Announcement

Collapse

Forum Rules (Everyone Must Read!!!)

1] What you CAN NOT post.

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this forum to post any material which is:
- abusive
- vulgar
- hateful
- harassing
- personal attacks
- obscene

You also may not:
- post images that are too large (max is 500*500px)
- post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or cited properly.
- post in UPPER CASE, which is considered yelling
- post messages which insult the Armenians, Armenian culture, traditions, etc
- post racist or other intentionally insensitive material that insults or attacks another culture (including Turks)

The Ankap thread is excluded from the strict rules because that place is more relaxed and you can vent and engage in light insults and humor. Notice it's not a blank ticket, but just a place to vent. If you go into the Ankap thread, you enter at your own risk of being clowned on.
What you PROBABLY SHOULD NOT post...
Do not post information that you will regret putting out in public. This site comes up on Google, is cached, and all of that, so be aware of that as you post. Do not ask the staff to go through and delete things that you regret making available on the web for all to see because we will not do it. Think before you post!


2] Use descriptive subject lines & research your post. This means use the SEARCH.

This reduces the chances of double-posting and it also makes it easier for people to see what they do/don't want to read. Using the search function will identify existing threads on the topic so we do not have multiple threads on the same topic.

3] Keep the focus.

Each forum has a focus on a certain topic. Questions outside the scope of a certain forum will either be moved to the appropriate forum, closed, or simply be deleted. Please post your topic in the most appropriate forum. Users that keep doing this will be warned, then banned.

4] Behave as you would in a public location.

This forum is no different than a public place. Behave yourself and act like a decent human being (i.e. be respectful). If you're unable to do so, you're not welcome here and will be made to leave.

5] Respect the authority of moderators/admins.

Public discussions of moderator/admin actions are not allowed on the forum. It is also prohibited to protest moderator actions in titles, avatars, and signatures. If you don't like something that a moderator did, PM or email the moderator and try your best to resolve the problem or difference in private.

6] Promotion of sites or products is not permitted.

Advertisements are not allowed in this venue. No blatant advertising or solicitations of or for business is prohibited.
This includes, but not limited to, personal resumes and links to products or
services with which the poster is affiliated, whether or not a fee is charged
for the product or service. Spamming, in which a user posts the same message repeatedly, is also prohibited.

7] We retain the right to remove any posts and/or Members for any reason, without prior notice.


- PLEASE READ -

Members are welcome to read posts and though we encourage your active participation in the forum, it is not required. If you do participate by posting, however, we expect that on the whole you contribute something to the forum. This means that the bulk of your posts should not be in "fun" threads (e.g. Ankap, Keep & Kill, This or That, etc.). Further, while occasionally it is appropriate to simply voice your agreement or approval, not all of your posts should be of this variety: "LOL Member213!" "I agree."
If it is evident that a member is simply posting for the sake of posting, they will be removed.


8] These Rules & Guidelines may be amended at any time. (last update September 17, 2009)

If you believe an individual is repeatedly breaking the rules, please report to admin/moderator.
See more
See less

Cultural Horizons of Armenians

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #41
    Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

    MONUMENTS IN ARMENIA NOT REGISTERED YET

    Panorama.am
    13:44 08/12/2007

    "We implement fact writing works on the Armenian monuments," Samvel
    Karapetyan, director of an organization engaged in the research of
    the Armenian architecture, informed. In his words, it is a shame we
    do not have a registrar of the Armenian monuments yet although the
    country is on the space of 30 thousand square meters.

    He mentioned that the organization has been engaged in fact writing
    works since 1920 but they have not finished as of yet. "There are
    about 1000 villages on the territory of Armenia that have monuments
    not under registration. The registered monuments should be published
    in books according to marzes but we do not have such books yet,"
    Karapetyan added.


    ........
    MONUMENTS IN GEORGIA AND WESTERN ARMENIA BECOME FEWER AND FEWER

    Panorama.am
    21:20 08/12/2007

    "We conducted two trips to Georgia and three to Western Armenia," said
    Samvel Karapetyan the director of the organization which investigates
    Armenian architecture. According to him the mission of their trips
    was to examine and find out Armenian monuments and to measure, to
    photograph and copy Armenian lithographs.

    S. Karapetyan said that they edit the results of the trips to publish
    books on their basis. He said that next year they plan to publish a
    book devoted to the investigations carried out in Akhalckha. "The most
    interesting thing was that we found a khachkar from 1475 in Akhalckha,"
    said S. Karapetyan.

    He also said that their group found many khachkars in Akhalckha from
    14th and 15th centuries, but the lithographs of which are unknown
    and were never published. Unfortunately he mentioned that Armenian
    churches and khachkars are being destroyed in Georgia. During the
    reconstructions of the churches they destroy Armenian values.

    S. Karapetyan said that they found an Armenian khachkar from 927
    in the Western Armenia. And he continued saying that there are many
    khachkars from 14-15 centuries in the Western Armenia.

    The expert mentioned that "Mecopa" monastery is completely
    destroyed. He said that they met the Kurd; he was in the group of
    those who destroyed the monastery. The Kurd told the story of how
    they destroyed it in order to find gold.

    S. Karapetyan said that next year they will visit the places in
    Western Armenia, Tbilisi and Arcakh which they did not manage to see
    yet. He said that he saw 80% of Arcakh monuments, so next year he will
    complete the list and publish a full volume of the monuments in Arcakh.

    What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

    Comment


    • #42
      Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

      1 of 2


      INTERVIEW WITH ARMENIAN PHOTOGRAPHER: ARSINEH KHACHIKIAN

      SOAD Fans

      Dec 13 2007

      Arsineh is a photographer who followed System of A Down in their
      Mezmerize Tour in 2005, she delivered to fans outstanding shoots for
      their favorite band.

      In 2006, Arsineh followed Serj Tankian & John Dolmayan with her
      camera in their visit to Capitol Hill Observance and their rally to
      push the Armenian Genocide bill. She also joined 'Screamers' movie
      crew and took photos of the movie screening in some different places.

      Arsineh was nice enough to give us her consent for exclusive interview
      for SOADFans talking about her experience with shooting System of A
      Down live on the stage, outside the stage and other things.



      SOADFans: What was the first photograph you ever took (in your
      professional career) and when was that?


      AK: It's not clear if and when I became professional since my primary
      career is graphic design. Photography was always something I just did
      voluntarily since I had my first snapshot camera at 8 years old. It
      served many purposes along the way, mostly personal, but it came in
      handy for everything and is my core passion. If I had to recall, my
      first professional shot was probably a wedding or genocide related
      conference. My first show was Granian (now Kill the Alarm) at The
      Bitter End in New York City.



      SOADFans: What inspired you to become a photographer?

      AK: I always liked the idea of a dark room when I was a child. There
      was a science behind the art that was tangible and real. I took the
      first photo class I could when I was 14, shooting with my father's
      35 mm Canon SLR which he bought before I was born (can't remember the
      exact model). After that, it was merely a way to look at the world at
      every angle, and to share my perspectives with others. I don't work
      in dark rooms anymore, but I still feel a unique excitement every
      time I get a shot I like. I also feel the potential with widespread
      connectivity and the responsibility photographers have to expose events
      around the world with the hopes of inspiring others. The photos I take
      can be seen by the world and interpreted in a million ways, hopefully
      with a better understanding of the subject. It's this idea that the
      photo speaks for itself and cannot tell a lie that is untouchable in
      a world where words are misinterpreted every day.



