Author: Anna Tamamian

BY SARKIS MAHSEREJIAN
Translated from Armenian by R. Guevjelian

Whenever I visit an old friend of mine, who has the qualifications of a Santa Claus, he usually picks up a newly published book from a drawer and insists that I accept it as a gift. I am not the only recipient of his generosity, as my friend is a sworn member of a dwindling group of book lovers who not only buy books, but acquire a couple of them and gift them to their friends.

When I visited him last, he took a newly-published photography book out of his cache, from the cover of which a half-hidden Mount Ararat smiled at me, with the title “Armenia Through My Lens – A Photographer’s Travels,” by a young man named Sevag Mehterian.

I accepted this gift with thanks and, upon returning home, I started going through it, assuming that a new individual has joined the ranks of all those young men who have visited Armenia during the last decades and discovered their homeland. With his camera, Sevag has added a new illustrated book to the list of similar volumes, which I should say, is an encouraging aspect in itself.

At a first glance, I naturally tried to reinforce my predisposition, but as I went forward, the title of the volume started to make sense. Here is a young man, who looks at his homeland through his lens, from Armenia all the way to Artsakh and its surroundings. He hasn’t limited his photography to traditional methods, but, like some rare ones, he has preferred to view his homeland and its various treasures from above.

Camera in hand, he has directed his lens from Erevan to Erebuni, has “flown” over Tsitsernakaberd, Lake Sevan, numerous monasteries and historic landmarks, has reached Lori and Syunik-Zangezur, has perched near his “preys” to capture Oshagan’s carved stone Armenian Alphabet, as well as Echmiadzin and Datev. He’s even reached Artsakh, to photograph from air or on land, Stepanakert, Shushi, Gandzasar, “We are our Mountains” monument and other spectacular holy sites. From time to time, with the help of his electronic device, he has “played” with some of his pictures, for example presenting the reflection of a picture on the frame’s second half, showing that with such tricks a photograph’s handicraft can reach art’s threshold.

The tome doesn’t have a preface. Short, one-line explanations accompany the photographs. Sevag has clearly preferred that his pictures speak for themselves.

At the end of the book, there is a short summary about the author. Sevag Mehterian studied Marine Geology at University of California, Berkeley and got his PhD in Geochemistry and Climate Science from the University of Miami. Sevag likes to watch nature’s beauty and presents it through his lens. He doesn’t call himself an art photographer. Instead, he is a silent, yet loquacious, bridge between nature and viewer.

As a point worthy of appreciation, Sevag has taken his lens to Armenia and Artsakh—nowhere else. He has an unwavering connection to his homeland and he wants to impart that, as well as his love for Armenia, to his viewers. If we look closely, we will find that Sevag’s values are rooted in the environment he was raised in, his love for Armenia stems from his home.

Find more of Sevag’s work online.

LA CRESCENTA—Editors from leading Armenian publications will headline a panel on Armenian media on Sunday, August 11. The panel will begin at 1 p.m., immediately following the Divine Liturgy, at the Prelacy’s Dikran & Zarouhi Der Ghazarian Hall, which is located at 6250 Honolulu Ave., La Crescenta, CA 91214.

Hosted by the Educational Committee of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Crescenta Valley, the event will cover current issues and challenges confronting the Armenian media, particularly in California. Ara Khachatourian of Asbarez, Harut Sassounian of The California Courier, Gabriel Moloyan of Massis Weekly, and Hratch Sepetjian of Nor Or Weekly will comprise the panelists. Attorney and playwright Aram Kouyoumdjian will serve as moderator.

Brief presentations by the panelists will offer historical overviews of the represented publications and information on each paper’s readership and reach, fiscal situation, and future outlook. Kouyoumdjian will then facilitate a panel discussion and field questions from audience members.

