UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATING THE DIASPORA ART 

By Maximillien de Lafayette

Painting (Untitled), by RAZMIG     HAKIGIAN.

To fully understand the Armenian Diaspora contemporary painting in all its styles and genres from surrealism to cubism and from neo-classicism to abstract, one must learn about the adjacent and parallel national/ethnic Armenian arts that gave birth to the art of painting. Armenian painting is the noble product and cause-effect of Armenian national arts that grew years before Armenian modern painting came to life. Without learning about the art of manuscripts, the early miniatures and portraiture of precedent Armenian painters, the architecture of Armenian churches and cathedrals, the symbol of light in the life and socio-philosophical concept of Armenian Christianity (Orthodoxy, Syriac, Assyrian, Aramaic  and Catholicism alike), without understanding the symbols of the Katchkars, without comprehending the Genocide effect on the Armenian people, without studying the Diaspora,  without sailing through the exile era of Armenian people, poets, artists, scientists, philosophers and commoners, without appreciating the ethnic art of Armenian rugs and carpets weaving, without parading before the Armenian handwork and lace making art, one would not fully understand contemporary Armenian art. Yes, of course, we will still enjoy the beauty of forms, shapes, colors, compositions, harmony, equilibrium, rebellious and free movements of the brushes, nostalgic strokes of romantic and almost all the time defying Armenian artists that create all the beauty, intensity and supremacy of Armenian contemporary art.

 But, appreciating Armenian art without understanding it is just like if we were looking at a magnificent edifice from the antiquities without being able to read the inscriptions on the tablets, on the columns, on the obelisks that explain all what we are looking at. Would you be satisfied to look at a painting, enjoying its beauty and the talent of its master without knowing how, why and when it came to life? Would you feel satisfied if you learn half of the story…appreciating a painting without knowing what the painter meant or expressed on his canvas? It is the same thing when it comes to the Armenian art of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Take my word for granted. I will try to shed some lights on the mysteries and secrets of the Armenian modern/contemporary painting. After all, half of the beauty of a painting is in its secret.  You do not need to know a thing about Andrew Jackson, the Panama Canal construction, The Mexican American war, the Catholic Archbishop of New York, the St. Patrick Cathedral in New York or the Bay of the Pigs to understand a Jackson Pollack , Stella or  Rothko  painting. You do not need to know what Napoleon Bonaparte said to Josephine, or Charles de Gaulle promised the Algerians or what a filet mignon is to enjoy, like or dislike a Matisse, Leger, Mondrian or even Picasso painting. It is NOT the same case with Armenian painting. I repeat once again, to fully appreciate and understand a painting made by an Armenian artist in the 19^th and the 20^th centuries, you MUST learn –even a little- about Armenian history, the Armenian Genocide, Armenian Christianity, the Armenian Diaspora, Mount Ararat and other subjects. 

Madonna, 2000 by Hrant Mirzoian. 

WHAT IS DIASPORA  ART?

Is there an identifiable pure Armenian art? Is the painting of Armenian artists in the 19^th and 20^th centuries a pure Armenian art with an ethnic identity or an  international art expression ? Do Armenian artists paint like their counterparts around the world and share similar techniques, explore identical themes, use familiar media, convey parallel messages or do they confine themselves to their national ideology, regional concerns, internal affairs and their own way of life, using Armenian style or Armenian genre of choosing certain colors,  projecting characteristic lines and envisioning Armenian compositions adopted from their traditional architecture and religious fervor??