In cooperation with Counterpart International, the Civilitas Foundation hosted a public forum entitled “The Politics of Culture” with guest speakers actress Arsinee Khanjian, film director and Civilitas Honorary Board member Atom Egoyan, photographer Hrair Hawk Khatcherian and designer Armen Kyurkchyan.
Alex Sardar, Vice President of Counterpart International, started off the program with a dialogue with Arsinee Khanjian on the concepts of tolerance, pluralism, the role of women and media freedom in arts and culture.
Alex Sardar asked Khanjian if culture should be financed by the government and whether artists should be involved in politics. Khanjian responded, “There are many examples in democratic countries where authorities support artists, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a negative thing.” She continued, “True artists are the ones who represent the public voice. Some artists have their own political views and they may voluntarily, based on their principles, support a political power, but when artists are forced to support the power in office, as is the situation in many countries, and perhaps in Armenia, that is a serious issue.”
Alex Sardar spoke briefly about the issue of public opinion formation, and asked if all members of society should be able to express their opinions. Khanjian responded, “It is very important in such a young country like Armenia that voices from all walks of society be heard. Civil society has a lot to do here. It has to be able to form those views and reach out to those voices.”
In the context of freedom of expression, the discussion moved on to the quality of television programming in Armenia. Khanjian commented that if television executives in Armenia tolerate TV programming full of violence, instead of free discussions about serious issues, then there is a problem for free expression in Armenia. In Arsinee Khanjian’s opinion, “Television in Armenia is not an opinion shaper, or a source of information, at all.” She said “This situation can be changed only if society puts clearer and stricter demands of their television programmers.”
The second part of the program revolved around Hrair Hawk Khatcherian and Armen Kyurkchyan’s new book Armenian Ornamental Art. The recently published album is a comprehensive collection of photographs and images of Armenian ornamental design as seen in miniatures and architectural details. The discussion was moderated by Salpi Ghazarian, Director of the Civilitas Foundation, who started off by asking Atom Egoyan about the importance of taking risks in art, explaining that all the guests on stage had taken risks of varying types in their work.
“I think that once an artist stops taking risks he dies as an artist,” said Egoyan. “I think that an artist has to always set challenges for himself, you always have to set a bar and you always have to feel some sense of fear.”
Referring to Khatcherian’s work, Egoyan shared with the audience, “Being an old friend of Hrair’s and knowing well that they wouldn’t allow me to travel to Turkey to shoot the Akhtamar church, I asked Hrair to do all those shots for Ararat.”
“This is a good example of taking risks. Hrair’s work is full of such risks. And now he prepared this excellent book, which is a turning point for our culture,” said Egoyan. The book’s co-author, graphic designer Armen Kyurkchyan explained that the book is not simply a collection of ornamental art, but also a representation of the plurality of the Armenian culture: “These ornaments show the Armenian people’s place in both eastern and western culture and values.”
Khatcherian is a Canadian-Armenian photographer who has crossed the Turkish-Armenian border countless times to photograph ornamental inscriptions. He has found himself in some complicated situations where he worked in unpredictable conditions, such as on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border under Azeri sniper fire.
Ghazarian pointed out that one of the book’s great contributions is that it goes beyond ‘preservation’. ‘Hayapahpanum is one of my least favorite words, she said. “A culture needs to breathe and flower, not be preserved. This book makes all of these traditional stylistic ornaments available to us, to use and make live. The generosity of spirit that is demonstrated by these artists, in their work, is invaluable.” Egoyan concluded saying “The value of Khatcherian’s work is his dedication to the art and to its spiritual value.”
The discussion was concluded and followed by questions from the audience and media.