Culture & The
Arts
| |
For
thousands of years they
have been expressing
their history and their
religion through unique
artistic creations conveying
Armenian values and beliefs
|
The artistic expressions
of Armenian culture are
at the very heart of
its identity. Whatever
the media, their art
and music tell the unique
story of Armenian history
and contemporary Armenian
culture. It is through
their architecture and
sculpture, painting and
pottery, music and dance,
clothing and jewelry,
literature and language,
and textiles and weaving
that one is able to gain
an understanding of the
Armenian people and the
influences that have
shaped their identity.
Several hundred years before
the birth of Christ,
Armenians began developing
an extraordinarily rich
culture, influenced by
a number of factors.
The form of their art
and their music reflects
both their spiritual
nature and their message.
For thousands of years
they have been expressing
their history and their
religion through unique
artistic creations conveying
Armenian values and beliefs.
This can be seen in all
of their community celebrations
such as feasts, festivals,
baptisms and wedding
rituals.
The events and influences
that have shaped Armenian
culture, and the art
that expresses that culture,
are numerous. A long
and tumultuous history,
marked by invasions,
occupations, and massacres
and battered by war for
more than 3,000 years,
has greatly influenced
their culture and art,
as well as Armenia’s
ever-changing geography
and unique mountainous
landscape reflected in
its architecture and
art. Monasteries, often
built right into the
side of a rock mountain,
create exquisite and
unique architectural
structures.
This tiny nation, bursting
with historical
magnificence, has the distinction
of being the “cradle of
civilization.”
They have drawn on an incredible
wealth of resources
—an accumulation
of 3,000 years of history —and
the objects that
Armenians have historically surrounded
themselves including
the home, wooden
and metal vessels and utensils,
clay jars for food
storage, furniture, rugs, carpets,
and decorative
fabrics reflect this history.
The
influence of Christianity
on Armenian culture and
art has been enormous.
In the 4th and 5th centuries
AD very important events
in Armenian history greatly
affected the arts. As
Armenia became the first
nation to adopt Christianity
as its official religion
in 301-303 AD, Christian
iconography came to play
a very important role
in Armenian art and architecture.
The study of churches
and monasteries, and
the khatchkars and illuminated
manuscripts of the church,
reveal the devotion of
Armenian artists to ornament,
almost unique in Christian
culture.
Throughout history, Armenia’s
location has had a major
influence on its culture
and art. Armenian culture
moved on in close conjunction
with European and Russian
cultures because of its
location in the middle
of the Silk Road, on
the crossroads of Europe
and Asia. Armenian art
reflected the stages
and stylistic trends
through which European
art passed but at the
same time, they preserved
a uniqueness in their
architecture, music,
khachkar carvings, and
illuminated manuscripts
that have left a rich
legacy for today's Armenia.
In turn, Armenia has
influenced art in Europe
and Asia.
Armenia’s creative nature
is evident in the surviving
examples of carpet and
lace making, inspired
by sculpture, architecture;
the painted metalwork
of earlier centuries,
in the carved doors of
monasteries, the fine
collections of Armenian
carpets found in the
museums of Yerevan and
in the lace adorning
the homes and costumes
of Armenian women. Their
lacework is also seen
in the adornment of church
altars and the costumes
of the clergy.
A
study of Armenian architecture
is, in reality, a study
of the history of the
church and Christianity.
Thousands of churches
and monasteries cover
Armenia’s mountainous
landscape, often built
next to one of its many
lakes. 3,000 years of
history have provided
for remarkable originality
in design and variety.
These churches and monasteries,
many built right into
the stone mountains,
can be small and simple,
with external sculptures
and relief, or large
and formal. A large
number of types were
developed, providing
a great variety of exterior
shapes and interior volumes.
A
great many cathedrals
and monuments with interior
frescoes and stone Churches
became the main mode
of Armenian architectural
expression after the
adoption of Christianity.
The seventh century is
often referred to as
the "golden age
of Armenian ecclesiastical
architecture."
Monasteries, founded
in the 10th century,
grew as important artistic
centers.
These
monasteries also
provided for the
production of khatchkars
(literally, "cross
stones"), constructions
unparalleled in the world
of art. These carved
stones were most commonly
used as gravestones as
well as to mark victories,
foundations of villages
or the completion of
a church. For all their
diversity, the basic
khatchkar design was
always the same, the
Cross being the central
object often surrounded
by elaborate ornamentation.
These carvings attained
artistic excellence in
the ninth to eleventh
centuries. They were
originally created as
an assertion of faith
in Christ; and popular
belief attributes these
monuments with powers
of protection against
earthquakes and drought.
A
complex and ancient
heritage has played a
decisive role, in every
respect, in the process
of creating a distinctive,
national Armenian music.
