Another Manifestation of the Armenian-Japanese Cultural Cooperation
In the frameworks of the cultural grant project the Government of Japan replenished the National Gallery of Armenia with the equipment for the reconstruction of paintings. The provision of technique to the National Gallery of Armenia, which is envisaged for the reconstruction of pictorial, graphical and wood-engraving works was carried out by the Governments of Japan and Armenia and with the efforts of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Ministry of Culture of RA.
The ceremony of handing the equipment took place today on November 8th, 2011 at the National Gallery of Armenia with the participation of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan in RA (residence Moscow) his majesty Tikahito Harada and the Minister of Culture of RA Hasmik Poghosyan. In the frameworks of the given project,
a number of other cultural institutions of Armenia had the opportunity to get technical assistance. Among them are the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra (musical instruments and sound equipment), the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts – Matenadaran (equipment for the reconstruction of manuscripts), Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet after Alexander Spendiaryan (sound equipment), Yerevan State Conservatory of Music (musical instruments) and so on. The next grant project is coming, due to which “Hayk” film studio of documentaries will be technically reequipped. During the event, awards were presented to the winners of the International Art Contest for Children “Let’s Protect Our Planet Together” Liana Margaryan and Lusine Aghajanyan.
In the frameworks of the project, from the collections of the National Gallery of Armenia there was also presented the exhibition of Yukio –e collection of Japanese wood engravings. Once again the art-lovers were given the opportunity to communicate with the high art of the masters of the country of the rising sun and the philosophy and perception of the world of the Japanese nation – of the country so close and so far. In 1994 at the National Gallery of Armenia the “Utagawa school company” headed by Goino Tadashi (the artistic name is Utagawa Syokoku) presented Yukio –e collection of Japanese wood engravings for the first time. The organizers of this unusual exhibition presented to the National Gallery of Armenia 127 papers of the works of yukio-e talented engravers of the XIX century Utagawa Toyokuni III, Utagawa Kunisada II and other masters. A part of it was presented to the art lovers of Yerevan in 2008 at the National Gallery of Armenia. Yukio-e – the Japanese wood engravings of the images of the everyday world, which was created and developed in the XVII-XVIII centuries, is a unique phenomenon in the world culture. The masters of Yukio-e wood engraving created the poetry of routine in their works. The establishment of everyday aesthetic value has been expressed in its name, which is borrowed from the Buddhist terminology, where that word is used for the characterization of human secular life. And in 1682 it was used for the first time for the marking of the new direction.
The everyday genre, portrait and then landscape became the main themes of the new direction of art, which received the name yukio-e – the name of the images of the everyday world. The depiction of everyday life gave the painters of yukio-e the opportunity to penetrate into the culture of the nation, its sphere of aesthetical views, to help to perceive the nature, traditions and customs in a new way, to newly discover the folkloric characters, historical figures, actors and beauties, glorious wrestlers, the tenderness of maternity, etc. It was in the Edo era that Kabuki popular theatre was established. On its stage appeared the representatives of ordinary people – clever, hard-working and witty.
the material is taken from http://goo.gl/lPByZL
translated from Armenian into English by M.Vardanyan
