The sculptor of genocide
BETWEEN the capital Yerevan and (over the Turkish border) Mount Ararat lies Etchmiatdzin – the ancient ecclesiastical capital of Armenia.
Recently, I chanced upon a museum there to the sculptor and artist Khoren Der Harootian – a survivor of the Armenian Genocide as a six-year-old boy, who escaped to America, but later found his land. He captivated me, and yet little is known about him outside of his homeland; at least partially (and in defiance of the Cold War) because he donated every work he could to his people.
Like Etchmiatdzin itself, his work is deeply spiritual, reaching from pre-history to modernity, addressing both the brutal reality of genocide and the strength of the survivors.
If the sign of great works of art is that they stay with you, and make you long for their acquaintance again, then he is an overlooked genius.
I have only here focused on his sculpture; it …
The rest of this article features in our September 2024 print issue, available to subscribers.
