Levon Parian interviewed by Joan Quinn

Levon Parian interviewed by Joan Quinn

"Below Zero 2" -exhibition at the Yerevan Modern Art Museum

This is the current exhibit at the Yerevan Modern Art Museum including 8 artists of which I am included. Narine Isajanyan and Harry Vorperian curated the exhibit and have work in the show.

My work is from the "Lost Memories" series. A body of family pictures that were destroyed in a flood back in the 1970s. I never could get myself to throw them away, but once I cleaned them up and enlarged them, they were amazing! The book with my personal memories about the images will be coming out shortly.

Genocide Project Installation

                                             photo: Levon Parian


The first prototype of the "iwitness" exhibit went to the 100 Life art exhibit at Brand Library.



    The Burden of Christ by Levon Parian



Along with my piece from 1989 "The Burden of Christ" originally photographed for the Zorian Institute of a genocide survivor, it became the inspiration for the images of the Genocide Project; close up square format portraits of the face and hands.

The final installation was truly spectacular to experience. Thanks to all that made it a reality.

Fr Zacharia & the Parish Council of St. Apkar Armenian Apostolic Church

invite you to a lecture and book signing by 

Levon Parian

editor of
Crows of the Desert
Come and meet this talented writer/ editor and artist on 

Sunday,
November 18, 2012 at 1 PM.
Armenian Church Cultural Center - 

Melikian Hall at 8849 E Cholla St. 

Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Crows of the Desert
Lecture and Book Signing

GLENDALE, CA Levon Parian, the editor of Crows of the Desert, will speak about his book on Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 7pm at the Glendale Central Library Auditorium, 222 East Harvard Street. The lecture is in English. Admission is free; seating is limited. Library visitors receive 3 hours FREE parking across the street at The Market Place parking structure with validation at the Loan Desk.
Crows of the Desert details the memories of Levon Yotnakhparian. It is illustrated with photos, maps and documents from the British and Arab High Command. In 1909, Levon Yotnakhparian joined the Ottoman military and eventually found himself in the middle of the genocide against his people. This is his story of escape through the desert and subsequent return to Der Zor on a quest to save thousands of other stranded and orphaned Armenians. If you have read the story of Lawrence of Arabia, you will appreciate this memoir as he travels through the same deserts to Al Aqaba.
Levon Parian is the grandson of Levon Yotnakhparian. “It really was a family affair,” says Parian, “ my mother did the translation, I did the editing and layout, my wife made the maps, my aunts and cousins supplied pictures and documents, and my father did the prodding.” It was Parian’s father who inspired him to publish the book. Parian is currently working on a number of books. These include one with The Genocide Project that involves portraits and oral histories of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Lost Memories, is his other book about flood damaged images from his childhood. Scopophilia is a 3-D series about the Male Gaze, and also a book of his mother's memoirs The Girl from Jerusalem. Parian is an acclaimed photographer whose works have been exhibited throughout the world and are in the collections of the, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Library of Congress, Paradjanov Museum, Museum of Photography in Paris, Southern Illinois University Museum and The Downey Museum of Art in Downey.
The program is sponsored by the Library, Arts & Culture Department and the Friends of the Glendale Public Library.
###
Contact: Elizabeth Grigorian at egrigorian@ci.glendale.ca.us or call 818-548-3288.
222 East Harvard Street
Glendale, CA 91205
www.glendalepubliclibrary.org

Takui Akopyan's exhibition and sale

"Yosemite," 2007 full image above and detail here, notice how the type in the paper adds to the feeling of the water.

      Takuk the painter is also Takui Akopyan the renowned actress with over 65 years of stage, television and film experience. Holder of the “Vastagavor” title, the highest rank for an artist in the Soviet Union, she has traveled worldwide performing at prestigious venues. Takui was in her late teens when the family moved from Greece to Armenia. She wanted to study art, but her talent on stage took her on a different path leading her to acting school and culminating in a successful theatrical career.  Even then she always had a sketchpad and drew portraits of her fellow performers.
     “As a child all I wanted to do was paint in bright and vivid colors” she says, “but this was during WWII.” Needless to say times were tough then and color was a luxury. On every occasion Takui drew as soon as she would find some paper and a pencil. Later, she would close her eyes and imagine all the colors she wanted to see in those black and white pencil drawings.
     Some 20 years ago as she was flipping through a magazine she noticed, once again, the beautiful colors throughout the pages. “It came to me just like that!” She says, as she snaps her fingers to indicate the speed of her thought. “Why let these great colors go to waste? Why not re-use them to create something even greater?” She started working on a little collage, cutting small pieces of different colored papers from magazines and pasting them on a picture to create flowers, then mountains, then a river, as a gift to a friend. Slowly the original picture was covered with tiny colorful cut-outs transforming it into an entirely different image. This was the birth of her new passion. For a person with such diverse talents, singing, acting and writing poetry, a new layer of creativity was uncovered and once again she found her muse. “I could see all the colors that had danced in my imagination for years come together when I created this collage on a piece of recycled cardboard,” she explained. “I couldn’t work fast enough to pour out all that was inside of me onto my newly discovered medium," she said, as her eyes widened and sparkled with excitement. She had discovered a new love in her life: recycling colors.
     In her apartment, Takuk finds herself surrounded with countless images she has created over the past years. Her works range from beautiful flowers, to interesting and expressive characters, magical landscapes; so much color created from her imagination, memories, experiences and emotions. Working countless hours, spending many a sleepless night, cutting and pasting, she is always improving the process through trial and error. Every piece is created solely from recycled materials. Through patience and thousands of colorful bits of paper ranging from tissue paper to magazine pages, she creates a palette with depth and texture. Her ability to capture the
psychological qualities of light and shadow, and transpose them to her work, is remarkable. After months of pasting these pieces in just the right places, a unique work of art is born. One must look up close to realize that these are no ordinary acrylic, watercolor or oil paintings, but simply paper given a new life as something greater.
     This is the first exhibit of her work and will only be for one day,  at the Notte Luna Restaurant 113 N. Maryland Ave, Glendale,  on Sunday August 26th from 4-10 PM.
     Wine reception from 4-5 and silent auction begins at 5. She will also be showing how she makes these amazing images from 4-5. Admission is free.

Scopophilia Book

 

Photo: Scopophilia: looking through the male gaze in 3-D

by: Levon Parian

1st edition Scopophilia books 4 left (out of 50) at $35 + shipping.
includes Loreo Lid 3D viewer
5"x7" 20 pages plus cover.
This is a catalogue from my MFA 3D exhibit with the same title:
Scopophilia: looking through the male gaze in 3D
Payment with Paypal

e-mail to:
levon.parian.384@csun.edu