe da Svilobili guri zaqareiSvili da radgan sul vmRerodi an vbRaodi xolme, albaT maSinac raRac wavimRere; an ufro sworad, mamaCemma uTxra mgoni xma aqvs da iqneb nodars movasmeninoTo. TxuTmeti Tu Teqvsmeti wlis viqnebodi masTan rom mimiyvanes. raRac gavimRere, nodarma momismina da Tqva, rom principSi SeiZleboda tenori gavmxdariyavi. iq iseT samyaroSi aRmovCndi, romelic Zalian miyvarda _ musika, firfitebi, wignebi, Tavad nodari, romelic cocxali istoria iyo, Zalian axalgazrduli, dakvrivebuli,

nodar andRulaZe da elene Cernei, bize, karmeni NODAR ANDGHULAZE AND ELENE CHERNEI, BIZET, CARMEN

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Cup. I remember a comment by a visiting neighbor: “I wanted to see football, what’s this?”. To me “this” was something special – I was hypnotized, especially by Pavarotti. Looking at three singers was a brilliant discovery for me – I became fond of the singing human – homo cantor. After that, I wanted to start singing, so I started “playing Pavarotti”, with a white handkerchief around my fingers. Later, when I was drawing caricatures, I got to travel to Copenhagen, where I was flabbergasted in a vinyl shop: there was the vinyl of the three tenors’ concert – the first one that I bought in my life. I brought it home and listened to it for quite a while, and now that the vinyl is becoming popular again, I am very angry at myself for losing it. Afterwards, when I became an “aggressive collector”, people started bringing vinyls on the Dry Bridge, and when my father gave me money, I would always go and buy some. I remember very well that the first ones I bought there were Mozart’s ‘Così fan tutte’ and his Flute Concerto, as well as Ettore Bastianini’s ‘Rigoletto’.

Did you go to the Opera?

I couldn’t say that when I was going there, I was returning home with great impressions. I started going to the Opera in the 1990s, when everything was crumbling down and there was complete chaos. One evening particularly stuck to my memory – I saw ‘Rigoletto’ together with my grandmother, and when we got outside, on the darkened Rustaveli Avenue, there were autumn leaves on the ground, and a grim atmosphere. One month later, a civil war erupted in Tbilisi.

Then you met Nodar Andghuladze…

Yes, and he had a great and everlasting influence on me. In my opinion, Nodar Andghuladze is a great figure of Georgian culture, he is a whole academy all by himself, a renaissance man, as he was not only a singer, but a universal teacher, a thinker, and a researcher.

Vocals were his research tool, not only to study people’s voices, but also humans themselves. He was studying humans and the world through vocal technique.

Interacting with him turned out to be a unique experience. Our encounter took place by coincidence; Nodar’s student and stepson Guri Zakareishvili was visiting my father, and because I was always singing and bleating around, I guess I must have sung something then too; my father told him that he thought I had a good voice, and asked if we could make Nodar listen to my singing. I was about 15 or 16 years old when they brought me to him. I sang something, Nodar listened, and he said that I could, in principle, become a tenor.

I found myself in a world that I loved – music, vinyls, books, Nodar himself, who was a living legend – a very youthful, attentive, smart, and warm person full of humor. He gave me a few lessons, and to be honest, I don’t even remember when I switched from the position of a singing student to that of a listener and friend. At some point, I stopped singing – I understood that I really loved singing, but that I was not good at studying; I didn’t feel like it, I preferred reading books or listening to this or that story when I was there. It seems that I didn’t

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Wkviani, iumoriT aRsavse da Tbili. ramdenime gakveTilic Camitara da gulwrfelad rom vTqva, arc maxsovs rodis gadavinacvle momRerali mowafis statusidan msmenelmegobari mowafis mdgomareobaSi. raRac momentidan simRera Sevwyvite _ mivxvdi, rom realurad Zalian ki miyvarda simRera, magram mecadineoba ar gamomdioda, ar mominda, iq ufro wignebis Tvaliereba mainteresebda an sxvadasxva ambebis mosmena. rogorc Cans, mainc ar vfiqrobdi rom momRerloba Cemi profesia unda yofiliyo, ufro reJisura mainteresebda da raRaceebs ukve vwerdi kidec. amas nodaric mixvda. axla ar vici, zogjer vnanob, SeiZleba vokalizebiT varjiSi, anu rutina damezara, an sakmarisad ver gaverTe, an sulac SeiZleba zogierTi momRerali mebanalura da ar mominda aseTi gamovsuliyavi. maSin xom pirvelad Sevxvdi realur momRerlebs, romlebic Cems mier warmosaxulebs ar hgavdnen. sul sxva iyo nodar andRulaZe, ufro meti vidre momRerali. did momRerlebs Sorisac iSviaTad SeiZleba Segvxvdes iseTi inteleqtuali, romelsac Tavadac esmis da Tavisive simReriT gixsnis musikas. momRerlis inteleqti xmaSi unda Candes da nodaric yovelTvis swored amas eZebda. masTan saxlSi vikribebodiT, Cemnairi melomanisTvis es didi saCuqari iyo _ uSuqod gvcioda, qurTukebSi da kaSneebSi viyaviT SefuTnulebi, magram ucnaurad cocxali SemoqmedebiT process veswrebodi. maxsovs lado aTaneli rogor amzadebda `toskas~, rogor amuSavebdnen skarpias partias sanTlis Suqze. mec Sevexe amas da xeldasxmuliviT vuyurebdi rogor ibadeboda gmiri, Tan karg momReralTan _ lado, romelic maSin genialur formaSi iyo. es yovelive CemTvis mxatvruli TvalsazrisiTac aRmoCnda saintereso da nodaric aqcents swored mxatvrul elementze akeTebda, yovel SemTxvevaSi, me es mesmoda _ vokaluri teqnologiebis TvalsazrisiT bevri ram CemTvis ucxo iyo. magram mivxvdi, rogor iqmneba personaJi, ra aris xma, intonacia, sad rogori feri unda gamoCndes masSi, iqneba es skarpia Tu filipe `don karlosSi~, ar vici, romeli erTi CamovTvalo. garda amisa iyo koncertebi, romlebsac veswrebodiT. amas Zalian didi azarti sdevda da kargi xmebi ismoda. ar maxsovs maSin operaSi rame gansakuTrebiT saintereso momesminos. saerTodac, sul megona, rom verasodes movusmendi scenaze cocxlad xmas, romelzec ar iZabebi da cudad ar xdebi, an Tundac orkestrs, romelic ar gtanjavs. is, rac maSin xdeboda, mZime STabeWdilebas tovebda, Tu vinme konkretuli kargi momRerali ar mReroda. nodaris wris Sesaxeb? aucileblad unda vaxseno gogi niJaraZe, romelic nodaris irgvliv Semokrebili melomanebis erTgvari

nodar andRulaZe da irina arxipova, bize, karmeni NODAR ANDGHULAZE AND IRINA ARKHIPOVA, BIZET, CARMEN

think that singing could have become my profession, I was more interested in becoming a director, and I was already writing some things. Right now, I don’t know, sometimes I regret it, perhaps I was too lazy for the routine of training in vocalises, or I wasn’t entertained enough, or maybe I considered some singers to be too ordinary, and I didn’t want to become like them. You know, it was the first time that I met with real singers, and they didn’t look like I had imagined them. Nodar Andghuladze was completely different, he was much more than a singer. Even among great singers, it is rare to find such an intellectual, who understands and can explain music to you with his own singing. Singers’ intellect should be perceivable in their voice, and Nodar was always trying to achieve this.

We used to gather in his house, which was a real treat for a music lover like me – we didn’t have electricity and it was cold, so we were wrapped in coats and scarfs, but I was witnessing a wonderful, live creative process. I remember how Lado Ataneli was preparing ‘Tosca’, how they were arranging Scarpia’s part by the candlelight. I was also taking part in the process, and was watching, captivated, how a role was being created – and by a great singer, Lado, who was in perfect shape at that time. This turned out to be very interesting for me also from an artistic point of view, as Nodar was underlining artistic aspects – I could at least understand that; many things regarding vocal technique were new to me, but I understood how a character was created, what is voice, intonation, which color should appear where and how in the latter, be it for Scarpia or Philippe II in ‘Don Carlos’, or any other role.

Apart from that, we attended some concerts. We were very excited about this, and we listened to some good voices. I don’t remember listening to anything particularly interesting at the Opera back then.

And I thought that I would never be able to listen to a live voice on stage without getting tense and feeling unwell, or even to an orchestra that didn’t strain me. Except for when specific good singers

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were performing, what was happening in the field of opera at that time was quite irritating.

klubis erTmniSvnelovani lideri da Zalian mimzidveli pirovneba iyo. maTematikosi, klasikuri musikis, operisa da maria kalasis didi moyvaruli. CemTvis dauviwyaria nodarisa da gogis erToblivi musikaluri leqciebi, magaliTad kalasze; gogis mohqonda Canawerebi, mas firfitebis da diskebis didi koleqcia hqonda da vusmendiT, pauzebisas gviyveboda ambavs, nodari ki gvixsnida simReras teqnologiuri TvalsazrisiT. SeiZleboda nodars iqve mcire masterklasic Caetarebina Tavis studentTan erTad, raTa vokalis teqnologia TvalsaCino gamxdariyo diletantisTvis. mas hqonda sruliad unikaluri leqcia karuzos karikaturuli avtoportretebis mixedviT karuzosave simReris teqnikis Sesaxeb. am Sexvedrebs Soris iyo naklebad salonuri yofiTi Sexvedrebic. magaliTad, yvelieri gogi niJaraZesTan _ iSleboda mSvenieri msuye sufra narCevi melomanebisTvis da hedonistebisTvis, msunagi xalxisTvis. sadac italiuri operaa, iq samzareulocaa. vTqvaT kalasis dabadebis dRes, vusmendiT mas da mSvenier yveleuls mivirTmevdiT. qalbatoni mediko, gogis meuRle, unikalur xaWapurebs

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Can you tell us more about Nodar’s circle?

I definitely need to mention Gogi Nizharadze, who was the undeniable leader of the sort of club of “select” music lovers that used to gather around Nodar; he was an utterly charming person. He was a mathematician fond of classical music, opera, and Maria Callas. I will never forget Nodar and Gogi’s joint music lessons, for instance about Callas; Gogi, who had a large collection of vinyls and discs, would bring recordings, and we would listen to them. During pauses, he would tell us stories, while Nodar was explaining her singing from a technical point of view. Nodar would sometimes incorporate a small masterclass with one of his students, for the vocal technique to become clearer for amateurs. He also held a unique lesson about the technique used by Caruso according to the tenor’s caricatural self-portraits.

Among these meetings, there were also some of a less “salon” essence. For instance, during the “Butter Week” (the last week before the Great Fast), a wonderful table was laid at Gogi Nizharadze’s house for glutton music lovers and hedonists. Where there is Italian opera, there is also good cuisine. For instance, on the birthday of Maria Callas, we were listening to her and enjoying delicious dishes. Mrs. Mediko, Gogi’s wife, was baking the best khachapuris (cheese-filled bread) for us, but Mr. Gogi would wink at us, joking that his mother baked even better ones. Back then, there would be electricity cuts from time to time; the generator rumbled, and our host got angry, because it was messing up his music listening schedule. His writing desk was also noteworthy, and always displayed several new discs.

The era of discs passed in Georgia without a disc shop being opened.

We were exchanging them between us, but I didn’t have many at that time; Gogi and Nodar would sometimes hand discs to me as presents, and I would go home in a cheerful mood. Sometimes, I would go through Gogi’s disks with such excitement, that I would completely forget about everything around me. What I want to say with all this is that our subjects of attention were not connected with the reality at hand around us; but we thought of them as very topical, even though it could have been related to the 1850s, for instance to Verdi or Giuseppina Strepponi – as if these stories were happening during our time. Naturally, Gogi and Nodar weren’t interesting to everybody, and to be honest, many people weren’t interested at all in such details of music culture. Some simply had a good voice, and their fate changed because of it. Some of them shocked me, for instance when between lessons, I would see a singer listen to Presnyakov – a singer preparing Philippe II’s part was actually fond of Russian pop music. There, I understood that he would, himself, most probably also become a “Presnyakov” in the future.

