Hrag Vartanian

A blog of art, culture, photography, writing and ideas.

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Entries Tagged as 'Armenian'

Blog as Samizdat

March 10th, 2008 · 2 Comments

For those unfamiliar with the Russian term Samizdat, Wikipedia explains:
…it is the clandestine copying and distribution of government-suppressed literature or other media in Soviet-bloc countries. Copies were made a few at a time, and those who received a copy would be expected to make more copies. This was often done by handwriting or typing.
This grassroots [...]

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Tags: Armenian · New York · art · art criticism · internet

Elizabeth “Nut Lady” Tashjian, an Armenian American Outsider Artist

March 9th, 2008 · 11 Comments

I’ve posted the whole series of photos and notes from Prof. Christopher B. Steiner’s lecture “Inside an Outsider Art: Paying a Visit to Elizabeth Tashjian’s Nut Museum,” which was part of the Armenian Diaspora Identity/Culture conference at Columbia University yesterday.
Considering I have a severe nut allergy, I found this character, who was raised on the [...]

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Tags: American · Armenian · art · art criticism · diaspora · pop culture

Why is YouTube Blocked in Armenia?

March 9th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Why o why did this happen? The Republic of Armenia has declared a state of emergency because of the post-election protests. The government has closed TV, websites, radio, leaflets, everything. OneWorld Media has some great reporting on the topic and so does ArtMika at Unzipped Armenia.
Even ArmeniaNow.com is reporting by law only official news, as [...]

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Tags: Armenian · human rights · internet

LA’s Armenian Khachkars

February 19th, 2008 · No Comments

The ancient Armenian tradition of khachkars (literally meaning “cross-stone” in Armenian) has made its way to America and woven its way into Armenian communities around the world.
Los Angeles, where 400,000 people of Armenian heritage reside, is a particularly rich field for the seeds of this art form to grow. Unfortunately, people still mistakenly assume [...]

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Tags: American · Armenian · architecture · art · diaspora · photography · pop culture

Gartal Presents “In the (Un)space” by Agabian, Aharonian & Avagyan

February 18th, 2008 · No Comments

Last night (Sun. Feb. 17 at 6pm), New York’s Gartal book reading series continued with all the authors of (An)daratsutian Mej [In the (Un)space] at the Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village. The book is published by the Women’s Resource Center of Yerevan, Armenia.Gartal founder and visionary, Nancy Agabian, hosted the special trilingual reading with [...]

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Tags: American · Armenian · New York · diaspora · literary