ARMENIAN ART

Armenian art is the unique form of art developed over the last five   millennia  in   which the  Armenian  people  lived  on  the Armenian  Highland.  Armenian  architecture  and  miniature painting  have  dominated  Armenian  art  and   have shown consistent development over the centuries.

Panos Terlemezian

Panos Terlemezian  was  an  Armenian  painter,  a  People’s Artist  of  Armenian  SSR.  Terlemezian  was born in Aygestan, located in the vicinity of the city of Van, Western Armenia. He continued education and majored in fine arts. In 1909, Panos Terlemezian was elected as a mayor of Van.

Influenced  by  impressionism, Terlemezian became the author of industrial  pictures. The contribution of  Panos  Terlemezyan in Armenian fine  arts is  invaluable. He was rated highly and the  art  works  of  Panos  Terlemezyan  were  appreciated in Armenia. An arts school established in Yerevan in 1921, was named after him in 1941

Arshile Gorky

Arshile Gorky was an Armenian-American painter, who had a seminal influence on Abstract Expressionism. He spent most his life as a national of the United States. Gorky has been hailed as one  of  the  most  powerful  American  painters  of  the  20th century. As such, his works were often speculated to have been informed  by  the  suffering  and  loss  he  experienced  in  the Armenian Genocide.

Gorky was born on April 15, 1904, in  the  village of Khorgom, situated  on  the  shores of  Lake  Van in the Ottoman Empire.

In 1915, Gorky fled Lake  Van  during the  Armenian Genocide and escaped with his mother and his three sisters into Russian-controlled territory. In the  aftermath  of the genocide, Gorky’s mother  died  of  starvation in  Yerevan  in  1919.  Arriving  in America in 1920, the 16-year-old Gorky was reunited with his father, but they never grew close.

Gorky’s contributions to American and world art are difficult to overestimate. His paintings and drawings hang in every major American  museum  including  the  National  Gallery  of  Art, the  Museum  of  Modern  Art,  the  Art  Institute  of  Chicago, the Metropolitan and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

“The Artist with His Mother” is one of the most popular works of Arshile Gorky. “The Artist with His  Mother” reflects  the  artists’ pain and memories. Gorky  presents his  mother as a symbol of the lost motherland and its beauty.

Gorky’s art has  always  expressed  the  idea  of  the  Armenian Genocide,  lake  Van, as well  as  the Armenian  lost  homeland.  During  the  last  period  of  his  life,  Gorky  presented  unique paintings with bright colors. The  most  significant  ones  among these  paintings  are  “Agony”,  “Waterfall”, “Parks in Sochi”, and many others.

Ivan Aivazovsky

Ivan  Aivazovsky  is  known  as a master  of  marine  art  and a Russian Romantic painter who was Armenian! His seascapes are true works of art, possibly inspired  by  his  home  in Crimea on the shores of the Black Sea. He was  born Hovhannes  Aivazian, in 1817 to Armenian parents, Konstantin and Hripsime Aivazian.

Aivazovsky began his painting studies in Russia where he was influenced by his teachers and classic Romantic era painters. He also  traveled  and  studied  in  Europe,  where  he  visited  his brother at the  Armenian  monastery in  Venice It was here that he studied  Armenian  art  and  lerned to incorporate Armenian elements into his works. His fame  as  an  artist  began to grow during the 1850s when he  received  many  honors and  awards from  countries  all  around the world, including  Russia, France, Greece, and the Ottoman Empire. By 1865, he opened a studio in  his  hometown of  Fedosia  and  was  paid  a  salary  by  the Imperial Academy of the Arts.

The “Ninth Wave”  is  arguably Aivazovsky’s best work and is an amazing  example  of  his  unique  capture  of  light  and  water movement.  “Shipwreck”  and  “On the Storm”  are  two  of  his other famous  seascapes, while  “View of Tiflis”  is  an  excellent example  of one of his  landscape  paintings. What is even more impressive is that  he painted  almost  exclusively from memory without the assistance of preliminary sketches.

In terms of  Armenian themed  paintings, Aivazovsky  was  the first Armenian painter to paint the famous Armenian mountain, Mt. Ararat, “Valley of Mt. Ararat”.

