Archive - Jan 2010

The name of the exhibition organized by the British Council - “Rock, Paper, Scissors” - is associated with a favorite childish game for many, however it symbolizes the interaction between sculpture and painting, the two and three-dimensional. On January 20-28 about 50 exponents of the British Council Collection are being exhibited in Albert & Tove Boyajian Gallery of the Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts. Some of the works are shown for the first time promising to be a revelation for many students and lecturers.The exhibition presents works by outstanding sculptors Henry Moore, Bernard Meadows, William Turnbull and others created via various printing methods from the 1950s to the present day. One of the methods is screen printing which makes possible to get copies almost identical with the originals, linocut or etching."This is a small albeit interesting and encouraging surprise in the dull reality of Yerevan. For years, the artists whose works are being exhibited were like a dream for me," says art critic Nazaret Karoyan: "Of course, I had a chance to see their works before, but not in Armenia."Karoyan notes that exhibitions of modern art presenting such artists like Henry Moore are rarely held in Armenia. “Such public collections are news for our reality, unfortunately, they are not available for us,” he says. The British Council Collection in its 70-year history ...

Ani Sargsyan, 16, has a favorite season. It is winter. She is waiting for it not only for the New Year holidays but also for figure skating. And she doesn't imagine her life without it. Four days per week she goes for skating to Karapi Lich (“Swan Lake”) near the Opera House."It is something different for me; every time I feel freedom while skating. Skating is flying for me. I can't give up," says Ani. She says first time she went figure skating school with her parents when she was four. And when she heard that a rink has been opened in Karapi Lich she decided to attend there because the ice in the figure skating school was not so good.“The skating rink of Karapi Lich is really the only way for me to be in the form. I like everything there: it is an open air area where people watch how we skate and we do our best like an actor on the stage,” says Ani. In Armenia the traditions of figure skating were formed more than 30 years ago, when the first figure skating school was opened in 1972. It was very popular in the Soviet Armenia, being also a rink for the Armenian hockey players. During Soviet times it had about 600 students annually. Over the last several years it has about 200 skaters.However, for almost several months the school hasn't been working because of useless rink. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the school and the rink have never been ...

New Year, Amanor (New Year), Kaghand (Armenian Santa Claus), Tareglukh (the first day of the next year), Avetis (good news), Navasard – it doesn’t matter the name, as in all cases the meaning is the same – a start for something new. The oldest nations marked New Year in March. Then the cultivation activities began and March was considered as the first month of the year. January 1 was declared the New Year beginning only in 46 B.C. by Julius Cesar.In Armenia, the New Year is celebrated since the times when, according to a legend, the forefather Haik defeated Bel. Navasard was the first day of the year and was celebrated in August. Then the pagan Armenians began to celebrate New Year in November and since the 18th century - on January 1. According to Armenian mythology Amanor was Amatur’s wife – the God of nature and harvest, Kenats Tsar (Tree of Life) - symbol of fertility. According to artist Lusik Aguletsi the New Year ceremonies lasted 12 days and were closely related to church rituals.The 1st of January was Kaghand, ritual days were also Khtum, Navakatik, Chragaluys, Tsnund (Birth of Christ), Mkrtutyun (Epiphany), Tnorhnek. At present these are known as just days of church calendar. “During those 12 days it seemed as if the Earth and the Heaven linked with each other. That is why people held special ceremonies related to the space tree,” says Lusik ...

A new website has been launched in Armenian web world to serve as a resource center for amateur film makers and young directors, movie and cinematography fans, as well as for general audience. The first Film Portal in Armenia will provide information on Armenian cinematography, regularly updated news about local and international movie industry, news about actors, interesting facts from their lives, etc.The founder of www.cinematic.am is Vahan Gasparyan, student of directing department of Yerevan State Pedagogical University. According to him, the website will enable young directors an opportunity to demonstrate their works and receive professional feedback from more experienced colleagues and general audience for further improvements. As a young director Gasparyan is familiar with the difficulties that a young director could encounter.“One of the main goals of our website is to present works by the young directors of Armenia, to help them do their first steps in the world of cinema production,” says Vahan Gasparyan. The website visitors can also download video materials created by the young Armenian movie directors. According to the website founders soon a new page about Armenian cinematography, chronology and Armenian artists will be opened. Vahan’s initiative has been already welcomed by his contemporary colleagues. One of them is Jivan Avetisyan, young director ...