      What kind of photographing equipment do you use? do you have any
      favorite?


      I now shoot with a Canon EOS 5D with a 17-40mm and 75-300mm lens. My
      first camera was my Dad's Canon. I then bought a 35mm Nikon N70,
      then a Canon EOS Rebel, and now my 5D. I keep it simple.

      I know you're Armenian, and you used to live in L.A but recently you
      moved to Armenia, what made you decide to move from LA to Armenia?



      How has that been for you?

      I actually never lived in LA, just visited far too much. I grew
      up in DC and studied in New York and Boston with a very strong
      sense of Armenian identity instilled by my family, active in the
      community since I was 8. Moving to Armenia seemed like a natural
      progression after a lifetime devoted to preserving the culture. It
      became reality when I was offered a job in 2001 as photo editor of
      AIM magazine. I had visited several times before, but only for short
      visits. During that time, I discovered an addiction to Armenia and
      returned to DC with the intention of gaining experience, saving up,
      devising a plan and moving back to Armenia once I was prepared. I
      was then called on to work for the Armenian National Committee of
      America in their national headquarters in Washington. I did anything
      from helping Armenian Americans start their careers in public policy,
      to designing more postcard campaigns than I can remember, to organizing
      several protests and vigils for the Armenian and Darfur genocides, to
      collaborating with System of a Down on the SOULS benefit concerts. I
      did that for a few years and worked a couple other design jobs to
      save up for my return to Armenia in '06.

      I set the date for my move coincidentally right after Serj and
      John's visit to Washington. They left town, I packed my life and
      was in Armenia the following week. The moment I arrived felt like I
      had been there all along. I started a PR firm within a month, Deem
      Communications, and now employ 15 industry experts, handling some of
      Armenia's biggest contracts and introducing new business from the
      international market. I am living out my dream, working on massive
      PR projects, organizing cultural events and implementing widespread
      marketing campaigns to a country unfamiliar to the concept for
      decades. All the while, I'm shooting every bird, ant and rock around
      me. One day I'm covering a conference on dual citizenship policies
      or major concerts, the next day I'm capturing a flock of chickens
      or a villager who's main concern is if his grapes were plentiful
      this year. The extremes and contrasts bring out the essence of life
      that I live for. It's back to the basics of life for me, enjoying
      the taste of food, the art of conversation, studying the root of
      someone's accent or dialect, the paths we've crossed, and savouring
      present day life. The fact that this is the land my ancestors came
      from brings it home. Had I been doing all these things anywhere else,
      I wouldn't have felt as rewarded. I get to do what I love most with
      my own people and watch my country grow.



      Do you think more Armenians, who live all around North America/Europe,
      should move back to their homeland Armenia?


      I think those who are interested in living in Armenia should take
      that idea very seriously by visiting and finding something to do. I
      don't believe all Armenians must return as it is a very personal
      choice that depends on many factors in life and vary person to
      person. I happened to be in the right place at the right time with
      few responsibilities holding me back. But to say that Armenia only
      exists within its current borders is neglecting centuries of migrant
      families who have made their marks around the world and maintained
      their identity, spreading their culture to their adopted nations.

      That said, I came to Armenia at a time where you could count
      repatriates from the US on your hands. Visitors would pass through for
      short 2-week trips or long 6-month program stays. It's fair to say
      now that there is a movement, with tens of thousands of repatriates
      from all over the world, and many more visitors and investors. I
      recently published a book, Special Residency Status, sharing stories
      of 18 such repatriates and their insane culture clashes. There are
      thousands of others with their eyes on the homeland and I have no
      doubt that they will keep coming, if not for the romantic idea of
      living in one's land, perhaps for the mere reason that it is a sound
      logical decision. Armenia's economy has been and continues to boom at a
      surprising rate despite all odds of blockade, the slow reconstruction
      from the 1988 earthquake, war through the '90s and the collapse of
      the Soviet Union. With almost all borders closed, no ports and no
      oil, Armenia has rejected all public projections and took off on its
      own. I believe it attributes to two important factors. The Diaspora
      is a unique resource which few other nations have. At the same time,
      the citizens of Armenia faced so much hardship all at once until they
      had no choice but to get creative to survive.

      In the end, two things matter most to me: justice for the Armenian
      genocide and prosperity in the homeland. I've had the chance in life
      to contribute to both.



      A lot of your photos focus on Armenian themes. Is there a main
      message behind your photos? What do you want to tell the world through
      these photos?


      I just want people to see the beauty in everything around them. This
      is something I only realized much later in life, one of the reasons
      I love to shoot so much. I've had people tell me that they never
      looked at the subject that way until they saw it in my photos. I view
      things with a fascination for the form or subject and can only hope
      that the photo conveys that to others. If I focus on Armenian themes,
      it's probably because my life is consumed by them. I do believe that
      the Armenian people are a fascinating race with some of the richest
      colors and spices in life. I love to share that with people who may
      or may not relate to my experience. Armenia is also considered one of
      (if not the) oldest modern nations, which has risen and fallen, played
      a vital role in the make up of today's world, but has gone unnoticed,
      almost neglected. I simply take the opportunity to share it with the
      world where few others do.
      What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

      Comment


      • #43
        Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

        2 of 2

        INTERVIEW WITH ARMENIAN PHOTOGRAPHER: ARSINEH KHACHIKIAN

        SOAD Fans

        Dec 13 2007
        ......
        Let's talk about your work with System of a Down, how did you first
        get to work with them? for how long?


        My first chance to shoot System was in 2000 when they headlined for
        the SnoCore Tour at The Avalon in Boston. It was for an interview I
        conducted with Serj for an Armenian youth magazine. After I returned to
        DC in 2003 to work for the ANCA, one of my first projects was to make
        use of the donation from the first SOULS concert. We decided to put
        it towards a mass postcard campaign, providing hundreds of thousands
        of Armenian Americans with postcards they would then forward to then
        Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay,
        urging passage of the Genocide Resolution to a vote. They decided
        to hold another SOULS concert on which we collaborated, preparing
        informational booklets on the genocide for mass distribution at the
        concert and organizing relevant non-profit booth presence to educate
        the masses on human rights issues. I attended several of their concerts
        for either working booths or shooting, which they were very gracious to
        permit. My purpose in shooting was purely for the sake of capturing a
        moment in time that was so significant for so many of my peers. Until
        my very last days in the US, I was shooting them at the protests in
        DC. I have not worked with them since.



        You followed with your camera Serj & John in their Genocide rally in
        several places, along with their visit to the Congress and 'Screamers'
        movie screening too, how was that photographing experience and as
        an Armenian, how do you see these efforts can make the Genocide
        recognition happen?


