CAFESJIAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS COMMEMORATES THE 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
21.04.2010 14:00

Special event featuring the American-Armenian artist and a Genocide
survivor Arshile Gorky will be organized on April 21st and 22nd in
the Cafesjian Center for the Arts to pay tribute to the 1.5 million
Armenians annihilated by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman
Empire.

The event titled "Silent Victims. Arshie Gorky" will commence with a
lecture by Shahen Khachatryan, the Director of Arshile Gorky Museum
in Holy See Etchmiadzin, exploring Gorky’s work in the context of
the Genocide and its profound impact on the life and art of the artist.

Extracts from Gorky’s letters will be recited. The presentation of
the book "Color of the Pain" by Shahen Khachatryan describing the
consequences of the Genocide on Armenian fine arts will take place
after the lecture. A documentary by Karen Adamyan will be presented
to the public, introducing Arshile Gorky’s world to the viewers.

"The Armenian Genocide left a significant and deep influence on the
life of Arshile Gorky, who was born in Van and became a witness of
the tragedy," Shahen Khachatryan said.

Gorky fled Western Armenia during the genocide of 1915 and witnessed
the death of his mother from starvation. Many of his paintings were
often speculated to depict the suffering and loss of the period. In
the letters sent to his sister, Gorky often referred to the Genocide
as "the death march of our relatives and dearest friends", bitterly
recalling the circumstances of his mother’s death.