Azernews.Az

BAKU – A book dedicated to the life of prominent Azerbaijani artist Javad Mirjavadov, published in New York in May, has been included in the library of the United States Congress. The book, titled Aitokua, was written by the artist's widow, Lyubov Mirjavadova.

Mirjavadov’s recognition in the U.S. could be considered another triumph of Azerbaijani culture.

The 190-page book sheds light on the personality of the 20th century artist, his goals and convictions.

In 2007, Mirjavadova’s friends in New York, having read the Russian language version of the book, deemed it their noble duty to submit it to US publishers for consideration. Several months thereafter, Mirjavadova received the copyright for this book in English from the Seal of the United States Copyright Office operating under the US Congress.

Mirjavadova, having lived a fascinating but tragic life with the non-conformist artist, has set out a goal to keep alive his creative work, which is flush with philosophical thoughts about the fate of mankind and the future that lies ahead for people. A life spent with the extraordinary personality, his words and thoughts left an indelible trace and became part of her. Having decided to write a book about him, she relived both the joyous and arduous events of their lives. It is for this reason that her plan to write on behalf of the artist himself was materialized so naturally and convincingly. Mirjavadova’s book tells the story of the artist’s life step by step, enabling readers to embrace the thoughts and ideas of Mirjavadov, who had always been in quest of the truth in life and arts.

But Aitokua, which means "The doors to the innermost" in the Bushmen language, is not the only source of information about Mirjavadov, who died in 1992. In the past ten years, Mirjavadova, who was also a painter, has done an enormous workload for the sake of preserving the gifted artist’s heritage, which required considerable funds that she raised from the sale of her paintings. In 2002, Mirjavadova released a collection of his works; in 2005 Aitokua was published in Russian; and in 2007, a 20-minute documentary about the artist with English subtitles was shot; and a year later, Mirjavadov’s website was created by Baron Mark Lauder.

A life spent with a genius always leaves a trace in the souls of his loved ones. Lyubov Mirjavadova’s life is filled with struggle against the inertia of people's thoughts that at times prevails in society. But in addition to her literary works, she is an outstanding painter who creates under the pen-name Rubaba and is known well in a close circle of art lovers.

Mirjavadova’s contribution to the world of art has been marked with the conferral of the Chevalier [Knight] title of France's Order of Arts and Letters. French Ambassador in Baku Gabriel Keller handed the award to her on October 21 at a special embassy reception.

The ambassador spoke highly of Mirjavadova’s work at the awards ceremony.

"Your decisively contemporary art work feeds on a restless quest of the truth, your interest in all forms of art is nourished by your love for reading and your taste for philosophical queries," Keller said. "Your intellectual demands, particularly, rejection of any compromise, and your ascetic lifestyle, turn you into a fighter in the realm of art, in a world whose values are diametrically opposed to yours. You have created a world of art where the aspirations of your vulnerable soul, emotions and poetry in particular are combined with sensibility and naivety, which some would describe as that of a child."

Mirjavadova has recently told AssA-Irada: "I am delighted to have this order. We had long waited for each other, there was a ‘Berlin Wall’ that stood in the way of our encounter. And this award particularly means a lot to me as [it means that] a knight’s valor is transformed into an artist’s courage."

Mirjavadova’s deserved award should bring delight to all Azerbaijanis, though it appears to be a troubling indication that a bright personality can draw public attention in the country only when he or she is recognized far beyond its borders.