Local artist’s sculpture finds a spot in Birmingham
The donation of a new sculpture to the City of Birmingham highlights the work of Kegham Tazian, an artist with an international reputation long active in the local arts community as a painter, sculptor and educator.
The 400-pound bronze “Pyramid Earth” is now on display Linden Park in Birmingham as part of the city’s Public Arts Project. Tazian’s sculpture sits on 3-foot pedestal and will serve “as a monument to our world, featuring pillars suggesting upward mobility and strength,” noted the resolution by Representative Mari Manoogian (D-Birmingham) approved by the Michigan legislature, honoring Tazian for the donation of the sculpture and for his long career in the arts.
The 84-year-old Tazian, of Farmington Hills, was born in Armenia and earned a master of fine arts degree from Wayne State University in 1966. He taught at Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge Campus in Farmington Hills for 47 years, serving as departmental chairman and also curating work for Smith Gallery on the Orchard Ridge.
“I never know from one day to the next what I’ll do. It all happens in that moment. One of the luxuries I’ve had is teaching — a steady income — so I never (had to) weigh doing something the public likes so I can make my car payments or house payments,” Tazian said in an interview with rustbeltarts.com.
An active member of the local arts community in Oakland County, Tazian describes his work as a “blend of modernism, realism and abstraction,” on his website.
Over the years, Tazian’s paintings and sculptures have been shown in more than 40 solo exhibitions and more than 75 group exhibitions throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the Middle East and his work has been displayed by corporations, universities and municipalities, including Siemens Corp., Huntington Bank, Wayne State University and the city halls of Farmington and Farmington Hills.
The Pyramid Earth sculpture first stood outside an auto parts factory in Sterling Heights before being moved to OCC’s Orchard Ridge Campus for several years. The work began to deteriorate, but was rescued by a former student who, with help Tazian’s children, moved it to its new location in Birmingham this summer after a stop in the Fine Arts Sculpture Center in Clarkston for refurbishing.
Public art “is a blessing in so many ways,” Tazian says, noting his descendants “will
be able to say, ‘That was done by my father’ or ‘by my grandfather.’”
Tazian’s paintings and sculptures have also appeared in books and national publications such as Art News and American Artist. Tazian’s art also can be found in private collections around the world.
His résumé also includes several awards and honors, such as an International Artists in Watercolor Award in London, England, and, in 1995, he was named the Farmington Area Arts Commission Artist-in-Resident. Most recently, Tazian’s sculpture was featured at the prestigious ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids.
In July, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a resolution commending Tazian for his lifetime of achievement in the arts and education in southeast Michigan and the donation of “Pyramid Earth,” “featuring pillars suggesting upward mobility and strength” to the City of Birmingham.