Rabo Karabekian
Encyclopedia
Rabo Karabekian is a fictional character
and the narrator and protagonist
of the 1987 novel Bluebeard by American author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
as the artist of the $50,000 painting The Temptation of Saint Anthony. He was met with resentment by people in the book who felt that the purchase of his painting was a waste of money.
Vonnegut's 1987 novel Bluebeard is largely a fictional autobiography
of Karabekian, and is told primarily as a first person narrative.
Karabekian's parents were survivors of the Armenian genocide
. They moved to California
, where young Rabo's talent as an artist
became apparent. However, although capable of incredible photorealism
, his teacher generally felt his work had no soul (that is, it failed to invoke an emotional response
in the viewer). His father was a cobbler who did repairs until he became obsessed with making elaborate cowboy boots.
As a young man, he joined the Army to serve in World War II
and because of his artistic skills was assigned to a camouflage
unit. Unfortunately, while in service near the front, his position was overrun, costing him an eye, over which he wore a patch for the rest of his life.
After the war, Karabekian became friends with many abstract expressionists, including Jackson Pollock
. Karabekian was able to make some money selling paintings he had bought from civilians during the war and, unlike his friends, was able to support himself while pursuing his art. He could pay other artist's bills, and they paid their debt in art. As a result, he eventually accumulated the world's largest private collection of abstract expressionist works.
Karabekian did have major commissions of his own, including murals. Rejecting his photorealistic roots, his works tended to be abstract
, consisting of a revolutionary house paint called Sateen Dura-Luxe on canvas as the background, topped with colored tape. Although he claimed the works were completely abstract, he admitted to himself that the tape represented the auras
of living creatures on a landscape. Unfortunately, his choice of materials was a poor one - the not-so-revolutionary Sateen Dura-Luxe and tape eventually fell off, essentially destroying all of his work over time. Sateen Dura-Luxe turned out to be highly toxic when exposed to air, so his leftover stock sits in his basement.
As Karabekian's better known work looked very simple, many of his friends doubted he had real artistic talent. However, when he was in the mood, he could paint photographically and spent years apprenticing with Dan Gregory, an illustrator. During the preparation of one of his works, he proved his talent to a friend by caricaturing him in dust smeared on canvas.
Karabekian's "secret" in Bluebeard is held in a large old potato barn building on his estate that he never lets anyone enter.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony costs $50,000 and is solid green with one thin, vertical, yellow strip of tape. Karabekian defends the painting in the end of Breakfast of Champions
as a representation of the only pristine element of humanity: 'their awareness'. Karabekian further describes his views in Bluebeard as seeing every person as a thin and bright neon tube representing their soul and their awareness.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the narrator and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the 1987 novel Bluebeard by American author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
In Vonnegut's fiction
He is an abstract expressionist artist who appears first in the 1973 novel Breakfast of ChampionsBreakfast of Champions
Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. Set in the fictional town of Midland City, it is the story of "two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast." One of these men, Dwayne Hoover, is a normal-looking but...
as the artist of the $50,000 painting The Temptation of Saint Anthony. He was met with resentment by people in the book who felt that the purchase of his painting was a waste of money.
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
of Karabekian, and is told primarily as a first person narrative.
Karabekian's parents were survivors of the Armenian genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. They moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where young Rabo's talent as an artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
became apparent. However, although capable of incredible photorealism
Photorealism
Photorealism is the genre of painting based on using the camera and photographs to gather information and then from this information creating a painting that appears photographic...
, his teacher generally felt his work had no soul (that is, it failed to invoke an emotional response
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
in the viewer). His father was a cobbler who did repairs until he became obsessed with making elaborate cowboy boots.
As a young man, he joined the Army to serve in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and because of his artistic skills was assigned to a camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
unit. Unfortunately, while in service near the front, his position was overrun, costing him an eye, over which he wore a patch for the rest of his life.
After the war, Karabekian became friends with many abstract expressionists, including Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
. Karabekian was able to make some money selling paintings he had bought from civilians during the war and, unlike his friends, was able to support himself while pursuing his art. He could pay other artist's bills, and they paid their debt in art. As a result, he eventually accumulated the world's largest private collection of abstract expressionist works.
Karabekian did have major commissions of his own, including murals. Rejecting his photorealistic roots, his works tended to be abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
, consisting of a revolutionary house paint called Sateen Dura-Luxe on canvas as the background, topped with colored tape. Although he claimed the works were completely abstract, he admitted to himself that the tape represented the auras
Auras
Auras is a town and a nagar panchayat in Unnao district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.-Demographics: India census, Auras had a population of 5653. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Auras has an average literacy rate of 51%, lower than the national average of 59.5%;...
of living creatures on a landscape. Unfortunately, his choice of materials was a poor one - the not-so-revolutionary Sateen Dura-Luxe and tape eventually fell off, essentially destroying all of his work over time. Sateen Dura-Luxe turned out to be highly toxic when exposed to air, so his leftover stock sits in his basement.
As Karabekian's better known work looked very simple, many of his friends doubted he had real artistic talent. However, when he was in the mood, he could paint photographically and spent years apprenticing with Dan Gregory, an illustrator. During the preparation of one of his works, he proved his talent to a friend by caricaturing him in dust smeared on canvas.
Karabekian's "secret" in Bluebeard is held in a large old potato barn building on his estate that he never lets anyone enter.
The Temptation of Saint Anthony costs $50,000 and is solid green with one thin, vertical, yellow strip of tape. Karabekian defends the painting in the end of Breakfast of Champions
Breakfast of Champions
Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. Set in the fictional town of Midland City, it is the story of "two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast." One of these men, Dwayne Hoover, is a normal-looking but...
as a representation of the only pristine element of humanity: 'their awareness'. Karabekian further describes his views in Bluebeard as seeing every person as a thin and bright neon tube representing their soul and their awareness.