Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Press Release: The Arts Of Photography, Poetry and Translation

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Press Release: The Arts Of Photography, Poetry and Translation

    For Immediate Release

    May 2, 2006

    65 Main Street, Watertown MA 02472
    Contact Person: Mariam Stepanyan
    Phone: 617.926.2562
    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.almainc.org

    _________________________________ _______________________________________

    The Arts of Photography, Poetry, and Translation.

    The Arts of Photography, Poetry, and Translation is the title of an
    uncommon exhibition at the Armenian Library and Museum of America's
    Terjenian Gallery, featuring photojournalist Armineh Johannes.

    Illustrating the photography are selected poems from *I Want to Live*
    by Shushanik Kurghinian, translated by Shushan Avagyan, and from the
    *Other Voice: Armenian Women's Poetry Through the Ages*, translated
    by Diana Der-Hovanessian.

    DATES: May 14 - 28 during museum hours.

    RECEPTION: Sunday, May 21, 2006, from 1:30 - 3:30 pm.

    Armineh Johannes is an award-winning photojournalist whose assignments
    and interests have taken her to Armenia for the last seventeen years,
    and to some eastern and middle-eastern countries as well. The majority
    of the photographs in this exhibition are from her "Transitions"
    series which try to capture those elements in these societies that may
    be in the process of disappearing, namely the traditional, the rural,
    what is considered pre-industrial and everlastingly old-world. These
    photos do not suggest revolution or upheaval of the overt kind;
    rather they evoke those internal question marks and hidden tumults
    that are part of every man's and woman's life.

    The poetry linked to the images varies. Kurghinian's from I Want to
    Live volume, deals with social issues, feminism, and confrontation
    with established values and oppressive norms. The poetry from the
    "Other Voice" extends the spectrum.

    The forced juxtaposition of the photos with the selected poetry
    provides some unusual tensions, reflecting the tension always inherent
    in Kurghinian's poetry, and the range of emotions called forth by
    the number of poets in the "Other Voice."

    Is the pretty bride sitting on a patterned couch menacingly sandwiched
    between two huge tiger faces, in fact happy bedecked in bracelets,
    or is she Kurghinian's bride whose gold ringlets attest to the fact
    that she is "Sold." Will the little girl with the black cat eventually
    reflect her mother's high ideals as the poem "Gift to my Daughter"
    suggests, or just her own mischievous spirit. What about the little
    swaddled infant with the alert eyes? Viewing Johannes' web site and
    people with more eastern non-Armenian eyes, provides further reflection
    and questions about what their future holds.

    Hopefully this exhibition will be a beginning exploration for the
    viewer of how photography stimulates thought, and how poetry captures
    images with a minimum of words.

    To stimulate audience participation, and interest in the power
    of translation, a poetry contest is an integral part of this
    exhibition. Two of Kurghinian's poems, chosen by Karine Marino,
    are available for translation from the Armenian. To make the
    contest accessible to all, the Armenian comes with a literal,
    word-by-word translation into English. The best poetic translation,
    as judged by a jury of three, will receive a $100 (one hundred
    dollar) award. The two poems are short love poems, in contrast to
    the more serious and purposeful poetry of Kurghinian's in the I
    Want to Live poetry book, to expose another aspect of this poet to
    the public and to solicit a greater response to the contest. These
    poems are available online on the publisher's web site, AIWA Press,
    http://www.aiwa-net.org/AIWAwriters.

    Don't miss this unusual exhibition. Bring your family and friends.

    And let all try out for the contest, to demystify poetry while
    simultaneously giving the fine art of translation its due, in a spirit
    of fun and competition.

    Both poetry books, published in 2005, are available from AIWA,
    information via aiwainc.com; and from NAASR bookstore in Belmont,
    MA, as well as other bookstores in the United States and elsewhere.

    The exhibition at the Terjenian Gallery at ALMA, 65 Main Street,
    Watertown, MA. 617.926.ALMA (2562) www.almainc.org, is open during
    museum hours, Thursday 6 - 9 PM, Friday and Sunday 1 - 5 PM, Saturday
    10 AM - 2 PM. Gallery Admission is Free.

    Submitted by Gina Ann Hablanian
Working...
X