“I like to dig into the nature of people” says painter Anna Navasardian
July 25, 2011
When looking at twenty two year old painter Anna Navasardian’s paintings (annanavasardian.com) the first impression is wonder. The depth of impression, cool colors, and the dramatic inner state of her characters are jarring, and you ask yourself “is it possible that the author of these paintings is so young?” Anna lives in the United States where she moved with her family at the age of one. She started painting when she was a child, attended high school for the arts, and later graduated from the College of Fine Art at Carnegie Mellon University. - So you knew what you wanted to do as a child? - I have always liked painting and sketching. I used anything available, markers, pens, etc. - You work on a relatively large scale. Do you have a lot to say? - You know why? Usually I prefer to paint people. On large canvases figures have more presence. More so, they become part of their environments. My purpose is not to describe the physical attributes of a person but to illuminate at least one moment... [full story]
Harvest for Golden Apricot is starting
July 12, 2011
Golden Apricot, which is one of the most important cultural event of an year in Armenia, has started in Armenia. It is the seventh international festival of Golden Apricot. The festival, as a new event, is faced with global problems, which are mostly the same every year. The first problem is the lack of movie halls. There are one and half film halls because Nairi cinema cannot fully serve these kinds of initiatives. It is a serious problem for a city that cannot serve this kind of capacity of events. Second, due to financial problems the organizers cannot bring world famous films to Armenia. In addition, the festival does not have world fame, as a result of which many world famous movies are not included in it. Eventually, the biggest problem every year is the selection of the face of the festival. This year this problem has been solved and famous French actress Fanni Ardan, aged 62, is visiting Armenia. She works as a film producer since 2008. This year the biggest achievement of Golden Apricot was the...
Buildings live like people
Marine MARTIROSYAN | May 21, 2011
- What has remained from the Armenian architecture of Constantinople? - Far in the period of the Osman Empire Armenian architects were called masters. The Armenian architecture of Constantinople has older history, when the Armenians moved from east to West. I can say that very few things have remained from the Armenian architecture of Constantinople. The same thing concerns not only the Armenian but the Turkish architecture as well. The Turkish government does not take care of them. Most of the Armenian churches in Turkey have been ruined. Of course some churches have been kept in Istanbul; these churches are open but currently we do not have a community in Istanbul. There are no Armenians there who would go to church. A number of schools have been closed but their buildings are still there. Nothing can be kept secret in a country. Of course for 100 years we were not able to speak of the history because the governments have been prohibiting us to speak, write and read about culture. We have started speaking...
Yerevan is being decorated with pathos
Nune HAKHVERDYAN | May 17, 2011
Yerevan’s face has always been changed fast and arbitrarily. Even though different institutions have created a lot of departments in charge of professional discussions and advisory support, everything is instructed from the top and nothing goes through the filter of those discussions and professional conclusions. As the society is not used to using designer’s solutions and help, all constructions are done from the prospective of more financial profitability and the design and faces of constructions are obligated to people who don’t like them at all. One of such examples is the decision to replace the summer hall of Moscow cinema house with a church (by the way, the finish is not clear yet as the idea has not been refused but the process is frozen), as well as the decision to build premises for the Catholicos near the Saint Catholic church of Yerevan instead of leaving an empty area there (there are groups that still complain about this). The city is being dynamically changed and everything...
Armen Shekoyan: The victim is the one who does not survive
Nune HAKHVERDYAN | April 30, 2011
- It is said that people don’t read much now. - Now literature is not interesting for people at all. For example, artist Hakob Hakobyan said things to your newspaper that were sensation, and it is very good that a painter speaks of literature too. But the strangest thing is that no one reacted to the issues raised by him. - Do you have time for reading? - I write so much that do not have time for reading. When you are speaking of writers, you are becoming a member of the writers’ union gatherings. When you read the writings of others, you have an individual approach, and in many situations you prefer not to read their books, especially when you realize that you have not read many books written by Shakespeare and Tolstoy. Even if you have time, you are not able to read the most important thing. For me the best readers are painters, workers and drivers because they read the content and their words are concrete despite those of literature representatives and writers. I can express an opinion about...