Martiros Saryan

Martiros Saryan is  one of  the  greatest  artists  of  the  20th century, the founder of  the Armenian  national  contemporary school of painting. Saryan  was  born  on February 28, 1880 in New Nakhichevan. As a prominent public figure, he headed the Union of  Artists of  Armenia  from 1945-1951. His  works  are mainly  preserved  and  exhibited  in  the  National  Gallery of Armenia, as well as in the best museums of the CIS, the USA, France and other countries.

Saryan, due  to  his  unique  perception  of  the  world,  was unofficially  recognized  as  a  “Master  of  Color”.  The artist’s canvases  are  literally  imbued with warm colors and national motives of his beloved Armenia. Looking  at  the  paintings of Saryan, you involuntarily feel a kinship with nature, so skillfully the  master  plays  with colors.  His  infinite love  for  his  motherland and people, the maestro used to express through art: he painted mountains,  the sun, fields  of  gold and green, simple  peasants,  and  in all  of  this  there was  an  immense worship of Armenia. Saryan skillfully combined artistic traditions of  the  East with  modern  achievements  of  the  European art, creating his own unique “Saryan style”.

Armenian Cross-Stones

Cross stones are trendy in  Armenia. They are  outdoor  steles carved from stone, and the main element of them is the cross. Armenia was the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion. So Christian symbols are widely used in the craftsmanship of khachkars.  Khachkar is included in the list of UNESCO’s intangible world heritage.

The Art of Making Armenian Carpets

Carpet weaving is a traditional Armenian craft that has a history of  thousands  of  years. It  has  been part of Armenian  culture since ancient times. A carpet or a rug is a woven  textile that is mostly used to cover floors. It is still unknown when the carpets were  used  first, but  some  archeologists  proved  that  they appeared  in  2-1  millennium  BC.  They   were   considered  a necessity  in  all  traditional  Armenian homes and were used to cover floors, decorate walls. Due  to their  popularity and high-quality, Armenian carpets were successfully exported and sold abroad.

Historians  noted that Armenian carpets had exceptional quality because they were made from high-quality wool and were dyed with natural colors, especially with “vordan karmir”.

Nowadays, rug  making  in  Armenia  continues  to  be  popular. There are some private companies and individual weavers who keep alive the traditional craft.

The most widespread materials to produce carpets are sheep or goat wool, cotton, linen, silk, hemp. For  coloring, only national dyes  are  used. Armenian  carpets  have  different  ornaments. They are  very  diverse  and  each one has its specific meaning. The design of Armenian carpets is very diverse. The ornaments reflect  the  traditions,  rituals, and  beliefs  of  Armenia.  To understand the meaning of them, you must have knowledge of Armenian history and culture.

ARMENIAN MUSIC

The Armenian music originated in the 2^nd millennium BC. The Armenians  had a unique musical tool, called  “Pandir”.  Pavstos Buzand  mentioned  that  Armenians  had  already  pipe,  lyre, trumpet, and drums already in the 5th century.

The music of Armenia has its origins in the Armenian Highlands, where people traditionally sang popular folk songs. Armenia has a l ong  musical  tradition  that  was  primarily  collected  and developed  by  Komitas,  a  prominent  priest  and musicologist, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Armenian music has been  presented  internationally by  composers Aram Khachaturian,  Alexander Arutiunian,  Arno Babadjanian,  Karen Kavaleryan as well as by pop musicians and performers such as duduk player Djivan Gasparyan.

Sayat Nova

Sayat-Nova was an Armenian poet, musician and ashugh, who had compositions in a number of languages. His  songs   are in Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Persian. The name Sayat-Nova means “King of Songs” in Persian. In Armenia, Sayat Nova is  considered  a  great  poet  who  made  a  considerable contribution to the Armenian poetry and  music  of  his century. Although he lived his entire life in a deeply religious society, his works are mostly secular and full of romantic expressionism.

Komitas

Komitas,  was  an  Armenian  priest,  musicologist,  composer, arranger,  singer,  and  choirmaster,  who  is  considered  the founder  of Armenian national school of music. He is recognized as one of the pioneers of ethnomusicology.

Komitas lost his mother when he was less than one year old, and then at the age of ten he lost his father.“He was a frail, weak, pale boy, always thoughtful and kind. He was dressed poorly,” one of his classmates recalled about Komitas.

Twelve-year old Soghomon was selected out of the other 20 orphans to study at the Seminary.

