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The Artists
Essay by Tareq Hishmeh
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Have No Dominion |
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The three artists at hand have complete different styles. Each in his or her own way attempts to depict some facet of the Armenian Genocide. For Seeroon Yeretzian, the painting Echo depicts her style, in that it shows the horrors, pain and anguish of the Genocide. Kero Antoyan, on the other hand, depicted the opportunity for hope and the notion of faith, even in the darkest hours: the man in the painting And Death Shall Have No Dominion, turned to God and raised his arms in what seams to be a true show of faith.Finally, Krikor Norikian focuses on the people who are suffering in this atrocity, especially the women and children. In his piece entitled Remembrance, the notions of emptiness and sorrows are evident. Furthermore, one cannot help but notice that there are only women in this painting, which further illustrates the atrocities of the Genocide with all the men being taken from the homes and towns to their death.
The color and style in the first two paintings seem to flow together; if one were asked, one might even offer a guess that the two were painted by the same artist. This is due to the similarities in color and artistic style (browns and oranges). However, it is in the third picture that Krikor Norikian uses the color pallet to the extreme. When people view this drawing, their attention is secured by the contrasting colors of the oranges, whites, browns, blues and blacks. Also, one cannot help but notice the details in Norikian's paintings, especially on the child who takes center stage in the painting.
The differences in the
styles of the three artists can be attributed to many factors. However,
the most important factor is that these pictures for the most part were
not intended as works of art; rather they were intended to be a way for
the artists to vent their frustration and their anger at the atrocities
of the Armenian Genocide.