Arts & Culture special pullout section - Armenian Reporter

November 14, 2009
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Gerard L. Cafesjian, president of the Cafesjian Family Foundation, and his wife Cleo cut a ribbon to mark the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. With them are Megan Doyle (applauding), a member of
the board of the foundation, and Michael De Marsche, executive director of the center. Yerevan, November 8, 2009. Photo: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
Cafesjian Center for the Arts
opens in Yerevan

A history of the Cascade
The building is now the Cafesjian
Center for the Arts has been
a prominent landmark in the
city of Yerevan for many years.
Knowns as “The Cascade,” the
complex was originally conceived
by the architect Alexander
Tamanyan (1878–1936), who
drew up the master plan for the
city. Tamanyan desired to connect
the northern and central
parts of Yerevan – the historic
residential and cultural centers
of the city – with a vast green
area of waterfalls and gardens,
cascading down one of the city’s
highest promontories. Unfortunately,
the plan remained largely
forgotten until the late 1970s,
when Yerevan’s Chief Architect
Jim Torosyan revived the plan.
Torosyan’s conception of the
Cascade included Tamanyan’s
original plan but incorporated
new ideas that included a monumental
exterior stairway, a long
indoor shaft containing a series
of escalators, and an intricate
network of halls, courtyards,
and outdoor gardens embellished
with numerous works of
sculpture bearing references to
Armenia’s rich history and cultural
heritage.
Construction of Torosyan’s design
of the Cascade was launched
by the Soviets in the 1980s but
was abandoned after the Armenian
earthquake of 1988 and the
breakup of the Soviet Union in
1991. With independent rule
and the transition to democracy,
Armenia entered a period
of severe economic hardship,
and the Cascade remained a neglected
relic of the Soviet era for
more than a decade. Gerard L.
Cafesjian, working with the City
of Yerevan and the government
of the Republic of Armenia, initiated
its recent revitalization
in 2002. The project took over
seven years to complete. During
that time virtually every aspect
of the monument was renovated
and much of it completely
reconstituted into a center for
the arts, bearing the name of its
principal benefactor. f
A panoramic view
of Yerevan and
Mount Ararat
from the top of
the Cafesjian
Center of the
Arts. Below
the Cascade is
the Cafesjian
Sculpture Garden
at Tamanyan
Park, and beyond
that is the Opera.
Photo: Mkhitar
Khachatryan.
Swarovski Gallery
Special Events Auditorium
Eagle Hall
Eagle Garden Hall
Sasuntsi Davit Hall
Sasuntsi Davit Garden Hall
Khanjyan Hall
Visitor Center
Gallery One
The Cafesjian Center for the Arts. The formal gardens appear on every level. Photo: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
Entrance
C2 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009

Cafesjian Center for the Arts opens in Yerevan
A world-class
museum in the heart
of Yerevan
“Homeland and
diaspora can
accomplish anything
together”
by Vincent Lima
with Armine Amiryan
YEREVAN – In the heart of
Armenia’s capital city, on the
park leading to the towering
Cascade Complex, and behind
the Cascade’s mask of white
travertine, a new and wondrous
world has been created.
On Saturday and Sunday, November
7 and 8, this world was
unveiled in the presence of the
benefactor who gave it to Armenia,
Gerard L. Cafesjian,
and his wife Cleo.
The new world is the Cafesjian
Center for the Arts. Attending
the Grand Opening were
President Serge Sargsyan, the
Catholicos of All Armenians,
Karekin II, and tens of thousands
of Yerevan residents and
their guests.
“For all these years we have
heard of Arshile Gorky, and
for the first time we have the
chance to see his work and
come into contact with it,” a
resident of the neighborhood
said. On display in the Eagle
gallery are 16 drawings and 7
paintings by Gorky, a monumental
presence in American
twentieth-century art.
On Sunday morning, in conjunction
with the inauguration
of the Libenský Brychtová exhibition
“For Armenia,” Yaroslava
Brychtová signed posters
and copies of a book dedicated
to the innovative glass work
she has done over the decades
in collaboration with her late
husband Stanislav Libenský.
The exhibition is housed in the
Sasuntsi Davit Hall.
“Raised our standards”
In the hall, scores of art lovers
– schoolchildren and art critics
alike – spoke to Ms. Brychtová
about the process of creating
their glass art, the nature of her
collaboration with her husband,
their relationship with Armenia,
and meanings to be found in
their abstract work.
“This center has raised our
standards and our expectations,”
Karen Aghamyan, the
president of the Artists Union
of Armenia, said. He added that
Armenians will no longer settle
for anything less. “We have a
new center that is contemporary
and meets international
standards. It is a great gift for
Armenia.”
Cynthia Lennon and Pattie
Boyd, former wives of
the Beatles John Lennon and
George Harrison, met for
the first time in decades and
shared a stage for the first
time ever. They spoke about
their husbands’ extraordinary
lives and music. On the
stage of the Special Events
Auditorium, Dr. Michael De
Marsche, executive director
of the center, interviewed the
celebrities. After the interview,
Ms. Lennon signed copies
of her book, John, and Ms.
Boyd – who was also married
to blues and rock legend Eric
Clapton – signed copies of her
book Wonderful Today.
In the Sasuntsi Davit Garden
Hall, an exhibit of Ms. Boyd’s
photographs, “Pattie Boyd: Yesterday
and Today,” is on display
through the end of January.
The exhibition lends an
intimate view into the lives of
George Harrison, Eric Clapton,
the Beatles, and Ms. Boyd herself.
This unique body of photographs,
representing 40 years
of work, has garnered attention
from art critics internationally,
and much of it has toured two
continents.
Vivid colors
“Very interesting works are on
display,” 21-year-old Goharik
Harutyunan said. “This is no
ordinary cultural center. It is a
new look, a new style. Our cultural
life needed a change, and
that has come true.”
In Khanjyan Hall, President
Serge Sargsyan and Catholicos
Karekin II unveiled Grigor
Khanjyans’ restored triptych
mural. Also present was the late
President
Serge Sargsyan,
center, arrives
at the Cafesjian
Center for the
Arts, along
with Catholicos
Karekin II. He
is greeted
by Gerard L.
Cafesjian. On
the left, behind
the president,
is Diaspora
Minister
Hranush
Hakobyan.
Yerevan,
November 8,
2009. Photos:
Mkhitar
Khachatryan.
artist’s daughter Seda Khanjyan.
The triptych tells the story
of Armenia through independence
in vivid colors. Familiar
faces from Armenian history
populate the panels.
Gor Muradyan, 35, said,
“The works of various masters
broaden our horizons. We must
maintain the cleanliness of the
Cascade, its beauty, like a sacred
site. People who come here
take something valuable away
with them, something that will
stay with them forever.”
In the same hall on Sunday,
Michael Kimmelman, the
chief art critic of the New York
Times, delivered a lecture on
his Pulitzer Prize–nominated
book The Accidental Masterpiece:
On the Art of Life and Vice
Versa. He suggested that art
is created not just by the artist,
but also by the spectator,
who helps define and create it
through his or her own perception,
experience, sensitivity,
and imagination.
A great achievement
Hranush Hakobyan, the diaspora
minister, was very pleased
with what she saw. “I am happy
that this museum is opening
in Yerevan, where it can greatly
help the development of our
country’s tourism industry. It
is the best example of Armeniadiaspora
collaboration.”
A long line had formed outside
the Eagle Garden Hall,
where “In the Mind of the Collector”
was on display. On view
is an eclectic collection ranging
from a 28-foot model of a
ship upon which Mr. Cafesjian
served in the Pacific during
World War II, to a rare 1906
Model N Ford Runabout, and
a working model of a Wabash
steam locomotive.
“This is a great achievement
for Mr. Cafesjian and for all
those who have worked on this
project,” said Joseph Pennington,
the deputy chief of
mission at the U.S. Embassy in
Yerevan. “A great deal of work
has gone into this great world
of art, which can be a source of
pride. I saw names here that I
have only seen in the leading
museums of the world. The Cafesjian
Center for the Arts is going
to be one of Yerevan’s greatest
attractions,”
At the top level of the Cascade,
next to a room dedicated to
Swarovski Light Socks – mesh
socks filled with hundreds of
crystals with a light buried
among them – is the Special
Events Auditorium. Here, on
Saturday night, President Sargsyan,
the Catholicos, Mr. Cafesjian,
and guests listened to jazz
as they enjoyed a spectacular
view of the Cafesjian Sculpture
Garden at Tamanyan Park and
nighttime Yerevan.
In remarks delivered on
his behalf, Mr. Cafesjian said
“the museum represents his
commitment to homeland,
his faith in Armenia’s future
as a beacon and haven for all
Armenians, his vision that
Yerevan can and should present
itself to the world as a center of
excellence in all facets of human
endeavor – including the arts
– and his belief that homeland
and diaspora can accomplish
anything together.” f.
Just outside and below the Special Events Auditorium, sculptures of three divers grace a pool.
The relatively small Eagle Garden Hall holds a popular exhibition.
Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009
C3