Was this “select” audience a large one?

No, it was quite small. Some were not even musicians, but all were music lovers; or a student chosen bu Nodar who had decided not to sing anymore, but who was still fascinated with Nodar Andghuladze

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gvicxobda, magram batoni gogi Tvals Cagvikravda da gvetyoda, dedaCems mainc ukeTesi gamosdiso; am dros, xandaxan Suqi qreboda, generatori gruxunebda, maspinZeli brazobda, imitom rom reJimidan vardeboda (mas musikis mosmenis garkveuli ganrigi hqonda). mimzidveli iyo misi saweri magidac, romelzec yovelTvis ido ramdenime axali diski. CvenTan xom ise gaiara diskebis epoqam, rom maRaziac ki ar gaxsnila. vcvlidiT xolme, Tumca maSin bevri araferi mqonda; gogis da nodars uCuqebiaT kidec da saxlSi bednieri davbrunebulvar. xandaxan ise viqeqebodi gogis diskebSi, rom zrdilobis farglebi maviwydeboda. mokled, imis Tqma minda, rom Cveni Temebi arsebul realobasTan ar iyo dakavSirebuli; Tumca Cven isini Zalian aqtualurad migvaCnda, miuxedavad imisa, rom SeiZleba me-19 saukunis 50-ian wlebTan dakavSirebuli yofiliyo yovelgvari poziorobis gareSe, magaliTad verdisTan an juzepina streponisTan, TiTqos es ambebi Cven dros xdeboda. cxadia, gogi da nodari yvelasTvis ar saubrobdnen, gulwrfelad rom vTqva, bevrs arc ainteresebda musikaluri kulturis aseTi detalebi da siRrme. ubralod, adamians aRmoaCndeboda xma da bedi ecvleboda. zogierTi maTgani SokSic magdebda, roca arc meti arc naklebi, vokalis gakveTilebs Soris magnitofonSi vinme presniakovs usmenda _ momRerali, romelic filipes partias amuSavebda, Turme, sinamdvileSi, rusul estradas etrfoda. maSin mivxvdi, rom `presniakovi~ sadRac momavalSi aucileblad vlindeba. didi iyo es rCeuli auditoria? sakmaod mcirericxovani. iyvnen iseTebi, vinc SeiZleba musikosi arc yofiliyo, Tumca melomani; an nodaris intuiciuri mowafe, romelic aRar apirebda simReras, magram nodar andRulaZis figura da aura, misTvis

nodar andRulaZe da lela oCiauri / NODAR ANDGHULADZE AND LELA OCHIAURI

nodar andRulaZe da gogi niJaraZe / NODAR ANDGHULADZE AND GOGI NIZHARADZE

and his aura. We were people gathered by their love of classical music, and we listened to records and watched videos together – I remember that Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s staging of Rossini’s ‘Cinderella’ had a great impact on me. It wasn’t – and actually couldn’t have been – a large circle, because Nodar was very cautious when sharing his knowledge, and he was verifying the degree of depth to which you could understand it. But I still had the impression that he was always alone – with his numerous books and recordings. You could find bookmarks in each of the books of his rich library, as well as notes made on papers and on the pages themselves; not many could follow him and discuss Nietzsche, Schopenhauer or Heidegger with him… I myself was young, so I didn’t have that much to talk about, and I was sensing that he was a very deep, open-minded man. But there were also cases when we had interesting dialogues.

Did he tell you about his studies in Italy?

It was a very important stage of his life. He would often mention his experience at ‘La Scala’. The 1960s were the golden age of this theater. Nodar would often remember the premiere of Meyerbeer’s ‘Les Huguenots’ with Franco Corelli, Giulietta Simionato, and Nicolai Ghiaurov. After a triumphant opera performance, Italian flags were flying in the hall.

But Gianni Raimondi’s voice and technique turned out to be his best match, and therefore, he chose Gennaro Barra as a tutor.

Moreover, he thought that in this way, he would follow the footsteps of his father Davit Andghuladze… It was the period when he was establishing his own style, and he believed that he was the one who had to continue his father’s tradition in order to transmit this great knowledge and experience to his students. And he probably succeeded in that. His approach – which gradually became a hybrid of the methodologies used by Davit and those of the Italian school – was that both methodologies had the same origins, were telling the same story, and were following the same principles. Davit was also coming from the Italian school, and that’s precisely the reason why Nodar got interested by Gennaro Barra, who was a student of

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mimzidvelobas ar kargavda. klasikuri musikis siyvaruliT gaerTianebuli adamianebi erTad vusmendiT da vuyurebdiT vidoeCanawerebsac _ maxsovs, erT-erTi didi STabeWdileba Jan pier ponelis dadgmulma rosinis `konkiam~ moaxdina. principSi es ar iyo da verc iqneboda didi wre, imitom rom nodari Zalian frTxilad giziarebda codnas da gamowmebda ramdenad Rrmad SegeZlo yovelives gaazreba. magram meCveneboda rom is mainc sul marto iyo _ Tavis wignebTan da uamrav CanawerebTan erTad. misi umdidresi biblioTekis yovel wignSi poulobdi saniSnes, Cadebul furcels, minawers; da bevri ver mihyveboda da esaubreboda mas nicSeze, Sopenhauerze an haidegerze... mec patara viyavi da raze unda melaparaka, Tan aSkarad vxvdebodi rom es kaci Zalian Rrma, farToa. magram yofila SemTxvevebi, rodesac Cven Soris saintereso dialogic gamarTula. giyvebodaT italiaSi swavlis periodze? es Zalian mniSvnelovani etapi iyo mis cxovrebaSi. xSirad ubrundeboda `la skalaSi~ staJirebis periods.

XX saukunis 60-iani wlebi am TeatrisTvis `oqros xanaa~. nodari xSirad ixsenebda meierberis `hugenotebis~ premieras franko korelis, julieta simionatos da nikolai giaurovis monawileobiT. triumfaluri speqtaklis Semdeg darbazSi italiis droSebi afrialebula. magram, misTvis yvelaze axlos jani raimondis xma da teqnika aRmoCnda da amitom pedagogad misi maswavlebeli jenaro bara arCia. amasTanave, hqonda gancda da Tvlida rom mamis, daviT andRulaZis gzas agrZelebda... es miseuli skolis Camoyalibebis periodi iyo da Tvlida, rom mamiseuli tradicia axla mas unda ganegrZo da es udidesi codna da gamocdileba mis mowafeebs gadascemodaT. albaT, garkveuli formiT gadaecaT kidec. misi skolac _ daviTis da Semdeg italiuri skolis erTgvari hibridi aRmoCnda _ ambobda, rom es erTi sawyisi, erTi ambavi, erTi xazia; daviTic italiuri skolidan modioda da nodaric swored imitom daainteresa jenaro baram, romelic neapoluri belkantos udidesi warmomadgenlis, fernando de luCias mowafe iyo... da maT Soris msgavseba dainaxa vokaluri teqnikis da SeiZleba iTqvas, raRac kuxTiT, tembraluri TvalsazrisiTac. Tavisi Taobis tenorebSi vin moswonda? alfredo krausi da swored sami tenoris koncertze, romelic vaxsene da romelmac momnusxa, krausis kritikas da sibrazes, ironiiT, magram eTanxmeboda. krausi Tvlida rom igi erTaderTi Tu ara, erT-erTi saukeTeso iyo. magram nodari afasebda pavarotis da domingosac. rogorc zogadad miiCneoda, isic fiqrobda rom pavarotis yvelaferi hqonda lamazi xmis garda. es CemTvis didi aRmoCena iyo. aseTi frazac maxsovs, ara nodarisgan,

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Fernando De Lucia, a great figure of Neapolitan bel canto… He saw similarities between their vocal techniques, and to some degree, in their voice timbre.

Whom did he like among the tenors of his generation?

Alfredo Kraus, and he was even agreeing, to some extent and with some irony, to the criticism of Kraus towards the concert of the three tenors I previously mentioned. Kraus believed that he was either the best, or one of the best. But Nodar was also paying tribute to Pavarotti and Domingo. He agreed to the general opinion that Pavarotti had everything except for a beautiful voice. This was a real discovery for me. I even remember that I once heard the following words, not from Nodar, though, as he wasn’t characterized by radical assessments, but from someone who was listening to Nodar: “It’s such a shame, he sings so well; if only Pavarotti too had a beautiful voice like that.”

About Domingo, he would say that tenors with such orderly vocals and such awareness of songs were very rare. It goes without saying that Nodar would only evaluate live performances. We took great pleasure in listening to his reviews, for instance about Giuseppe Di Stefano’s problems. Naturally, his “models” were Caruso, Kraus, and Raimondi – and the latter had already become part of his own vocal development.

Did he talk about his own singing?

He would talk about his decision to move from linguistics to vocals – he didn’t want to at first, but his natural abilities and the environment “forced” him to become a singer. This was probably his interpretation that his father’s work as a thinker, and not only as a singer, should also have been continued. You could feel that Nodar didn’t want the Georgian tradition of Italian bel canto, whose preserver was his father, who himself transmitted it to Nodar, to end with Davit Andghuladze. Despite the fact that he also considered Arnold Chikobava to be his intellectual father, the continuation of this vocal tradition turned out more important – perhaps his father also encouraged him to choose this path. He was always underlining the concept of continuation, be it when his stepson Guri would help him up the stairs in his old days just like he himself used to help his father.

He would sometimes say: “Now, I am like my father, and Guri puts his hand on my back to help me walk up the stairs.” And apart from these details, he referred to elements of global importance concerning the perpetuity of tradition. He had a great sense of humor and valued humor in general, he was self-deprecatory and very aware of human foolishness. The lack of sense found in singers couldn’t surprise him anymore, but he was still observing this or that “wisdom” of theirs with a watchful eye. In general, this is a field in which talent intersects with some kind of infantilism or childishness, and therefore with some stupidity, which made Nodar see singers as children; sometimes, this was so obvious that he had to teach them elementary things, even, for instance, how to use a fork and a knife. He also liked how I used to draw caricatures of singers and of all kinds of people who were visiting him. Guri has so many of these caricatures that he is even thinking of publishing them in an album.

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radgan mas radikaluri Sefasebebi ar sCveoda, magram im adamianisigan, vinc nodars usmenda: ra samwuxaroa, ra kargad mReris da neta pavarotisac lamazi xma hqonodao. domingoze ambobda, rom aseTi mwyobri vokalis mqone tenori da simReris aseTi gaazreba, Zalian iSviaTiao. nodari Sefasebebs, cxadia, mxolod cocxal Sesrulebaze akeTebda da yovelTvis am Sesrulebis mixedviT msjelobda. erTi siamovneba iyo misi Sefasebebis mosmena, magaliTad, juzepe di stefanos problemebis Sesaxeb. misi `modeli~ cxadia karuzo iyo, krausi da raimondi _ romelic ukve misi vokaluri bedis nawili gamxdariyo. sakuTar simReraze Tu saubrobda? saubrobda im gadawyvetilebaze, ratom gadavida enaTmecnierebidan vokalze _ ar undoda, magram bunebrivma monacemebma da garemom `aiZula~ momRerali gamxdariyo. es albaT ufro imis gaazreba iyo, rom mamis saqme gagrZelebuliyo, ara rogorc momRerlis, aramed rogorc moazrovnis. igrZnoboda, rom nodars ar undoda daviT andRulaZesTan erTad dasrulebuliyo tendenicia italiur belkantos qarTuli tradicisaa, romlis faqtobrivi Semnaxveli, mcveli iyo daviTi da romelic misgan nodarma gadmoibara. miuxedavad imisa, rom arnold Ciqobavas aseve Tavis inteleqtualur mamad miiCnevda, vokaluri tradiciis uwyvetoba ufro mniSvnelovani aRmoCnda, SesaZloa mamamac ubiZga. yovelTvis esmeboda xazi mamis modelis ara gameorebas, aramed replikas, Tundac imas, Tu rogor ahyavda kibeze ukve xandazmulobaSi guris ise, rogorc mas Tavad ahyavda mama. ambobda xolme, axla me var mamaCemiviT da guri madebs xels zurgze, rom damexmaros kibeze asvlaSi. aseTi detalebiT dawyebuli, dasrulebuli Zalian globalur-mniSvnelovani elementebiT tradiciis uwyvetobis Sesaxeb. iumori hqonda da afasebda iumors, TviTironiuli iyo da kargi damkvirvebeli adamianuri sisuleleebis. momRerlebis sisuleleebi aRar akvirvebda, magram jerac akvirdeboda maT ama Tu im `sibrZneebs~, rogor aRiqvamdnen movlenebs. saerTod, es aris samyaro, sadac niWiereba gadakveTilia raRacnair infantilurobasTan, bavSvurobasTan da amdenad garkveul sisulelebTanac da nodarisTvis momRerlebi iyvnen bavSvebi da es zogjer imdenad aSkara iyo, rom ubralod elementaruli raRaceebis swavlebac uxdeboda, dana-Canglis xmarebis donezec ki. mowonda isic, rogor vxatavdi xolme momRerlebis da masTan mimsvlel-momsvleli aTasnairi adamianis karikaturas, romelic guris imdeni daugrovda, rom maT albomad gamocemasac ki fiqrobs.

