ART AND CULTURAL STUDIES LABORATORY

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STATE NEEDS: A Collaborative Intervention in Yerevan

Roger Colombik (USA), Jerolyn Bahm-Colombik (USA) and the students of Armenian Open University/ Department of Fine Arts”

Vahe Budumyan, Gohar Karapetyan, David Nubaryan
Program Director: Susanna Gyulamiryan

The beginning of the Intervention: at the corner of Teryan Str. And the Northern Avenue June 17, 2010, at 8-30pm

The project was implemented in the framework of International Artist-in-Residence “Art Commune” with Art and Cultural Studies Laboratory in June, 2010

 

At the corner of Teryan and Northern Avenue, a Soviet era building has the air of festivity adorning its façade. Flags and banners sway from wrought iron balconies in the early summer breeze. Approaching the structure, a more sobering intent of the proclamations becomes clear. SOS is printed in large block letters. In this particular circumstance, SOS translates to SAVE OUR BUILDING. The residents are joined in solidarity, bravely united in opposition to the oligarch’s insatiable oligarchic greed.

At the beginning of the new millennium, the Armenian government established a mandate of “ State Needs” as its principle guide for urban development in the central hub of downtown Yerevan (to be called Northern Avenue). For the thousands of residents to be effected by the government’s imminent domain plans, the exact nature of what the state needed was never discussed with them. Within the historical neighborhoods desperately in need of civic infrastructure improvements, the populace welcomed change. Genuine State Needs such as civil society principles of progressive urban development that addressed community, education, health and the preservation of history were never brought into the dialogue. Serious discrepancies soon emerged in regards to fair and adequate compensation for homes and property.

Through the manipulation of legislative procedures and control of the independent judiciary, the government and developers established the Project Implementation Office. Their intimidating policies resulted in:

-ridiculously undervalued compensation packages

-threats of violence towards families/individuals that refused the offers

-forced evictions

Basically, this was a government sponsored slash and burn policy of deportation and forced migration.

When former President Robert Kocharian celebrated the opening of Northern Avenue at a ribbon cutting ceremony, he gleefully looked out across the promenade of retail and residential post-modern glitz and stated, “It’s overwhelming, right?”

These same malfeasant government policies toward private property are now being imposed upon residents in several neighborhoods. For the historic community of Kond, for the SOS building off Northern Ave. and for the few remaining families living in the shadow of vacant opulence along Aram St., the situation is, well, overwhelming.

With our public intervention work our collaborative team hopes to ignite a constructive public dialogue that addresses the relationship between genuine State Needs and a civil society. The use of the Monopoly logo as a framework for our visual identity was developed as a politically relevant and easily recognized symbol to address this important issue.

 

Project Sponsored by CEC Artslink, Art & Culture Studies Laboratory and Colombik Studios ©2010

CEC Artslink

 

 

 

 


nothers: variation of another/other


Solo Exhibition by Susan C.Dessel (NYC, USA)

Curator: Susanna Gyulamiryan

Naregatsi Art Institute

(www.naregatsi.org)

16/1, Vardanants, Yerevan

June 21 – 26, 2010

Opening: June 21, at 6pm

Working hours: Monday-Saturday, 11am – 7pm

This body of work was created in Armenia, as part of the Art & Cultural Studies Laboratory (ACSL) Artists-in-Residence Program “Art Commune”, Yerevan: May/June 2010.

 

Contrary to the rhetoric of multiculturalism, being the “Other” in contemporary culture means being subjected to fundamental dispossession, i.e. discrimination and political marginalization. The “Other” is interpreted as unequal irrespective of the fact whether the “Other” is in a dominant or subordinate position, unlike being “Diverse” which means being equal but different.[i]


nothers: variation of another/other

My work is visual commentary on societal issues and trends, a communication of my conviction that each of us is a determinant of society’s character.

When thinking about the work that I would create during my Arts & Cultural Studies Laboratory (ACSL) Residency in Yerevan I learned of the 1999 discovery in Eghegis (Vayots Dzor region) of a Medieval Jewish cemetery. This material became the focus of my work in Armenia. My work is conceptual: a visual interpretation of historic artifact -- material from the archeological excavations at the 13th Century Jewish cemetery, and my subsequent research on Medieval Jewish communities, particularly women and families. The work bridges the richness of the past with the potential of the future.

When the gravestones were found it was necessary to remove the lichen that covered them to understand the nature of their Otherness. Soon after their similarities were also revealed:

“The results of the examination of the graveyard of the Orbelian family in the village of Eghegis shows that these aristocrats’ tombstones are identical in form, manufacture and decoration with the Jewish tombstones… the combination of Jewish religious and cultural tradition with local Armenian cultural tradition is evident here.”  [ii]

nothers honors the women among those buried in the Eghegis Jewish cemetery and their acceptance by and of others.

In the 13th and 14th centuries Jewish women were obligated (according to some sources, it was written into their Ketubot or marriage contracts) to breast feed their babies for a period of at least 24 months to help ensure the survival of each child. When it was not possible for a woman to breast feed her child for 24 months a wet nurse was hired. Wet nurses were both Jewish and Christian and the sanctity of the life of every individual was inherent in this practice.

Dessel’s installation, 365 forms of back-to-back torsos of nursing women, represent the 24 month period of obliged breast feeding for every child. Gold-leafed on one side is an Armenian Khachkar and on the reverse a 6-pointed Jewish Star of David, quietly referencing the positive elements of cooperation between Others.

Dessel’s use of multiples also references the commonality of some aspects of the women’s lives while the differences among the pieces symbolize their individuality. The coincidence of 365 forms and 365 seeds in a pomegranate was accidental but fitting.

As the medieval Jews were Others among the Armenian Christians so the Armenians have historically had the experience of being the Other in the Diaspora. An intent of this work is to invite viewers to consider the place of otherness within Armenia’s largely homogeneous society today.

 


[i] Введение в гендерные исследования. Ч.1. Под ред. И.Жеребкиной, Xарьков XЦГИ, СП «Алетейя», 2003.

[ii] journal of jewish studies, vol. liii, no. 1, spring 2002. Report of the Survey of a Medieval Jewish Cemetery in Eghegis, Vayots Dzor Region, Armenia. David Amit and Michael E. Stone pp.88-89.

 

Sponsored by International Artists Exchange Program/ Kansas City Artists Coalition, USA Embassy in Armenia, Naregatsi Art Institute
USA Embassy in Armenia
Naregatsi Art Institute International Artists Exchange Program/ Kansas City Artists Coalition

 

 

 

 


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