When glass has a mind of its own
The art of Libenský
Brychtová in
Yerevan
by Maria Titizian and
Gregory Lima
YEREVAN – Jaroslava Brychtová,
a Czech glass artist and
sculptor, was in Yerevan this
week to take part in the opening
of the Cafesjian Center for
the Arts. Ms. Brychtová and her
late husband Stanislav Libenský
emerged in the middle of
the last century as leaders in
the world of contemporary glass
art. The innovative couple elevated
glass to the level of major
architectural sculptures and
influenced generations of glass
makers around the world.
Libenský Brychtová began experimenting
with the glass process
early in their career. They
developed new approaches that
eventually turned the world of
glass art on its head.
Jean Paul Sartre is said to
have remarked that the achievement
of Calder was to no longer
merely suggest movement but
to capture it. The achievement
of Libenský Brychtová, it has
been noted, is to no longer suggest
light but to capture it. By
capturing light, the pair freed
its expressive capabilities.
Their work was in tune with
contemporary explorations in
art, particularly in what has
been called “the liberating gesture
of nonfigurative art,” as
they brought glass into the
mainstream of art.
Libenský Brychtová For
Armenia
The current exhibit at the Cafesjian
Center for the Arts
showcases only a fraction of Gerard
L. Cafesjian’s collection of
Libenský Brychtová. When this
particular exhibit was being designed,
Ms. Brychtová requested
that a stone pedestal be constructed
on the east wall to hold
an ancient Armenian khachkar,
or stone cross, Otto Theuer,
curator of the Cafesjian Collection,
explained. She wanted
people to understand the spiritual
connection between their
art and the monumental quality
of the khachkar. She noted that
the khachkar is a form of sculpting
that has deep meaning and
roots to which most Armenians
could relate.
There is no khachkar in the
exhibit hall at present, but
the artist hopes that eventually
an appropriate one will be
exhibited in conjunction with
her work.
Of the more than 100 pieces
by the couple in the Cafesjian
Collection, only eight are on display
today at the center. In the
future, other shows will exhibit
the larger pieces that are in the
collection. For example, there is
a sculpture called, Flower, from
the 1980s, which is almost nine
feet tall and is a monumental
piece of art made of double layers
of colorless glass.
Libenský was an influential
teacher. Asked whether his
students were represented at
the center, Ms. Brychtová said,
“There are good sculptures there,
from [the American artist Dale]
Chihuly.” The work of one of
Libenský’s students, “Table for
the Resting,” and the work of
three other students are also
part of the collection. “My husband
taught his whole life. He
came from a school back home
that taught techniques of casting
large works and melting
them into a mold,” the sculptor
explained.
Light that not only
illuminates but
transforms
“The light in Yerevan is not normal,”
Ms. Brychtová exclaimed.
Mr. Theuer interjected that
when Ms. Brychtová saw her
glass artwork for the first time
on display in Yerevan in the
exhibition hall of the Cafesjian
Center for the Arts, there
was something different about
it. “The light in Yerevan has
changed the color of the glass.
She has seen the exhibit three
or four times already and each
time the light has been different,”
Mr. Theuer said. “It must
be the height; this city is like
a crescent; depending on what
the atmosphere is, the quality
of light is changing. Today, for
example, it was a very soft light
because there was some haze
over the city that affected how
the light penetrated through
the frosted glass and then into
the sculpture itself.”
Particularly, Green Eye of the
Pyramid and Horizon seemed
to be aglow in this newfound
light of Yerevan. “The Horizon
sculpture especially had a really
rich red glow, which we’ve never
seen before,” he explained. “So,
you can see it again and again
and again and each time it will
look different.”
There is something that is
thrilling about glass sculptures,
especially because their interior
spaces change constantly with
the quality of light. “A solid
three-dimensional sculpture
changes the space that you perceive,
but a glass sculpture creates
inner spaces that are not
there but that you perceive to
be there,” the curator told us.
Inner and outer space
The concave and the convex
can be joined by transparency,
creating an active relationship
between inner and outer space.
Continued on page C5 m
Left: Jaroslava
Brychtová
with Gerard
L. Cafesjian.
Photo: Mkhitar
Khachatryan.
Top right:
Horizon. Right:
Vacant Throne
and Burning
Throne. Bottom:
Space T and
Horizon in the
background.
Photos: Grigor
Hakobyan/
Armenian
Reporter.
C4 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009

