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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Nov 8 2013
Art overcomes bureaucracy in Cİ's `Art from Armenia'
8 November 2013 /BERİL ESKİ, İSTANBUL
Turkish people love to think of İstanbul as a `bridge between
continents.' And lately, with its developing economy and dynamic young
culture, İstanbul has indeed become a meeting point for many people.
The art fair Contemporary İstanbul, which is currently marking its
eighth edition, is probably the most eagerly anticipated and diverse
activity of the year on the city's contemporary art calendar, serving
as yet another meeting point for art lovers and artists from around
the world.
Since 2010, Contemporary İstanbul has also been offering a glittering
special section called `Art from Armenia.' Although there are
currently no diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia, there is a
growing cultural relationship which promises a brand new future for
both countries. With the aim of discovering regional art and gathering
Armenian artists and Turkish art lovers, `Art from Armenia' has hosted
many Armenian painters in İstanbul over the past three years.
This year's "Art from Armenia" selection, on display until Sunday at
the İstanbul Congress Center, features paintings and sculptures by six
Armenian artists: Daron Mouradian, Vahram Davtian, Emil Kazaz, Armen
Gevorgian, Ara Mikaelian and Ruben Grigorianile.
Aram Sargsyan, the curator of the exhibition in 2011, has contributed
to the exhibition this year as well. According to Sargsyan, people in
İstanbul have respect for art. `I have seen many paintings on the
walls of restaurants and they were high standard paintings. So in
İstanbul, you do not have to go to a museum, you are exposed to art
everywhere.'
Mentioning the history of art in Armenia, Sargsyan is very proud of
the young generation artists who are contributing to the development
of traditional Armenian art. Noting that Armenia has many talented
artists, Sargsyan said the Armenian Art Association alone currently
has around 1,200 members. `I would like to contribute to this
exhibition with many other Armenian artists in the coming years,' he
added.
This year, artist Mouradian is one of the fair's special guests from
Armenia. His paintings offer a combination of themes from mythological
tales from the East and the West. Based on the Bible and mythology,
his world of fantasies tells the viewers a story they've never heard
before.
When asked about the stories in his paintings, Mouradian said his only
story was the painting and the rest was up to art lovers. `I only
paint. And people who are looking at my paintings read the story they
see there. It is up to their imagination,' he added.
This is Mouradian's second visit to İstanbul in nine years. However,
he said he was not able to see any art in İstanbul during his first
visit, in 2004. His response tells a lot about the cultural
relationship between Armenia and Turkey. Starting from no
relationship, now we can imagine a closer dialogue.
Bureaucracy hindering cultural dialogue
Onno Ayvaz, a collector and the coordinator of the exhibition, was the
person who made this exhibition possible.
He recalls: `A friend of mine, who is an antiquarian, invited several
artists from Armenia to showcase their work in Contemporary İstanbul.
But they did not accept his invitation. He called me at the last
minute, asking for help. So, four years ago, I contributed to the
exhibition with selected works by Armenian artists from my own
collection.'
Ayvaz was surprised by connoisseurs' interest in the first `Art from
Armenia.' He was asked to contribute in the following years as well.
Ayvaz's contribution and the huge interest paved the way for `Art from
Armenia' to become a staple on the fair's program.
Ayvaz says this exhibition helps strengthen the relationship between
the two countries: `Art is a very meaningful way to communicate.
Armenians and Turks, people who had lived together for hundreds of
years, have been separated for the past 100 years. This is how I see
this situation. And you can feel the [similarity] in culture, in
perception. Here [in this art fair] it is like we were never separated
from each other.'
However, Ayvaz is troubled by bureaucratic difficulties arising from
the lack of diplomatic relationships between the two countries. All
the paintings in the exhibition are from his private collection
because it is currently not possible to import paintings from Armenia.
Those who want to do so have to obtain special permission from the
Turkish government to transfer art work from Armenia.
`These bureaucratic processes are very exhausting. Seemingly, you can
get that permission, but bureaucrats are very hesitant to help because
there are no diplomatic ties between the two countries,' he says.
`Nevertheless, we'll keep trying and, who knows, maybe next year we
can really bring works of art from Armenia to Contemporary İstanbul,'
he said.
