City as Sculpture Garden

One of the truly unique things about Yerevan is the quantity and variety of public art, particularly sculpture. No matter where you go, you will see not one or two pieces, but whole gardens of sculpture. And although to a certain extent, the Hay take all this art for granted, everyone has their favoritie piece, one they have cherished since they first laid eyes on it or, even, since childhood.

Coming as I do from a town where the main form of public art is sculptures of dead white men on horseback, I revel in the variety of art in Yerevan.

A photo collection of these works would make a great coffee table book. There is no way I can post images on this blog capturing even a fraction of the sculpture. Instead, I am just putting up a few favorites that I see as I walk around town.

The red sculptures are made of tufa--the soft rock that is the primary builidng material of the area. Tufa is light and easy to carve, which makes it ideal for sculpture, but it is also surprisingly durable, allowing artworks to last centuries.