When glass has a mind of its own
n Continued from page C4
Moreover, glass sculpture, as
was noted, can create an inner
space that does not exist outside
of its capture and modulation
of light. The creative play
between outer form and inner
space is one of the innovative
features of their art.
One of the more popular
Libenský Brychtová sculptures,
the 3V column, showcases the
prismatic effect of glass and the
quality of light crystal. You can
see yourself in this sculpture.
Depending on where you are
standing, you might only see
slants, but if you move around
to the right side, you will see
the V for victory. It plays with
the optical qualities of glass.
The couple began creating the
3V sculpture in 1989, as a celebration
for the Czech Republic’s
newfound freedom. It was
completed in 1997. The works
by Libenský Brychtová typically
have two dates – the first
date is when the design was
executed and the second date
is when the sculpture itself was
fabricated.
Their work has many powerful
themes, including political
radicalism they had always
supported. For example,
Open Window and Horizon
symbolized independence
and freedom. In 1989, with
the long-awaited velvet revolution
in Czechoslovakia, the
couple produced more weighty
symbols on different themes,
including Vacant Thrones
(1989/2005) and Burning
Thrones (1989/2005), both on
display in Yerevan; these pieces
reflected the oppressive reality
of despotic power and the
collective longing for political
change in their country.
When the site for the Cafesjian
Center for the Arts was dedicated
by Catholicos Karekin II,
the sculpture Open Window
was displayed outside on the
grounds. It was May, and during
the day it was sunny and
warm. The glass would warm
up and glow. At night, as the
temperatures dropped, it got
very cool; so Jaroslav Libenský,
the couple’s son, would
come out with blankets and
wrap the sculpture so that it
would cool down slowly and
not break. “If there are severe
weather changes, the work cannot
be displayed outdoors,” Ms.
Brychtová explained.
An innovative process
When the sculptures are being
fabricated, chunks of glass are
placed in a kiln and the temperature
is cranked up to 840
degrees centigrade. “You have
to raise the temperature of the
glass so it melts into a mold
and then they must very slowly
Libensky Brychtova, For Armenia, at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. Photos: Grigor Hakobyan/Armenian Reporter.
Green Eye of the Pyramid.
cool the glass,” Mr. Theuer explained.
“For a sculpture the
size of Horizon, it can take up
to a whole month to cool down
the glass.”
“It can take up to six months
to cool the glass,” Ms. Brychtová
interjected.
In the collaboration of the
pair, Libenský’s primary role
was that of two-dimensional
designer, with Ms. Brytchova
taking it to the third dimension,
working the design into a three
dimensional clay model.
The process is complicated
and sometimes the result includes
surprises. “Glass has a
mind of its own and whatever
comes out of that kiln, whatever
happened in there, you
can’t always control,” Otto said.
“You never know what you’ll get
when you take the mold off.”
A labor of love
And then there’s the element
or illusion of color. Their pieces
are made of a single color of
glass, but as she explained there
are many colors and hues in
each sculpture. As she creates
the piece, the thickness varies
and it is the light itself coming
through the various thicknesses
of the sculpture that give it its
multiple hues.
Creating a beautiful piece
of art through glass is a process
that requires innovation,
vision, time, patience,
and love. For their Green Eye
of the Pyramid, it took them
weeks to polish the one side
of it to allow light to penetrate
the sculpture in the way they
wanted. A great deal of precision
is required to polish and
create such pieces while working
with brittle crystal.
Part of the charm and allure
of the Cafesjian Center for the
Arts will undoubtedly be this
unprecedented collection of
glass works by Libenský Brychtová.
It is a gift not only to the
cultural and artistic community
of Armenia, but a gift to future
generations of young Armenian
artists and art lovers. It will be
an exhibition that will inspire
imaginations and illuminate the
beauty from within. f
3V Column.
Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009
C5

Arshile Gorky, Composition, c.1946, oil on canvas. Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection.
Arshile Gorky: Selections from the Private
Collection of Gerard L. Cafesjian
Eagle Hall
An Armenian immigrant who
arrived in the United States in
1920 at the age of 15, Arshile
Gorky was once called a “hero
of Abstract Expressionism.” Unlike
his contemporaries, Gorky
possessed a demanding, methodical
approach to the earliest
stages of a work’s formation.
The many preliminary drawings
and oil sketches in this exhibition
– all from the Gerard L.
Cafesjian Collection – provide
unparalleled insight into this
neglected area of Gorky’s working
method. Emphasizing the
preparatory stages of a work’s
evolution, he resisted the subconscious
flow of ideas and subscribed
to a more traditional and
disciplined regimen. Executing
a large number of sketches that
were continuously reworked
and rearranged, Gorky rendered
complex, large-scale compositions
of cohesive design and
universal theme that continue
to be viewed as some of the finest
examples of American art at
mid-century.
f
Gohar Sarkisian, center, wife of Armenia’s prime minister, at the Arshile Gorky exhibit. Photos: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
Study for Aviation Murals (Newark Airport, South Wall), circa 1935–1936, graphite
on paper, 43 x 55 cm, Gerard L. Cafesjian Collection.
Michael De
Marsche
discusses the
Arshile Gorky
exhibit with
visitors. He is
the executive
director of the
Cafesjian Center
for the Arts.
C6 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009

