Muriel Mirak-Weissbach
BERLIN — This is a first for the Armenian art scene in Germany, and a noteworthy one. Unified efforts have brought into being a remarkable exhibit of artworks, on display in three venues, thus far. The occasion is the 100th birthday of renowned film director Sergei Parajanov, who was born on January 9, 1924 and died on July 20, 1990. Although several organizations of Armenians in Germany regularly host “Armenian Culture Days” in their regions, this commemorative exhibit represents perhaps the first such joint effort by several Armenian clubs and societies, who issued the call to compatriots living in Germany to take part.
Anahid Babayan, from the Armenian Cultural Society in Leipzig, organized the call that led to the first show in the Leipzig city center on August 30, with 25 artists presenting their works at the atelier of Eduard Panosian. Then the show opened in Halle an der Saale, hosted by the Ararat Culture in Halle-Hoffe Association. Now, it continues at InteriorDAsein in Berlin, with the exhibit featuring paintings, drawings, prints, collages and montages, photographs, and AI-created pictures. The works represent a dialogue with Parajanov’s prolific oeuvre, developing themes in its manifold forms and genres.
The current venue, InteriorDAsein, is a project room in Berlin that functions as a unique meeting place for artists from the diaspora. It was established in 2008 by Archi Harutyun Galentz, a third-generation artist living and working in the German capital. The exhibit opened on November 11 and continues until January 9, 2025, the date of the film maker’s birth. It may continue to travel next year.
An Artist for Many Nations
Almost all the artists are living in Germany; although Armenia was the birthplace of the majority, Syria, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Iran, and Argentina are also represented. Thus, they share something other than art with Parajanov, representing more than one nation.
It was Parajanov himself who defined his multiple national identities when he said, “Everybody knows that I have three motherlands:” Armenia, because he was the son of Armenian parents, Georgia, because his birthplace was the capital city Tbilisi, and Ukraine, because he studied and made his first films in Kiev.
Yorumlar kapatıldı.