        Some of my earliest memories as a child are attending protests in
        Washington, DC at the Turkish Embassy and the White House. Year
        after year, attendance would dwindle, survivors passed away,
        and motivation slowed down. Decades of protesting with no results
        began to take its toll on the community's focus and energy, but
        never its determination. While the world stood by and watched the
        genocide take place in Rwanda wondering how we could let it happen,
        Armenians around the world were still waiting for acknowledgement of
        our own genocide 80 years prior. There were always the few that never
        lost their perseverance and drive. They continued to carry the cause
        through all doubt, making it possible to pass the torch on to those
        who had power and influence to take it further. In the early '00s,
        despite the White House's decision to pull the genocide resolution as
        it was going to a vote, the cause began to gain momentum as scholars
        and artists were making themselves heard. Samantha Power wrote the
        Pulitzer Prize winning book "Problem from Hell: America and the Age
        of Genocide," which drew international attention to the epidemic of
        genocide, starting with denial of 1915. Turkish scholar Taner Akcam
        was speaking openly and honestly about the genocide.

        Orhan Pamuk and Hrant Dink faced charges of insulting Turkishness for
        making reference to the killings of Armenians. Armenian filmmaker
        Atom Egoyan directed a film that dealt with the genocide, earning
        the audience of all North America. Sibel Edmonds spoke out about
        wiretaps revealing Turkish bribes to elected officials. US Ambassador
        to Armenia, John Evans spoke publicly about the genocide against US
        policy, despite their termination of his position and outrage at his
        dissent. The Boston Globe and New York Times changed their policy on
        forbidding usage of the word genocide when describing the events of
        1915. More and more elected officials, including John Kerry, Barack
        Obama, and Nanci Pelosi, were speaking firmly on the genocide issue.

        A domino effect began and System of a Down contributed to the
        momentum. They were in the position to not only educate the masses
        about the genocide and draw public attention to the matter, but they
        were also vital in connecting the issue to an overall human rights
        campaign to stop genocide anywhere and everywhere. This was a turn
        in focus, which now affects the way this issue is viewed today.

        When Serj and John visited Washington, they drew record numbers to
        the annual DC protest and public attention to our message. Media came
        in from all over the world to cover the event, their meetings on the
        Hill allowed us to reach more offices than usual, and they inspired
        more people to get involved. For the first time, I saw heads turning
        that never raised a brow in the previous 90 years. Their visit made
        a difference, and it motivated the community to keep fighting.

        As for Screamers, the film drills home the story of what it's all
        about. For those who were System fans and didn't know about the
        cause, it filled in the gaps. For those who had been fighting for
        recognition all these years, it put into perspective what the new
        face of Armenian American grassroots has become. In Armenia where the
        fight for recognition is quite moot, and the phenomenon of System's
        success is mysterious, bringing Carla Garapedian (director) to present
        Screamers here was also a telling tale. For the first time, Armenian
        citizens began to understand what the fight was all about and learned
        more about their brothers and sisters across the world.



        From your experience shooting System, who was the most difficult to
        shoot? and usually how was the vibe getting photos for the band?


        Each band member is incredibly photogenic and their personalities
        really show through on stage. I've shot tons of concerts and usually
        there's only so much you can capture of someone singing into a
        microphone. But in System's case, because they are so active on stage
        and dynamic in presence, it's really tough keeping up with them,
        capturing as many frames as possible. It was the toughest challenge
        and the most rewarding... and fun.

        But my favorite moments were chatting with the fans in the pit before
        the band hit the stage. Some of the fans kept grabbing at me, some
        tried to trade places with me, begged for my pass, asked how I got
        there... some just wanted to talk about the music or how great the
        band is. They were real fans and I loved interacting with them. That's
        always the best vibe I got from those shows... that and when the band
        members looked straight into my camera for the perfect shot.

        The most unique story took place during the campaign in DC. Many months
        prior to their visit, they had gone to Chicago to protest at Speaker
        Hastert's district office, requesting a meeting to discuss putting the
        genocide resolution to a vote. At the time, the Speaker was holding
        the vote back, after accusations of taking bribes from the Turkish
        lobby. Serj continued to bombard him with requests for a meeting,
        especially leading up to the DC visit, to which Hastert refused
        continuously. As we roamed the halls of Congress, going door to door
        of several Congressman, we departed with Senator Allen's office where
        the Chief of Staff offered to escort us through the "members only"
        route so that they could see some of the historic sites and make
        it to the next meeting on time. As we passed through the dome, kids
        started identifying Serj and John already, throwing us into a rush. We
        quickly navigated through to the next room... and then the next room
        when we realized we went the wrong way. We returned to where the high
        school kids were murmuring only to find Speaker Hastert himself,
        greeting some of the kids... not a common sighting around the Hill
        at all. Without hesitation, John went in for the kill to corner him,
        and Serj stopped him in his path. I didn't think my camera could snap
        quickly enough. I barely even heard the conversation over the click of
        my shutter. It was clear on Hastert's face that he realized what was
        going on and needed to get out of there. Relentlessly, Serj articulated
        the importance of the resolution and reminded the Speaker that it was
        an issue he could no longer brush under the rug. We walked away and
        it took me a good hour before the chills stopped running down my spine.




        Do you have any current projects you're working on?

        I just started compiling my entire life's work of photography to tell
        the story of my experience as an Armenian American growing up in the
        US, then repatriating to Armenia. I'm hoping through this process
        to portray the advancement of the Armenian Diaspora over the last 20
        years, simultaneously with Armenia itself after the collapse of the
        Soviet Union, war, earthquake and economic collapse. As children,
        we grew up with Armenian culture as a static and historic identity
        to be preserved, one that faded every day with assimilation. I want
        to show that this is not the case and that the Armenian identity
        in the Diaspora in Armenia is more alive than ever. I've had a rare
        opportunity to see so many aspects of Armenian life which have played
        key roles in defining our identity, and I carried a camera with me
        along the way.

        The book is titled "My Nation: The Trails and Trials of an Armenian
        Repatriate" and will be released in May 2008. I'll be updating
        information on the progress and availability at http://www.mynation.am
        and http://www.deemcommunications.com . Meanwhile, my photos are always on
        display at http://www.digitalrailroad.net/arsineh.

        Thanks Arsineh ~
        What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

        Comment


        • #44
          Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

          The philanthropists' maestro
          By Pamela Ryckman

          FT
          December 15 2007 02:11

          Among Vartan Gregorian's dedicated gatekeepers is a security guard at
          the Carnegie Corporation's Madison Avenue headquarters. `That's a great
          man you're going to see,' he says. `He's known presidents, dignitaries,
          everybody. All the most important people.'

          Moments later, when Gregorian arrives wearing a conservative navy blue
          suit, he greets the guard by name. It is a Saturday morning, but coming
          into the office on the weekend is, after all, part of his routine.

          The 12th president of the 96-year-old Carnegie Corporation, one of the
          nation's most prominent foundations, leads his guests through glass
          doors to the 26th-floor lobby and snaps up a recent edition of
          `Carnegie Results', the organisation's quarterly newsletter, titled
          `Looking Back at Zimbabwe'. When Gregorian gingerly draws attention to
          the first line ` `This is the anatomy of a grant that failed' ` his
          message is clear: he and the institution he has led for a decade are
          accountable.

          His spacious office seems more the retreat of a fervent academic than a
          backdrop for the jet-set companion to corporate tycoons, luminaries and
          socialites. Covering nearly every surface are books and stacks of
          paper, including clippings from the dozen broadsheets he consumes each
          week. Pointing to his two large desks, he smiles: `Sometimes I go from
          this one to that one, and I pretend I just got here.'

          Gregorian's genial humility belies his accomplishments. A 16-page
          resumé reveals he is a board member of 11 organisations, including the
          Museum of Modern Art and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation,
          and has similarly served 46 other institutions in the past. He has
          received 60 honorary degrees, 39 awards, six international decorations,
          14 civic honours and 16 prestigious medals, including the National
          Humanities Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's
          highest civilian honour.

          Gregorian became famous in the 1980s when, as president of the New York
          Public Library, he secured the much-needed funding ` $327m by 1989 `
          that restored the crumbling landmark to a vibrant cultural nexus.
          Later, as president of Brown University, he almost tripled its
          endowment and exceeded expectations by raising $534m in a five-year
          capital campaign.

          Gregorian has been hailed as a fund-raising genius and served as
          trusted philanthropic adviser to Bill Gates, Ted Turner, Scottish
          billionaire Tom Hunter and the late Walter Annenberg, but he insists
          money is a mere facilitator. Ideas are what change the world.

          `You have to believe in your cause because if you have no core beliefs
          of your own, it's just a business,' he says. `I've tried to make it a
          mission.'

          Gregorian is at heart an intellectual and scholarship is core to his
          approach to philanthropy. All great transformation stems from the
          dissemination of thoughts and theories, and education breeds the
          understanding and collaboration that will ultimately cure society's
          ills. `We bring experts together,' he says of his work at the Carnegie
          Corporation. `We believe in solving issues, regardless of where the
          solutions come from. We want to create debate.'

          As a result, the $3bn Carnegie Corporation functions as the microcosm
          of a university where Gregorian continues to learn and teach. `I
          surround myself with professors and other thinkers. This place is full
          of scholars, idea people, creatives,' he says. `I'm engaged now in all
          of learning, all education transcending the regions.'

          For context and edification, the foundation's programme directors
          attend all big grant meetings and are encouraged to challenge one
          another. Like a PhD candidate presenting his or her dissertation, each
          director submits to questions from the group. Research is dissected and
          analysed. `It's a very healthy give-and-take. Everybody learns as a
          result other people's projects,' Gregorian says. `We're not in the
          self-promotion business, and we're not afraid to ask critics to assist.
          Then we include all criticisms in our presentation to trustees.'

          Gregorian learnt from leading scientists the importance of
          acknowledging risk and celebrating trial and error in philanthropy. `I
          met James Watson [co-discoverer of the structure of DNA] one evening
          and he said: `I'm so excited. I've found out how not to do something!'
          Why can't social scientists say the same thing? That would be a great
          salvation.'

          Though known for his warmth and bear hugs, Gregorian demands boundless
          rigour of those who seek grants from the Carnegie Corporation. Having
          spent nearly two decades asking for money, Gregorian knows what a solid
          pitch entails.

          Like Watson, grantees don't have to be right, but they must be thorough
          and forward-looking, evincing zeal and commitment. `You have to
          demonstrate that you're not in the need business, but rather in the
          idea business. You have to say: `I'm not entitled to your support. I
          want an opportunity to compete for your support,'?' Gregorian says.

          The Carnegie Corporation is `an incubator, not an oxygen tank'; it
          takes calculated risks for defined periods of time by endowing the most
          promising proposals from the sharpest minds. Deserving grantees have
          done their homework. They arrive at the foundation's offices with
          revolutionary scientific evidence or a new orientation, promoting
          methods unlike those already pursued. `Are you in the reputation-making
          business or are you already reputable?' Gregorian asks. `I can trust
          both ` people who want to make a reputation and people who already have
          a reputation to lose.'

          Gregorian sees himself as a conductor who, after hiring and subsidising
          the virtuosi, works to create a unified opus from their individual
          endeavours. `Everybody else has spent a lifetime to become experts. I
          cannot second-guess them. All I can do is focus their attention on an
          important cause,' he says. `My role is how to make a symphony out of
          all of this.'

          In this, he ensures every initiative aligns with his benefactor's
          intentions. `Carnegie Corporation money is not Gregorian's money. It's
          his money,' he says, pointing to a portrait of Andrew Carnegie on his
          office wall. `I'm an instrument of his foundation, so I have to do
          justice to that. I have my own priorities, but I cannot impose them as
          a substitute for his mission.'

          Fortunately, though, Gregorian's personal devotion to study and civic
          engagement runs parallel to the foundation's objectives. Among the
          Carnegie Corporation's big new programmes is ongoing instruction for
          teachers. Gregorian sees teaching as a profession, not a trade, and
          believes America needs `a transmission belt whereby new theories of
          psychology, cognition, anthropology, sociology or neuroscience can
          reach teachers'.

          His labours for international peace are also filtered through the prism
          of education. Even before September 11 2001, he recognised the need for
          westerners to better understand Islam, the fastest-growing religion in
          America ` and the world. In 2003, Gregorian, an Armenian Christian born
          in Iran, published Islam: A Mosaic, Not a Monolith to clarify the
          history of an increasingly vilified faith and show the diversity among
          its 1.2bn practitioners. `We have to see what we have in common, as
          well as what divides us,' he says.

          By next year, the Carnegie Corporation will have convened 100 scholars
          in an attempt to bridge orthodoxy and heterodoxy, and to promote open
          discourse between Muslims and others.

          Gregorian is certainly inspired by the classroom, but his accumulated
          knowledge has practical application far beyond an isolated ivory tower.
          He sees philanthropy as part of the American ethos, a nimble
          alternative to our government's ventures in social welfare. `The
          political, public process is slow,' he says. `Philanthropy can
          innovate, challenge, demonstrate. It can provide immediate
          breakthroughs and it can allow us to correct governmental actions.'

          Gregorian advocates this private investment for the public good. He
          works to advance civilisation and culture because, he says, `there are
          ideals worth believing in and fighting for. When you stop learning or
          being curious, you're deadening your soul. You have room to grow, no
          matter what age you are.'

          So, at 73, he remains on stage, wielding power with passion and
          precision. And if history is any indication, when Gregorian raises his
          baton, his orchestra ` magnates, academics, policymakers, all ` will
          begin to play, in harmony and right on cue.


          What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

          Comment


          • #45
            Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

            BY PROGRAM APPROVED BY GOVERNMENT COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF MATENADARAN'S MANUSCRIPTS CAN BE PREPARED IN TEN YEARS

            Noyan Tapan
            Dec 13, 2007

            YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The government has approved
            a program on complete description and printing of Matenadaran
            manuscripts' collection. As Hrachya Tamrazian, the Director of
            Matenadaran, said in his interview to Noyan Tapan correspondent,
            this program being one of the priorities of Armenology requires hard
            work and needs additional specialists. "With our current resources
            it will take us 50 years to do the whole work," he said.

            According to H. Tamrazian, in case of the fulfilment of the program
            presented the work will be organized in a centralized way, new
            specialists will be involved and the whole list of Matenadaran's
            manuscripts will be completed and printed within ten years.

            "We have already invited five research officers at the expense of
            our own reserves. New specialists will be also invited next year,
            and the issue of change of generation in Matenadaran will be also
            solved in this way," Hrachya Tamrazian emphasized. The institution is
            already implementing a joint program with Yerevan State University:
            gifted students will come to Matenadaran, will study the Manuscripts,
            will have a possibility to raise the level of their skills, which
            will contribute to multiplication of Matenadaran's potential.

