Category Archives: CULTURE

Summary 

Mikhail A. Kokzhaev
This article is about one of the masterpieces of Armenian operatic art. Aleksander Harutyunyan’s “Sayat-Nova” presents the historical character of Armenian music. The originality is that Sayat-Nova himself was a poet and musician, known as ashugh, meaning a singer who creates love songs (both text and music and presents them to the public). Aleksander Harutyunyan cited some of Sayat-Nova’s songs written in the 17th century in his opera. Even when composing his own music, he displayed the style of the singer in his original music. As a result, unique composition is obtained, in which a synthesis of Armenian monody is conjoined with the classical genre of opera and the symphonic orchestra.

The article analyzes the dramaturgical features of the opera, for which two factors are essential: the content, and the peculiarity of the melody. The intonational structure is quite unique, causing the overall melodic environment to be unique as well. The component of the rhythm and the orchestration of the opera are also very interesting and meaningful. Each instrument or instrumental group is justified and used with reason.

Therefore, we can assert that Aleksandr Harutyunyan’s opera is a masterpiece not only within the framework of Armenian national operatic art, but in musical culture worldwide.

On the Occasion of the 175th Anniversary of his Birth

Summary

Anna G. Asatryan
T. Chukhajyan, who had received formal musical training and mastered completely the technique of European composing was among the first Eastern musician who tried to find a way of bringing Eastern and Western musical culture closer together; he brought his own Eastern musicality to the complicated genres of opera, symphony and chamber music.

T. Chukhajyan placed the foundations of the Armenian classical professional school of composing. He authored the first examples of Armenian romance, i.e. “Karun,” “Lora,” and the first piano opuses in Armenian reality.

T. Chukhajyan was the founder of the Armenian musical theater. It was through his activity that the beginnings of Armenian musical theater in the second half of the 19th century were conditioned. Not only did he set the foundations for Armenian operatic music, but with his six operas, the historical romance, “Arshak II,” the triad of comedic operas, “The Cunning of Arif,” “Kyose Kehyan,” and “The Father and Son Leblebij,” the patriotic “Indiana,” the mythological “Zemyre,” he set into motion the first stage in the development of Armenian musical theater.

The creation of the first Armenian opera was accompanied by the creation of the musical theater. T. Chukhajyan understood the necessity for a national theater of opera in the 1870s. The “Ottoman Opera Theater Group,” under the leadership of T. Chukhajyan and T. Galemjyan, was the first musical theater group composed completely of Armenian artists in Armenian reality (the theater group was the first in the entire Middle East). They had the monopoly in directing the musical productions.

The author places great importance on the production of T. Chukhajyan’s operas at the A. Spendiaryan National Opera and Ballet Theater, the establishment of the Tigran Chukhajyan Museum in Yerevan and also the publication of the composer’s complete collection of works.

Summary

Yvette N.Tajarian

André Sevrugian , known later as “Darvish,” was the son of photographer AntoineKhan Sevruguine , born on May 1,1894 in Tehran. Vasil, Antoine’s father, studied Oriental languages at the Lazarev School in Moscow, after which he entered the civil service, working as a diplomat at the Russian Embassy in Tehran. Vasil, due to his political position, was obliged to change the surname “de Sevruguine.” Antoine adapted the name slightly, while his son André returned to the Armenian spelling. Antoine Sevruguine left the world of photography an exceptional oeuvre, consisting of photographs of the various regions of Iran and the court of Naser ad-Din Shah of the Qajar Dynasty.

André inherited his father’s artistic predisposition, and was fascinated from a very early age by Persian poetry, which was later to be central to his artistic oeuvre. He was present when his father’s friends visited his home, and would listen in fascination when his father recited verses from the Shahname. Often he would put on an old helmet, jump on a chair and pretend to be Rostam, Afrasyab, Qejqaus or Bijan, the heroes of the epic. He belonged to the generation of artists of the first third of the 20th century who attempted to bring something new into the rich and renowned tradition of Pesian art, which had stagnated since the 19th century.

He proceeded to illustrate his childhood dreams, inspired by evening recitations of the Persian national epic Shahname in his parents’ house. In these pictures he was able to integrate the styles of the early and Safavid masters, such as Behzad and Reza Abbasi with their ornamentalized focus on detail, with modern elements, such as perspective, light and shadow, and spatiality. The result was again a series of illustrations of Omar Khayyam,Hafez and Baba Taher. Paintings on Armenian history and folk life, and particularly the songs of the Armenian bard Sayat-Nova, have a specific place in Darvish’s oeuvre. André Sevrugian let himself be inspired by the centuries-old tradition of Persian book illustrations, and yet his paintings are a unique synthesis of Western and Eastern art.

