We were lucky to catch up with Masha Keryan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Masha, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I was fortunate to be born into a family of open minded and kind people, who understood that each person is here to make their own choices. As parents they supported mine, even if at times my choices did not match their expectations or my own greater good. Without their flexibility, I would not be able to learn at the speed that I did. Growing up I watched them go through countless challenges: making living in post -Soviet Armenia, life threatening sickness, disagreements, immigration, building a life from scratch in a new country, building a family business, just to name a few. Through every challenge and emotional complexity, my mother remained loving and optimistic and my father remained a determined problem solver. These observations have become a major building blocks of my personal and artistic foundation. My parents and my grandparents, who raised me equally, always encouraged my creative tendencies and fueled my curiosity with directions and options. Growing up in Yerevan, I remember my grandparents engaging me in activities like doll making, drawing, play with toys with elaborate storylines, card games, chess and backgammon, poetry writing etc. If I was not interested in a homework assignment, my grandmother would find the right angle to ignite my interest. Those lessons and skills learnt through curiosity and love, still remember vividly and some I still practice.
Looking back today, I would not be who I am without the people who raised me. This includes my family and their friends as well, who have greatly contributed to my upbringing. It really does take a village to raise a child.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born and raised in Yerevan, Armenia where I begun learning and practicing art at a very young age. In 2009 my family moved to Boston, where I continued art education at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2016). For the past 5 years I have been a studio painter, pursuing art as a life path and career. I’ve had solo and group exhibits in Boston and a recently in NYC. Generally people find out about my work online or through the good old word of mouth, and reach out for inquiries or studio visits directly and through the galleries that I’veworked with. I love having people over for studio visits. It makes the inquiry process less of a deal and more a conversation, exchange of lived experiences and ideologies. A real human connection is formed this way between the artist and the art appreciator. To me that’s what art is about` connection.
Previously my work was focused on inclusion, togetherness, and collective consciousness. Recently I’ve been delving into themes of loss, isolation, extermination, collective pain and coping mechanisms.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
The obvious answer is to support. Support entails everything from going to the art openings, concerts and performances, consistently taking children to museums, all the way to purchasing work and monetarily supporting local artists in their communities. The monetary support comes in many forms as well: purchasing work, supporting arts nonprofits and organizations, providing work space for an artist friend or funding a project idea they have. These are some classic examples. But before getting there, it may be important to discuss why this is important to do as a member of a society, in which the daily expenses are increasing at rapid speed. Why should a person spend their resources on a theater ticket, rather than investing it into stock market for instance? Why should one buy a painting from an artist rather than a trendy couch for their new loft? Not that these options live on comparable layers, but if it does come to a financial choice for someone, why should one prioritize supporting the arts and culture? How is cultural support a personal gain?
A consumerist trend comes and goes. There is always the next hot thing to keep up with. Culture and art is what remains. It’s what tells the future generations how we felt, thought and lived as people during our times. Artist is the mirror and reflection of human experience. When we think of 20th century for instance, to understand the coping mechanisms and little joys during times of war and unbearable hardship, we look at the art and music. To understand the inner workings of resilience, we look at literature and music. To understand the rapid innovations of the 20th century, we look at film, photography, architecture. And of course, we go to the museums, often named after art collector, who had influence not only on the preservation of art, survival and raise of the artists of their times, but also on the politics, governance, international affairs, education and productions of various scales. From Gardner, Guggenheim and Peabodys, all the way back to Medicis.
We live in consumerist society where art also has been commodified. More often I hear people discussing art as investment rather than something that is in fact priceless, even if it does have a numeric representation attached to it. If for some, investment is the motivation for supporting arts and culture, that’s okay as well. But it is important for me to emphasize that no artist starts to make art for money. It all begins from passion and inner inexplicable desire. As an artist turns the passion into career, the sales start to matter, but that is never the goal of timeless art. Money is simply a tool. Artists are not product makers. Art is not a product. Art exists in the liminal realm of here and there, now and then, today and tomorrow. Art carries energy that has the power to transform, inspire and even enlighten. Art breaks the barriers of our nurture and directly tends to the matters of heart and spirit. Art brings the hidden to the conscious mind and sometimes, it saves lives.
Being an artist comes with dramatic turbulence. The artist’s dedication to their mission is the driving force through these ups and downs. An artist creates humbly through hardship and sickness, equally through success and abundance. Both ends of the spectrum, in reality, have the equal ability to damage an artist’s path. But true dedication to curiosity and higher mission, may be the shield from weakness and corruption. This may be true about anyone dedicated to the path of mastery: athletes, craftsmen, connoisseurs and people of sciences. I find the drive and resilience to be of the same quality.
By creating, reflecting and raising questions, artists get the role of shaping and preserving the culture. These roles vary as well. Some artists are healers, some are moral guides, some are advocates, observers, provocateurs, activists and others are entertainers. The roles are countless and all are of equal importance in the grand scheme.
So how is cultural support a personal gain? Well, try it. Very soon, you will feel the answer. It will happen during the next social gathering, when you mention the performance that brought tears to your eyes. Or that friend’s concert you went to support last Thursday and witnessed them light up with divine radiance on the humble stage. You had never seen them like that before. Or at your next dinner gathering, when you start engaging your guests in the story of the painting now hanging by your table. And of course the long lasting incomparable satisfaction you will live with, from knowing that your donation to a local arts organization has guaranteed a young neighborhood kid an affordable work space and proper mentorship.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
On January 13, 2018, my father opened the doors of our first family business in America. This is a huge milestone for any family immigrated from a country where such achievements are incomparably difficult. The family restaurant` Jana Grill, is still serving the flavors of Armenia and the surrounding countries in the heart of Watertown, MA, a block away from the Armenian Museum of America.
The first couple of years our entire family was at the restaurant, doing everything. I had to pause my art pursuits for 1.5 years and dedicate every waking second to the restaurant operations. This meant 7 days a week, 10-13 hours per day, often without any day offs for weeks. This was not forced labor in any way, that’s just what happens when you work for yourself.
It was a challenging and deeply satisfying time, during which the entire family was working as one towards one single goal. It was beautiful. The experience taught me what it takes to be self-employed, the sacrifice and stamina, the personal responsibility, success and failure. And of course, how to find common ground with truly difficult people. On this note, I’d like to thank everyone in service industry for their virtuous patience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mashakeryan.com
- Instagram: @mashakeryan
- Facebook: @mashakeryan
Image Credits
Headshot credits: Ellen Yang (IG: @ellenyangphotography)