Was he in a constant learning process?

He was always reading, quoting, writing; he was always reexamining his inner intellectual processes. He was analyzing the critique of contemporary music, and he was especially fond of Italian critic Rodolfo Celletti and his radical views; he also liked and would smile at Giacomo Lauri-Volpi’s book ‘Parallel Voices’, because he knew the psychology of singers very well himself. I remember the opinions he shared with us when we asked him about Rubini or Duprez, for whom Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti had written astonishing parts.

What about his German repertoire?

I remember how he was working with Lado Ataneli on Schubert’s ‘Erlkönig’, how he was developing his pronunciation. Nodar spoke German and had sung ‘Lohengrin’, as well as Herodes’ part in Richard Strauss’s ‘Salome’.

Was he critical towards his students?

He was very diligent, soft, and would never raise his voice. If he noticed a problem, he would continue no matter how tired he was – he

mudmivad Semecnebis procesSi iyo? sul kiTxulobda, citirebda, werda, mudmivad iyo lado aTaneli da nodar andRulaZe / LADO ATANELI AND NODAR ANDGHULADZE

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inteleqtualuri procesis Sinagan gadasinjvaSi. akvirdeboda Tanadroul musikalur kritikas, gansakuTrebiT uyvarda italieli kritikosi, rodolfo Celeti da miseuli radikaluri azrebi; Zalian moswonda da Rimils gvrida jakomo lauri-volpis wigni `paraleluri xmebi~ _ Tavadac xom kargad icnobda momRerlis fsqologias. maxsovs formulebi, romlebsac nodari gvawvdida, roca vekiTxebodiT rubinize an diupreze, romlebisTvisac rosini, belini da doniceti unikalur partiebs werdnen. germanuli repertuari? maxsovs, rogor muSaobda is lado aTanelTan Subertis `tyis mefeze~, rogor umuSavebda gamoTqmas. nodari germanulad saubrobda da loengrini hqonda namReri, aseve herode _ rixard Strausis `salomeSi~. kritikuli iyo mowafeebis mimarT? Zalian saqmiani, rbili, xmadabali. Tu problemas xedavda uzomod daRlilic ki agrZelebda muSaobas _ aCvenebda yvela xmas, banebTan mReroda banis partiebs, Semdeg iwyebda sopranoebTan da a.S. isedac `non-stop~ reJimi hqonda, imitom rom misi saxli mudam savse iyo megobrebiT, studentebiT, TayvanismcemlebiT da amitomac vuwode `akademia~. Tavis mdidar xmas rom amouSvebda, vxvdebodiT ra undoda, iseTi damajerebeli fraza hqonda. nodarma icoda afeTqebac, Tumca me amas ar Sevswrebivar da ar mgonia es profesiul procesTan yofiliyo dakavSirebuli. me, rogorc diletanti, ver vityvi ra aris vokaluri skola, magram erTi ram vici _ bevri kargi momRerali gvyavs da maTi umetesoba nodaris mowafe iyo, an misi namowafrebis mowafe. es erTgvari kultura iyo, ar vici amas skola qvia Tu ra. vinc es `akademia~ gaiara, bevri ram daitova, bevri ram moagrova...

would perform every voice, sing the bass parts with the bass singers, then sing with the sopranos, and so on. He always had a non-stop regime, because his house was always full of his friends, students, and admirers – which is why I dubbed it the “Academy”. Because he had such a convincing vocalization, we always understood right away what he wanted to achieve when he was singing to teach something.

Nodar could also be explosive sometimes, but I never experienced this myself, and I don’t think that it was related to the working process. As an amateur, I cannot really say what a vocal school is, but I know one thing – we have many good singers, and most of them were Nodar’s students, or students of the latter. It was a kind of culture, I don’t know if we can call it a school. The people who attended this “Academy” have learned and accumulated many good things…

Was he reading your texts?

He was, and he provided me with great support concerning a peculiar scandal that took place about one of my works in the 2000s – he got irritated with the absurdity of the situation. He was completely free of any “Homo Sovieticus” complex, and was European in every understanding of this word.

He also gave me some good pieces of advice about these events: I remember that for some reason, I was always using the term “symbol” when talking about my work, and he told me that instead, I should use “allegory” when referring to a specific metaphor. From his generation, Nodar and Mikheil Kvlividze were the only ones who took my defense at that time…

Sens teqstebs kiTxulobda? kiTxulobda da Cems erT moTxrobasTan dakavSirebuli ucnauri skandalis dros 2000-ian wlebSi, Zalian mgulSematkivrobda, brazobda am absurdze. is abosluturad Tavisufali iyo `homo sovetikusis~ kompleqsebisgan da yvelanairi gagebiT evropeli iyo. im ambebTan dakavSirebiT konkretul rCevebsac maZlevda: maxsovs, ratomRac im moTxrobaze saubrisas termini `simbolo” avikviate; miTxra, rom sjobda gamomeyenebina `alegoria~, rodesac rame konkretul metaforaze vsaubrobdi. am Taobidan nodarTan erTad gverdSi mxolod mixeil qvliviZe damidga... axla? axla, raRac sevda damrCa, raRac dasrulda. nodaris gardacvalebis Semdeg didi kulturuli sicariele

zaza zaaliSvili, nodar andRulaZe da nugzar gamgebeli ZAZA ZAALISHVILI, NODAR ANDGHULADZE AND NUGZAR GAMGEBELI

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gaCnda. Cems Tavsac Zalian vsayvedurob, rom bolo wlebSi, obieqtur mizezTa gamo, sxva interesebi gamiCnda da mis samyaros movwydi, masTan veRar vatarebdi imden dros da bevri saintereso ram gamovtove. musikis is erTguleba, `daxvewili fanatizmi~ operis mimarT da mudmivi wyurvili maRali xarisxis, esTetikis da kulturisa, romlis `ordenis” mcvelic yovelgvari gadaWarbebis gareSe iyo nodari, aRar arsebobs. yovel SemTxvevaSi, me aRar Semxvedria vinme misi msgavsi. mudmivi SemoqmedebiTi aqtualobis gancdis procesSi, am adamianis goneba arasdros gaCerebula da dRes es maklia. ar minda viwuwuno, magram imas, rasac veZebT magaliTad me da Sen, rogorc operis moyvarulebi, ver vpoulobT... da vpoulobT umeteswilad glamurul kitCs cocxali elementebis nacvlad. nodaris SemTxvevaSi ki yvelaferi cocxali iyo, Zalian cocxali...

And now?

Now, I have some sorrow, something significant ended with him.

After Nodar left our world, a great cultural void appeared. I am also reproaching myself that in his last years, because of objective reasons, I had other interests and broke up with his world, that I couldn’t spend much time with him anymore, and I missed many important things.

The loyalty to music, the “refined fanaticism” for opera and the constant thirst for high quality, aesthetics and culture, of which, without any exaggeration, Nodar was the “Order’s” guarantor, doesn’t exist anymore.

In any case, I have never met someone like him, someone who was in a constant process of creation, whose mind never stops its labor – and today, I miss this. I don’t want to whine, but what we are looking for, for instance you and me, as lovers of opera, we cannot find it anymore… and we mainly find glamour kitsch instead of genuine, lively elements.

With Nodar, everything was full of life…

esaubra Salva cxovrebaZe statiaSi gamoyenebulia laSa buRaZis karikaturebi

Interview by shalva tskhovrebadze Caricatures by Lasha Bugadze

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rogor vesaubroT bavSvebs (ra SeiZleba akavSirebdes erTmaneTTan arCil sulkaurs da klimatis cvlilebas) `WeSmaritad geubnebiT Tqven: Tu ar moiqceviT da ar iqnebiT, rogorc bavSvebi, ver SexvalT caTa sasufevelSi. amrigad, vinc daimdablebs Tavs, rogorc es bavSvi, is aris udidesi caTa sasufevelSi~ maTe 18: 3-4. ***

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cota xnis win, sabavSvo literaturaze saubrisas, erTerTma megobarma, dasva SekiTxva, imis Sesaxeb, Tu raze SeiZleba velaparakoT bavSvebs. kamaTSi bevrni CaverTeT da Sesabamisad, pasuxebic mravalgvari gamovida. erTi gasaocari rame aRmovaCineT _ Turme, lamis ar arsebobs Tema, romlis Sesaxebac maT ver daelaparakebi. Tanac, im daskvnamdec mivediT, rom imavdroulad mSobels, an saerTod ufross, valdebulebac ki aqvs, rom mozardis cnobierebaSi, ama Tu im saWirboroto, saCoTiro, uxerxul, mZime da sxva rTul sakiTxebSi naTeli Seitanos _ megobroba, siyvaruli, erTguleba, Ralati, politika, ekonomika, fizika, qimia, ekologia, seqsi, TavSekaveba, boroteba, sikeTe, adamianis uflebebi _ es is sferoebia, romelTa Sesaxebac azrovnebas adamiani bavSobidan iwyebs (ra Tqma unda, TandaTanobiT, Tanac ise, rom yvela am Temas gansxvavebul asakSi da asakisTvis Sesabamisi, ganmartebis forma da gasaRebi unda moeZebnos) da Tuki maTTvis Tvalis gasworeba zrdasrul asakSi gardauvalia, maS am sakiTxebis codnis safuZvelic adreuli asakidan unda Semzaddes.. sabolood, msjelobam mimarTuleba icvala da aRmovaCineT, rom Tavad kiTxva iyo arasworad dasmuli: is ki ar unda gagverkvia, raze SeiZleba vesaubroT bavSvebs (nebismier Temaze SegviZlia da unda vesaubroT), aramed rogor unda vesaubroT maT?! radgan adamianis pirovnuli Camoyalibebis procesSi, yvelaferze gviwevs saubari da msjeloba, bavSvTan urTierTobisas unda movZebnoT ena, romlis saSualebiTac maTTan rTuli Temebis Sesaxeb, advilad da rac mTavaria, gasagebad SevZlebT saubars. marTlac sxva ra aris bavSvis aRzrda, Tu ara misi zrdasrulobisTvis momzadeba? amgvarad, mivdivarT banaluri WeSmaritebisken _ rogor aRzrdas, ganaTlebas da Tvalsawiersac miscem adamians bavSvobaSi, iseTi iqneba zrdasrulobaSic. xelovneba, Cvens konkretul SemTxvevaSi _ sabavSvo literatura, is dargia, romelsac yvelaze kargad SeuZlia aRmzrdelobiTi funqcia Seasrulos – is am saqmes, warmosaxvis unaris ganviTarebis xarjze axerxebs. fantaziis ganviTarebiT, Tan amave dros garTobiT, bavSvebs momavali cxovrebis sirTuleebisTvis amzadebs; iseTi raRacis gagebas aswavlis, rac verc mkacri gafrTxilebiT, verc akrZalviT

How to talk to children (what could be the link between Archil Sulakauri and climate change) “And he said: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:3-4 Recently, while we were discussing children’s literature, a friend of mine raised the question of the subjects about which one can talk to children. Many joined the debate, and as a result, all sorts of answers were provided. We discovered one wonderful thing – it turned out that there is almost no subject you cannot discuss with children. We also arrived to the conclusion that parents, or grown-ups in general, even have the obligation to clarify this or that pressing, awkward, embarrassing, heavy or other difficult themes in the minds of teenagers – friendship, love, faithfulness, treason, politics, economy, physics, chemistry, ecology, sex, restrain, evil, kindness, human rights. These are subjects people start thinking about from childhood (of course, gradually, and in a way that makes it necessary to find various forms of explanation that are suitable for various ages), and if in adulthood, they will inevitably have to come to terms with these aspects, then fundamental knowledge about the latter should be prepared from a young age. In the end, the discussion changed its course, and we discovered that the question itself was flawed: we shouldn’t have debated about the subjects we can talk about with children (we can and should talk with them about any subject), but rather about how to talk to them about pressing subjects.