Placido Domingo in Yerevan
December 7, 2010
“Year by year you become younger. Isn’t that right? After each year you gain more young years,” says a renowned Spanish singer Placido Domingo, 69. He is currently in Armenia. World renowned Spanish tenor Placido Domingo revealed the secret of his delicate voice at news conference in Yerevan. “All of my 128 opera roles are unique to me. I cannot single out any one of those,” the singer observed. Revealing the secret of his delicate voice, Domingo noted with a gentlemanlike refinement, ““Voice” is a feminine noun is Spanish, and therefore, must be treated with love and attention, like a woman. This is where the secret lies,” the tenor said. Domingo is not only a symbol of modern art but is a very venerable artist in the world. In his playlist there is a huge variety of tenor and baritone performances. He has lots of operas and musical and is considered a real symbol of opera art. Domingo leads the opera theaters of Los Angeles and Washington (but recently refused...
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We have Aidas but no Radameses
December 14, 2010
On December 23 Armenians will be able to witness an opera premiere. Famous Italian director Mario Corradi will stage Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece “Aida” in National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after Alexander Spendiaryan. Corradi was specially invited by the Ministry of Culture of Armenia. As it’s known the opera theater of Armenia has been deprived from the artistic director and so the artistic issues of the theater and the task of supplementing the playlist is being conducted in a phase option. And so this is done by various structures without taking into account the actual needs of the structure. On the occasion of Aida opera premiere the director of the theater Kamo Hovhannisyan participated in a press conference, during which he had mentioned, “We have started something that is beyond our potential. Many theaters don’t risk staging Aida because the solo performers must have a very high level for that.” In order to participate in...
Domingo to visit Armenia
December 2, 2010
In the framework of the “Yerevanian Prospects” 11th international festival Placido Domingo’s concert will be organized in the Concert Complex of Yerevan. “It is several years that we have the idea of inviting Placido Domingo to Armenia, but it was just an idea as it was almost impossible to make it come true. For many years we have been talking to his management and reminding about Armenia but no results,” said the general manager of the festival Sona Hovhannisyan to Radio Liberty. “Domingo does not sing much now and in order to invite him countries stay in line for him. It was a great surprise for us that thought it possible to visit Yerevan on December 3,” said Sona Hovhannisyan....
Barbarism
October 14, 2010
Serbian renowned film producer Emir Kusturica has taken part in the “Golden Orange” film festival in Antalya, Turkey. However, because of the criticism addressed to him by Turkish politicians and artists he had to leave from Turkey. He said the campaign against him was barbarism. “I am not a member of any political party. I encountered something that had never happened to me in the past… If you are so emotional about genocides, why don’t you speak of the genocide against Armenians during the WWI? I have always been against the crimes against humanity committed in Bosnia. Even if I live a thousand years, I will be against genocides during all those thousand years,” said Emir Kusturica....
Film, film, film…
September 30, 2010
In 2005 the Hay Film Studio with its 34-hectare territory, premises and buildings was sold to CS Media belonging to the Gafesjyan family at 770.000 USD and with obligations of investing over 70 million USD. That investment should have included restoration, technical armament and digitization of the Armenian films. The company announced that it claimed to become the largest cinema studio in the region with its pavilions, labs, hotel complexes and modern techniques. In 2005 the privatized studio director, filmmaker Ruben Gevorgyants mentioned that the studio is morally worn out and the only solution is to sell it to private entities. The representiave of the Gafesjyan family and co-owner of Armenia TV Bagrat Sargsyan was saying that Hay Film is going to become a new Hollywood. 5 years have passed ever since the contract was signed. During this period the Armenia TV mentioned that they’re conducting lofty activities to restore the Hay Film and that the external appearance of the buildings is being changed....
Ms Minas – Ms France
June 8, 2010
Days ago it became clear that the most beautiful miss of France is an Armenian. The winner of Miss France beauty contest is a Syrian-Armenian Malika Minas, 22, who currently studies at the University of Cannes, law department....
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