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action;jsessionid=74A47A28D 6D819B8E5A8A468253FC2A5?newsId=330948&columnistId= 0
From: A. Papazian
Nov 8 2013
Art overcomes bureaucracy in Cİ's `Art from Armenia'
8 November 2013 /BERİL ESKİ, İSTANBUL
Turkish people love to think of İstanbul as a `bridge between
continents.' And lately, with its developing economy and dynamic young
culture, İstanbul has indeed become a meeting point for many people.
The art fair Contemporary İstanbul, which is currently marking its
eighth edition, is probably the most eagerly anticipated and diverse
activity of the year on the city's contemporary art calendar, serving
as yet another meeting point for art lovers and artists from around
the world.
Since 2010, Contemporary İstanbul has also been offering a glittering
special section called `Art from Armenia.' Although there are
currently no diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia, there is a
growing cultural relationship which promises a brand new future for
both countries. With the aim of discovering regional art and gathering
Armenian artists and Turkish art lovers, `Art from Armenia' has hosted
many Armenian painters in İstanbul over the past three years.
This year's "Art from Armenia" selection, on display until Sunday at
the İstanbul Congress Center, features paintings and sculptures by six
Armenian artists: Daron Mouradian, Vahram Davtian, Emil Kazaz, Armen
Gevorgian, Ara Mikaelian and Ruben Grigorianile.
Aram Sargsyan, the curator of the exhibition in 2011, has contributed
to the exhibition this year as well. According to Sargsyan, people in
İstanbul have respect for art. `I have seen many paintings on the
walls of restaurants and they were high standard paintings. So in
İstanbul, you do not have to go to a museum, you are exposed to art
everywhere.'
Mentioning the history of art in Armenia, Sargsyan is very proud of
the young generation artists who are contributing to the development
of traditional Armenian art. Noting that Armenia has many talented
artists, Sargsyan said the Armenian Art Association alone currently
has around 1,200 members. `I would like to contribute to this
exhibition with many other Armenian artists in the coming years,' he
added.
This year, artist Mouradian is one of the fair's special guests from
Armenia. His paintings offer a combination of themes from mythological
tales from the East and the West. Based on the Bible and mythology,
his world of fantasies tells the viewers a story they've never heard
before.
When asked about the stories in his paintings, Mouradian said his only
story was the painting and the rest was up to art lovers. `I only
paint. And people who are looking at my paintings read the story they
see there. It is up to their imagination,' he added.
This is Mouradian's second visit to İstanbul in nine years. However,
he said he was not able to see any art in İstanbul during his first
visit, in 2004. His response tells a lot about the cultural
relationship between Armenia and Turkey. Starting from no
relationship, now we can imagine a closer dialogue.
Bureaucracy hindering cultural dialogue
Onno Ayvaz, a collector and the coordinator of the exhibition, was the
person who made this exhibition possible.
He recalls: `A friend of mine, who is an antiquarian, invited several
artists from Armenia to showcase their work in Contemporary İstanbul.
But they did not accept his invitation. He called me at the last
minute, asking for help. So, four years ago, I contributed to the
exhibition with selected works by Armenian artists from my own
collection.'
Ayvaz was surprised by connoisseurs' interest in the first `Art from
Armenia.' He was asked to contribute in the following years as well.
Ayvaz's contribution and the huge interest paved the way for `Art from
Armenia' to become a staple on the fair's program.
Ayvaz says this exhibition helps strengthen the relationship between
the two countries: `Art is a very meaningful way to communicate.
Armenians and Turks, people who had lived together for hundreds of
years, have been separated for the past 100 years. This is how I see
this situation. And you can feel the [similarity] in culture, in
perception. Here [in this art fair] it is like we were never separated
from each other.'
However, Ayvaz is troubled by bureaucratic difficulties arising from
the lack of diplomatic relationships between the two countries. All
the paintings in the exhibition are from his private collection
because it is currently not possible to import paintings from Armenia.
Those who want to do so have to obtain special permission from the
Turkish government to transfer art work from Armenia.
`These bureaucratic processes are very exhausting. Seemingly, you can
get that permission, but bureaucrats are very hesitant to help because
there are no diplomatic ties between the two countries,' he says.
`Nevertheless, we'll keep trying and, who knows, maybe next year we
can really bring works of art from Armenia to Contemporary İstanbul,'
he said.
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action;jsessionid=74A47A28D 6D819B8E5A8A468253FC2A5?newsId=330948&columnistId= 0
From: A. Papazian