PRESS RELEASE
Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center of the Diocese of the Armenian
Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue
New York, New York 10016
Contact: Aram Arkun
Tel.: 212 686 0710 ext. 126
E-mail: zicres@armeniandiocese.org
Web:
Arme nian Letters, Fonts, and Art: A November 1 NYC Panel Discussion
with a Display of Art by English Designer Puzzovio
The Armenian alphabet had profound repercussions for Armenian identity,
faith, and culture for sixteen centuries. It also is a work of beauty
in and of itself, and a source of inspiration for art.
New art, and, in the age of the computer, new types of digital fonts,
continue to be created based on the creations of Mashtots. On Wednesday
evening, November 1, a panel of speakers at the Armenian Diocese in
New York City will address issues concerning the different styles
or forms of the Armenian alphabet in manuscripts, printing, and
now, on computer screens. The art of Carolyn Puzzovio, a designer
from England inspired by the Armenian alphabet, will be on display
(starting in the afternoon of October 31 and ending at noon, November
2), and she will also speak as part of the November 1 panel.
The other speakers are Dr. Abraham Terian of St. Nersess Armenian
Seminary, and New York typographer Peter Bain. This event, organized
by the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center of the Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), forms part of the Diocese’s
1600th anniversary celebrations of the Armenian alphabet.
Carolyn Puzzovio is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Lincoln,
UK and has been involved in design education for over twenty-five
years. Her background is as a practicing graphic designer and
her major interest within the subject has been lettering and type
design. This interest has developed further into alphabets other
than our own Latin alphabet with an increasing fascination for the
Armenian "aybuben." Carolyn has given talks on the Armenian alphabet
at international conferences/events – and following an invitation
from the Armenian Ministry of Culture, held a one-woman exhibition
of her work at the Armenian National Gallery in October 2005. She
returned to Armenia this fall as part of a British government-funded
research project to design/revive traditional Armenian typefaces for
digital settings which also have Latin characters for dual-alphabet
use. Carolyn’s talk, "The Remarkable Legacy of Mashtots," is about
the story of the development of the alphabet, and a celebration of
its uniqueness and the inspiration it has provided in her art and
design work recently.
Peter Bain’s talk is entitled "Typographic Principles from an Armenian
Perspective," and will deal with the connections between writing
and typography, with Armenian examples where suitable. Peter Bain
is principal of Incipit (<;),
a Brooklyn-based design studio whose practice is built on typography
for a wide range of clients. His projects have been recognized by
the AIGA and the Type Directors Club. He has collected phototype,
co-curated the exhibition "Blackletter: Type and National Identity"
at the Cooper Union School of Art, and written on letterforms for
Communication Arts magazine.
Bain has lectured in New York, London and elsewhere. He is a member
of the Association Typographique Internationale, and is on the faculty
of Parsons/The New School for Design and Pratt Institute.
Abraham Terian will speak on "The Evolution of the Armenian
Alphabet." Dr. Abraham Terian is Professor of Armenian Patristics
and Academic Dean at St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle,
New York, and editor of the St. Nersess Theological Review. He holds
a Bachelor’s degree in history and ancient languages, a Master’s
degree in archaeology and history of antiquity, and a Doctorate in
Theology from the University of Basel, Switzerland, specializing in
Early Christianity and its Jewish and Hellenistic backgrounds. Before
coming to St. Nersess in 1997, he was Professor of Intertestamental
and Early Christian Literatures for some twenty years at Andrews
University, and for several years a recurring Visiting Professor
of Armenian Studies at the University of Chicago. He has served as
Chairman of the Hellenistic Judaism Group of the Society of Biblical
Literature (1983-85) and as President of the Society’s Midwest Region
(1990-92). He is the author of several books in Jewish and Armenian
Studies, and a recipient in 2005 of the Fulbright Distinguished Chair
in the Humanities award.
The panel of speakers will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 1,
at the Guild Hall of the Diocese of the Armenian Church (630 Second
Avenue and 35th St.) in New York. Admission is free to the talks and
the art display.
For more information, email
<mailto:zicres@armeniandiocese.org>zic res@armeniandiocese.org. If
you wish to see the artwork between noon October 31 and November 2
at times other than the evening of November 1, please RSVP either by
email, or telephone 212 686 0710.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress