Lower Hudson Journal news
March 21 2009
Dutch treat in Peekskill
By Georgette Gouveia
The Journal News ¢ March 21, 2009
This year marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s exploration of
the river and valley that now bear his name. Naturally, 2009 is also a
big moment for Hudson Valley museums and historic sites.
In May, The Historical Society of Rockland County in New City will
launch a show on the Tappan Zee Bridge. A month later, the Hudson
River Museum in Yonkers opens its blockbuster on Dutch New York. Then
in the fall, the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art in
Peekskill hosts "Double Dutch," featuring 13 installation artists and
sculptors from the Netherlands.
But you don’t have to wait for a "Dutch treat" from HVCCA.
In anticipation of "Double Dutch," the center is presenting a series
of Dutch artists-in-residence here and at SUNY New Paltz. At HVCCA
through May 24, you can see "Abroad Understanding," an installation
created in Peekskill by Karen Sargsyan that blends theater and
religious ritual, folk tales and contemporary politics.
Sargsyan didn’t start out as either an artist or a Dutchman. He was
born in Armenia in 1973 and earned a living as a soccer coach. Since
1998, Sargsyan has made his home in Amsterdam, where he studied at the
Rijksakademie and where HVCCA founders Marc and Livia Straus first
encountered his work. His residency at HVCCA, has been supported by
The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture.
Living and working at the nearby Hat Factory – a complex housing
artists, artisans and other businesses – Sargsyan created "Abroad
Understanding," a tableau about a mythical overthrown king that has
metaphoric implications for our own time.
"It’s about an empire in a state of dissolution," says Livia Straus,
mediating the conversation between the reporter and the artist, who
speaks little English.
The figures in "Abroad Understanding," made of layered paper cutouts
and curlicues, flop and fling themselves about in a state of despair
over this dissolution. Though they are actually motionless, their
design and material give them a certain kineticism.
The paper medium also adds a mask-like quality. Sargsyan has said that
he views his installations as plays. But there is something
shamanistic about them, too, a reminder that religion as ritual is
also theater.
It’s not surprising, then, to discover that Sargsyan listens to
classical music as he works. And that the work he’s preparing for
September’s "Double Dutch" is inspired by "The Magic Flute," the
Mozart opera that perhaps best lends itself to puppetry, mysticism and
flights of fancy.
Sargsyan will also be part of another group show, at the Museum of
Arts and Design in Manhattan, opening in October.
In the meantime, he has enjoyed his time amid the beauty of the Hudson
Valley – a sentiment that requires no translation.
TERTAINMENT/903210308/1030/LIFESTYLE
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
