Living by inspiration: Saragt Babayev and his creative path
In almost all cultural and art activities held in the capital of Turkmenistan, you can meet a gray-haired man who always attracts attention and gathers a lot of people around him. Each of his gestures is expressive and elegant, sculpturally freezing up for a moment. This is Saragt Babayev, People’s Artist of Turkmenistan, a monumental sculptor, whose creative work is inextricably aligned with the culture of the whole country. Most of his magnificent works adorn the most important architectural ensembles of Ashgabat.
Saragt Babayev has already celebrated his 70th birthday and is an “Honorary Elder of the People”. But his industry and creative energy allow the master to feel like eternally young. Work at the sculptor’s studio does not stop for a day. Filled with ideas and a desire to realize all his ideas, Saragt Babayev creates around the clock.
“I was born far from the city life, in a village, and there, it is not accepted to rest for a long time – the master tells. – Therefore, the desire to work is in me since childhood. To finish senior school in a neighboring village, I had to overcome long distances on a bicycle. At the same time, I managed to work in the field and help my parents with the housework. And after finishing school, I began to persuade them to let me go to study in the capital, in an art school…”
Having failed to enroll on the first try (his mother made an effort to instigate the Admissions Committee), Saragt, getting angry at everyone and everything, hit the trail far into the desert to work as a shepherd’s helpmate.
“It was a whole flock of sheep in care of mine, and by day I got water for them, and made bread for them, and at night I sat by the fire and drew. Three years later, I returned home with a stack of sketchbooks. Then there was an army, and I spent all my leave warrants at the Theater and Art University. I realized there that in order to become an artist, endless work is needful. After my military service, I left for Ashgabat, grimly determined to enter the Shota Rustaveli school. Among the enrollees there were many talented children, graduates of art schools, they drew masterfully and already had a good base. To my surprise, I was enrolled and by the second year I graded up to the rest of the guys in artistic skills.”
Soon Saragt Babayev will go to enter the Moscow Art Institute named after V.Surikov. After passing a difficult competitive selection, he was enrolled in the Sculpture Department of Mikhail Baburin. After a long day of classes, Saragt continued to study extra, spending no more than half an hour for lunch. Tenacious and energetic, he wanted to prove to his still resisting relatives that he had chosen the profession of a sculptor for a reason.
“Of course, my parents could not accept for a long time that I chose this path in life, they tried to hinder me, they did not believe in me. On returning home, I worked at the construction of a monument to the Turkmen soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War, and became a winner of an International Award. Then my father finally said to me, “You know, son, it turns out I was wrong”. These words I have been waiting for all my life and was absolutely happy that I’ve succeeded to change the opinion of the dearest and close to me people.”
Today, Saragt Babayev and his students – he has been teaching for 40 years – are working at creating several sculptural compositions at once. He continues to work on a 60-meter monument to the great Makhtumkuli, which will be fixed up in a picturesque natural site near the Health Path. The master’s main inspiration is life itself, and therefore he is not going to stop yet.