Because during the formation of an individual self, we have to discuss and reason about everything, when dealing with children, we have to find a language that will allow us to discuss difficult subjects in a simple, and most imporantly, understandable way. Indeed, what is the education of a child, if not preparing them for adulthood?

This leads us to a commonplace truth – adults are the result of the upbringing, education, and open-mindedness they were provided in their childhood. Art, and in this specific case children’s literature, is the field that can best carry out this educational function, as it manages to achieve this through developing the faculty of imagination. By developing imagination, and at the same time, entertaining children,

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da verc SegonebiT iswavleba. es bavSvis yvelaze saintereso da sanukvar nawils ukavSirdeba _ romelsac Cven fantaziis, warmosaxvis unars vuwodebT da maTi gavliT SesaZlebels xdis fundamenturi sakiTxebis gagebas.

2018 wels, msoflio Zalian saintereso movlenis momswre gaxda: nobelis mSvidobis premiaze waradgines Svedi gogona, greta tunbergi, romelic mxolod Teqvsmeti wlis iyo. gretaს damsaxureba ki is gaxldaT, rom man msoflio klimatis cvlilebis problemis winaaRmdeg gailaSqra. aRsaniSnavia, rom mis amgvar aqtiurobas, msoflios e.w. ganviTarebul qveyanebSi, bavSTa gamosvlebi mohyva, romlebic am sakiTxTan dakavSirebiT, politikosTa mozomili gancxadebebisgan gansxvavebiT, bavSvuri alalmarTlobiT da uangaro damokidebulebiT gamoirCeoda. bavSvebi problemis myisier gadawyvetas iTxovdnen _ maTTvis ubralod gaugebari iyo, politikuri, ekonomikuri Tu sazogadoebrivi kompromisebis, molaparakebebis, SeTavazebebis da SeTanxmebebis is rTuli da CaxlarTuli wyeba, romelic am problemis gadawyvetis Sesaxeb msjelobas mudam axlavs (da paradoqsia, magram imavdroulad xels uSlis). bavSvebs ubralod ar esmodaT, ratom ar eZebdnen ufrosebi problemis uswrafes gadaWris gzebs, ratom ikargeboda fuWad amdeni dro da energia molaparakebis magidasTan. ra Tqma unda, am ambavs mravalgvari interpretacia

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children’s books prepare them for difficulties they will encounter in their future. It teaches them to understand matters that can be taught neither with strict warnings, nor with interdictions or reasoning. This is related to the most interesting and dearest facet of children – the one we call our fantasy or imagination, and through these, children’s literature allows them to understand fundamental aspects of life.

In 2018, our world became witness to a very important event: 16-year-old Swede Greta Thunberg was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her achievement was that she started a campaign against the global issue of climate change. Her active campaign led to children’s protests in the so-called developed countries, which stood out by their youthful sincerity and selfless approach, contrasting with the formal declarations of politicians about the issue. Children were demanding an immediate resolution of the problem – they just couldn’t understand the complex and intertwined chain of political, economic and civil compromises, talks, offers, and agreements that always accompanies (and paradoxically, also hinders) the discussion about the resolution of this problem. They couldn’t understand why adults weren’t looking for the fastest ways to resolve the issue, and why so much energy and time was being wasted around the negotiation table.

Naturally, these circumstances were followed by all sorts of interpretations. Some were under the impression that instead of so much “fooling around”, it would have been better for the children, for the sake of the latter’s own future, to go to school and to study diligently. Others had a more balanced position, but still didn’t believe

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mohyva. zogi Tvlida, rom aseT `metiCrobas~ ajobebda, bavSvebs, maTive naTeli momavlisTvis, skolaSi earaT da bejiTad gaegrZelebinaT swavla. iyvenen iseTebic, romlebsac cota mozomili pozicia hqondaT, magram problemis amgvari infantiluri gadawyvetis SesaZleblobis mainc ar swamdaT. Tumca, iyvnen iseTebic, romlebmac am bavSvuri wamowyebis miRma, gulubryvilobis garda, bevrad mniSvnelovani mowodebebi da problemis gadaWris gzaze gadadgmuli nabijebic amoikiTxes _ samma norvegielma parlamentarma, greta tunbergis es iniciativa daafasa da mSvidobis dargSi nobelis premiazec waradgina. mis kandidaturas komiteti Zalian seriozulad ganixilavda da premiis erT-erT realur nominantadac iTvleboda. miuxedavad imisa, rom 2018 wlis nobelis mSvidobis premia nadia muradsa da denis mukvagas gadaecaT (seqsualuri danaSaulis omsa da SeiaraRebuli konfliqtebSi seqsualuri Zaladobis iaraRad gamoyenebis winaaRmdeg brZolaSi), greta tunbergis dawyebuli sabavSvo moZraoba Cveni saukunis dasawyisis erT-erTi yvelaze mniSvnelovani da amavdroulad gamaognebeli politikuri da sazogadobrivi moZraobis magaliTad rCeba, romelis analogis povna msoflio istoriis msvlelobaSi Zalian gagviWirdeba.

in the possibility of an “infantile” resolution of the problem. But there were also people who saw more than naivety beyond this “childish” initiative: they grasped important messages and steps taken towards the resolution of the problem – for instance, the three Norwegian Members of Parliament who valued Greta Thunberg’s initiative and nominated her for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her nomination was taken very seriously by the Nobel Committee, and she was considered as one of the candidates with the best chances to be awarded the prize.

Despite the fact that the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize went to Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege Mukengere for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict, the children’s movement initiated by Greta Thunberg remains one of the most important and impressive instance of political and civil movements of the beginning of this century, and it is very difficult to find an equivalent in history.

It is both regrettable and strange that these events didn’t produce any echo in Georgia. But if we think about it, it is also logical, as there are very few people in our society who would have had made the reality of this problem intelligible for teenagers. There are almost no authors left who write about these subjects, and the works of those who still are aren’t taught at school. We can debate for a long time about the reasons why the schoolchildren of this or that country didn’t take part in this international movement, and how appropriate

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samwuxaroa da ucnauricaa, rom am movlenas saqarTveloSi aranairi gamoxmaureba mohyolia. Tumca, saganTa logikas Tu mivyvebiT es mizez-Sedegobrivicaa, radgan Cvens sazogadoebaSi Zalian cotaa adamiani, romelic am problemis realobas mozardebis gonebisTvis cxads gaxdida. TiTqmis aRar arian avtorebi, romlebic am sakiTxebze weren da Tuki mainc arseboben, maT nawarmoebebs aravin aswavlis skolaSi. Cven SeiZleba bevri vidavoT imis Sesaxeb, Tu ratom ar miiRes am saerTaSoriso moZraobaSi sxva qveynebis moswavleebma monawileoba da ramdenad mizanSewonili iqneboda skolis gacdenis xarjze demonstraciebze siaruli, magram faqtia, rom verc skola da verc literatura, romelic dRes saqarTveloSi bavSvebis aRzrdaze unda iyos orientirebuli, verafriT exmianeba im gamowvevebs, romelTa winaSec dRevandeli mozardebi zrdasruli asakis miRwevis Semdeg dadgebian. sabavSvo literatura erT-erT mniSvnelovan funqcias asrulebs: is bavSvebs iseTi rTuli fenomenis gagebaSi SeiZleba miexmaros, romelic maTTvis adreul asakSi saerTod uinteresoa: magaliTad politika an ekologia. marTlac ra saWiroeba SeiZleba dadges imisa, rom bavSvebi am rTul ambebs adreuli asakidan SeeWidnon? amis gamo, sazogadoebaSi gavrcelebulia azri, TiTqos mwerlobis

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it would have been to protest and not attend school, but it is a fact that neither our current school system nor our current literature, which have to be oriented towards the upbringing of children in today’s Georgia, echo the challenges that today’s teenagers will face when they will become adults.

Children’s literature fulfills a very important function: it can help children understand difficult phenomena that are of no interest to them during their childhood, for instance politics or ecology.

Indeed, what could produce the necessity for children to tackle these complicated subjects from an early age? Because of this, the thought that children’s literature is a “subgenre” is quite widespread; many think that there are topics that are for adults, and about which you should never talk to children. Children’s literature is, without question, characterized by a simple language, but that doesn’t mean at all that you cannot discuss serious matters with a simple language – talking in a simple language doesn’t mean that one has to go into baby talk!

The literary language for children is created specifically in order to spark the interest of children, who still have a scarce vocabulary and are used to simple syntax, in complex subjects or even universal problems (and to be fair to children, an intricate language, rich vocabulary, difficult syntax or taken together, a refined literary composition, can be quite hard to digest even for adults). Authors of children’s books must adapt their language and themes to children,

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and this requires special modesty in writing (as you probably know, most authors are chracterized by very large egos, and from their perspective, acting with modesty, which is necessary in children’s literature, isn’t an easy thing to do).

