1982_04 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper April 1982

              Page 6
Hye Sharzhoom
April 1982
INDEXOF
ARMENIAN ART
By Margaret B. Williams
The Index of Armenian Art has an
exotic history: it has traveled more than
many Americans. Students in the Armenian Studies Program of Fresno State University hope that the I.A.A. has found a
comfortable home at their university.
There is strong reason to believe in its
continued existence and growth, for it is
the only way students and scholars can
quickly track down Armenian illuminated
manuscripts. Armenian illuminations are
the bearers of more than a thousand years
of the history of Armenian painting.
No Armenian needs to be told that
tragedies have dogged his people's footsteps for centuries, and those same tragedies have scattered Armenian cultural heritage across the face of the world. So it is
no surprise to find that Armenian manuscripts (copied and painted by hand) are
also scattered in private collections and
public libraries from California to the Far
East. Just where is this rich legacy located?
How many 13th century New Testament
manuscripts are still in existence? Where
are they? Such questions are answered by
the I.A.A. Even now, before computerization, photo-prints and card files can tell
student and scholar much about a manuscript—where it is and what art is contained in it.
The casual reader might think, "All very
interesting, but if you've seen one illuminated manuscript, youVe seen them all."
Not quite—not if you're involved in
Armenian art and the culture of that people. Armenian contributions to the plastic
and dramatic arts are far more extensive
than the silent testimony demonstrated by
their illuminated manuscripts, but here
are a few additional attractions to be
gleaned from these hand written books of
old:
History: (from the personal comments
of scribes)
"O, it was hot and the flies gave me no
respite."
(Lectionary, A.D. 1414, probably south
of Lake Van. Chester Beatty Library,
Dublin, Ireland. Ms.#559.)
"For in this year the Sultan came with
many soldiers, he marched on Erivan and
captured it."
(Hymnal and Calendar, A.D. 1635,
Avendants, Moks province. Chester Beatty
Library, Dublin, Ireland. MS #593).
These are examples of dated messages,
sent to us across the centuries by the
scribes who copied these manuscripts.
Religion: Armenian Gospels and Bibles,
through their texts and illuminations, give
evidence of very ancient ties with the earliest of Christian groups and churches. The
programs of their cycles of miniatures are
sophisticated comments on Armenian
theology.
Aesthetics: The artistic inspiration and
fine craftmanship of the "courtly" manuscripts create a brisk international collector's market whenever one becomes available for sale. Manuscripts of the "provincial school" are prized for their forthright earnestness and bewitching use of
color and pattern. Through calligraphy,
the letters of the Armenian alphabet become beautiful works of art in their own
right.
If you yearn to see the miniature paintings in some of these manuscripts, you
need not leave Fresno, even though the
most important collections are in Europe,
the Middle East, and Armenia. If your
budget doesn't allow such travel in the
near future, come to the I.A.A., right here
at FSU. The university library has some
fine published facsimiles of manuscripts,
and the I.A.A. files of the Index can introduce you to the published materials on
hundreds more. Through thousands of
color slides, blaci^and white photos, and
xerox copies, you can acquaint yourself
with Armenian art from the seventh to the
seventeenth century.
Also, preparations are being made to
computerize the manuscript files. If you
have time and interest, the Index can use
your help. If you wish to donate time to
Armenian art, or want more information
about the I.A.A., write or phone the
Armenian Studies Program, California
State University, Fresno, Ca 93740, Tel
(209) 294-2832.
PARADJANOV'S DREAM
By Catherine Burke
In his film The Color of Pomegranates,
Sergei Paradjanov both invites and compels us, his audience, to join in a dream, a
reverie about his spiritual brother, poet-
priest Sayat Nova. As a gifted director,
Paradjanov understands imagery as the
language of dreams. There is little dialogue in the film; talk only diminishes the
power of dreams. Neither does Paradjanov waste time on the shadowy images
of remembered reverie; his magic is in the
REVIEW
offering up of images as if it were the
moment of their dreaming: masculine,
vivid, often overwhelming in their sensual
power and emotionality. Paradjanov relies upon natural sound to strengthen the
sensuous quality of his images—for example, there is the crackling of stiff parchment pages being whipped by the wind,
and there is water—water dripping onto
the floor of a church, water bubbling in a
pot where sacrificial ram meat is cooking.
In order to involve us in his dream of
Sayat Nova, the filmmaker begins by
providing us with a workable psychological context, a recognizable web of associations. He gives us significant locations in
Soviet Armenia, depicts traditional ritual,
and fills each scene with richly textured
artifact. Paradjanov, however, is never
still; once he has brought us into his
reverie he begins to move: to shift people,
animals and folk objects around so that
they end up in odd arrangements. Whereas we recognize these things individually,
our psyches are forced to work toward
new connections, as they do in dreams.