Music also accompanied
other early forms of
artistic expression such
as poetry, pagan rites,
historical drama and
pantomimes. An important
part of Armenia’s rich
artistic heritage is
folk music. It is eminently
traditional and has a
resonance characterized
by a delicate structure.
Even today it has an
important place in the
life of the people.
Armenia’s music
is one of the most unique
in the region, with some
characteristic instruments
of its own, and often
more formal variety.
Although performances
often use several instruments
at once, the textures
are clear and full of
emotion. The most recognized
and still widely used
instrument is the Duduk,
an Armenian version of
the oboe. Other instruments
include the zoorna, dhol,
tar and kanon.
In the 4th century, Armenia
adopted Christianity,
but it was especially
in the fifth century,
after the creation of
the Armenian alphabet,
that there was a notable
development in sacred
music used in churches.
With the new alphabet,
the foundations of artistic
musical composition were
born. The origin of
Armenian Church music
may be traced back to
the 5th century. Nurtured
by the melodies of pre-Christian
Armenia, and the secular
songs of everyday life,
it developed into a unique
manifestation of the
Armenian faith, mind
and soul. The earliest
musical expression of
worship was the chanting
of psalms.
Armenian dance is a reflection
of the rich fabric of
Armenian culture and
is accompanied by traditional
or contemporary music.
They have a lively, but
graceful choreography,
which sets itself apart
from other oriental dance
forms. Mainly accompanied
by percussion instruments,
Armenian music belongs
to the Middle Eastern
tradition in its authentic
form.
The
best-known Armenian
embroidery, made in the
city of Marash, is noted
for its rich, satin stitch
and its cheerful colors.
Common designs of the
Marash embroidery are
flowers and tiny animals,
particularly the rooster.
Few, if any, cultures can
claim Armenia’s textile
history – a continuous
and consistent record
of fine textile production
from the first millennium
B.D. to the present.
Armenians today are blessed
by the diversity and
richness of a textile
heritage passed on by
thirty centuries of diligent
practice, a tradition
that was nearly destroyed
by the 1915 genocide.
Armenian architecture
and related arts virtually
disappeared from 1500
to 1750. The Armenian
monasteries, churches
and schools that were
built were outside of
Armenia. Slowly, the
traditional art of manuscript
illumination gave way
to printing. This new
method of making and
copying text was first
introduced in Armenia
in the year 1512.
Illuminated
manuscripts are a major
component of Armenian
art history. They were
created and assembled
into books and are exceptional
examples of Armenia’s
artistic nature. Today,
the largest collection
of these can be found
in Yerevan's famed Matenadaran.
These manuscripts came
to be known for their
festive grandeur, demonstrating
a continuity that links
Armenia's Middle Ages
with her earlier periods.
The twelfth to fourteenth
centuries witnessed the
development of manuscript
illumination into the
art of book illustration.
Manuscripts became smaller,
no longer for use in
religious services. These
more elaborately designed
and varied works were
now for private use in
the libraries of monasteries
and homes.
Also, after the creation
of the Armenian alphabet
in 405-406 AD by Mesrop
Mashtotz, the written
word began to develop
the Armenian language,
literature and arts.
The Bible was translated
into Armenian, thus increasing
the importance of Christianity
in Armenian art. The
written word also allowed
for the development of
the art of the illuminated
manuscript. Armenian
scribes began to copy
and translate Christian
texts onto parchment
adding to them symbolic
illustrations and introductory
folios. These manuscripts
were then used in religious
services.
The
art of carpet making
has existed in Armenia
since the fifth century
BC, but perhaps the most
noteworthy period of
Armenian rug weaving
is that of the thirteenth
century. The great "dragon" rugs
showing indigenous designs
resembling highly stylized
dragons woven into a
latticework of plant
and animal forms were
created during this period.
They are among the most
original and abstract
creations in textiles.
Early in the nineteenth
century, when the sultans
of Turkey wanted to establish
rug weaving around Constantinople,
it was the Armenian master
weavers whom they called
upon to do so.
Though woven in various
regions and in diverse
styles, rugs are predominately
of the Caucasian type
with vivid colors and
broad geometric designs.
Often there are small
gigues or animals placed
randomly in the border
or field.
Orphan rugs, so named because
they were produced by
young Armenian women
orphaned by the massacres
of 1896 and 1915, are
exceptional examples
of Armenian rugs. Under
the guidance of American
missionaries, these women
learned the skill of
rug making. To this
day, the rug industry
remains an important
part of the organized
crafts in Armenia.
Sadly, there was a wholesale
destruction of Armenian
life and property in
Armenia from 1915 through
1922, and then again
when the devastating
1988 earthquake hit.
All of this resulted
in the loss not only
of heirloom rugs passed
down in families, but
almost every other expression
of Armenian art and culture.
Most of the 20th Century
has been spent trying
to recover Armenian art
and develop collections
illustrating the exquisite
artistic expressions
of the Armenian people. |