Georgian children’s literature understood quite early the necessity to build a path for the ability to think – Vazha-Pshavela or Iakob Gogebashvili were well aware of the challenges of the time, and understood that together with material for children’s bed-time, literature should also have been material for the awakening of their minds. Their prose or poetry was directed towards children, who were to become moral, kind, brave and considerate members of the society in the future. The bewitching quality of Vazha-Pshavela’s children’s books lies precisely in the fact that he dind’t refrain from raising deep philosophical themes in children’s literature. In other genres too, Vazha-Pshavela was characterized by this kind of audacity – both his epic and smaller poems were full of revolutionary, modern, and at the same time, eternal ideas; he had understood very well that if we didn’t get children used to ponder on universal themes since an early age, they would struggle understanding their environment when they would get older.

es mimarTuleba literaturis erTgvar `qvedargs~ warmoadgens; miiCneva, rom arsebobs `sabavSvo Temebi~ romelTa Sesaxeb maT arasdros unda esaubro. sabavSvo literaturas marTlac axasiaTebs gamartivebuli ena, rac srulebiTac ar niSnavs imas, rom martivi eniT seriozul sakiTxebze ver isaubreb _ martiv enaze saubari `enis moCleqvas~ ar niSnavs! sabavSvo literaturuli ena swored imisTvis iqmneba, rom jer kidev mwiri leqsikuri maragis mqone, martiv sintaqss SeCveuli bavSvi, rTuli sakiTxebiT an sulac zogadadamianuri problemebiT daaintereso (codva gamxelili sjobs da `CaxlarTuli ena~, mdidari leqsika, rTuli sintaqsi Tu erTob rafinirebuli literaturuli qsovili, zrdasrulisTvisac sakmaod mZime gadasalaxia). sabavSvo mweralma Tavisi ena da Tematika bavSvebs unda moargos, es ki misgan gansakuTrebul mwerlur Tavmdablobas moiTxovs (mogexsenebaT, rom mweralTa umetesobas zedmetad didi ego axasiaTebs da maTi mxridan, Tavis damdablebis aqti, romelic sabavSvo literaturis ganuyofeli nawilia, arc ise martivi saqmea). qarTuli sabavSvo literatura sakmaod adre mixvda am azrovnebis gzis gayvanis aucileblobas _ vaJa-fSavela Tu iakob gogebaSvili kargad grZnobdnen drois majiscemas da xvdebodnen, rom mwerloba bavSvebisTvis ZilispirulTan erTad, gamosafxizlebelic unda yofiliyo. maTi proza Tu poezia, mimarTulia bavSvebze, romlebic momavalSi sazogadobis zneobriv, karg, mamac da gulisxmier wevrebad unda iqcnen. vaJa-fSavelas sabavSvo moTxrobebis

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momajadoebloba swored isaa, rom Rrma filosofiuri Temebis sabavSvo literaturaSi gamoyenebis ar SeSinebia. mas xom isedac axasiaTebda amgvari literaturuli gambedaoba _ misi poemebi da leqsebi savse iyo revoluciuri, Tanamedrove da imavdroulad maradiuli ideebiT; kargad hqonda gacnobierebuli, rom Tuki bavSvebs zogadadamianur sakiTxebze adreuli asakidan ar SevaCvevdiT fiqrs, mozrdil asakSi Zalian gauWirdebodaT yvelafris gaazreba. statiis dasawyisSi tyuilad ar gvixsenebia greta tunbergis mier klimatis cvlilebis winaaRmdeg mimarTuli gamosvlebi. SemTxveviTi araa, rom bavSvebma aqciebi swored im qveynebSi daiwyes, sadac ekologiis da bunebaze zrunvis Sesaxeb cnobiereba da codna bevrad ufro maRal safexurze dgas, vidre CvenSi. faqtia, rom Tu saqarTvelos momavalze gvsurs fiqri da zrunva, bavSvebis ganaTlebiT unda daviwyoT. mivaxvedroT da davumtkicoT, rom iseT droSi mouwevT cxovreba, sadac mxolod ojaxiT, TemiT Tu qveyniT veRar Semoifarglebi, radgan uneburad mTel msofliosTan xar kavSirSi da zneobrivi pasuxismgeblobac gakisria. amisTvis ki gvWirdeba bevrad ukeTesi ganaTlebis sistema da gzebis Zebna, romliTac mozardis gulTan mivitanT yvela problemas, romelTa winaSec momavalSi aucileblad dageba. es gza emociebze da grZnobebze gadis da ara ubralo daswavla-dazepirebaze. emociebis da grZnobebis aRZvra ki mwerlobis, xelovnebis erT-erTi umniSvnelovanesi amocanacaa. bunebis mniSvneloba da masze zrunva vaJa-fSavelas garda, kidev ramdenime avtorTan gvxvdeba... magram arsebobs erTi wigni, romelic dRes gansakuTrwbiT aqtualuri SeiZleba iyos, Tanamedrove qarTveli bavSvebisa Tu mozardebisTvis _ Tumca, Cvenda samwuxarod, miviwyebuli. 1991 wels gamomcemloba `nakadulma~

It is not by chance that we mentioned the protests initiated by Greta Thunberg against climate change in the beginning of this article. It is not by chance that children started protesting precisely in the countries where the awareness and knowledge about ecology and environment protection is much higher than in ours. We need to realize that if we want to look after Georgia’s future, we need to start with the education of our children, to make them understand and to prove to them that they will have to live in times in which they will not be limited to their family, community, or country anymore, as voluntarily or not, they will be linked to the whole world, and this brings additional moral responsibilities. Therefore, we need a much better education system, and we need to look for new ways to make teenagers aware of all the problems that they will have to face in the future. This will be possible through emotions and feelings, and not simply through teaching and memorization. And stirring emotions and feelings is one of the most important functions of literature and art.

Several other authors have written about the importance of nature and of looking after it... But one book might be particularly topical for today’s Georgian children and teenagers – and unfortunately, it has been almost completely forgotten. In 1991, the publishing house ‘Nakaduli’ published Archil Sulakauri’s novel for children ‘Blue Deer’ (‘Tsisperi Iremi’). This should have been an interesting moment for Georgian literature, as nobody had tackled the subjects of ecology and deforestation in our modern language before him. But the book was almost completely unnoticed by Georgian critics. This had an objective reason too – the events that unfolded in Georgia after the country gained its independence didn’t leave the possibility to think about or look after these themes to adults, let alone to teenagers. And we also have to note that the problematic introduced by Sulakauri with ‘Blue Deer’ didn’t have the intensity it has now. The writer artistically explained us what can result from disdaining nature and a contemptuous approach towards ecology.

With its depth, ‘Blue Deer’ stands out in Georgian children’s literature, and manages to transmit messages about universal or philosophical subjects in a language that is understandable to children. Archil Sulakauri had been successful in this before, for instance with ‘Salamura’ (“Flute”), in which he achieved to explain the interrelationship between politics and the individual in a way that made this issue, which is not usually discussed with children, a subject of utter interest to them. As for raising the issue of ecology in ‘Blue Deer’, he came to grips with a problem of the future. It is as if he had foreseen a reality that we are, here and now, all facing – and that we are trying to resolve, though we are lacking childish straightforwardness in our quest for the ways to achieve this. Today, it will be difficult to find a Georgian author who thinks of oneself as a “serious” representative of literature, let alone of children’s literature, and even more difficult to find one who manages to convey one’s worldview to the readers with as much clarity and depth as the “reduced-to-children’s literature” Archil Sulakauri.

Levan Shatberashvili

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arCil sulakauris sabavSo romani `cisferi iremi~ gamosca. es movlena saintereso unda yofiliyo qarTul literaturisTvis, radgan Tanamedrove enaze ekologiis da tyis ganadgurebis sakiTxi jer kidev aravis daesva.

Tumca aRmoCnda, rom qarTul kritikas es nawarmoebi TiTqmis SeumCneveli darCa. amas Tavis obieqturi mizezic hqonda _ damoukideblobis mopovebis Semdeg qveyanaSi ganviTarebulma movlenebma aseT sakiTxebze dafiqrebis da zrunvis saSualeba ara Tu mozardebs, zrdasrulebsac ar misca. Tumca isic, unda iTqvas, rom problematikas, romelic sulakaurma `cisferi iremiT~ Semoitana, imdroindel msoflioSi jer kidev ar hqonda is simZafre, rac man TanamedroveobaSi SeiZina. mweralma mxatvrulad agvixsna da gangvacdevina ubedureba, rac bunebis ugulebelyofas da ekologiisadmi agdebul damokidebulebas SeiZleba mohyves.

Tavisi siRrmiT `cisferi iremi~ qarTul sabavSvo literaturaSi gamorCeuli nawarmoebia, romelic axerxebs zogadadamianuri da filosofiuri sakiTxebi

bavSvebisTvis gasageb enaze gadmogvces. arCil sulakauri amas adrec warmatebiT akeTebda _ magaliTad `salamura~, sadac man SeZlo politikis da individis urTierTmimarTebis sakiTxebi bavSvebisTvis ise aexsna, rom es arasabavSvo problema maTi dauokebeli interesis sagnad qceuliyo. `cisfer iremSi~ ekologiis problemis dasmiT ki man momavlis problemas gauswora Tvali.

TiTqos iwinaswarmetyvela realoba, romlis winaSec, aq da axla, yvelani vdgavarT, mogvarebis gzebs veZebT, magram gamosavalis mosaZebnad, bavSvuri alalmarTloba gvaklia. dRes gagviWirdeba iseTi qarTveli mwerlis moZebna, romelic Tavis Tavs aramcTu sabavSvo, aramed `seriozuli~ literaturis warmomadgenlad miiCnevdes da Tan iseTi sicxadiT da siRrmiT mihqondes mkiTxvelamde Tavisi msoflmxedveloba, rogorc amas sabavSvo literaturamde `damdablebuli~ arCil sulakauri axerxebs. levan SatberaSvili

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rameTu mSromeli warvals da naSromi hgies THE MASTER WILL LEAVE THIS WORLD BUT HIS MASTERSHIP WILL LIVE ON

rodis da rogor Seiqmna qarTuli anbani, ras efuZneba misi TviTmyofadoba... qarTuli anbanis Seqmnas farnavazs miaweren, romelic Zv.w. III saukuneSi mefobda. XI s-is istorikosi leonti mroveli istoriul TxzulebaSi mogviTxrobs, rom igi iyo qarTvelTa pirveli mefe da man Seqmna qarTuli anbani. cxadia, sakuTari damwerlobis Seqmna savsebiT Seesabameboda qarTuli erovnuli saxelmwifoebriobis Camoyalibebas. farnavazma daawesa Tavisi saxelobis uzenaesi RvTaebac _ armazi da misi kerpi maRal mTaze, mcxeTasTan axlos aRmarTa. armazi _ farnavazis sparsuli saxelia. mas deda sparseli hyavda. `qarTlis cxovrebaSi~ vkiTxulobT: `ese farnavaz iyo pirveli mefe qarTlsa Sina qarTlosis naTesavTagani. aman ganavrco ena qarTuli da arRarai izraxeboda sxuai ena qarTlsa Sina Tvinier qarTulisai da maSin Seqmna mwignobrobai qarTuli~. `qarTlis cxovrebis~ am cnobis mixedviT unda vivaraudoT, rom qarTul enaze Sesrulebuli werilobiTi Zeglebi Cvens welTaRricxvamdec arsebobda. sulxan-saba orbeliani `mwignobars~ werilT ostats uwodebs. ivane javaxiSvilis ganmartebiT ki `mwignobroba~ anbanis, sawerniSnebis zogadi saxelia.

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When and how the Georgian alphabet came into existence, wherein lies its uniqueness…

The creation of the Georgian alphabet is ascribed to King Pharnavaz reigning in the 3rd century BC. The 11th century historian Leonti Mroveli refers to Pharnavaz as the first Georgian King credited with creating the Georgian alphabet. The development of the Georgian alphabet was yet another important facet of the emerging Georgian statehood. Pharnavaz raised the idol of Armaz, reputedly named after him, on a mountain in the vicinity of Mtskheta. Armaz is Pharnavaz’s Persian name. He was of Persian extraction on his mother’s side.

Kartlis Tskhovreba (Georgian Chronicles) reads as follows: “Parnavaz was the first king of Kartli descended from Kartlos, who extended the Georgian language, and no more was a different language spoken in Kartli except Georgian and it was then that literation practice was developed in Georgia”.

This quote from Kartlis Tskhovreba offers an overall indication that literary monuments existed in Georgia as long ago as before the birth of Christ. Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani uses the term “literator” to indicate a man of letters. “Literation” is interpreted by Ivane Javakhishvili as the use of letters to represent sounds or words.

Opinions vary on the origin of the Georgian alphabet. According to Georgian researchers (Iv. Javakhishvili, T. Gamkrelidze, R. Pataridze,

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qarTuli anbanis warmomavlobis Sesaxeb samecniero literaturaSi (iv. javaxiSvilis, T. gamyreliZis, r. patariZis, T. Cxenkelisa da sxvaTa naSromebSi) sxvadasxva azria gamoTqmuli. am mecnierTa TvalsazrisiT, qarTuli anbanis Camoyalibeba finikiur aso-niSnebs an berZnul anbanur sistemebs ukavSirdeba. msoflio damwerlobis ganviTarebis mravalsaukunovani istoriis ganmavlobaSi, sxvadasxva dros, gamoiyeneboda

T. Chkhenkeli and others), the Georgian alphabet derives from Phoenician letters or Greek alphabetic systems.

Uses to which graphic symbols were put at various stages in the course of history were vastly different. A pictorial representation of words called pictographic writing was introduced at the earliest stage. The subsequent stage brought about symbols for ideas (ideographic, i.e. logographic writing). Syllabic writing that ensued later provided a set of written symbols representing syllables.