Summary

Lusine V. Sargsyan

The examination of the canon tables of the Gospels of 1329 (an index of the four synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which works like a concordance; usually displayed under decorated arches in vertical columns and placed at the beginning of the Gospel Books) played an important role in the works of Avag Tsaghkogh and are worthy of a separate assessment.

The study of relations with other monuments makes it possible to identify where Avag’s range of ornaments derived from. The decoration of these canon tables employed by Avag takes us to the Cilician traditions of Armenian miniature painting, which have their stable role in the ornamental paintings of Gladzor. In addition to this, the ornament of canon tables by Avag provides us with types, which are derived from the early period of Armenian decorative paintings.

In the art of canon tables of the 1329 Gospel one can also sense the master’s independent and courageous approach to the art form. Whenever he had the possibility to defer from adopted norms, he did so diligently, trying to reflect truthfully plants and surroundings (birds, pomegranate branches, flowers, etc.) as accurately, as possible. In this regard the work of Avag significantly differs from the canon tables painted by Taronetzi in 1323, which glitter with gold and paints, and create the element of surprise with imaginary sceneries and miraculous creatures.

Thus, Avag Tsaghkogh’s miraculously created canon tables with their imaginary and decorative motifs summarize and at the same time continue and develop the decoration techniques of the previous centuries. Each of the canon tables on its own is a complete piece of art.

From the Perspective of the Protection of Artistic Heritage

Summary

Ruben S. Anghaladyan (St. Petersburg)

The article is a critical analysis of the difficult fate of Armenian culture during the existence of the 20 years of independence of the Third Armenian Republic. It is accompanied comments and recommendations of a professional nature. The author shows that at the time of the collapse of the USSR, the high quality of Armenian culture that was achieved, compared to the losses it incurred in the 1990s was conditioned largely by the irresponsible attitude of the ruling authorities of the day and by the lack of professionalism by the successive leaders of the Culture Ministry. By disclosing the reasons for the latter’s lack of policy, it is shown how Italy’s experience can be instructive for Armenia, where the state takes fundamental care of the protection of artistic heritage. Meanwhile, the existence of a Culture Ministry in Armenia, from the perspective of social and state interests, in fact provides no benefit, because it has turned into a means for satisfying the personal and collective interests of successive ministers.

The simplistic notions that have taken root in independent Armenia regarding the interchange of culture are subjected to criticism; concrete recommendations are presented to rectify these and to present Armenian culture to the world according to its worth. One of the most serious shortcomings in the country’s cultural policy is accorded a special place in the article and that is the fact of the millions of dollars of worth of cultural treasures that have been accumulated by Diasporan Armenian collectors and which have not been protected and a part of which are now found in museums in the United States, Portugal, Romania, Russia and other countries. To rectify this serious shortcoming, the idea of creating an Armenian Collectors Union is being put forth which could open the way to the establishment of new museums and to make Armenia a touristic center.

The Portrait of an Armenian Girl at the Wilson House

Summary

Armen E. Khachikyan
The “Wilson House” in Washington DC is the memorial museum of USA 28th President Woodrow Wilson (1913 –1921). The museum is situated on the “S” street, in a diplomatic neighborhood, not far from the National Cathedral, where Woodrow Wilson was later buried. In this house Woodrow Wilson spent his last three years, 1921-1924. He had bought this house before living his office and retired here with his second wife, Edith (Bolling) Wilson.

It is a 4-storey building of eclectic style, with a beautiful large garden. Mrs. Wilson tried to furnish the house with every comfort for her husband. Here was Wilson°s personal library with a movie projector, an aristocratically styled dining room and a luminescent solarium where the ex-president liked to rest. Even 50 years after Woodrow Wilson°s death, Mrs. Wilson tried to keep everything as it was while he was alive. In 1968 she transmitted the house to the National Trust as a museum.

Amongst many historical artifacts and portraits at the Wilson House there is a beautiful portrait of an Armenian girl, which is hanged on the stair-well wall to the second floor. The painting is named §L° Esperance¦ – §Hope¦. its author is a famous Armenian – American painter Hovsep T. Pushman (1877-1966), whose other colourful paintings can now be found in Metropolitan, Milwaukee, Rockford museums in USA, in different galleries and private collections in France.

The portrait is a graphic evidence of American-Armenian correlations which already have a history of over a century. Besides, the painting has an intriguing history of itself. It is very interesting in what circumstances and why this portrait of an Armenian girl was presented to President Wilson. Here is a brief glance at the course of these events.