It is through the careful alternation of
actual ritual and unusual juxtapositions
of ritual elements that Paradjanov keeps
Sayat Nova's life before us. Enough of the
real is combined with the surreal so that
Sayat Nova is never lost.
In The Color of Pomegranates, Paradjanov appears to be asking us to view the
ancient Armenian culture through what
he sees as the mystical vision of Sayat
Nova; in addition, as Madame Taline
Voskeritchian pointed out at the Fresno
showing of this film, Paradjanov seems to
have felt an urgency about recording the
traditions of Armenian culture before
they vanish. Paradjanov chose to do so
through his mystical dream of Sayat
Nova. He recorded his reverie in the
images that evoke the culture that both
men share. Thus a kind of immortality is
bestowed upon men and culture through a
vision given substance in film, and without the loss of its essential atmosphere, the
atmosphere of dreams, "the opposite side
of the same reality" (Jung).
Sergei Paradjanov knew that with the
altering of the present the past was disappearing; thus, in just an hour-and-a-
half he takes us with him into his mystical
dream of poet brother Sayat Nova, and
into the rituals of an entire culture laid end
on end, as if we might never see them
again. As sheer density of experience this
film deserves many viewings; as mystical
dream experience it requires only one.
Paradjanov has approached this film and
we, his audience, as he does life, as if there
is but one opportunity for us to experience
it, so he must give us all that he can.
THE ARMENIAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH FILM
By Elizabeth Koojoolian
On February 20 and 27, CSU F students
enrolled in Dr. Dickran Kouymjian's one-
unit Saturday course "The Armenian Experience Through Film" were exposed to
the works of Armenians in film. The
course emphasized the importance of film
as an art form as well as a potential
political tool.
A film director is judged not just for his
technical skill and artistic understanding,
but often by the philosophical expression
of his work. A successful combination of
all these produces a film classic.
Among Armenian directors and filmmakers discussed were Rouben Mamoul-
ian, Sergei Paradjanov, Richard Sarafian,
William Saroyan, J. Michael Hagopian,
Sarkis Avakian and Nigol Bezjian. Dr.
Kouymjian reported that Paradjanov had
once again been arrested and imprisoned
by the Soviet authorities in Tiflis. Ironically, his film "The Color of Pomegrantes"
has been officially released and is playing
in half a dozen Paris cinemas.
Rouben Mamoulian's early capacity
for innovation and creativity was highlighted by his film of 1929, "Applause,"
starring Helen Morgan. This first sound
film for Paramount Studios, was later
followed by "Song of Songs" in 1933,
starring Marlene Dietrich (viewed by the
class). Mamoulian brought with him from
Europe and Russia techniques and concepts so often more advanced than those
being used by American film-makers.
From the university's unique Saroyan
film archive, the television play of 1953
"Bad Men" was shown. It's a humorous
story involving two young American Indians. Saroyan showed that though disdained by the racist establishment they
had more humanity and compassion than
ordinary citizens.
Several documentaries about the Genocide were shown. One of the earliest was
made for the 50th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide—Levon Keshishian's
"The Armenian Case." J. Michael Hagop-
ian's "Forgotten Genocide" made for the
60th Anniversary and Sarkis Avakian's
film  on  Armenian community action
were also shown. Mr. Avakian, a guest
lecturer, discussed his art and emphasized
the fact that film is a powerful political
tool in the world today.
It was interesting to notice that the
majority of the non-Armenian students in
the class was not aware of the Armenian
Genocide. It was their first exposure to it
though they were all residents of Fresno
and surrounding communities. This
should raise questions about the effectiveness of the use of the film medium, as
opposed to other types of commemorative
programs sponsored by the Armenians in
this valley. Existing means of communication should be seriously evaluated and we
should look for more effective means to
reach all the cross-sections of the Fresno
and surrounding communities.
Other featured films included Richard
Sarafian's touching story "Run Wild, Run
Free" which starred actors John Mills and
Mark Lester in a 1969 production. Sarafian's most famous film "Vanishing Point"
was shown last year by Dr. Kouymjian
and was discussed as an allegorical
journey.
Two films by a 26-year-old Armenian
director Nigol Bezjian were also shown
and discussed. One was called "A Rock, a
Rope, and a Tree" (1980) and the other "A
Cycle Carmen" (1981). The latter had no
dialogue. Rather it artistically developed
techniques of the silent film age for modern situations. It was a sensitive story of
the separation and the reunion of a young
couple. Bezjian's film was introduced at
the Los Angeles Film Festival on March
28 by Dr. Dickran Kouymjian. Seta Zob-
ian and Garbis Bagdasarian were the
leading actors in both these films.
"The Armenian Experience Through
Film" will be offered again next year with
showing of new films. It is open to regularly enrolled students, and through the
Extension Division to Alumni Association members and any interested person
who wishes to take this source for enrichment.
Film-makers are urged to send their
recent works for showing and critique in
the course. They should contact Dr.
Kouymjian at the Armenian Studies Program, CSU, Fresno.