The panel will be among events being organized worldwide to commemorate 2019 as the Year of Armenian Media, pursuant to a proclamation by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. Early in July, over 100 media representatives from Armenia, Artsakh, and the Diaspora gathered at a Pan-Armenian Conference on Armenian Media convened by the Catholicosate. In his remarks to the conference, the Catholicos stressed that the Armenian media does not merely disseminate information but is entrusted with a pan-national mission.

Ara Khachatourian has served as the English Editor of Asbarez for the past 27 years. During his tenure, the English section transformed from a weekly insert in the Armenian section to a daily publication now having a significantly large online foothold in the Armenian media reality. He also oversaw the creation of the newspaper’s website in 1997, becoming the first Armenian publication to have an online presence.

Currently, Asbarez is one of the widest-read publications in the world. Before Asbarez, Khachatourian served as the media relations director for the Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region.

Khachatourian has been involved in community activities for more than 30 years, More recently, he has spearheaded the three iterations of the very successful ANCA-WR Grassroots Conference, has served on numerous committees, and was part of the team that organized the March for Justice in April 2015, which drew more than 160,000 people to the streets of Los Angeles demanding justice for the Armenian Genocide.

Born in Iran, Khachatourian moved to the United States with his family in 1979. While on the East Coast, Khachatourian joined the AYF and the ARF. He served two terms on the AYF Central Executive, one of them as chairman.

Harut Sassounian is a publisher, syndicated columnist, TV commentator, author, filmmaker, human rights activist, and President of the Armenia Artsakh Fund. For his humanitarian efforts, he has been decorated by the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the heads of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches. He is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

His weekly commentaries in The California Courier are translated into Russian, French, Arabic, and Armenian, and reprinted in dozens of publications in various countries and posted on countless websites, including the Huffington Post. As a political commentator, he appears on US Armenia TV each week, during which he analyzes the latest developments around the world.

Sassounian served as a human rights delegate to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland from 1978 to 1988. He played a key role in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.N. Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1985.

Holding a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University (New York) and an MBA from Pepperdine University (Los Angeles), Sassounian is the author of “The Armenian Genocide: The World Speaks Out, 1915 – 2015, Documents & Declarations.”

Gabriel Moloyan studied Armenology at St. Joseph University after attending the Armenian Theological Seminary of Antelias. He was subsequently appointed Vice Principal of the Sahag Mesrobian School in Beirut and served in that position for 25 years. In 1954, Moloyan was among the founding members of the Nor Serount Cultural Association after recognizing a need for cultural preservation and expansion. Upon immigrating to the United States, Moloyan continued his passion for education and became a Founder and Board Member of the St. Gregory Hovsepian School in Pasadena.

Throughout his extensive career, Moloyan has worked as a journalist and editor at Ararad Daily Newspaper, Ararad Literary Journal, and Massis Weekly. As a longtime member of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, he served as Chairman of its Western U.S. region. In 2005, he was honored with a Pontifical Encyclical from His Holiness Karekin II and the St. Nerses Shnorhali Pontifical Medal for his decades of community service.

Hratch Sepetjian has been the editor of Nor Or, the Armenian-English weekly that serves as the official publication of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar) of the Western U.S. since March 2016. He was the assistant editor of “Zartonk” daily in Beirut from 1994 to 2000.

Sepetjian has been the head of Armenian Studies and Program Director (since 2010), and has been teaching Armenian and Armenian History at AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School since 2002. He himself is a graduate of the AGBU Melkonian Educational Institute and holds a Master’s Degree in Armenian Philology and Pedagogy from Yerevan State University.

Aram Kouyoumdjian is an attorney at law and an award-winning playwright and director. He is currently serves as Assistant General Manager of the Personnel Department for the City of Los Angeles.

Below is the YouTube video presentation on “Armenia Tree Project – Celebrating 25 Years” presented by Anahit Gharibyan & Sarah Hayes at the Crescenta Valley Armenian Apostolic Church in La Crescenta, California on Thursday, July 14: