PanARMENIAN.Net, Armenia
MA curator for Byzantine art talks Thursday
Sat Oct 25, 2008, 02:30 PM EDT
Belmont, Mass. –
Dr. Helen Evans, Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator for Byzantine Art at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, will give an
illustrated lecture entitled `Armenia and Byzantium: The Larger
Picture,’ at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30, at the National Association
for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) Center, 395 Concord Ave. in
Belmont. This lecture will be co-sponsored by the Ararat Lodge of the
Knights of Vartan and NAASR.
Dr. Evans’ lecture, `Byzantium and Armenia: The Larger Picture,’ will
explore some of the many important historic, cultural, and artistic
connections between these two cultures within the context of the
larger world picture of the medieval period. A monumental khachkar
(stone cross) that has been lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York City by the Republic of Armenia will be used as the locus
from which the larger picture of the characteristics of Armenian art
and their interaction with Byzantium and other regional powers will be
explored. The lecture will consider works of art ranging from the age
of the Byzantine emperors Justinian and Heraclios through the time of
the masterpieces of medieval Armenian art in Greater Armenia and in
Cilicia.
Evans is a specialist in Byzantine and Armenian art who has been a
member of the Department of Medieval Art at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art since 1991. She curated the exhibition Treasures in Heaven:
Armenian Illuminated Manuscripts at the Morgan Library in 1994 and at
the Metropolitan Museum her major exhibitions have been the acclaimed
`The Glory of Byzantium (843-1261)’ in 1997 and `Byzantium: Faith and
Power (1261-1557)’ in 2004. She installed the museum’s Mary and
Michael Jaharis Galleries of Byzantine Art in 2000 and recently
completed its expansion and reinstallation this year.
NAASR trip to Sunday at the Met Program in November
Dr. Evans is also the organizer of a special `Sunday at the Met’
program that will take place on the afternoon of Nov. 23 in
celebration of the arrival Armenian khachkar as a long-term loan to
the Museum. The program, which begins at 1:30 p.m., will include talks
by Dr. Nina G. Garsoïan, Gevork Avedissian Professor Emerita of
Armenian History and Civilization, Columbia University; Dr. Thomas
Mathews, John Langloth Loeb Professor Emeritus of the History of Art,
Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; and Dr. Lynn A. Jones,
assistant professor, Department of Art History, Florida State
University. There will also be a performance by Nora Armani of
Armenian poems and songs accompanied by David Bakamjian on the cello.
NAASR is organizing a bus trip to New York for the Sunday program. The
bus will depart from the NAASR Center in Belmont at 7 a.m. for New
York. Capacity is limited to 48, with priority given to current NAASR
members. Dr. Christina Maranci, the newly-appointed Arthur H. Dadian
and Ara Oztemel Professor of Armenian Art and Architectural History at
Tufts University, will accompany the group and give a talk during the
ride to New York City. The price for the daytrip is $100 per person
(includes transportation, admission to the museum, and continental
breakfast and refreshments). We strongly encourage interested parties
to reserve a seat by Oct. 31 by contacting Administrative Director
Cathy Minassian at NAASR at 617-489-1610 or hq@naasr.org.
Admission to the Oct. 30 lecture at NAASR is free (donations
appreciated). The NAASR Center is located opposite the First Armenian
Church and next to the U.S. Post Office. Ample parking is available
around the building and in adjacent areas. The lecture will begin
promptly at 8 p.m.
More information about the lecture is available by calling
617-489-1610, faxing 617-484-1759, e-mailing hq@naasr.org, or writing
to NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.