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gansxvavebuli grafikuli niSnebi. adreul etapze am niSans hqonda TxrobiTi, siuJeturi xasiaTi. mas xatovani, anu piktografiuli damwerloba hqvia (azrs gamoxatavda naxati). ganviTarebis momdevno etapze yoveli grafikuli niSani gamosaxavda azrs, ideas. es iyo ideografiuli, anu logografiuli damwerloba. Semdgom niSanma marcvlovani mniSvneloba miiRo da damwerlobas marcvlovani, anu silaburi ewoda. pirvel, anu finikiur anbanSi 22 aso-niSani gansazRvruli bgeris gamoxatuleba gaxda. am anbanma daamkvidra fonetikuri, gamartivebuli weris sistema, romelmac bgerebis grafikuli gamosaxuleba gaanTavisufla Zveli, simboluri rTuli formebisgan. finikiuri anbanis aso-niSnebi safuZvlad daedo arqauli berZnulis grafikas, romelic finikiuri aso-niSnebis gardaqmnis Sedegad Camoyalibda Zv.w. IX saukuneSi. damwerlobis ganviTarebis istoriisTvis klasikuri berZnuli anbani sruliad axali safexuria. man arqauli berZnuli aso-niSnebi grafikulad daxvewa da Zv.w. V saukuneSi Seiqmna monumenturi saxis damwerloba. qarTuli anbanuri damwerlobis sami grafikuli nairsaxeoba arsebobs: asomTavruli, nusxuri anu xucuri da mxedruli.

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The first, i.e. Phoenician, alphabet of 22 letters led to a simplified phonetic writing system easing graphic signs of their symbolic meaning and sophistication.

Letters of the Phoenician alphabet laid the basis for archaic Greek graphics, which emerged as a result of the transformation of Phoenician letters in the 19th century BC. The classic Greek alphabet formed a radically new stage in the history of writing. It provided a graphically more attractive version of archaic Greek letters and created a monumental writing style in the 5th century BC. The writing of the Georgian language has progressed through three graphical forms, known as: Asomtavruli (majuscule), Nuskhuri (minuscule) and Mkhedruli (secular).

From a graphical standpoint, Georgian Asomtavruli is a totally different form of writing. This stylistically uniform graphical system is the work of a single master’s hands. It was developed without modifying or copying the outline of any letter. An alphabetical order was established by giving each letter its numerical equivalence.

The Georgian master chose a circle and a line as basic geometric figures to shape Georgian letters from the combination of 9 elements derived from these two figures. The exception was the Georgian letter “Jan” formed by the overlapping of Jesus Christ’s initials. Christ’s monogram as a symbol of crucified God was incorporated into the Georgian alphabet immediately after Georgia embraced Christianity.

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qarTuli asomTavruli, grafikuli TvalsazrisiT, damwerlobis sruliad axali saxea. stilisturad erTiani grafikuli sistema Seiqmna erTbaSad, erTi ostatis mier, sxva anbanebidan romelime asos moxazulobis gardaqmnisa Tu gadmotanis gareSe. rac Seexeba anbanuri rigis dawesebas _ asoTa saxeldebas ricxviTi mniSvnelobebis miniWebiT, grafikuli niSnebis SeqmnisTanave moxda. qarTvelma ostatma grafikuli sistemis Sesaqmnelad winaswar aRebuli pirobiTi niSnebi _ wre da xazi _ gamoiyena da maTgan warmoebuli 9 elementis kombinirebis safuZvelze qarTul aso-niSanTa moxazulobani Seqmna. qarTul anbanSi gamonaklisia aso `jani~, romelic ieso qristes inicialebis `inisa~ da `qanis~ gadajvaredinebis Sedegad aris Semdgari. sakuTar niadagze Seqmnili qristes monograma, rogorc jvarcmuli qristes simboluri gamosaxuleba, qarTul anbans qristianobis miRebisTanave unda damkvidreboda. asomTavruli damwerlobis grafikuli safuZvlebi, romelic qarTvelma xelovanma zust maTematikur gaangariSebaze aago, kosmosTan da Zvel qarTul arqiteqturul formebTan poulobs kavSirs. kvadrati urTierTgadamkveTi xazebiTa da masSi Cawerili wriT safuZvlad udevs martivi gegmis mqone uZveles arqiteqturul nagebobebs _ darbazuli tipis Senobidan dawyebuli mcxeTis jvris CaTvliT. Tavis mxriv, kvadrati urTierTgadamkveTi Sua xazebiT da masSi Cawerili wriT or did kosmiur simbolos _ miwisa da cis erTianobas ukavSirdeba, xolo kvadrifoliumi samyaros Secnobadobis pirvelwyaroa. kvadrifoliumi adreqristianul xelovnebaSi oTxyura jvris identuria da man qristianul aRmosavleTSi didi gavrceleba hpova. qarTulma damwerlobam grafikuli ganviTarebis xangrZlivi da rTuli gza ganvlo. dRevandeli mxedruli damwerloba nusxuris asomoxazulobaTa cvlilebebis safuZvelzea Seqmnili, xolo nusxurs asomTavrulma misca dasabami. unda aRiniSnos, rom es cvlilebebi damwerlobaSi swrafi gamartivebuli werisken miswrafebam gamoiwvia. wignebze mzardma moTxovnilebam droisa da masalis ekonomia ganapiroba. nusxuri damwerloba, romlis asoTa moxazulobani mTavrulis grafikuli ganviTarebis Sedegia, gansxvavebuli stilisturi TaviseburebebiT xasiaTdeba: Camoyalibebulia oTxxazovani sistema, asoebi sxvadasxva simaRlisaa da gverdze gadaxrili. sityvaSi asoebi gabmiT, uintervalod iwereba. damwerlobis am saxes `kursivic~ ewodeba. asomTavrulsa da nusxurs `xucursac~ uwodeben, radgan maT berebi iyenebdnen. mxedruli damwerloba (igi samoqalaqo saqmeebisTvis ixmareboda) kidev metad amartivebs asoTa damwerlobas. TiToeuli moxazuloba xelis auReblad sruldeba. Zvel qarTul damwerlobaSi 38 aso-niSani iyo. amJamad 5 aso-niSani ar ixmareba.

The graphical representation of majuscule writing, which the Georgian master based on precise mathematical calculations, is mirrored in the cosmos and ancient architectural details traced in Georgia. A square with intersecting lines and a circle inscribed inside is a recurring theme in ancient architectural constructions, including chambers and the Mtskheta Cross. Such a square symbolizes the earth’s unity with the sky whereas the quadrifolium is a way to get a fascinating insight into the world. The quadrifolium in the early Christian period is identical to a four-leaf cross, which gained wide currency in the oriental Christian world.

The Georgian alphabet traversed a long and complicated path of development. The currently used alphabet, Mkhedruli, emerged through the transformation of Nuskhuri (minuscule) letters, whereas Nuskhuri derived its origin from Asomtavruli (majuscule). These changes occurred to suit the need for a simpler and more streamlined style of writing. The growing demand for books posed the necessity of economizing on time and resources.

The Nuskhuri alphabet, which owes a good deal to the graphical development of Asomtavruli letters, is characterized by interesting stylistic traits. It features a four-line system of italic lettering. Letters are uneven and joined together in flowing strokes. Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri

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gadamwerloba Zvel saqarTveloSi xelobad iTvleboda. gadamweri xSirad mxatvrobaSic ganswavluli iyo da gadaweris procesSi mxatvrulad aformebda mTavrul asoebs. ornamentul motivebs simboluri datvirTvac aqvT. gansakuTrebiT xSiria vazis foTlis motivis gamoyeneba, romelic Soreuli warsulidan RvTaebriv mcenared iTvleboda da Cveni winaprebis warmodgeniT sicocxlis xe iyo. grafikulad Sesrulebuli mTavruli asoebi, monumenturi saxis damwerlobisTvis damaxasiaTebeli Taviseburebebis gamo, gamoiyeneboda taZris fasadebze, Wedur xatebsa da freskul warwerebSi. didi zomis mTavruli asoebi, mkveTrad gamoxatuli konturebiT, Soridan advilad aRiqmeba. Zvelma qarTulma damwerlobam `asomTavrulis~ saxelwodeba mas Semdeg miiRo, rac nusxuriTa da mxedruliT nawer teqstebSi saTaurebi da abzacebis dasawyisebi mTavruli asoebiT daiwera.

ZvelTaganve Cvens winaprebs mniSvnelovnad miaCndaT qarTuli anbanis qebaTa-qeba. uflis saxeliT Semkuls da kurTxeuls uwodebs qarTul enas X s. cnobili moRvawe ioane zosime qarTuli sasuliero mwerlobis mniSvnelovan ZeglSi `qebai da didebai qarTulisa enisai~. es Zegli qarTuli enis sagalobelia. metic, am ZeglSi winaswarmetyvelebis damadasturebeli didi saidumloa damarxuli _ meored mosvlis saswaulebrivi molodini, rac ukavSirdeba gankiTxvis dRis, saSineli samsjavros moaxloebas, romelic RmerTis mier qarTul enaze iqneba aRsrulebuli. amiT xazgasmulia qarTuli enis RvTaebrioba da gamorCeuli roli msoflios sxva enebs Soris. qarTuli enis, qarTuli anbanis mniSvnelobas dRemde ar daukargavs Tavisi RvTaebrivi Zala.

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are also known as Khutsuri (priestly script) because they were used for ecclesiastical purposes. The Mkhedruli script (largely confined to secular matters) evolved at the cost of complexity of previously used letters.

Letters were written with running hand. The ancient Georgian alphabet consisted of 38 letters, of which 5 letters were later made redundant.

There used to be a copying profession in ancient Georgia. Many copiers, who excelled at painting, embellished capital letters with intricate detailing. Ornamental elements were loaded with symbolic meaning. The most recurring theme was a vine leaf. The vine has always been a powerful symbol of life in Georgia suffused with layers of divine meaning. Capital letters due to their monumental features appeared on church facades, embossed icons and in fresco inscriptions. Sizable capital letters with heavily emphasized contours grab attention from a distance.

The ancient Georgian script began to be identified as majuscule only after capital letters were introduced to indicate titles and indentions.

From time immemorial our ancestors have been committed to glorifying the Georgian language. In his Praise and Glorification of the Georgian Language, the outstanding ecclesiastical figure of the 10th century Ioane Zosime describes the Georgian language as beautified and blessed by the name of the Lord. This literary work is a magnificent hymn to the Georgian language. Moreover, buried in it is the secret of biblical prophecy and a tremendous air of expectancy for the day of the Messiah’s second coming, the Last Judgment, when everyone will be judged in Georgia. Emphasis here is on the divine character of Georgian and its continuing pre-eminence among other languages of the world.

The Georgian language has never lost its sacrosanct status.

The history of Georgian literature goes far back in time bearing an immense cultural, historical, literary and artistic importance. Georgian manuscripts have brought down to us works by ancient authors, which figure prominently in Georgian as well as world literary treasures.

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uaRresad didia im pirTa damsaxureba, romelTa Tavdadebuli, mokrZalebuli da upretenzio Sromis Sedegad moaRwia Cvenamde qarTulma xelnawerebma. aseT adamianebs ganekuTvnebian qarTveli kaligrafebi. maTi SemweobiT SemogvrCa lamazi kaligrafiuli xeliT Sesrulebuli mravali mniSvnelovani Zegli. gareSe mterTa Semosevebma imsxverpla rogorc xelnawerebi, aseve erovnuli kulturis sxva Zeglebic. JamTa siavisa da Znelbedobis xanaSi mravali xelnaweri ganadgurda. aseT viTarebaSi gansakuTrebiT saWiro iyo Zveli qarTuli xelnawerebis dacva-gamravleba, raTa STamomavlobas ar dakargoda winaparTa naazrevi. es didi misia qarTvelma kaligrafebma itvirTes. swored maTi meSveobiT Cven xelT gvaqvs faqizad da natifi gemovnebiT gadawerili xelnawerebi, romlebic samwignobro xelovnebis TvalsazrisiT dResac akvirvebs mnaxvelebs. qarTveli kaligrafebi ara mxolod amravlebdnen, aramed aRadgendnen dazianebul xelnawerebs, avsebdnen naklul teqstebs, riTac udides erovnul saqmes emsaxurebodnen _ xels uwyobdnen ganaTlebis gavrcelebas xalxSi. `pirvel simdidre wignTa moZRureba¡ ars: mze¡ da mTovare PorcTa CuenTa saPmarad dahbadna, xolo wignni sulTa CuenTa ganmanaTlebelad mogumadlna~ _ iuwyeba SatberdSi moRvawe meTerTmete saukunis kaligrafi. futkariviT mSromeli mwignobar-kaligrafebi rom ar yofiliyvnen, Cvenamde ver moaRwevda is mdidari da mravalsaukunovani literaturuli memkvidreoba, romelic Cveni erovnuli kulturis siamayes warmoadgens. mZime iyo kaligrafTa Sroma, magram wignisa da codnis siyvaruli maT aZlevda Zalas, _ yovelgvar pirobebSi ezrunaT qarTul xelnawerTa gadawera-gamravlebaze. `...wignisa amis dasasruli aTiode rveuli muPlzed davwere eklesiasa Sina alaverdisasa...~ `wigni ese Rame muPlze davCxabe, mkiTxuelno!..~ `margulisagan avad viyav da ver vjdebodi, woliT damiweria, veSurebodi, sikvdils movelodi, Tu rame cTomili naxoT, RvTis gulisaTvis SemindeviT~. msgavsi minawerebi uxvad aris mimofantuli Zvel qarTul xelnawerebze. gadamwerloba saqarTveloSi uxsovari droidan profesias warmoadgenda. gadamwers wignis SemzadebasTan dakavSirebuli mravali xeloba unda scodnoda: etratis damuSaveba, melnis Semzadeba, wignis ydisaTvis tyavis damuSaveba, wignis SekvrasTan dakavSirebuli samuSaoebi, lamazi nusxuriTa da mxedruliT wera, sazedao asoebis mxatvrulad gaformeba da sxva. ostat-kaligrafi lamazi weriT gamoirCeoda. igi cdilobda, xelnaweri silamaziTa da sinatifiT Seesrulebina, moexata, moekazma, striqonebs Soris simetria daecva. masve unda gaeTvaliswinebina da gaeangariSebina teqstSi sazedao asoebis, TavkazmulobaTa,

An enormous amount of Georgian calligraphers’ tireless and devoted efforts have gone into preserving Georgian manuscripts up to this day.

It is a tribute to their dedication that the writings accomplished in a neat, calligraphic hand have threaded their way down to us. Many of them, however, as well as other monuments of national culture, were destroyed by invading enemies. In times of ordeal the need to preserve or reproduce ancient Georgian manuscripts took on a whole new meaning. Georgian calligraphers embarked on a great mission to retain unscathed the writings of ancestors for posterity. Consummate pieces of their fancy lettering still provide marvels to behold.

Georgian calligraphers were engaged not only in reproducing Georgian manuscripts but also in restoring damaged sections or replenishing missing parts of the texts. They championed the national cause by increasing literacy among people.

“Literacy is the most precious commodity of people: the sun and the moon were given to attend to our bodily selves whereas books provide a source of spiritual nourishment” – said a calligrapher based at Shatberdy Monastery in the 11th century.

Had it not been for the valiant efforts of totally devoted calligraphers, we would have never been able to pride ourselves on the glorious literary legacy forming the centerpiece of our national culture.

Calligraphers were faced with a severely uphill task. But it was their unselfish dedication to books, which made them approach their task with an almost missionary zeal. “…I penned the end of the book on my knees, in ten papers, in Alaverdi church”… “… Reader, this book was put in black and white on my knees, over the night”…

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Tu miniaturebis dasaxatavi adgili ise, rom teqsti ki ar dazaralebuliyo, aramed misganve gadawerili gverdis silamazisaTvis Seewyo xeli. magram mis mier gadaweril xelnawerTa Sesrulebis xarisxi mainc sxvaobda. imis mixedviT, Tu visTvis iyo gamiznuli: ZRvnad misarTmevad an safasuriT gadawerisas ostati cdilobda lamazad gadaewera da mxatvrulad gaeformebina xelnaweri, xolo, rodesac TavisTvis iwerda, samuSaos naklebi mondomebiT asrulebda: `uwyis RmerTman CemTvis damiweria saxmareblad, ara safasod da ara uwyi viTar ars~. safasuriT werda gadamweri, TavisTvis, Tu ZRvnad misarTmevad, mas yovelTvis swamda, rom misi naSromi mis sulsac argebda da mamuliSvilur saqmesac moemsaxureboda, xolo mis Semdgom _ memkvidreebs darCebodaT: `rameTu mSromeli warvals da naSromi hgies~. werilobiTi Zeglebisadmi qarTveli xalxis interesi da siyvaruli xelnaweri wignis gamravlebisa da gavrcelebis did saWiroebas qmnida. amitom droTa ganmavlobaSi

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“…I was severely ill, unable to sit up, and this book was handwritten on my death bed. For God’s sake, excuse me for errors” - Georgian manuscripts bear a great number of similar inscriptions.

Fancy lettering has been a bedrock art realm since time immemorial. The skills it took included: parchment processing, ink preparation, treatment of book covers, bookbinding techniques, exacting calligraphic skill of shaping Nuskhuri (minuscule) and Mkhedruli characters and ornate capital letters, etc.

The master calligrapher was known for his craftsmanship to print letters on paper in the best possible calligraphic style. He was blessed with the ability to give his pen strokes elegance, create elaborately decorated letters, maintain perfect symmetry between lines, and ensure correct representation and positioning of uppercase letters, illuminated characters and miniatures to add grace and style to the text. The quality of manuscripts varied, based on their possible destination.

Manuscripts for sale or donation involved extremely elegant and refined letter forms. When creating pieces for their own use, however, calligraphers tended to show less thoroughness: “God knows I copied it for myself, not for sale, and know not of what good or ill”.

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mwignobroba da wignis Seqmnis xeloba ara mxolod bermonazonTa, aramed saero pirTa saqmianobadac iqca. profesionali gadamweri cdilobda Tavisi codna SvilebisaTvis gadaeca. am gziT kaligrafoba ojaxis tradiciul saqmianobad iqceoda. kaligrafTa TiToeul ojaxs weris Taviseburi manera da stili gaaCnda. ase Seiqmna saqarTveloSi cnobili kaligrafTa ojaxebi: CaCikaSvilebisa, TumaniSvilebisa, mesxiSvilebisa da sxvaTa. wignis Seqmnis xelovnebasa da mnusxvelis maRal daniSnulebas qarTveli ZvelTaganve didad afasebda da mas sulisaTvis sasargeblo saqmed Tvlida: `¥, ra mware ars wera PorcTaTvis da sulisaaTvis Saqar ars~ _ swored es suliereba aZlevda maT Zalas Rirseulad moexadaT vali qveynisa da momavali Taobebis winaSe. dRes Cvens siZveleTsacavebs amSvenebs qarTvel kaligrafTa mier mxatvrulad gaformebuli, daxvewili ostatobiT gadawerili mravali xelnaweri. rarig mcirec ar unda iyos maTi naRvawi, TiToeuli kaligrafis Rvawlis aRnusxva da maTi saxelebis dRis sinaTleze gamotana madlieri STamomavlobis valia.

Calligraphers firmly believed that the work of their own hands, whether created for profit, as a gift or for personal use, would not only benefit the soul but would also help fuel a patriotic sense among posterity: “the master will leave this world but his mastership will live on after him”.

The Georgian people’s ardent passion for reading posed an enhanced need for the dissemination of copybooks among the masses. Penmanship was no longer a predominantly ecclesiastical occupation. It rapidly penetrated all walks of life.

Professional calligraphers tried to hand their knowledge down to their offspring. Penmanship was often seen as a traditional family occupation.

The handwriting style of each family of calligraphers (Chachikashvilis, Tumanishvilis, Meskhishvilis, etc) was increasingly a very personal creation.

Georgians always showed their steadfast appreciation of the art of handwriting, believing it was created to uplift the spirit. “Writing is bile to the flesh and balm to the soul”. It was this spiritual insight that gave them the strength to fulfill their duty before their country and next generations.

Our museums act as a treasure trove of richly ornate manuscripts

by Georgian calligraphers, whose descendents are beholden to keep on record their contribution, however insignificant, and bring their names into the shining spotlight.

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xsovna, rogorc samaradiso sicocxle Memory as eternal life eris inteleqtis, kulturis erT-erTi maCvenebelia misi damokidebuleba adamianebis, istoriis xsovnisadmi. xsovnis tradiciis da kulturis arqonas qarTvel ers veravin ver daswamebs. is Cvens genetikaSia. piradad me, albaT aTeuli aTasobiT adamians, sircxvilis grZnoba euflebaT, rodesac didi qveynis umaRlesi piri da delegaciebi midian gmirTa moedanze saqarTvelos erTianobisTvis daRupulTa xsovnisadmi pativis misagebad. memorialis arc adgili, arc mxatvruli saxe ar pasuxobs mis maRal daniSnulebas, ar gaaCnia aucilebeli emociuri muxti. is faqtobrivad qvis didi stendia. avtoritarizmis periodSi espanel arqiteqtors a.d.kabos gmirTa moedanze, estakadebSi, xsovnis obeliski

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One of the indicators of the intellect and culture of a nation is its approach towards the remembrance of its people and history.

Nobody can blame Georgia for not having a tradition or culture of remembrance. It is in our genes.

Myself and probably dozens of thousands of people are filled with shame each time the leaders and delegations of foreign countries go to Heroes Square in order to pay their respects to the memory of those who perished for the unity of Georgia. Neither the location nor the artistic aspect of the Memorial are suitable for the highly valuable purpose it should serve, and it doesn’t bear the necessary emotional charge. It is practically just a big wall of stone. More recently, during the authoritarian period, they made Spanish architect Alberto Domingo Cabo put a memorial obelisk on Heroes Square, in the

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Caadgmevines, Turme daRupulTa gvarebic aweria. obeliskTan ara Tu ritualis Catareba, aramed misvlac ki sicocxlisTvis saxifaToa, amitomac iq dRemde adamiani aravis unaxavs. erT `moedanze~ aris ori memoriali _ erTi usaxuri, meore absurdi. adgils, gmirTa moednis kuTxeSi, sadac amJamad mdebareobs saqarTvelos erTianobisTvis daRupulTa memorialuri kedeli, ganviTarebisa da mxatvruli srulyofis araviTari perspeqtiva ar gaaCnia. is erTniSnad aramemorialuri adgilia. yvelaferTan erTad is saqarTvelos istoriis erT-erTi tragediis _ afxazeTis omis tragediis memorialia. qveynis dedaqalaqSi unda iyos saerTo erovnuli xsovnis memoriali. saerTo erovnuli xsovnis memorialisaTvis saukeTeso adgilad mimaCnia `mziurSi~ vakis raionis policiaze damagrebuli teritoria. SesaZlebelia policiis arsebuli Senobis rekonstruqcia-gafarToeba-gardasaxva `xsovnis taZrad~, romelic saukuneebs `Seunaxavs~ ara mxolod uaxlesi periodis tragikul movlenebs _ afxazeTSi da samaCabloSi daRupulTa xsovnas, aramed yvelas xsovnas vinc qveynis interesebis msaxuribas Seewira, maT Soris tabaxmelas, 9 martis, 9 aprilis, avRanelebis, movaleobis Sesrulebis dros daRupuli policielebis xsovnas. `xsovnis taZarSi~ Rirseulad unda iyos davanebuli yvela

middle of an interchange, with the names of the deceased on it. It is dangerous to get to the obelisk, let alone to hold a ceremony there, and therefore, nobody has ever seen anyone there to this day. On one “square”, there are two memorials – one lacks character, and the other is absurd.