            The Director of Matenadaran said that two volumes of Matenadaran
            manuscripts' basic list have been already printed. They include 600
            manuscripts. The third volume will be also printed one of these days
            and the preparation work of the fourth volume is underway.

            "This is the large program Matenadaran's specialists have been working
            at for many years to present a complete description of the whole
            list of manuscripts. The printing of the basic list of manuscripts
            is really one of the priorities of whole Armenology, and that is not
            only study of manuscripts, but also complete and detailed description
            of the materials, during preparation of which new unread pages can
            be revealed," H. Tamrazian stated.



            Լուրեր Հայաստանից եւ Սփյուռքից, սպասվող իրադարձություններ, շուտով, տարեթվեր, նորություններ հայկական աշխարհից, Արցախից, The Noyan Tapan Highlights անգլերեն եւ ֆրանսերան շաբաթաթերթ, հրատարակչություն, գրքեր, հայ մամուլ, News from Armenia, Diaspora, Новости Армении и Диаспоры

            ..........
            HRACHYA TAMRAZIAN: CONSTRUCTION OF MATENADARAN'S SCIENTIFIC ANNEX IS A NECESSITY

            Noyan Tapan
            Dec 13, 2007

            YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The construction of Matenadaran's
            scientific annex is a necessity today, especially as the number
            of its employees has a tendency of growing. As Hrachya Tamrazian,
            the Director of Matenadaran, said in his interview to Noyan Tapan
            correspondent, all scientific departments of Matenadaran need new
            specialists, new departments should be also created, but the building
            conditions are not sufficient. In case of building a new scientific
            annex the scientific department will be placed there, and exhibitions
            will be organized in the current main building.

            According to H. Tamrazian, the institution has a restoration department
            with modern equipment, where incunabular and rare manuscripts, books
            and press kept not only in Matenadaran, but also in other institutions
            are restored.

            This department also needs to be "multiplied," as it takes more than
            two years to restore one manuscript.

            H. Tamrazian also said that 90 manuscripts have been already videoed
            by the device donated by Lebanese Armenian architect Perch Guyumjian,
            as a result of the digitalization work being done in Matenadaran at
            present. "There is no time to test the device, we at once started
            videoing the manuscripts," the Director said.

            As regards the deal with the American Hill Museum-Library
            of Manuscripts, H. Tamrazian excluded that Matenadaran will ever
            cooperate with any organization of the kind on such terms: "this is
            inadmissible and dangerous." "Cooperation with foreign organizations
            should be carried out by the principle of not giving them copies. We
            are ready to cooperate with other foreign organizations, including
            the Austrian Graz University," he emphasized.

            The Director said that the Austrians have already worked with such
            devices, have experience and tested devices, which have passed
            expertise. They will give the devices without preconditions. "And
            for them, it is beneficial to cooperate with such a large museum of
            manuscripts as Matenadaran."

            According to H. Tamrazian, the videoing work of manuscripts is
            the first stage of the digitalization program, that stage is being
            fulfilled through donations. The funds for the next stage will be
            allocated by the government, for manuscripts subject to restoration,
            which need to be restored and rehabilitated before videoing.

            Լուրեր Հայաստանից եւ Սփյուռքից, սպասվող իրադարձություններ, շուտով, տարեթվեր, նորություններ հայկական աշխարհից, Արցախից, The Noyan Tapan Highlights անգլերեն եւ ֆրանսերան շաբաթաթերթ, հրատարակչություն, գրքեր, հայ մամուլ, News from Armenia, Diaspora, Новости Армении и Диаспоры
            What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

            Comment


            • #46
              Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

              The Armenian Mosaics of Jerusalem

              Associated Content Producer (The People's Media Company)
              November 20, 2007

              By Norman A. Rubin

              The history of Christian Jerusalem would not be complete without mention
              of the Armenian Christian presence, the door to which has been thrown
              open by the discovery of seven mosaic pavements. With their Armenian
              inscriptions, these are evidence of wealth and influence of the Armenian
              community that flourished in the early years of the Christian era.

              In the latter half of the fifth century, the Armenians were defining
              their national traditions and religious customs. Under the patriarchate
              of Sahak, an Armenian alphabet was created. St. Mesrob and St. Sahak,
              leading figures of the early Armenian Church, translated the Bible into
              the Armenian script. Evangelization was intensified and an Armenian
              literature developed.

              Thus, the fifth century is regarded as the golden age of Armenia. The
              Armenian Christian Church secured rights to the Holy Land's religious
              sites surrounding Jerusalem. The newly created Armenian script was no
              doubt an important means for expressing their possession of a site.

              During the sixth century, Jerusalem and its environs had numerous
              Armenian churches. In AD 570 an anonymous pilgrim noted the Mount of
              Olives was covered with monasteries and churches. Two other documents
              confirmed it; one is the list of Armenian monasteries and churches by
              the monk-historian Anaste in the seventh century and the other the
              Commemoratorium Cassis Dei (AD 808).

              It is generally assumed that many of these buildings were destroyed
              during a succession of invasions beginning with the Persian at the
              beginning of the seventh century. This was followed by the return of the
              Byzantines in AD 628 and then the Moslem conquest of Jerusalem ten years
              later, and in AD 653 Armenia became an Arab protectorate.

              Through the discovery of the seven mosaic floors, archaeologists have
              been able to verify the presence of these religious buildings and to
              ascertain their construction and design. Within the Convent of James, in
              the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem, two fragmentary mosaics have
              survived. Both are decorated with trees and animals.

              Of the other surviving mosaic pavements with Armenian inscriptions only
              three merit historical and artistic discussion. They are part of a group
              of funerary chapels inscribed with the names of the deceased notables
              who patronized the churches and had seen to their upkeep. Two are within
              the compound of the Russian Convent of the Ascension on the Mount of
              Olives. The earliest of these two decorated floors, the Atravan mosaic
              is preserved in the Russian convent's museum: The inscription reads,
              "this is the tomb of the blessed Susanna, Mother of Atravan."

              The design of these mosaic pavements is composed of alternately of
              interlaced roundels and squared bordered by a braided motif. The
              medallions enclose many birds among which are pheasants, flamingoes,
              ibises, doves, ducks and hens. Interspersed within the mosaics are
              medallions decorated with leaves and fruit. Within is a centerpiece with
              a symbolic lamb.

              The third and the most impressive was discovered in 1895 is in the
              Musrara quarter near the Damascus Gate. This sumptuous mosaic, measuring
              6.5 by 4 mtr., decorated the funerary chapel of St. Polyeuctos, an
              officer of XXII Roman Legion and a third century soldier-martyr. The
              mosaic has the same style of workmanship as those from the Mount of
              Olives, with the same plaited borders as a frame to the decorated
              central panel. Christian motifs are stressed; the vine scrolls appear to
              imply life after death, the bird in the cage signifies the incarnation
              of Christ within the human body; the peaxxxxs drinking from an amphora
              is and another symbol of life after death. The pavement has an Armenian
              inscription at its base, which reads, "To the memory and salvation of
              the souls of all Armenians whose names are known by God alone."

              The Jerusalem mosaic pavements provide indisputable evidence of
              considerable Armenian presence in the early years of the city. It is a
              rich legacy of the past, which attests to the deep faith of the Armenian
              Church and its followers, the Armenian people.




