Arts & Culture special pullout section - Armenian Reporter

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