Cynthia, Pattie, and the Beatles
Former wives of
John Lennon and
George Harrison in
Yerevan
by Maria Titizian
John Lennon and George Harrison
were two of the four Beatles,
one of the most iconic rock
groups in history. Their former
wives, Cynthia Lennon and Pattie
Boyd, were in Yerevan for the
grand opening of the Cafesjian
Center for the Arts last week.
They took part in a live interview
with Michael De Marsche,
the museum’s executive director,
in the brand-new and beautifully
appointed Special Events
Auditorium, located at the top
floor of the complex.
The first-time-ever joint appearance
of Cynthia Lennon
and Pattie Boyd, took place in
Yerevan. Arranging for that to
happen was no small feat, according
to De Marsche, who
recounted the many telephone
calls and arrangements that
the museum made to ensure
their participation at the opening.
Watching the interaction of
these two phenomenal women
on stage was like taking a trip
down memory lane.
Those in attendance at the
live interview at the Cafesjian
Center for the Arts cut across a
large swath of Armenian society,
including Armenia’s deputy
foreign minister Arman Kirakossian
who was there with his
family. Their nostalgia for the
Beatles has a deeper meaning.
The music of the Beatles was
repressed during the Soviet era
but an underground culture was
able to smuggle in and disseminate
their music in innovative
ways. Their influence was immense;
some like the last Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev, would
say that the cultural, social, and
musical revolution they inspired
manifested itself years down the
road. “More than any ideology,
more than any religion, more
than Vietnam or any war or nuclear
bomb, the single most important
reason for the diffusion
of the Cold War was the Beatles,”
Mr. Gorbachev has said.
For over an hour, Cynthia
and Pattie disclosed intimate
moments they shared with
their husbands and each other,
from fame to drug abuse, to
alcoholism, and eventually to
break-ups both marital and
musical. Those turbulent early
years when the Beatles were on
the road to becoming one of the
most legendary music groups
of all times, the wives were
along for the ride. However, as
they recounted, the ride wasn’t
always smooth. Pattie Boyd
was very honest when recalling
that tumultuous time of her
life, “With a lot of help from a
psychotherapist I have learned
and am a much stronger person
now. I am thankful to be free.”
“We have survived,” Cynthia
Lennon said. “We have lost so
many people along the way.” Indeed,
Paul McCartney and Ringo
Starr are the sole surviving
members of the Beatles. John
Lennon was shot and killed in
front of his apartment building
on December 8, 1980, by Mark
David Chapman. George Harrison
died of lung cancer in his
Hollywood Hills mansion on
November 29, 2001.
Cynthia Lennon, nee Powell,
met John Lennon at the Liverpool
Art College in 1957. “We
were young and very much in
love,” she recalled. The two
married in 1962, after Cynthia
became pregnant with their
son, Julian. Lennon left her
shortly after their return from
India in 1968 to be with Yoko
Ono. In 1978, Cynthia wrote A
Twist of Lennon, which included
her own illustrations and poetry,
and a later biography on
the famous Beatle titled simply,
John in 2005.
Pattie Boyd was a model and
photographer. In the 60s she
modeled in London, New York,
and Paris and appeared on the
UK and Italian covers of Vogue.
She met George Harrison in 1964
when she was cast in The Beatles
film “A Hard Day’s Night.” She
said at the time that Harrison
was “the most beautiful man I
had ever seen.” They were married
in 1966; Paul McCartney
was the best man. They divorced
in 1974, after which Boyd married
Eric Clapton. One of the audience
members asked her how
she came to be with Clapton.
“Eric kept coming over [to the
house she shared with Harrison]
and began declaring his love
and passion for me,” she said.
“Because I was being ignored by
my husband and being young,
I found it irresistible. Maybe if
we weren’t so young, maybe we
could have made it work.”
Boyd’s book, Wonderful Today:
George Harrison, Eric Clapton
and Me, which came out
in 2007, was on the New York
Times bestseller list.
For both Cynthia and Pattie,
their fondest memories go back
to the time they were all in India
in 1968, after the Beatles
renounced drugs and became
followers of Indian mystic Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi. “It was an
idyllic, positive situation at the
foothills of the Himalayas,” said
Ms. Boyd. “I loved it there.”
“The holidays, the times we
went away together” is what
Cynthia Lennon remembers as
the best times.
“When George, John, Cynthia,
Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009
Pattie Boyd and Cynthia Lennon during their live interview at the Special Events Auditorium. Photo: German Avagyan.
and I went to Tahiti and sailed
on a boat” is what Pattie Boyd
said was her fondest memory.
They were hard-pressed to
reveal which Beatle song they
liked most. “They’re all so different.
It’s here, there, and everywhere,”
said Cynthia. “But I
think that Sergeant Pepper was
the most unbelievable album.”
Pressed to say which Beatles
song she liked most, Boyd –
who is known to be the inspiration
for some of George Harrison’s
songs – said, “It’s difficult
to say which one is my favorite,
but ‘All You Need is Love,’ is so
strong and profound.”
Someone from the audience
wanted to know if there were
any hidden messages in the
Beatles’ songs. “No, people
wanted there to be messages,
but there weren’t any,” Cynthia
assured the audience.
Questions were asked about
what Cynthia’s son, Julian Lennon,
was doing musically. Cynthia
explained that he completed
an album about a year ago,
but is still trying to get the best
deal, “hopefully by next year.”
Following the live interview,
the two women were available
for book signings and Pattie’s
exhibition of photographs was
opened to the public. Ms. Boyd
Flowers of appreciation. Photo: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
spent a few minutes speaking
with the Armenian Reporter, in
between signing her books.
She said that this was her
first visit to Armenia and to the
region in general. “After this
book signing, I can’t wait to go
out and explore the city,” she
smiled. “I want to go to Vernissage
and the museum at Republic
Square.”
About the Cafesjian Center
for the Arts, she said: “I am so
blown away; I think this is the
most exciting building I have
ever seen architecturally; it is
so wonderful. I want to bring
Cleo Cafesjian
shared a few
words with Pattie
Boyd during
Boyd’s photo
exhibition and
book signing.
Photo: German
Avagyan.
my friends from London here
next year.” She went on to explain
that the design of the
museum, the different installations
on each floor and the gardens
were “absolutely beautiful.
It’s so beautifully done and the
attention to detail is exquisite.”
Cynthia Lennon and Pattie
Boyd both seem to have have
found peace and happiness. “I
am very, very happy,” Cynthia
explained. “The one person
who has given me strength and
hope is my son and my new husband....
It’s important to still
have a sense of humor.” f
C7

The exhibit, “In the Mind of the Collector,” includes a variety of objects not all of which fit the usual definitions of contemporary art. Photo: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
In the Mind of the Collector
Eagle Garden Hall
Throughout his life, Gerard L.
Cafesjian has indulged a passion
for collecting that encompasses
areas lying outside the
arena of contemporary art. His
varied interests are on continuous
display in an exhibition titled,
In the Mind of the Collector.
Although the objects on view
are not always strictly definable
as art, they are, without exception,
aesthetically engaging,
sometimes curious, and often
amusing, lending insight into
the man who collected them.
On view is an eclectic collection
ranging from a 28-foot model
of a ship on which Mr. Cafesjian
served in the Pacific during
World War II, to a rare 1906
Model N Ford Runabout, and
a working model of a Wabash
steam locomotive. f
A 28-foot model of a ship on which Gerard L. Cafesjian served in the Pacific during World War II. Photo: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
A 1906 Model N Ford Runabout. Photo: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
A Wabash steam locomotive. Photo: German Avagyan.
C8 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009

The art of glass keeps the viewer guessing about light, color, and more. Photos: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
Dale Chihuly’s Persian installation. The Museum Store at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts. Some of the more eclectic pieces in the collection.
Gallery One
Catholicos
Karekin II with
Bagrat Sargsyan,
president of CS
Media, at Gallery
One, Nov. 7.
Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009
Selected works
from the Private
Collection of Gerard
L. Cafesjian
Highlighted in this gallery is a
large number of glass works by
many of the best-known artists
of contemporary art. Particularly
noteworthy is the Persian installation
by Dale Chihuly, one of the
most influential artists working in
the medium today. Also on exhibition
are works by an international
array of glass artists, including the
noted Czech artist Jaromir Rybak,
the Japanese Tadashi Sumi,
and the Swedish artist Bertil Vallien.
The main floor of the gallery
presents a rare opportunity to see
many of the best-known figures in
contemporary sculpture. f
C9

