Rima Shah
A little bit of color can brighten up all kinds of places.
And when the place has a bright splashing of red, blue, green,
white, orange and yellow, not only does it make the place brighter,
it creates a happy mood.
That is exactly what artist Vladamir Atanian had in mind.
His art project, hanging suspended from the walls of the Pacific
Community Center, will be dedicated during a reception from 3 to 5
p.m. today at the center.
"This composition is named 'Colorama,' " Atanian said. "It is
colorful, three-dimensional and creative."
Atanian was chosen through a regional competition to select
artwork for the Community Center's atrium, said Eve Rappoport,
community services supervisor for the city of Glendale.
"We wanted some artwork that would enliven the space," she said.
"It's kind of a static space, but it's an important space."
This permanent art project consists of nine colorful, geometric
shapes suspended by cables from atrium walls.
"It's a study in color, in geometry," Rappoport said.
While working on the project, Atanian had two constraints. The
project should not be kept on the floor, and it should not hang from
the ceiling.
"Colorama" met both these constraints.
"They wanted it to be colorful, interesting and make the interior
more happy," said Atanian, who also runs a studio and art school in
Glendale.
The project is actually a collaboration of four artists --
Atanian, his sons Gor Atanian and Artak Atanyan, and a former
student, Armen Kazanchyan.
"The main purpose of the composition is that when the kids see
this stuff, they get happier," Vladamir Atanian said. "I want to
change the mood, whatever people have, from watching this
composition."
Atanian calls himself the artist of "green and red colors."
"Green colors symbolize life, and red colors symbolize happiness,"
he said. "If you see these interiors without the project, these
interiors are very sad."
The project itself is a bright splash of red and green colors
related to his quest to make the mood in the atrium happy.
Atanian walked through the expanse of the project, pointing out
the square, circular and triangular figures that were suspended.
"If you look at it from here, it looks different," he said.
He walked further and pointed up to the project again.
"If you look at it from here, again it looks different," he said.
"It looks different from the top. It looks different from here."
The artist graduated from Yerevan State Institute of Fine Arts
before he immigrated to the United States in 1993.
"I was a famous artist in Armenia and now I am a famous artist in
the United States," he said. "When I finish a big project, it is like
having a new baby. I made 60 babies like this all over the world."
The other project that will be dedicated is a quilt made by
visitors during the opening day of the Pacific Community Center in
September 2003.
Each visitor was invited to make a square and the squares were put
together by artist Daniel Marlos.
