HENRIK IGITYAN, 77, CHAMPION OF CONTEMPORARY ART

henrik-igityan-77-champion-of-contemporary-art
Sat urday May 16, 2009

Yerevan – Henrik Igityan, who rose to prominence as a champion of
contemporary art in Soviet Armenia, died on May 11 in Yerevan. He
was 77.

A member of the delegation from Armenia in the Supreme Soviet of the
USSR, Mr. Igityan was outspoken. After an effort to overthrow Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev had failed, he addressed Mr. Gorbachev in
a session of the Supreme Soviet: So many people have been disloyal
to you; so many have betrayed you. But, then again, how many people
have you betrayed? He then added, in Armenian, an adage to the effect
that as a "whore," Mr. Gorbachev had it coming to him.

>From the same podium, he also famously complained of Russian domination
of non-Russian republics, saying "God save us from the nationalism
of the Great People!"

It was thanks to Mr. Igityan’s persistence that the Museum of
Contemporary Art was opened in Yerevan in 1972 while the avant-garde
art of the 1920s and 30s was still hidden in Moscow storerooms.

President Serge Sargsian this week called Mr. Igityan "one of
the pillars of Armenian culture." See Hayk Ghazaryan’s profile of
Mr. Igityan, which originally appeared in these pages on January
19, 2008.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress