Check Out Garen Novruzyan’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Garen Novruzyan

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Los Angeles, CA in the 1990s. My childhood consisted of bicycling with my friends and looking for basketball courts, swimming pools, and arcades showcasing Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2. Something about the visuals of these video games captured my interest. I would try to draw the characters and the backgrounds. I didn’t know the fundamentals of drawing or design so I would end up with drawings that didn’t look like the characters. There was a shift in my interest from drawing to design when I learned about Adobe Photoshop. In 2010 I decided to return to Santa Monica College and pursue a career in visual art. I wanted to become an illustrator for Disney or Sony. I took different art courses, lost interest in illustration, and became curious about contemporary art. I transferred to California State University Northridge to pursue an MA in studio art. I graduated in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and wanted to find different ways to show my artwork. This led me to X.com (formerly Twitter). I started learning about NFTS and digital platforms that curated and shared artwork. Something is compelling about sharing artwork quickly over digital devices. I still participate in physical shows but, I primarily share my artwork on digital platforms X(Twitter), and Foundation. app, personal website, and Instagram.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The most difficult struggle about being an artist has been self acceptance.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create digital and physical artwork using packaging and labeling, AI, 3D lidar, photoshop, screengrabbed effects, glitches, and targeted advertisements as a few sources for content. The imagery includes quick snapshots I take while working as an electrician throughout Los Angeles. Images, videos, and text are used similarly to passages from a poem. Serendipity played a significant role in the development of my work. Actively participating in the art community allowed me to build an encyclopedia of knowledge and tools, which broadened my perspective. There was a significant shift when I began critiquing my work from an outside point of view. It became a balancing act between the information I collected from my surroundings and circumstances, materials and objects that made their way into my studio, and concerns regarding my environmental footprint. I set my own aesthetic biases aside and let the people, materials, and culture guide much of my work’s decision making. Quickly moving through my initial ideas and ignoring my aesthetic reasoning creates a more complex outcome. There’s insight that comes from unforeseen consequences and conversations. They are opportunities to bring “living materials” into the work. Each moment in time allows the knowledge from the past to generate new ideas and insights. Every element of my process is connected to historical events and the numerous points that make up its entirety. The artwork is the result of these circumstances.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I graduated in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and many opportunities were canceled. I had to find creative ways to share my artwork.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.garennovruzyan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garen24.eth
• Twitter: https://x.com/moon_block24