Members of the late Grigor Khanjyan’s family view his restored mural, The Creation of the Armenian Alphabet; The Battle of Vardanank; and The Rebirth of Armenia. Photo: German Avagyan.
Mural by Grigor Khanjyan and Selected Works
from the Private Collection of Gerard L. Cafesjian
Khanjyan Hall
Located in Khanjyan Hall is the
monumental mural executed
by the well-known Armenian
painter Grigor Khanjyan (1926–
2000). Commissioned for the
original Soviet monument but
left unfinished at the time of
Khanjyan’s death, the three primary
scenes of the mural illustrate
important events in Armenia’s
history: The Creation of the
Armenian Alphabet; The Battle of
Vardanank; and The Rebirth of Armenia.
Khanjyan hall was completely
renovated in 2009, and
its austere, unadorned interior
embodies the reverence many
Armenians feel toward one of
their country’s artistic treasures.
Selections of glass from the Gerard
L. Cafesjian Collection are
on continuous exhibition on the
east wall of the hall. f
Bagrat Sargsyan, left, President Serge Sargsyan, and Karekin II. Mkhitar Khachatryan.
Prior to the unveiling of Grigor Khanjyan’s restored mural. Mkhitar Khachatryan.
C10 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009

Cafesjian Sculpture Garden
Tamanyan Park
The Cafesjian Sculpture Garden
is located at the base of the Cascade,
and presents one of the
finest collections of monumental
sculpture found anywhere in
the world. The garden’s unobstructed
walkways, long vistas,
and formal plantings have been
specially designed to provide a
modern setting for large-scale
sculpture by such internationally
recognized figures as Fernando
Botero, Lynn Chadwick, Jaume
Plensa, and Barry Flanagan. f
Prancing horse by Martin Lowe. Photo: Eric Stepanian.
Jaume Plensa’s Alphabet Man. Photo: Eric Stepanian.
Barry Flanagan’s Hare on Bell. Photo: Eric Stepanian.
Fernando Botero’s Cat. Photo: Eric Stepanian.
The Cafesjian Sculpture Garden. Photo: Grigor Hakobyan/Armenian Reporter.
Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009
C11

“Madison Avenue” on an escalator
by Gregory Lima
YEREVAN – When Yerevan’s
new Cafesjian Center for the
Arts was still more a diagram
than a reality, and taking one
escalator after another, moving
level by level to the high point
over the city while wondering
what Gerard Cafesjian was
attempting to achieve here, it
seemed what he sought was a
Madison Avenue on an escalator,
a traffic-busy, elegant avenue of
top-notch art galleries.
The galleries are now open,
and with them much more. A
popular, open space has been
re-created to become attractive
as a center to an unusually wide
public. It now invites active participation
in an expanding variety
of the arts at no, or little cost,
and at various levels of interest,
including just strolling by in the
fragrance of the flowers and the
sound of the splashing water.
The gallery spaces may also
serve as lecture halls, becoming,
as in the opening days,
available for discourse on fresh
approaches to the arts, or introductions
to cross-cultural
celebrities. They also may serve
as concert salons and film discussion
theaters, while each of
the many levels of the Cascade
structure offers continued opportunities
to grow the size of
the sculpture park.
When one thinks of creative
further use for the many related
outdoor spaces, they lend
themselves to competition to
create winning designs among
artists and artisans for bold,
experimental, organic compositions
with local materials in
each level’s own garden, and if
there is a need to create further
excitement, they can serve as
multiple stages for new concepts
in performance art.
With the opening days came
the first of promised formal
discourses on art in our times.
Michael Kimmelman, the chief
art critic of the New York Times,
holder of one of the most influential
and prestigious jobs in
the art world, was to give a talk
in English. Tickets were quickly
sold out and he would talk before
a full house.
A graceful writer deeply
grounded in his chosen subject
and with persuasive eloquence
at the podium, he talked of
meaningful art and its relationship
to culture. At the packed
Khanjyan Hall, the acoustics
needed more tweaking, and
comprehension was very difficult
for an eager audience mainly
of young people with English
as a second or third language.
Kimmelman bemoaned the
fact that he went to Yerevan’s
National Art Gallery for two
days running and was the only
visitor, even though it was the
weekend. Yerevantsis, the New
York Times chief art critic concluded,
are not gallery goers.
They were at the new center in
the tens of thousands, however.
And yet, because of the language
and the acoustics, even
with so many people present,
he was alone again, or almost.
It would be a shame to have
missed the originality of his
perspective. It can be found in
his bestselling book, The Accidental
Masterpiece: On the Art of
Life and Vice Versa.
Kimmelman in the Khanjyan
Gallery started his discourse on
his approach to the art of our
times with a photographer’s
approach to an unremarkable
event as he walks a city. The
photographer notices something
that makes him stop to
look more closely. From what
he sees, he creates what may be
called “an accidental masterpiece,”
although this photographer
was predisposed to creating
masterpieces.
With the photograph projected
for us to see, he explains that
the photographer has noticed a
bare wall from which posters
have been stripped. The residue
of the glue has left smudges and
traces on the otherwise blank
wall. Before the wall a young
child plays with a ball. When
the child tosses the ball in the
air, the child waits with a happy
face, alive with expectation of
catching the ball as it descends.
He takes the picture when
the ball is out of the frame. We
see only the wall and the child.
The result is an undisputed
masterpiece.
A beautiful child is looking
skyward with great, engaging
expectation against a confusing
background of abstract shapes
that suggests whatever we wish
to read into it. It is virtually impossible
to see this without a
personal reaction, creating your
own interpretation of where
the child is and what the child
is seeing that is making it so
happy. The photograph is by
Henri Cartier-Bresson and is a
treasured classic.
Kimmelmann is suggesting
that art is where you find it,
and you as spectator become
participant, helping to define
and create it. He suggests art
calls for your participation inside
the frame of the visible, to
which you must engage with
your own experience, sensitivity,
and imagination. Of necessity
it involves “the art of
seeing well” both to make art
and to enjoy art, and if the skill
does not come naturally to you,
“fortunately it can be learned.”
With a photograph of an
earthquake in a small town in
Italy, he went on to describe
how art belongs to a whole
Michael Kimmelman, author of The Accidental Masterpiece, speaking at Khanjyan Hall. Photos: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
people and it may be surprising
what they value most. This
is a town that boasted a genuine
Giotto. But with the earthquake,
the town flocked with
far deeper immediate concern
for the work of a local artist
with whom their identity was
far more intimately expressed
and defined.
He showed a painting in
strong colors with Chagall-like
floating figures of a wedded
pair above a tree of life. It was
done by gypsies, Roma, in Hungary.
He found this painting
and a similar group of work not
only original in its expression
of social values but also culturally
significant. The Roma have
a difficult time all over Europe.
They are regarded as outsiders
who may not be trusted. They
have learned that the way to
warmer acceptance, even inclusion,
is to show that they have
a vivid, well-developed culture
that is on a highly civilized level.
A people define themselves
in the way they live their art
and how they bring the values
they cherish into their lives.
As he went on with his discourse,
although he didn’t say
so, it emerged that it can help
if you have someone to talk to,
especially someone with whom
you can make connections,
sharing and exploring your reactions
and thoughts.
This came to mind when
Kimmelman brought up the
reclusive artist Michael Heizer,
showing a photograph of what
seemed an unremarkable and
basically uninteresting trench
in a desert landscape. Here,
Father Dennis Deese, r., president of St Thomas University and a member of the
Cafesjian Family Foundation, in the audience for Michael Kimmelman’s talk.
imagination is everything, and
you need one the size of the
whole American southwest.
Heizer, he stated, created a
sensation with a new kind of
sculpture, a kind of sculpture
of absence. The artist called it
“negative sculpture,” – the space
left behind after digging.
The space left after digging a
trench or a foxhole may offer
artistic possibilities in the way
it captures and shapes light,
but at this point we may be the
grave-diggers of art itself.
Upstairs, four levels higher
on the escalators, the challenging
notion of space and light is
brilliantly handled with audacious
and technically difficult
solutions in the exquisite art of
Libenský Brychtová.
Using glass as their artistic
medium, this husband-andwife
team captured light in
space in ways that have fundamentally
enriched modern
sculpture. They have contrived
to add to surface definition
of form a fresh, luminous
inner space. Unlike an
empty hole and a ton of hype,
or a mere transparency, they
have created something entirely
new in the art of sculpture.
They have found a way
to begin to express the soul
within darkness, ephemeral,
space within space, filled with
spectrally expressive forms,
responsive to the moment
and the season.
Returning attention to Kimmelman,
he tells us that Michael
Heizer, as might be expected,
rather rapidly left the
empty holes to others. He began
spending the next 30 years of
his life in a survivalist mode in
a remote section of Nevada on a
Continued on page C13 m
C12 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009