              NOTE:

              1) During recent archaeological excavations carried out in the Musrara
              quarter, Jerusalem, four Armenian inscriptions were discovered: one on a
              mosaic floor, two tombstones, and one graffito on a large pottery bowl.
              See: http://micro5.mscc.huji.ac.il/~armenia/newmos.html

              2) There is no precise data as to when the Armenian Church began to
              build in Jerusalem. Nor is it known whether their fifth and sixth
              century's religious edifices were different from those of the Greek
              Orthodox Church. However there is enough evidence to indicate that both
              the Armenians and Greek monks shared the same monasteries. An example is
              the remains of the monastery of the Armenian St Euthymius and his Greek
              disciple St. Saba.

              3) In the Old City of Jerusalem lies the Armenian quarter with the
              Armenian Patriarchate of St. James, a sprawling convent and monastery
              complex. The Gulbenkian library in the quarter boasts fifty thousand
              volumes, of which twenty thousand are in Armenian. The former seminary
              was transformed in 1979 into a museum, which welcomes visitors to its
              rich display. The St. James printing press, the first in the Holy City,
              was established in 1833; most of its output is in the Armenian language.
              Yet it undertakes work in other languages, including Arabic and Hebrew.


              More resources:
              Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem: http://www.armenian-patriarchate.org
              Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State University:


              The author is a former correspondent for the Continental News Service
              (USA), now retired, busy writing short stories and articles in all genres.

              What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

              Comment


              • #47
                Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

                FIRST ARMENIAN PERIODICAL "AZDARAR" REPUBLISHED 213 YEARS AFTER ITS FOUNDATION

                CALCUTTA, DECEMBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. The printing of
                the first Armenian periodical "Azdarar" was restored 213 years after
                its foundation in the Indian city of Calcutta. The journal was
                refounded with the efforts of a small group of Armenian and Indian
                intellectuals, with the sponsorship of American Armenian astronomer
                Nora Andreasian-Tomasi. The Armenian section was compiled by Greta
                Andreasian, a teacher at the local Philanthrophical Academy, the
                English section by Vard Anush Sahakian from Washington.

                The RA National Academy of Sciences, the National Library, the "Hay
                Arvest" mazagine, YSU Journalism Faculty headed by the late Garnik
                Ananian cooperated with the journal.

                The journal's first issue presents the greeting speech of the National
                Academy of Sciences, the scientific analysis of David Sargsian, the
                Director of the National Library of Armenia on "Azdarar's" 1974 issue
                A. In the journal Indian linguist S. Sarkar presents the local New
                Year, Durga Puja, and A. Chanda presents silk-weaver Armenians of
                Sayidabad. In the culture part prominent sculptor Levon Tokmajian tells
                about the creation of the sculptures of "Azdarar's" founder H.
                Shmavonian. "Azdarar" presents essays on the "Hay Arvest" magazine
                (Karen Matevosian), "Hos" electronic journal of Javakhk (Armen
                Grigorian), "Silk Island" film (S. Banrji), as well as a number of
                works by talented painter Mina Ananian.

                Լուրեր Հայաստանից եւ Սփյուռքից, սպասվող իրադարձություններ, շուտով, տարեթվեր, նորություններ հայկական աշխարհից, Արցախից, The Noyan Tapan Highlights անգլերեն եւ ֆրանսերան շաբաթաթերթ, հրատարակչություն, գրքեր, հայ մամուլ, News from Armenia, Diaspora, Новости Армении и Диаспоры
                What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

                Comment


                • #48
                  Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

                  Boston Globe, MA
                  Jan 6 2007


                  Q&A with Alice Kelikian
                  Film studies in the age of YouTube


                  By Mark Shanahan
                  January 6, 2008


                  IN THE AGE of YouTube, college courses devoted to the study of film
                  can seem pretty quaint. Why would students bother with the
                  masterworks of, say, Stanley Kubrick and Akira Kurosawa when they
                  could be sitting at a Mac making their very own viral videos? Forget
                  David Lean, let's talk about lonelygirl15.

                  At Brandeis University, the person navigating this culture change is
                  Alice Kelikian, chair of the film studies program. The daughter of
                  Armenian immigrants - her father, Hampar Kelikian, was the surgeon who
                  saved Bob Dole's right arm after World War II - Kelikian has an
                  appealing old-school ardor for cinema. At 13, she went on her first
                  date to see "Doctor Zhivago," and even now she attributes her love of
                  movies to the many Saturday afternoons spent in a dark theater gazing
                  up at Marcello Mastroianni.

                  But Kelikian knows that sitting in a theater surrounded by a
                  mesmerized crowd isn't the way most people experience a movie
                  anymore. Increasingly, the language of film is learned online, on
                  television, and even in the back of a minivan, where children are
                  more likely to while away the hours with a DVD than a book.

                  In response, Kelikian is expanding the inquiry. She's been chair of
                  the program for two years, and while film purists continue to focus
                  on aesthetics and theory, she's busy creating courses that address
                  style, content, and the latest production techniques. Whenever
                  possible, Kelikian also brings actors and directors into the
                  classroom to speak for themselves.

                  "We missed the boat on photography - Brandeis has no program in
                  photography - and there's an understanding that we don't want to lose
                  the initiative on digital media," says Kelikian. "I want students to
                  know what's happening."


                  IDEAS: Talk about your background and how you became interested in
                  film.

                  KELIKIAN: I started out as premed at the University of Illinois, but
                  I got bored with it by the second week. I decided to transfer and was
                  in the first class of women at Princeton. There were fewer than 25 of
                  us. In 1967, I went to Italy with my father and, there, I began an
                  obsession with all things Italian. I saw Fellini there.


                  IDEAS: The man?
                  KELIKIAN: The man.


                  IDEAS: Was film a big part of your life growing up?
                  KELIKIAN: Initially, I only went to films when my father had American
                  doctors over. Movies were a diversion from adult party life. The kids
                  were shipped out when people who drank and smoked came over.


                  IDEAS: What is a movie that made an impression on you?
                  KELIKIAN: I wasn't supposed to see films that dealt with prostitution,
                  but my parents really loved "Never on Sunday," so the first film I
                  went to see when I had a say was "Never on Sunday," in which Melina
                  Mercouri plays a freelance prostitute. "Butterfield 8" was another one
                  I saw about a call girl.


                  IDEAS: But what was the movie that got you hooked on film?
                  KELIKIAN: Mario Monicelli's "The Organizer." I saw it when I was
                  16. It's about an itinerant professor who -


                  IDEAS: Is a prostitute?
                  KELIKIAN: No. But there is a prostitute in the film. The professor is
                  a socialist who tries to start a labor strike in Turin.


                  IDEAS: What excited you about movies?
                  KELIKIAN: I was starstruck and, remember, my first language is
                  Armenian and my family was very Armenian-centered. We played with
                  Armenian kids and went to Sunday school, and when the focus wasn't on
                  Armenian-ness, it was on becoming a surgeon. I scrubbed up with my
                  father when I was 9 years old.


                  IDEAS: Who's the biggest movie star of Armenian descent?
                  KELIKIAN: Mike Connors from "Mannix."


