Project 1915

dead, caused millions more to flee their ancestral homeland and all but eliminated a 3,000 year old culture. Kazarian’s approach is not to depict the horror of the Armenian Genocide, but rather to reaffirm the richness of the Armenian culture. The painting will depict a vast landscape of images and text drawn from Armenian illuminated manuscripts, church architecture, and historic maps, united by a background of Armenian needle lace. The painting references another significant historic painting, Guernica, Pablo Picasso’s anguished response to the aerial bombing of a defenseless civilian population in the Spanish town of Guernica in 1937. The painting is the same size as Guernica, 11.5 by 26 feet. The images and text of the painting are drawn from books and other resources that document Armenian history, language, religion and culture. The preparatory drawings and paintings being exhibited in spring, 2015 at the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown, Massachusetts and at the Thompson Gallery, Cambridge School of Weston, Massachusetts. as part of the “Kiss the Ground” exhibition series commemorating the genocide. The final painting, entitled Armenia (Hayastan) will be exhibited April 17-May 29 at Mana Contemporary, Chicago. The painting will be then be disassembled and exhibited to other locations throughout the world. To bring Project 1915 to your community, please send an email to [email protected].