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DETROIT PHOTOGRAPHER COMMEMORATES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE THROUGH ART
13:04, 08 Oct 2014
Detroit photographer Michelle Andonian is working on a project "Hope
Dies Last" to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide in 1915 in which 1.5 million people perished. The project
will be released in 2015, Deadline Detroit reports.
Back in 1989, one year after a massive earthquake in Armenia killed
tens of thousands of people, Detroit photographer Michelle Andonian
ventured to that nation, the home of her ancestors.
While talking to the archbishop, Paren Avedikian, he told of a sad
tale of a man who survived the earthquake, but lost so much: His
entire family and his home, not to mention both his legs.
How on earth, the archbishop asked the man, could he go on in life
after losing so much, to which the man replied: "Hope dies last."
"That has stayed with me for years," says Andonian, who works out of
her photography studio in a loft in Eastern Market.
Now, nearly 25 years later, she's working on a project, "Hope Dies
Last" to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
in 1915 in which 1.5 million people perished. The project will be
released in 2015.
"Instead of emphasizing genocide destruction, the project will pinpoint
universal themes of bravery, resilience and hope," she said.
The project is still a work in progress, and will include a book chock
full of photographs, photo exhibits and a performance that combines
live music and visuals. The photos are from Adonian's seven visits to
Armenia since 1989, and from visits to Turkey and trace the history
of the Armenia.
The live show will be performed at different venues including the
Detroit Institute of Art and the Macomb Center, and will be produced
in collaboration with Alexandra Du Bois, a music composer, the Detroit
Chamber Winds and Strings and the University Michigan School of Music.
On Tuesday, the Knight Foundation made public some good news Andonian
had known for about two week. She was among 58 winners of the Detroit
Knight Arts Challenge who got a piece of a $2.48 million in grants
to help promote the arts in Detroit.
Andonian, a free-lance photographer and former Detroit News
photographer and Washington Post photo editor, got $50,000.
She said she was not only thrilled to learn of the grant, but also
saw it as a validation of the importance of recognizing the Armenian
genocide, a controversial, political hot-potato internationally. Some
nations have refused to recognize it out of concern of offending
Turkey, which still says it was not responsible for the Armenian
deaths.
The Armenians say the genocide took place in 1915, during World War I.
The Ottoman government, which ruled what is now Turkey, carried
off a campaign to systematically kill of the minority subjects,
the Armenians. An estimated 1.5 million people perished.
Andonian says she's been to Armenia seven times since 1989, the last
two times, in the past year, and she's also traveled to Turkey for
the project. She says she plans to use photos from her project from
all the trips.
"The book is kind of a personal biography of my attempt to hold on
to my Armenian culture by going to where the Armenians came from and
where my grandmother originated from. Knowing survivors has always
held a very special place for me."
"I had been trying to find a voice for that story. The book this book
really is retracing my Armenian journey as best I can."
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/10/08/detroit-photographer-commemorates-armenian-genocide-through-art/
From: Baghdasarian
13:04, 08 Oct 2014
Detroit photographer Michelle Andonian is working on a project "Hope
Dies Last" to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide in 1915 in which 1.5 million people perished. The project
will be released in 2015, Deadline Detroit reports.
Back in 1989, one year after a massive earthquake in Armenia killed
tens of thousands of people, Detroit photographer Michelle Andonian
ventured to that nation, the home of her ancestors.
While talking to the archbishop, Paren Avedikian, he told of a sad
tale of a man who survived the earthquake, but lost so much: His
entire family and his home, not to mention both his legs.
How on earth, the archbishop asked the man, could he go on in life
after losing so much, to which the man replied: "Hope dies last."
"That has stayed with me for years," says Andonian, who works out of
her photography studio in a loft in Eastern Market.
Now, nearly 25 years later, she's working on a project, "Hope Dies
Last" to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
in 1915 in which 1.5 million people perished. The project will be
released in 2015.
"Instead of emphasizing genocide destruction, the project will pinpoint
universal themes of bravery, resilience and hope," she said.
The project is still a work in progress, and will include a book chock
full of photographs, photo exhibits and a performance that combines
live music and visuals. The photos are from Adonian's seven visits to
Armenia since 1989, and from visits to Turkey and trace the history
of the Armenia.
The live show will be performed at different venues including the
Detroit Institute of Art and the Macomb Center, and will be produced
in collaboration with Alexandra Du Bois, a music composer, the Detroit
Chamber Winds and Strings and the University Michigan School of Music.
On Tuesday, the Knight Foundation made public some good news Andonian
had known for about two week. She was among 58 winners of the Detroit
Knight Arts Challenge who got a piece of a $2.48 million in grants
to help promote the arts in Detroit.
Andonian, a free-lance photographer and former Detroit News
photographer and Washington Post photo editor, got $50,000.
She said she was not only thrilled to learn of the grant, but also
saw it as a validation of the importance of recognizing the Armenian
genocide, a controversial, political hot-potato internationally. Some
nations have refused to recognize it out of concern of offending
Turkey, which still says it was not responsible for the Armenian
deaths.
The Armenians say the genocide took place in 1915, during World War I.
The Ottoman government, which ruled what is now Turkey, carried
off a campaign to systematically kill of the minority subjects,
the Armenians. An estimated 1.5 million people perished.
Andonian says she's been to Armenia seven times since 1989, the last
two times, in the past year, and she's also traveled to Turkey for
the project. She says she plans to use photos from her project from
all the trips.
"The book is kind of a personal biography of my attempt to hold on
to my Armenian culture by going to where the Armenians came from and
where my grandmother originated from. Knowing survivors has always
held a very special place for me."
"I had been trying to find a voice for that story. The book this book
really is retracing my Armenian journey as best I can."
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/10/08/detroit-photographer-commemorates-armenian-genocide-through-art/
From: Baghdasarian