                  IDEAS: That's pathetic.
                  KELIKIAN: I'm trying to think. There's Charles Aznavour, but he's
                  primarily a singer, and Sylvie Vartan, but she's primarily a singer,
                  too.


                  IDEAS: What's changed during your tenure as chair of film studies at
                  Brandeis?

                  KELIKIAN: When the program started 13 years ago, the dominant medium
                  in cinema was the motion picture. That remains, but new offshoots
                  have emerged that speak the language of film, like serial cable drama
                  and YouTube. Today, film studies has to include visual culture as a
                  whole: photography, video, animation, even reality TV. The varieties
                  of media, digital and otherwise, change endlessly, and we need to
                  comprehend the revolution.


                  IDEAS: Is the cinema culture dead?
                  KELIKIAN: I would say so if you're talking about tent-pole studio
                  films, which now derive from popular or children's literature, like
                  "The Chronicles of Narnia," "Spider-Man," and "Harry Potter." In this
                  country, the best movies being made are documentaries. In the past,
                  the documentary was reportage, but now the techniques of fiction film
                  are finding their way into the documentary genre.


                  IDEAS: Errol Morris is a friend of yours.
                  KELIKIAN: Yes, Errol and his wife have been friends for a long time.
                  He has screened all of his films at Brandeis in rough-cut. I've seen
                  his latest, "Standard Operating Procedure," and it's his best yet.


                  IDEAS: Who else have you had at Brandeis?
                  KELIKIAN: Eli Wallach. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" has a huge
                  cult following. Also, Werner Herzog showed "Encounters at the End of
                  the World." He denounced television and there he was telling the
                  audience they had to watch the "Anna Nicole Show" to understand the
                  Iraq war.


                  IDEAS: What does the future of film look like?
                  KELIKIAN: We're witnessing the advent of the short film, which is
                  prospering thanks to the availability of global Internet access and
                  inexpensive digital equipment. A language exists now that students
                  can speak, not just interpret. These are very exciting, porous times
                  for moving-picture media, with innovation seeping through in ways
                  unimaginable five years ago.


                  IDEAS: Is that good?
                  KELIKIAN: I can't judge. It's what's happening. We have to embrace
                  it. I don't know where the digital revolution is taking us, but it's
                  something I want be part of.


                  IDEAS: Did your father have a favorite film?
                  KELIKIAN: "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" was one of his favorites because
                  it spoke to scoliosis. Isn't that hilarious?


                  IDEAS: Where do you watch films these days? At home or in the
                  theater?

                  KELIKIAN: At home.


                  IDEAS: What happened to that kid who discovered the magic of movies
                  at the cinema?

                  KELIKIAN: That kid is older and she discovered the Criterion
                  Collection on DVD. You have to embrace change.


                  Mark Shanahan is a member of the Globe staff.

                  What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

                  Comment


                  • #49
                    Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

                    The Globe and Mail, Canada
                    Jan 11 2008


                    Khanjian really wants to do comedy

                    The actress known mainly for her work in Atom Egoyan's sober films
                    tackles another weighty subject in Palace of the End
                    BRAD WHEELER

                    >From Friday's Globe and Mail
                    January 11, 2008 at 3:32 AM EST

                    Film and theatre actress Arsinée Khanjian is married to Atom Egoyan,
                    an acclaimed director who has cast her in every feature film he has
                    ever made, stretching back to 1984's Next of Kin. And although the
                    alliance has resulted in her winning Gemini and Genie Awards, there's
                    the perception that the multilingual Khanjian (of Armenian descent,
                    born and raised in Lebanon, before moving to Montreal as a
                    17-year-old) is fit only for the type of sober roles we often see her
                    in - not only in her husband's films, but others as well.

                    But it isn't true, she will have you know. "People like to find
                    categories," she says over the phone, "and somehow and sometimes I've
                    been imprisoned in that perception."

                    As for the idea that she is just her husband's muse, Khanjian rejects
                    that typecasting too. "I don't think our collaboration has been
                    necessarily about that, or just about that."

                    So, even as she prepared for her role as an insurgent in Judith
                    Thompson's Iraqi war drama Palace of the End, the 50-year-old actress
                    expressed her desire to break out of her serious-character mould.
                    Speaking during a break in rehearsals for the play, Khanjian was in a
                    relaxed, contemplative mood as she mused on everything from
                    cellphones - observational comedy! - to her longing for
                    lightheartedness, to her secret talents. She wants to open up? Let's
                    see what she's got.



                    Here you are, in the dead of winter, playing a character inspired by
                    Nehrjas al-Saffarh, who was tortured by Saddam Hussein's secret
                    police in the 1970s and later died when her home was bombed during
                    Desert Storm. How are you holding up?

                    Wonderful. It's a dream cast and company, and we're having a lot of
                    fun, actually. We laugh a lot, given the material. It's a good way of
                    balancing out the actual play. It's very serious, but it does have
                    the humour that is required in these times. The pain has to be
                    balanced out with a certain wisdom, which is a sense of humour we
                    have about our fate as human beings.



                    The play is a trio of monologues. Is there much creative interaction
                    with the other two actors, offstage?

                    It's true, there isn't the traditional dialogue situation, where we
                    can have fun because we're feeding off each other in that sense. It's
                    still theatre - you spend a lot of time with your colleagues. It does
                    feed the energy and the dynamic of the play, even if it's a
                    monologue. It's not as separated as you would think.



                    This is your first time working with director David Storch, right?
                    Yes, it is, and it's wonderful to have a director who's also an
                    actor. So, that's a particular experience.



                    Oh, my. Is that a slam at your husband?
                    Not at all! [Laughs]. Not at all. It's just the variety. It's my
                    privilege to be working with different temperaments, with different
                    ways.



                    Does the relationship change much, when you're working with a
                    director who's not your husband?

                    I'm one of those actors committing myself in the hands of the
                    director. I trust that I do have the experience to explore the darker
                    areas myself, but I also love being surprised by what they want to
                    find in me.

                    It's like having a drawer full of things: You know it's your things,
                    and you're familiar with them. But if someone else opens it and
                    starts saying "Oh, so you have this as well, and this...," the
                    colours suddenly become brighter.



                    And your husband is okay
                    with other men going through your drawers?

                    [Laughs]. Well, it depends on what drawers we're talking about here.



                    By the way, what's with your husband always wearing black?
                    You're quite right, he does like black. I think it works on him, with
                    his colour and his hair colour. Once in a while, I push him to wear
                    more something more colourful.



                    Navy blue is nice.
                    He does have navy blue, but the problem with navy is that it comes
                    out as black in pictures.



                    Cellphones: Curse or blessing?
                    They are ugly things, I think. It's the closest thing that would give
                    a normal person the [appearance of having] dementia. I still haven't
                    acclimatized to see people talk, and I wonder, "My god, what's
                    wrong?" Then I realize they're on their cellphones. On the other
                    hand, I think people have become more of public performers. They're
                    doing this kind of dialogue, and you have to imagine the other side
                    of the conversation.



                    They're actors, in a sense.
                    People are so incredible about their private space, but when they're
                    on their cellphones, they have no sense of privacy. The people around
                    them know what's going on their emotions, in their lives and their
                    feelings. I feel it's funny, but sometimes I get very annoyed by it
                    as well.