The present location of the memorial wall for those who perished for the unity of Georgia, a corner of Heroes Square, doesn’t offer any perspective of being developed or enhanced from an artistic point of view. It is clearly a non-memorial place. Together with all the rest, it is the memorial of one of the most tragic episodes of Georgian history – the Abkhazian war.

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saxeli da istoriuli faqti. Tanamedrove teqnologiebi amis saSualebas iZleva. gmirebi imsaxureben imas, rom maTi xsovna kedelze gvarebisa da inicialebis aRvniSniT ar Semoifarglos, aramed samaradisod iyos Cawerili eris istoriaSi. rekreaciul sivrces Tavisi arsiT, Tu romelime sazogadoebrivi funqcia miesadageba, es swored xsovnis memorialia. teritoria SeiZleba iqces `xsovnis parkad~ _ imavdroulad sarekreacios sivrcis nawilad.

Tu bolomde gulwrfeli viqnebiT, policiasac unda awyobdes sxva rezidencia. arsebuli adgili TvalSisacemia, Senoba gamomwvedad dominirebs garemoze.

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Our country’s capital city needs to have a unified national memorial.

I believe that the best place for a unified national memorial is the territory adjacent to the police station in ‘Mziuri’, in the Vake district.

The existing police building might be reconstructed-enlargedtransformed into a “Shrine of Remembrance”, which will preserve, for centuries, not only the memory of the tragic events that took place in our recent past – the memory of those who perished in Abkhazia and Samachablo, but also the memory of all those who died serving the interests of our country, including the memory of those who died in Tabakhmela, on the 9th of March, on the 9th of April, those who died while aserving in Afghanistan, and of police officers who died during their service. The “Shrine of Remembrance” should display all the names and historical facts related to these events, and in a dignified way. Modern technologies offer this possibility.

Heroes deserve their memory not to be limited to the mentioning of their names and initials on a wall, and to be written for eternity in our nation’s history.

If any social function suits the essence of a recreational space, it is precisely a memorial. The territory could become a “Memorial Park” and simultaneously act as a recreational space.

If we want to be fully honest, the police should also be interested in another residence – the location of the existing police station is aggressive to the eye, as the building dominates the environment defiantly.

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xsovnis memorialis proeqtis Sesaxeb

ABOUT THE MEMORIAL PROJECT

memorialuri kompleqsi Sedgeba oTxi nawilisagan. `xsovnis taZari~ samrekloTi, `ceremoniis moedani~ maradiuli cecxliT da didebis gvirgviniT, `istoriis kedeli~ da memoriali `borotsa sZlia keTilman~. `xsovnis taZari~ inaxavs qveynisTvis daRupul gmirTa xsovnas, aq SeiZleba miviRoT sruli vizualuri da dokumentaluri informacia, rogorc konkretul pirovnebebze, aseve calkeul faqtze, movlenaze. samreklo diliT da saRamos, aseve oficialuri ceremonialis dros, asrulebs saTanado `liturgias~. `ceremonialis moedani~ _ esaa wreze ganlagebuli 8 sveti, romlis centrSi ganTavsebulia maradiuli cecxli, romelsac `Tavze adgas~ didebis gvirgvini. gvirgvinebiT Semkobis da masTan dakavSirebuli rituali, oficialuri delegaciebis programa-minimumia. `istoriis kedelze~, romlis sigrZe ormoci metria amokveTilia saqarTvelos tragikuli istoriis faqtebi mokle anotaciebiT. `istoriis kedlis~ meore mxare mopirkeTebulia Savi granitis filebiT. kedeli warmoadgens memorialis _ `borotsa sZlia keTilman~-is azrobriv da mxatvrul elements. memoriali `borotsa sZlia keTilman~ _ esaa 15.0 metris diametris qviSis goraki, Jangmokidemuli liTonis

The Memorial complex is made of four parts. A “Remembrance Shrine” with a bell-tower, a “Ceremonial Square” with an eternal flame and a laurel wreath, a “History Wall” and the memorial “Good triumphs over evil”.

The “Remembrance Shrine” preserves the memory of the heroes who perished for our country; it displays full visual information and documentation on both specific individuals and on the events that saw them perish. The bell-tower conducts a proper “liturgy” in the morning and in the evening, as well as during official ceremonies.

The “Ceremonial Square” consists of eight columns arranged in a circle, in the center of which there is an eternal fire, with a laurel wreath above it. The ritual of adorning this place with flower wreaths is the minimum program of official delegations.

Facts about Georgia’s tragic history will be carved, together with small annotations, on the “History Wall”, which will have a length of 40 meters. The other side of the “History Wall” will be faced with black granite tiles. The wall represents a mental and artistic element linked to “Good triumphs over evil”.

The Memorial “Good triumphs over evil” – this is a small hill of sand of 15 meters in diameter, with various unreal anomalies done in rusty metal, a landfill of instruments of torture and destruction. The “hill” symbolizes the triumph of good over evil.

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sxvadasxva irealuri anomaliebis, wamebisa da mospobis iaraRebis nagavsayreli. `goraki~ simboloa borotebaze sikeTis Zlevisa. `xsovnis taZris~ irgvliv vrceli teritoria _ moli dayofilia kvadratebad (4.0 m X 4.0 m), esaa asociaciuri, simboluri ZmaTa sasaflao, mudmivi movlis da mzrunvelobis arena. aq ar iqneba arc erTi realuri saflavi. saqarTvelos sxvadasxva kuTxeebSi arsebuli saZmo da individualuri saflavebi, aseve memorialebi unda darCnen adgilze. isini am adgilebis kuTvnilebaa, maTi istoria. teritorias aRmosavleTis mxridan akravs `kiparisebis tye~, sadac ganTavsebulia bavSvTa mcire zomis saTamaSo moednebi _ simbolo sicocxlis maradiulobisa da uwyvetobis. `xsovnis taZris~ arqiteqturul-sivrcobrivi saxe yalibdeba arsebuli policiis Senobis rekonstruqciagafarToebis gziT. Senobas emateba erTi sarTuli, kvadratul nawils amouSendeba wriuli kedeli, ori SesasvleliT. kedeli yrua, mopirkeTebulia uJangavi foladis furclebiT. wriul da kvadratul nawilebs Soris interierSi iqmneba oTxi segmenti _ orsinaTliani sivrce. Senoba naTdeba zemodan. centrSi ganTavsebulia wriuli kibe, romelic erTmaneTTan akavSirebs yvela dones. kuTxeSi moniSnulia adgili samomsaxurebo liftisTvis. Senobis I-II sarTuli saeqspozicioinformaciuli sivrcea. sardafis sarTulSi sasawyobosameurneo daniSnulebis saTavsoebi ganTavsdeba. III

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A large territory covered in grass around the “Remembrance Shrine” is divided in squares (4 x 4 meters), and represents an associative, symbolic mass cemetery, an arena dedicated to eternal care. There won’t be any real grave there. The existing mass and individual graves, as well as the memorials existing in various parts of Georgia, should stay where they are. They belong to these places, and represent the latter’s history. The eastern side of the territory is bordered by a “Cyprus wood”, where one can find small playgrounds for children – a symbol of the eternity and continuity of life.

The architectural-spatial appearance of the Memorial is established through the reconstruction-enlargement of the existing police station. One floor is added to the building, the square part will be augmented with a round wall with two entrances. The wall doesn’t have apertures, and is faced with a stainless steel layer. Inside, between the round and square parts, four segments are formed – a space with two different lightings. The building is illuminated from

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daSenebuli sarTuli daeTmoba administracias da kvleviT-meTodologiur saTavsoebs. `xsovnis taZris~ erT-erTi mxatvruli elementia `samreklo~. memoriali emyareba mkafio arqiteqturul reJisuras. misi `sametyvelo ena~ ara mxolod arqiteqturaa, aramed scenografia, rituali, samreklos dila-saRamos zari, musika, Ramis ganaTeba, adamianebi. adamianebi memorialis Tanamonawileni xdebian. `xsovna~ gaazrebulia ara rogorc kedelze amokveTili informacia, aramed rogorc uwyveti procesi. qveynisTvis Tavganwirva unda iqces maradiul sicocxled. xsovnis memorialuri kompleqsis monaxuleba skolebis savaldebulo `sagani~ unda gaxdes. mozardebis, axalgazrdebis uwyveti nakadebi `xsovnis~ organuli nawilia. unda aRsdges tradicia qorwilis win axalgazrdebis mier daRupulTa xsovnis pativmigebisa. ideis realizacia scildeba sazogadoebrivi interesebis, mowonebis da survilebis farglebs. saWiroa qveynis xelisufleba dainteresdes am ideiT.

above. At its center, there is a spiral staircase, which connects all the floors. A place in the corner is reserved for the elevator. The building’s first two floors constitute an exhibition-informational space. The basement will also include a storage place. The third, additional floor will host the administration and research-methodological storage rooms. One of the artistic elements of the Memorial is the bell-tower.

The memorial is based on a clear architectural scheme. Its “language” will not only be architecture, but also scenography, rituals, bell sounds in the morning and in the evening, music, nocturnal nights, and people, who will themselves become part of the Memorial. “Remembrance” is conceptualized not as some information found on a wall, but as a continuous process. Sacrificing oneself for one’s country should give way to eternal life.

Visiting the Memorial complex needs to become an obligatory part of the school curriculum. The continuous flow of teenagers and young people is an organic part of the “remembrance”. The tradition of young couples paying one’s respects to the memory of those who perished for Georgia before getting married should be reinstated.

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Sesdga proeqtis sazogadoebrivi ganxilva, eswrebodnen arqiteqtorebi, mxatvrebi, samecniero wreebis warmomadgenlebi, studentebi. (2016 wlis aprili, galerea `universi~). aseve, proeqti ganixila da erTsulovnad moiwona q. Tbilisis meriis arqiteqturulma sabWom, 02.06.2016 (ix. danarTi, oqmi #27). saerTaSoriso Jiurim proeqts mianiWa arqiteqturis saerTaSoriso akademiis laureatis premia (q. sofia, 14.V.2018 w.). vacnobiereb, rom proeqtis realizacia ar aris erTi da ori dRis saqme. mas sWirdeba rogorc finansuri uzrunvelyofa, aseve mkafio samoqmedo gegma. magram sakiTxi exeba erovnul Rirsebas, istoriisadmi pativiscemas, axalgazrdebis patriotul aRzrdas, rac aRmatebulia yovelgvar `droebiT sirTuleebze~. saWiroa procesis dawyeba, saWiroa rigi organizaciuli da iuridiuli sakiTxebis mogvareba da proeqtirebis dawyeba, Rirebulebis ddgena, mSeneblobis etapebis da vadebis gansazRvra da sxva. zusti da etapobrivi dagegmviT SesaZlebelia am didi erovnuli saqmis mogvareba.

The realization of this idea goes beyond the frame of the interests, taste and wishes of the society. The country’s government needs to become interested in this idea.

A public presentation of the project took place in April of 2016 at the gallery ‘Universe’, and was attended by architects, artists, representatives of scientific circles, students. The project was also discussed and unanimously appreciated by the Architecture Council of the Tbilisi City Hall on the 2nd of June 2016. An international jury awarded the project the International Academy of Architecture Award in Sofia on the 14th of May 2018.

I am aware that the project cannot be realized in a few days. It needs both financial support and a clear action plan. But we are dealing with the dignity of our country, the respect of our history, the patriotic education of our children, which all transcend any “temporary difficulty”. The process needs to be started, several organizational and legal aspects need to be looked after, and afterwards, to start planning the realization of the project, to establish its costs, the stages and time schedule of its construction, and so on.

With accurate and gradual planning, it is possible to make this great national enterprise a reality.

arqiteqtori vaxtang daviTaia

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Architect Vakhtang Davitaia

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