Hamazkayin Heritage Committee
And
The Land and Culture Organization
1155 N. Brand Blvd. Suite #600
Glendale, Ca. 91202
Contact: Tamar Kevonian
818-425-1284
Tati99@aol.com

April 5, 2006

Black Angel: The Double Life of Arshile Gorky

Glendale, Ca. – Nouriza Matossian, author of Black Angel (Overlook
Press, 2000), will make an appearance and sign copies of her book at
Sardarabad Bookstore on Thursday, April 27 from 5-7 p.m. Two local
non-profits, The Land and Culture Organization and the Hamazkaying
Heritage Committee, have joined forces to bring this celebrated author
to Los Angeles. Both organizations work to promote and preserve
Armenian art, culture, and architecture in both the United States and
Armenia. She will also perform her one-woman show at the Barnsdall
Gallery Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, April 30, 2006, depicting the
four female influences in Arshile Gorky’s life.

Arshile Gorky was one of the great painters of the 20th century. Born
in western Armenia under the Ottoman Empire in 1902, he fled the
aftermath of the 1915 Armenian Genocide at the age of 16. Upon his
arrival in New York as a destitute refugee he refused to be identified
as one of the `starving Armenians ‘ and subsequently changed his name
from Manoug Adoian to Arshile Gorky and became the first Abstract
Expressionist painter, launching the movement in the United States.

Ignited by her fascination with his work which she saw as a teenager
in London, fellow-Armenian Nouritza Matossian, wrote the definitive
biographyBlack Angel: A Life of Arshile Gorky. Her family’s similar
experiences during 1915 and her ability to speak Armenian, gave
Matossian unique access to the people and influences in Gorky’s life
during the 20 years she spent researching the book in Armenia, Turkey,
France, England, Spain and the United States, thus giving the book a
unique depth.

Her quest for Gorky’s lost history attracted director Atom Egoyan’s
attention and gave him a vehicle on which, not only to base his film
Ararat, but to model his female lead, Ani, the author of the Arshile
Gorky biography portrayed in the movie, on Matossian’s own
experiences.

The lecture examines Gorkys true story. Matossians discusses her
travels in Turkey and Armenia, her interviews and discoveries of
forged letters. She discusses the importance of Gorky’s art and
repossessing the losthistory of Armenians.