                    What's the importance of Palace of the End?
                    The beauty of the play, its writing. There's the perception that it's
                    Judith's first political work. But working on it, and getting more
                    acquainted with it, I'm realizing that it's not that different from
                    the characters that she has introduced to us over the years. If they
                    don't come from small-town Ontario, they do come from small private
                    places, and they come from around the world. The subject is Iraq, as
                    a war situation, but the play speaks to our notion of power, our
                    notion of compassion - our notion of engagement.



                    Are we are disengaged?
                    These are very troubling times. Somehow, maybe because of the amount
                    of information that exists and the technical help to transport this
                    knowledge from one continent to another, we still do not know what
                    real engagement means. What Judith does is create a proximity of
                    these worlds, to talk about the human soul and the effect of each
                    tragedy as a sense of responsibility on the other. It makes it a very
                    intimate piece.



                    Has any good come out of the U.S. invasion of Iraq?
                    I never believed in the invasion. I don't believe that a liberation
                    of people should or could come from the outside. I think if there
                    were a time, if it was a sincere effort of bringing a change to a
                    society and to help them recover from this oppressive regime, it
                    should have been done in the sixties and seventies when Saddam
                    Hussein was starting to build his empire. I don't think Saddam being
                    there or not is making any difference to the people in Iraq today.



                    You have a pretty heavy movie coming out, The Lark Farm, about the
                    Armenian genocide, and you're also co-directing a documentary, Stone
                    Time Touch, about your return to Armenia. Maybe a comedy is in order?

                    If you put it in a bold, underlined sort of quotation: My dream is to
                    be in an absolute comedy! If someone has that sort of imagination to
                    ask me to do a part like that, it would be one of the most desired
                    things as a performer I could do.


                    Canadian Stage's Palace of the End runs Jan. 17 to Feb. 23, with
                    previews beginning Monday.


                    What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

                    Comment


                    • #50
                      Re: Cultural Horizons of Armenians

                      The Silver Screen

                      'MOTORCYCLE DIARIES' WRITER OPTIONS 'APPLES'
                      By Josh Getlin

                      Los Angeles Times, CA
                      Jan 10 2008

                      Getting Micheline Marcom's "Three Apples Fell From Heaven" to the
                      big screen is a labor of love.

                      The Book "Three Apples Fell From Heaven" by Micheline Marcom

                      The Buyer Jose Rivera

                      The deal Jose Rivera, Oscar-nominated screenwriter ("The Motorcycle
                      Diaries"), options Micheline Marcom's "Three Apples Fell From Heaven,"
                      a powerful novel about the Armenian genocide.

                      The players Marcom is represented on literary rights by Sandra
                      Dijkstra at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and on film rights
                      by Liza Wachter at the Rabineau, Wachter, Sanford & Harris Literary
                      Agency. Rivera is represented by United Talent Agency and Rick Berg
                      of Code Entertainment. The novel was published by Riverhead Books.

                      The back story Sometimes in Hollywood it's not who you know but how
                      well you know them. Although Rivera and Marcom were represented by
                      well-connected industry players, their recent book-to-film deal was
                      driven more by a personal relationship. Soon after Marcom's novel
                      was published, she met actress and producer Sona Tatoyan at a Los
                      Angeles reading.

                      Tatoyan, like Marcom, is of Armenian descent, and she became
                      passionate about the highly praised book. She gave a copy of it to
                      her then-boyfriend (and now husband), Rivera, who had a similar
                      reaction. As their friendships deepened, the screenwriter became
                      convinced that the book was not just a potentially great film, he
                      saw it as the Armenian community's equivalent to "Schindler's List."

                      But adapting the novel would not be easy. Marcom's dream-like text
                      shifts back and forth in time, with a profusion of characters. One
                      of the most unforgettable segments is the interior monologue of an
                      Armenian infant who is left with other children under a grove of trees
                      during his family's death march from its ancestral village. "A lot
                      of authors are accused of writing novels that feel like screenplays,"
                      Rivera said. "But you can't say that about Micheline.

                      She wrote a literary gem. And it's a challenge for a filmmaker."

                      Rivera was deeply committed to the project, so much so that he wrote
                      a screenplay based on an oral agreement with Marcom; the two signed
                      an option deal only when his agents began hunting for a director.

                      Both see the process more as a labor of love than a legal
                      arrangement. "It felt, and still feels, like Jose's screenplay has
                      been a collaboration between the two of us," Marcom said. "But there
                      are two different creative worlds here, and I'm not involved in the
                      film one all that much. In the end, he'll have to follow his own muse."

                      The Book: "Three Apples Fell From Heaven" by Micheline Marcom The Buyer: Jose Rivera

                      PARK CITY '08: Don't Overlook the World: 10+ International Films to Watch at Sundance '08

                      Indiewire
                      by Anthony Kaufman
                      January 9, 2008
                      .....
                      Another fanciful tale, Russian director Anna Melikyan's slick modern
                      fairytale "Mermaid" should also garner buzz, having already received
                      strong praise out of Russian fests last year. Reviewing out of the
                      Vladivostok Film Festival, Variety's Russell Edwards's wrote the film
                      "has abundant charm and digital trickery in the 'Amelie' mold, but
                      also a winning personality all its own." As a young woman with
                      telekinetic powers making her way through contemporary Russia,
                      diminutive star Mariya Shalayeva has already received accolades (a
                      Best Actress prize at Sochi) and director Melikyan, a veteran
                      commercial filmmaker (whose 2001 short "Poste Restante" won a special
                      jury prize at prestigious Clermont-Ferrand film festival) reportedly
                      gives the film a breathtaking visual palette.
                      .....


                      ARMENIAN FILM DIRECTOR AWARDED DUTCH PRIZE

                      ARMENPRESS
                      Dec 13, 2007

                      YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS: An Armenian film director, Harutyun
                      Khachatrian, one of the founders of the Golden Apricot film festival,
                      was selected by a jury to be awarded the Dutch Prince Claus award
                      for 2007.

                      The certificate and a monetary award of 25,000 euros will be handed
                      to him on December 14 by the Dutch ambassador to Georgia and Armenia.

                      The Golden Apricot festival office said Harutyun Khachatrian was
                      chosen to receive the award for his contribution to promoting dialogue
                      between conflicting nations.

                      The film director is the second Armenian to be awarded the
                      prize. Earlier it was given to an Armenian comedian actor Mikael
                      Poghosian.

                      The Prince Claus Fund was inaugurated in 1996, named in honor of
                      Prince Claus of The Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from
                      the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

                      The Fund has presented the international Prince Claus Awards annually
                      since 1997 to honor individuals and organizations reflecting a
                      progressive and contemporary approach to the themes of culture and
                      development. Recipients are mainly located in Africa, Asia, Latin
                      America, and the Caribbean.

                      Honorees are determined by a jury of honorary chairmen who are experts
                      from fields relevant to its mission of culture and development.

                      The most important consideration of the jury is the positive effect
                      of a laureate's work on a wider cultural or social field.

                      The Principal Award of ~@ 100,000 is presented during a ceremony at
                      the Royal Palace in Amsterdam in December every year. The additional
                      awards of ~@ 25,000 each are presented in the Dutch embassies in the
                      countries where the recipients live in December and January.


                      What if I find someone else when looking for you? My soul shivers as the idea invades my mind.

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X