Dr. Levon Chookaszian to Speak on “The Armenians of the Crimea and Romania as Seen Through Their Art”

FRESNO — Dr. Levon Chookaszian, Director of the UNESCO Chair of Art History at Yerevan State University, will give a presentation on “The Armenians of the Crimea and Romania as Seen Through Their Art,” at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, February 12, 2014. The lecture will be held in the University Business Center, Alice Peters Auditorium, Room 191, on the Fresno State campus and is part of the Armenian Studies Program Spring 2014 Lecture Series.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Virginia-based Ararat Foundation, which was founded in 1985 and promotes Armenian culture and Christian faith, through lectures on Armenian subjects, seminars, literature distribution and research. The Foundation has worked independently and in cooperation with other groups and has sponsored over sixty lectures, held mostly in Washington DC. Dean Shahinian organized the Foundation and has served as Executive Director since its inception.

The study of the artistic legacy of the Armenians in medieval Crimea and Romania allows for the reconstruction and imagining, to a certain degree, of a broader picture, a kind of mosaic of the culture of immigrants from Armenia. The Armenian churches, monasteries, and illustrated manuscripts, are the main art works testifying to the presence of Armenians in medieval Crimea and Romania and their cultural activity there. Prof. Levon Chookaszian will explore this rich, but for many, little known cultural heritage.

Dr. Levon Chookaszian is the UNESCO Professor of Armenian Art History at Yerevan State University and one of the leading authorities in the world on Armenian art. He is the author of two monographs: one on the art of 13th century Armenian miniaturist Grigor (Grigor Tsaghkogh, 1986), and the other on the art of the painter Arshag Fetvadjian (Arshag Fetvadjian, 2011). Chookaszian has taught at Yerevan State University since 1978 and is one of the founders of the department of art history. In 1996 he established the UNESCO Chair of Armenian Art History. Since 1992 he has delivered nearly two hundred lectures at universities, libraries, and museums across the world.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Parking is available in Lots A or J on campus, adjacent to the University Business Center. A free parking pass may be obtained by using parking code 273405 in any of the campus kiosks.

For more on the lecture please contact the Armenian Studies Program at 559-278-2669.