On Saryan’s 130-th Anniversary

Summary

Ruben S. Angaladyan
The art of Martiros Saryan (1880-1972), one of the most eminent representatives of the Armenian painting, was formed on the basis of both the best achievements of the French and Russian painting and the apprehension of the aesthetic traditions of Persia and Old Egypt. Still, first and foremost it is the medieval Armenian miniature that was close to Saryan’s heart, especially the psychological portraits of the biblical faces and characters by the author of the 13-th century prominent manuscript “Targmachats”, Grigor.

The comprehension of the art’s object was much wider for Saryan than Armenia’s geographical or cultural perception: by saying Armenia Saryan understood the whole globe, the whole universe. At the same time, Saryan is the only painter in the world painting whose paintings represent his own country’s image and symbol.

As for the choice of values too, Saryan’s painting differs from the French Fauves and the Russian Academic School which have had an impact on him, since in contrast to those trends, Saryan has not used his artist’s rational analysis of the East, but has taken the whole wealth of the Orient as a poetic metaphor, as a riddle, which is to be known, but does not need to be explained.

The Saryan phenomenon lies in the absolute Armenian type in which surprisingly in a natural and organic way the main traits of the exceptionally emotional eastern world-sentiments are intertwined with the worldview of the western man. Due to the emergence of a painter of such a scale as Saryan, the Armenian painting of the New Ages has gained a number of systematizing guidelines, forming artistic and aesthetic bonds both in the national culture and in the relations with other cultures. The wondrous blend and synthesis of several cultures present in Saryan’s works allowed to build the wholeness of art world of the Armenian school. In this way, the path of the Armenian art imagination once again led to the road of the synthesis of the East and the West: the vivid manifestation of the Armenian national character, its unique place and role in the world. That great synthesis of those two cultures and civilizations turned to a solid bridge connecting the East and the West in the 20-th century, one of the holding columns of which is unerringly Martiros Saryan.

Summary

Shushanik G. Zohrabyan
The importance of the art works of Vardges Surenyants is stressed especially by the fact that the painter being a contemporary of the Armenian Genocide of 1894-1896 and then 1915 has left for future generations many valuable pictures, drawings and photos reflecting the greatest tragedy of the Armenian people. They have great art and historic-documentary value. The Hamidian cruel massacres of 1894-1896 are depicted in the Surenyants paintings “Deserted” (1894), “Violated holiness” (1895), “After the massacre” (1895), “Come to me all well-deserved” and the paintings depicting Armenian refugees.

During the Armenian Genocide of 1915 Surenyants came to St.Etchmiadzin and together with great patriot Garegin Hovsepyan did his best to ease the refugees’ lot. At the same time he painted orphans and refugees in Etchmiadzin, Yerevan, Ashtarak, Oshakan where he took part in the opening of schools, got acquainted with everyday life of refugees. Barefooted men, women and children from Shatakh, Aljevazi, Vaspurakan, Karin, Sasun and Western Armenia’s other places in torn clothes but with smiles on their faces and deep consciousness of dignity are painted in his pictures. Gathered in Etchmiadzin refugees in colourful national costumes by their individuality and variety made the painter feel deeper the grief suffered by the people, who left native regions and brought with them a fragment of the lost Motherland’s fragrance and charms.

Summary

Anush R. Hovhannisyan
The article is an attempt to present the demolition of Armenian culture during and after the Armenian Genocide in Turkey in the context of the conception of cultural genocide. According to R.Lemkin, genocide is not only the physical annihilation of an ethnic or religious group but also the elimination of its national culture. A number of specialists believe that the definition of genocide also includes the notion of cultural genocide. Cultural genocide is expressed in those actions and measures which are aimed at damaging the identity of the target-group and encouraging the annihilation of its ethnic culture, destructing the monuments, applying linguicide, cultural cannibalism, reinterpretation of history, denialism, etc.

The Republican Turkey has not recognized and is still trying to deny the very fact of genocide. So the long history of the efforts of the Turks to erase the fact of the crime of the Armenian genocide from memory, to destroy the Armenian cultural monuments, to discriminate the Armenian historical heritage of Western Armenia are part of a systematic policy and can be defined as cultural genocide.

The Armenian cultural heritage is a part of the world’s civilization, so the concern of its preservation should be shared by the world community and must be protected by international effort.

Summary

Arthur A.Hovhannisyan
The article is a brief study of the famous Armenian sculptor-painter Khoren TerHaroutyan’s works of art echoing the cataclysmic events of 1915. Such works as “Deir El-Zor”, “In the waves of the Euphrates”, “I’ll curse the day when I was born,” encapsulating the artist’s childhood memories and tragic experiences, permeate with a deep feeling of suffering and pain. On the other hand, “Van” (“Partisan”), “The Vulture and the Skeleton,” “Little Mher,” and few others are varigated in style, demonstrating a particular trait in Khoren Ter-Haroutyan’s approach to sculpture and graphic art.