Garik Gyurjyan celebrates optimism in black & white An essay by Nancy Kricorian Dzenkele menkele jeev jeev – It’s Taline! reporter the armenian the May 5, 2007 May & arts Her bright and cheerful song and dance bring joy to culture Armenian children and warm their parents’ hearts 1975 documentary about Arme- nian shepherds called “Seasons.” The subject Possibly the Kinodance Company dancers went of a film by greatest novel to Armenia last year and filmed the famed ever written scenes similar to the ones in “Sea- Taviani in Eastern sons,” and they also performed at brothers, Armenian, the locations Peleshian shot his Skylark Burning Orchards film. “Denizen” features videos Farm is now is now available shot in Armenia behind and on available in English the dancers as they perform. f in English translation. connect: translation. www.kinodance.org first published in the Armenian Skylark Farm reading in SSR in 1966, but it was banned and burned on the streets of Yerevan New York City for its version of the events. The Antonia Arslan will read from author released a revised version her award-winning novel Skylark in 1968. Burning Orchards has now Farm, which was recently translat- been published in English, trans- French film festival at ed into English and published by lated from its original banned Knopf. The reading and talk will version, by Black Apollo Press in Golden Apricot take place on Tuesday, May 15, at the U.K. The book launch will take A French film festival will be part of 7:00 p.m. at the Zohrab Informa- place on Wednesday, May 9, at 7 the Golden Apricot International tion Center at the Diocese of the p.m. at the Armenia House, 23 Che- Film Festival in Yerevan this sum- Armenian Church, 630 Second Av- niston Gardens, London W8. f mer. More than half a dozen French enue, New York, N.Y. connect: movies have already been chosen Arslan is professor of literature [email protected] for screenings between July 9 and at the University of Padua. Sky- July 14. More than 250 films have lark Farm (La Masseria delle Al- been submitted to the festival, and lodole) is her first novel; it won organizers anticipate some 50,000 the Italian Premio Campiello in people will participate in festival 2004. The novel chronicles the life screenings and events. f of a family struggling for survival connect: during the Armenian Genocide in www.gaiff.am 1915. A film based on the novel, di- rected by Paolo and Vitorio Tavi- Dancer, Alissa Cardone ani, and featuring actress Arsinée Video Still by Alla Kovgan Khanjian recently premiered at ASA’s 58th annual Artists’ the Berlinale. f Cyberart inspired by connect: Ball 212.686.0710 Peleshian’s “Seasons” This New York tradition for more A growing number of artists are than half a century takes place Armenian masterpiece creating what they call cyberart. Saturday, June 16, at the Puck These works of art are produced us- Building in Soho. The event in- available in English ing computers, cameras, and vid- cludes an art exhibit, music, and Gurgen Mahari’s Burning Orchards eos, and are distributed through dancing. Proceeds are donated to is considered by some to be the iPods and cell phones. (See Poetry, Armenian charities and the Ar- greatest novel ever written in page C11.) During Boston’s Cyber- menian Students’ Association’s Eastern Armenian. Set in Van be- arts Festival, the Kinodance com- scholarship fund f fore the Genocide, it offers one pany performed its creation called connect: version of events leading up to the “Denizen,” inspired by Armenian [email protected] great catastrophe. The book was director Artavazd Peleshian’s www.asainc.org Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture Copyright © 2007 by CS Media Enterprises llc On page C1: Night after night, Armenian children across the All Rights Reserved United States go to sleep hearing a mother’s lullaby. Chances are Contact [email protected] with announcements good that mother is Taline, and her CD Oror is on again. To advertise, write [email protected] or call 1-201-226-1995 Story on page C6. Briefly C2 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture 5/5/2007 Children of Hayk inspire in black and white Garik Gyurjyan UCLA professor of Armenian and characters Garik captures include Near Eastern history Richard a 15-year-old Armenian-American celebrates beauty and Hovannisian, the Catholicos of All champion gymnast with Olympic optimism Armenians, Karekin II, and famed hopes. attorney Mark Geragos. “It’s people who have somehow Not only are those with name contributed to the culture,” ex- by Paul Chaderjian recognition on display, but so plains Garik. “Those who have are people Garik calls “symbolic.” helped