Opening ceremonies of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in the Special Events Auditorium. From left, Cleo Cafesjian, Karekin II, President Serge Sargsyan, Gerard L. Cafesjian, the interpreter (Artashes Emin),
and Bagrat Sargsyan. Photo: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
Special Events Auditorium
Located at the top level of the
Cascade, the Special Events
Auditorium offers a spectacular
panorama of Yerevan and
Mount Ararat beyond. This stunning
space, designed with the
audiophile in mind, offers the
city’s premier venue for listening
to the best in classical, jazz,
and pop music. In addition, the
Auditorium hosts the Center’s
First Thursday Wine Tastings
as well as lectures and film festivals.
Every Sunday afternoon,
you can view rare classic films at
the Auditorium including present-day
blockbusters, documentaries,
biographical and art-inspired
films.
Every Friday and Saturday,
the Special Events Auditorium
will be featuring live classical,
jazz, rock, and pop music. f
Composer and
jazzman Stepan
Shakaryan will
be performing
at the Special
Events
Auditorium
during the
month of
November at the
Cafesjian Center
for the Arts.,
Photo: German
Avagyan.
“Madison Avenue” on an escalator
n Continued from page C12
vast, private acreage he bought
for a pittance, building a monumental
earth work with shoveled
earth reaching high up from
the ground, untold, gargantuan
tons of it. It is, at the time of
the illustration, an unfinished
artwork with private meaning.
Kimmelman gives us what he
informs us is a rare glimpse of
what the artist is up to.
Private passions that others
may not understand but
which demand a lifetime of
dedicated labor must earn
our respect, sometimes our
unabashed awe. Three flights
of soaring escalators higher
will bring us to Eagle Garden
Hall and to one of the most
popular galleries. It is called
“In the Mind of the Collector.”
Among the objects and art
works on display in this offthe-mainstream
gallery, you
find a 28-foot model of a ship
created to scale with remarkable
veracity and workmanship,
also needing the larger
part of a lifetime of meticulous
labor for a visionary to
complete. The ship was built
inside a small apartment,
needing the full cramped
space of two rooms after the
wall had been knocked down.
The engineer whose vision it
was did it only for the love
of what he was doing, living
with it closer than a wife,
night and day, years yielding
to decades. Can the creator of
this accurate replica of a ship
be called an artist?
If a man makes an accurate
replica of a face in two dimensions
it is called a portrait, in
three dimensions in the round
it is a bust, but if it is a ship
he replicates, it is only a model
with the status of a toy. This
one is no toy. There must be a
qualitative difference. It must
relate to what constitutes art as
a work of the imagination. Art
lives in a realm that seeks much
more than mere replica. Kimmelman
would be able to define
it. But he was in the realm of
negative sculpture. We are left
to ourselves.
By some serendipitous turn of
events, this was a model of the
ship Gerard Cafesjian served on
in the Pacific in World War II.
It had deep personal meaning,
and as such it found a home in
the collection.
In a sense, the whole enterprise
of the Center for the Arts
began to resemble the ship as a
work of passion with personal
meaning. Within the edifice
there is art great and small.
Kimmelman came and went.
We must examine what we have
here, up and down these escalators,
for ourselves.
In doing that and “seeing well”,
we make it our own. Making it
our own is the priceless legacy the
collector offers us on this escalated
avenue of artful dreams. f
Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture | November 14, 2009
C13

C14 The Armenian Reporter | November 14, 2009
Commentary
Gerard L. Cafesjian: “Welcome to your Cascade”
The following remarks were delivered in Armenian
by the editor of this newspaper on
behalf of Gerard L. Cafesjian at the Grand
Opening of the Cafesjian Center for the
Arts in Yerevan on November 7.
Mr. President, Your Holiness, Ladies
and Gentlemen:
On behalf of Gerard L. Cafesjian,
the Cafesjian Family Foundation, and
the Cafesjian Museum Foundation,
welcome to the Grand Opening of the
Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
Some six years ago, former President
Kocharian and Mr. Cafesjian joined in
a unique public-private partnership to
fundamentally transform this then-neglected
Soviet-era monument and surrounding
property known as the Cascade
into a world-class center for contemporary
art presentation and education, a
premiere gathering place for Armenia’s
people and their guests from around the
world, and a visual focal point on one of
the most prominent and commanding
points of reference in Yerevan.
On behalf of the government and
people of Armenia, former President
Kocharian – joined enthusiastically by
President Sargsyan upon his election
– and Mr. Cafesjian on behalf of the
diaspora created and sustained the
Cafesjian Museum Foundation to
rebirth Tamanyan Park and the Cascade
complex rising above the park. This leap
of faith by Messrs. Kocharian, Sargsyan,
and Cafesjian – symbolically bringing
together homeland and diaspora in a
common vision of hope – has brought
us to this moment of celebration.
For Mr. Cafesjian, this museum
represents his commitment to homeland,
his faith in Armenia’s future as
a beacon and haven for all Armenians,
his vision that Yerevan can and should
present itself to the world as a center
of excellence in all facets of human
endeavor – including the arts – and his
belief that homeland and diaspora can
accomplish anything together.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your
center of artistic excellence, to your reborn
gathering place, to your Cascade. f
A leap of faith
The following remarks were delivered
in Armenian by the editor
of this newspaper on behalf of
Gerard L. Cafesjian at a private
dinner held on November 9 in conjunction
with the Grand Opening
of the Cafesjian Center for the
Arts in Yerevan.
On behalf of my colleagues on
the Board of the Cafesjian Family
Foundation, I thank you for
joining us in celebrating this
long-anticipated Grand Opening
of the now-reborn Cascade
complex.
It is said that success has a
thousand fathers. In this case,
success would have been impossible
without the leadership
and support of President
Serge Sargsyan, former President
Robert Kocharian, and
Mayor Gagik Beglaryan. Thank
you, gentlemen, for your leap
of faith – in me, in the Cafesjian
Family Foundation, and
in a larger sense in the diaspora
– to deliver as promised
an artistic and cultural center
of excellence for all Armenians
and our guests from around
the world.
I intend this arts complex
and campus to be an enduring
place of presentation, interaction,
and education, a place
where the joy, mystery, and
discovery of artistic passion
will stimulate other artists to
create, students to study, patrons
of the arts to house their
collections, and lovers of art
to savor what the world has to
offer in contemporary artistic
expression.
In creating with the Armenian
government the Cafesjian
Museum Foundation, I
demonstrated my return leap
of faith in an Armenian homeland
and my pride that an
independent and democratic
nation-state was created on a
portion of our historic lands. I
believe that it is the responsibility
of each and every diasporan
to give freely and continuously
of his or her time, talent,
and treasure to sustain and
develop our common home,
our Armenia, our Artsakh. Our
homeland must flourish, and it
is the diaspora’s honor to help
make this so.
Involvement in
perpetuity
Six years ago, I promised the Armenian
government and people
to invest not less than $20 million
in rebirthing the Cascade
complex. To date, I have provided
over $40 million toward
this worthy objective – an objective
that does not end with
this Phase One Grand Opening.
In continuing partnership with
the Armenian government, and
in anticipation of other patrons
of the arts joining in generous
support, I intend for the Cafesjian
Family Foundation to be
involved in perpetuity in the
ongoing development of the
Cascade complex.
Together we can and will further
expand the physical space
for artistic, cultural, and educational
programming, as we
simultaneously create compatible
entertainment spaces to
help sustain this unique center.
I am very encouraged by the
public response to date. Even
while the Cascade was under
renovation, I was delighted
as hundreds of thousands enjoyed
works of art displayed in
Tamanyan Park, as well as the
series of memorable cultural
events presented by the Cafesjian
Museum Foundation.
And I was particularly taken
by the reaction of children to
the sculptures: to experience
once again the enthusiasm
and wonder of youth, to dream
that some among them would
become the next Gorky or
Libenský – in part because of
what these budding artists experienced,
what creative forces
were unleashed at our center
for the arts.
Entrepreneurial
philanthropy
As some of you are aware, my
activities in support of Armenia
go beyond the Cascade arts
complex. In parallel to the Cascade
initiative, I have invested
some $100 million in commercial
activity to demonstrate to
others with the means to invest
that Armenia has created
an environment conducive to
free enterprise. In a cycle of investment,
development, sale,
and reinvestment known as
entrepreneurial philanthropy,
I will continue to recycle 100
percent of proceeds in new
commercial demonstration
projects or to help sustain the
foundation’s philanthropic activities
in Armenia.
To date, successful commercial
ventures have been created
in media, film, financial services,
real estate, and alternative
energy, generating sustainable
employment and profits and
showing potential investors
what can be accomplished in
Armenia.
Charitable programs
Finally, I have also participated
in charitable and educational
programs. With the extraordinary
leadership of Hope for the
City, some $50 million in medical
equipment and supplies
has been donated. In other collaborations
with institutions
as diverse as the Holy See, the
AGBU, and scores of other institutions,
my foundation has
donated additional millions to
help address the vital needs of
our people.
I did and will continue to
give as freely as I am able in
profound gratitude for being of
some use to my homeland and
people, and in partial payment
of my debt to the generations
that have preceded me, all of
whom persevered and prayed
one day for an independent
homeland where generation
after generation for time immemorial
might live freely
and safely as Armenians, and
where the Armenian nation
and people could once again
make our unique contribution
to the world.
Thank you
I am deeply indebted to all who
joined with me to make this ongoing
offering possible. I thank
my bride Cleo for her constancy,
my colleagues on the Cafesjian
Family Foundation Board Father
Dennis Dease and Dennis
and Megan Doyle for their unwavering
commitment, and my
partner in CS Media and in all
things Armenian Bagrat Sargsyan
for his passion and wisdom. I
also gratefully acknowledge all
in service to the government of
Armenia who provided support
and inspiration, all in service to
the government of the United
States who appreciated and
cultivated ever closer, mutually
beneficial relations between
one of the world’s oldest and
youngest democracies, and all
those serving other institutions
as diverse as USAID, EBRD, and
the United Armenian Fund for
their essential contributions to
our ventures.
Let us all pause and celebrate
today what we have accomplished
thus far – and in honor
of all who preceded us – let us
get back to work tomorrow. f
Armenian Reporter (ISSN 0004-2358), an independent newspaper,
is published weekly by Armenian Reporter llc.
Gerard L. Cafesjian, President and ceo
Copyright © 2009 by Armenian