He travelled all over the country, villages to search for various folk songs and dances. So he collected some 3,000 songs.The majority of his manuscripts were destroyed or lost all over the world…

On April 24, along with other Armenian intellectuals, he was sent to be killed. Through the intervention of US Ambassador Henre Morgenthau and some Turkish friends, he was saved – but only physically. His personal experience, along with knowing that many of his contemporaries had been murdered, forever changed Komitas. After a time in Constantinople, he left for Paris and was admitted into an insane asylum, where he died.Today the Yerevan Music Conservatory is named after Komitas.

Arno Babajanian

Arno Babajanian was an Armenian composer and pianist during the  Soviet  era.  Much  of  Babajanian’s  music  is  rooted  in Armenian  folk  music  and folklore. In 1971, he was named a People’s Artist of the Soviet Union. Babajanian was also a noted pianist and often performed  his  own works in concerts. He has several piano  works, chamber  works,  orchestral  works, ballet pieces and film scores.

Aram Khachatryan

Aram Khachatryan  was an  Armenian  composer and conductor. His first major work, the  Piano  Concerto popularized his name within and  outside  the  Soviet Union. It was  followed  by  the Violin Concerto  and  the  Cello  Concerto. His  other  significant compositions include the  Masquerade  Suite, the Anthem of the Armenian SSR, three symphonies  and  around  25  film scores. Khachatrian is  best  known  fo his ballet  music — Gayane  and Spartacus. His  style  is  “characterized  by  colorful  harmonies, captivating rhythms,  virtuosity,  improvisations,  and  sensuous melodies.

Djivan Gasparyan

Djivan Gasparyan is an Armenian musician and composer. He plays the duduk, a double reed woodwind instrument related to the orchestral oboe. Gasparyan is known as the “Master of the duduk”. He  has  won  four  medals  at  UNESCO  worldwide competitions.  In  2002,  he  received  the  WOMEX  Lifetime Achievement Award. He has toured the world several times with a small ensemble  playing  Armenian  folk  music. His music has

been chosen on the soundtrack of several international films.

Duduk

Duduk is a musical instrument made from aged apricot wood. That’s why  Armenians  call  it “Tsiranapogh.” It  is a  magical instrument which  touches a person’s soul. You  can  feel  the grief, the  painful  past  of  the  Armenian people  through the duduk. This  national  instrument  is  registered  in  UNESCO’s intangible world heritage list.

ARMENIAN DANCES

Armenian  National  Dances  are  one  of the oldest ones in the area of Caucasus. They reflect the entire story of the country by making one the part  of it. When  watching  these  dances,  you feel  like  reading  a  poem  about  the  history  of  Armenia. By dancing  them yourself,  you feel  what  Armenians felt – all  the struggles during wars, strong  belief  in  God, enormous  power, love  toward  the  country  and  family  and  happiness of  the victory.

The  Armenian dance heritage has  been  considered  one of the oldest and most varied in its respective region. From the fifth to the third millennia B.C., in  the higher  regions  of  Armenia, the land  of Ararat, there  are  rock  paintings  of  scenes of country dancing. These  dances  were  probably accompanied by certain kinds of songs or musical instruments.

Kochari

Kochari is a very well-known dance in Armenia. It is a  category of dance, and each region dances it with its individual style. The word Kochari means “knee, come”

Yarkhushta

Martial dances are also very common in Armenia. One of the most  popular  ones  is  called  Yarkhushta,  originated  from historical  Armenian  region  Sasun. It  is  from a category of Armenian “clap dances.” The most important part of the dance is when dancers who are facing each other clap onto the palms of  each other. Traditionally  soldiers were  dancing Yarkhushta before the war to feel more powerful and to awake the battle spirit in them.

Berd

Another well-known Armenian martial dance is called Berd. The dance originated from an old Armenian city called Vaspurakan. In the  beginning, this  was a game  called  Gmbetakhagh when people  were making a  fortress by  standing  on  each  other’s shoulders. After some time, the game transferred into a dance. The dancers are usually men who show the process of building a wall for the defense of territories during the battle.

Shalakho

One  of  the most famous and  energetic  Armenian  dances  is called Shalakho. There are different versions of the dance, but the most spread one  is where two men  dance-fight  to win the heart of their loved woman. Nowadays, both  men  and  women dance Shalakho during various events in Armenia. Women have slow and  lyrical moves as in the most Armenian dances. Men’s moves are very different from women’s ones. They dance faster and more energetically.