Cafesjian Center for the Arts to host "Silent Victims. Arshile Gorky" event

April 21, 2010 - 12:28 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Cafesjian Center for the Arts joins millions of Armenians around the world in commemorating the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Special event featuring the American-Armenian artist and a Genocide survivor Arshile Gorky will be organized on April 21 and 22 to pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians annihilated by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire.

The event titled "Silent Victims. Arshile Gorky" will commence with a lecture by Shahen Khachatryan, the Director of Arshile Gorky Museum in Holy See Etchmiadzin, exploring Gorky's work in the context of the Genocide and its profound impact on the life and art of the artist. Extracts from Gorky's letters will be recited. The presentation of the book "Color of the Pain" by Shahen Khachatryan describing the consequences of the Genocide on Armenian fine arts will take place after the lecture. A documentary by Karen Adamyan will be presented to the public, introducing Arshile Gorky's world to the viewers.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.