Reporter llc. All Rights Reserved
The views expressed, except in the editorial,
are not necessarily those of the publishers.
November 14, 2009
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Editor Vincent Lima
Associate editor Maria Titizian
Washington editor Emil Sanamyan
Eastern U.S. editor Lou Ann Matossian
Assistant to the Editor Seda Stepanyan
Art director Grigor Hakobyan
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The Armenian Reporter | November 14, 2009
Commentary
C15
Editorial
Notebook
A center of excellence, with a smile
by Vincent Lima
YEREVAN – Over the past few weeks,
my colleagues and I have been writing a
lot about various aspects of the Cafesjian
Center for the Arts, which had its
Grand Opening on November 7–8: we’ve
written about the sculpture garden, the
Arshile Gorky exhibit, the glasswork by
Libenský Brychtová, the Grigor Khanjyan
mural, the photographs by Pattie
Boyd, and more. Each element has its
own story and is impressive on its own.
Now it may be time to step back and look
at the bigger picture.
As I step back, I find myself overwhelmed.
The scale of the gift Gerry
Cafesjian has given the City of Yerevan
and the Republic of Armenia is difficult
to fathom.
I have to ask myself: Am I reacting the
way I am just because he’s my boss? No. I
remember the tears that came to my eyes
exactly a year ago, when I covered the
opening of the new, state-of-the-art building
of the American University of Armenia.
I wrote at length about it at the time.
What makes such gifts, and specifically
this gift by Mr. Cafesjian, special
is the scale of the vision behind the
generosity.
The Cat
For many people in Yerevan, it all began
with the Cat.
Of course, it really began with renovations:
the Cascade, at the heart of Yerevan,
connects the city center to the elevated
residential neighborhoods of the
north. The escalators, the escalator shaft,
and the garden were all in sad shape,
and the Cafesjian Museum Foundation,
formed in 2002 as a public-private partnership,
fixed them. Everyone had reason
to be grateful. Then the Cat arrived.
What was this giant bronze sculpture
that had suddenly appeared in the center
of the city? Some skeptics raised their
eyebrows: a black cat? a statue with its
tongue sticking out? But the people
took to it, and very quickly Fernando
Botero’s Cat became a beloved landmark
and attraction in Yerevan.
I moved to Yerevan in May 2006. The
first morning in our new home, my elder
daughter and I looked out the window
of her room on the ninth floor and
stared in awe at Mount Ararat. Then I
said, “Hey, let’s go downstairs, I want to
show you the cat I was telling you about.”
And of course she loved it.
A commentator in one of the local papers
wrote this week that the cat had
sent the message to Yerevan that a statue
does not have to be an ode, a heroic
representation of an admired person.
And Yerevan appreciated that message,
the commentator added. She had a point,
though I would note that not all Armenian
sculptures have been of the heroic
variety. Ervand Kochar, the talented author
of the most heroic statues in the
city, Sasunts Davit and Vartan Mamikonian,
also sculpted original representations
of modern man – gnarled men with
vacuous eyes and an urban landscape in
their guts. That said, I agree that the Cat
is in dialogue with the statues in the rest
of the city. I think its message is this:
Lighten up! Art can be fun.
Soon the cat had neighbors. Barry Flanagan’s
jaunty hares, Lynn Chadwick’s
gorgeous and geometric representations
of the human figure, Paul Cox’s
colorful 2005 creation, Ahoy, among
others. And they were all out there in
the open, part of the new fabric of a city
that was being transformed.
Cultural programs
The sculptures were only part of the story.
Less than a week after I first showed my
daughter the Cat, it was June 1, International
Children’s Day. Tamanyan Park was
absolutely full of children from Yerevan
and beyond, having fun, enjoying the cultural
programming and entertainment offered
by the foundation and its partners.
We were all so happy to be living here.
Every other week that summer, we
could go to Tamanyan Park and take in
a concert or other open-air performance
organized by the foundation. Some of
the concerts featured local artists; others
headlined performers from abroad. The
summer evenings of tens of thousands
of Yerevantsis and their guests were enhanced
by this free programming.
With this programming, the museum
had started yet another dialogue with
the city: museums need not simply be
exhibition spaces; they can offer cultural
programs, it said. I was pleased
to notice the next year, the Hovhannes
Toumanyan Museum started offering an
outdoor public event for children every
year on the great writer’s birthday.
So the Cafesjian Museum Foundation
has been a significant part of the cultural
life of Yerevan for some years now.
And in these bite-sized pieces, it was
fairly easy to appreciate the gift, which
changed Armenia in little, subtle ways.
Lighten up!
Now, with the completion of this phase
and the Grand Opening, the scale of the
gift has become apparent. It is more
than the sum of its impressive parts. It is
transformative.
Decorating the white stone façade
are fragrant formal gardens with tens
of thousands of plantings. Hidden
behind them is gallery after gallery
of works on display. Like the Cat that
heralded their arrival a few years ago,
many of the works say, Lighten up; art
can be fun.
You want cultural programming? You
have the chief art critic of the New York
Times, no less, and he’s not just a big
name. He’s an interesting and charming
man who – like the Cafesjian Center for
the Arts – rejects the notion that art is a
highbrow affair that regular people can’t
appreciate. He was the right choice to
deliver a talk on opening day.
Here you have abstract glasswork by
Libenský Brychtová. Is it an acquired
taste? Some of us take our time trying
to come to grips with it, looking
at Libenský’s sketches, contemplating
the techniques and stories behind
the various pieces, growing to appreciate
the work. Meanwhile, the hall
has many children in it on opening
day, and they simply love it: they are
looking at the prism of the 3V column,
exploring the play of light and color
in Horizon, and the play of light and
shades of gray in Space T.
The Beatles were a phenomenon that
captured the imagination of Armenians
living behind the Iron Curtain, and it
was great fun to have Cynthia Lennon
Fernando Botero’s Cat is
already a Yerevan landmark.
Photo: Grigor Hakobyan/
Armenian Reporter.
and Pattie Boyd here on opening day.
And if the two women were to meet
again for the first time in decades, why
should it not be in Yerevan?
A center of excellence
Armenia has always displayed its arts
– from stone crosses, church architecture,
and needlework to the canvases of
Saryan, the compositions of Khachaturian,
the sculptures of Kochar, and the
gracious dances of Nayirian girls – with
deserved pride. Now, for the first time,
it can show the Armenian giant Arshile
Gorky as well. But an international city
has to show more than just its native
sons and daughters. With the reborn
Cascade, Yerevan can start thinking of
itself as more of an international artistic
center of excellence.
As the physical space for artistic, cultural,
and educational programming is
expanded, and other patrons of the arts
join in to house their collections at the
center, Yerevan will more and more become
such a place.
And why not? It already has a firstclass
airport, a welcoming and hospitable
people who greet you with a smile,
excellent hotels, restaurants, and tourist
agencies, and more.
The Cafesjian Center for the Arts, in
short, provides Armenian students, artists,
and the public at large with a resource
hitherto unavailable locally; it invites
us to have fun; it allows Yerevan to
present itself as a center of excellence in
the arts. And it does one more thing. It
announces that the diaspora and Armenia,
together, can accomplish anything.
And that’s really encouraging. f

Photos: Mkhitar Khachatryan.
C16 Armenian Reporter Arts & Culture November 14, 2009