our people, who make us Among the photographs he shares proud, who inspire others, and This weekend, a photo exhibit ti- at the Harvest Gallery is one of people who haven’t been exposed tled “Children of Hayk” opens at a mother who lost both her sol- to the public.” the Harvest Gallery in Glendale. dier sons during the Karabakh Garik says he considers each The photographer, Garik Gyurjian, liberation war. Other interesting of his photographs a work of art, set out to present a collection of important, well-known, influen- tial, and interesting Armenians. “The project started off with me going to Armenia in 2001 for six weeks,” says the Armenia native, whose father is a Armenia’s dep- uty minister of culture and youth affairs, Gagik Gyurjian. When he returned home to the U.S., Garik realized he wanted to document as many interesting Armenians he could meet. These portraits he would include in what he calls a “photographic encyclo- pedia of Armenians in the early 21st century.” “I decided to include everyone from around the world,” he says, “because there are people who are living and working in other coun- tries and are helping Armenia and might never go back there. But still, they are very Armenian, and they’re the children of Hayk. They come from the same place. They come from the same people.” Choosing his subjects Included in the exhibit are por- traits of the first lady of jazz, Tatevik Hovhannisyan, mas- Photography ter dudukist Jivan Gasparyan, Sculptor Khatchour Iskandarian in his studio. Photos: Garik Gyurjian. Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture 5/5/2007 C3 through rose-colored glasses, but the truth is that he simply wants some Armenians to stop being cynics all the time and to stop questioning everything in Arme- nian life and Armenian society. “Some people say I’m naive,” he says, “but, we’re used to saying toasts and good things. Then we disregard a certain amount of that positive talk. I want to show peo- ple who are comfortable in their own skin, and it doesn’t matter what they look like. I think they’re all beautiful.” Back story of the would- be doctor Garik, who has been commis- sioned to shoot writers and art- ists for magazines like Time and Travel + Leisure Golf, newspapers like the LA Weekly, and by music companies including Hollywood Records and DreamWorks Re- Right: Karekin II, cords, started out wanting to be a Catholicos of All medical doctor. Armenians. Below: “I went to school at UC San Di- Peter Balakian, ego as a biochemistry major, hop- author of The ing to become a doctor,” he says. “I Burning Tigris. took some photo classes, because my cousin here was taking photo and he hopes they communicate classes. I saw him developing film his admiration for his subjects, and liked photography.” his love for his country, his people, While volunteering at the sur- and his optimism. gical intensive care unit at UCSD, “I think that optimism is a big part Garik realized medicine and work of my work,” he says. “I see that in a hospital were not for him. in the portraits, and other people “People were being referred to as have mentioned it. I would love for ‘it’ and became inanimate objects,” this work to inspire and make Ar- he says. “I did not like the whole menians more optimistic or feel a thing. But spending time in the little bit more positive about our photo lab, I could be there for people and our country.” hours, until three o’clock in the Garik says he is targeting his morning and not realize it.” optimism at pessimists who com- Garik soon switched universi- plain about every single thing that ties and majors and earned a bach- happens in Armenia and with Ar- elor’s degree in photography from menian society. “I want them to Cal State Northridge. He graduat- see that we are a beautiful people, ed, spent a few years working as a interesting people,” he says. “There freelance photographer, as an as- are interesting people among us, sistant, and at photo shops. Then who are doing really great work.” he decided to go back to school The photographer says he doesn’t and learn more about the art of want to sound like a cliché or like photography. That quest led him he is looking at Armenian society to the Art Center College of De- C4 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture 5/5/2007 sign in Pasadena, where he earned Garik says when he is ready a bachelor of fine arts in 2003. to capture someone on film, he “I think I like the immediacy of meets the subject with no expec- photography,” he says. “My dad tations. “I go with an open mind,” is an architect, and I had always he says. “All these people are dif- thought about becoming an ar- ferent.