Photo:
PAINTING
BY STEPHAN NERCESSIAN (1814-1884)
A whole universe of magnificent Armenian artists emerged in the Diaspora. They were obsessed by the remembrance of their lost neighborhood, friends, childhood, Mount Ararat, Lake Sevan, Armenian churches, the concept of “light”, the Katchkars and Armenian religious themes. This nostalgic obsession gave birth to the new Surrealism movement in Armenia and abroad. It was the surrealism of Armenia, and not Dalli’s surrealism, for it was nourished with tortured souls, fear, sorrow, memories of their struggles against the Turks and the loss of the freedom of their beloved country. It was a humanistic and nostalgic surrealism born out of inner human feelings and not from” phantasmagorical” visions. "I was born in Asia Minor," said the famous Armenian-American writer William Saroyan, "and therefore in my head the real and the allegorical are intermixed." Among the most visible masters of that movement were: Leon Tutundjian (The founder of Abstract Surrealism), Arshile Gorky (Vosdanik Manuk Adoyan) and Carzou (Karnik Zulumian).
INFLUENCE OF
THE ARMENIAN DIASPORA CULTURE
Photo: The monastery of Tatevby Panos Terlemezian, 1929
The picture of present-day Armenian art would be incomplete without a glance at the culture of the Armenian Diaspora. Nowadays, a great number of Armenian artists live and work all around the world. Although, their work now essentially belongs to their adopted countries, their style and artistic evocation maintain straight links to Armenia, its history and tradition. Among the most remarkable Diaspora artists were Carzou (Garnik Zulumyan), Arshile Gorky, Vardkes Surenyantz and Grikor Khandjian. However, a considerable number of Armenian painters who perfectly blended into the culture of their adopted countries tended to free themselves from an Armenian ethnic art conformity. Most certainly, they developed their own European style but, deep down in their heart and the intimacy of their colors, their artistic sensitivity and patriotic visionary nostalgia toward Armenia were never dormant. Some of the most famous ones were Zakar Zakarian, Charles Atamian, Hovsep Pushman and Edgar Chahine.
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