“I was excited to submit my work to Armenia,” Armen said. “And I was excited to be involved with an international group of artists where the president is Japanese.”
After traveling for the past several years, Armen decided to submit a photo she took in Italy and a picture of the Eiffel Tower, framed by the Wall for Peace in Paris, which was modeled after the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, she said.
“I didn’t want to send pictures of Armenia to Armenia,” Armen said. “And the peace wall totally touches my heart. [The wall] has ‘peace’ [written] in different languages and it itself is a message of peace.”
The International Art Festival does not have a theme, but the founding principles of LELA involve blending boundaries between cultures and promoting the universal language of art while promoting harmony, said Angela Barseghian, LELA organizing committee member.
“As far as LELA is concerned, we should all support any and all organizations that have such noble ideas as bringing cultures together, giving to each other and caring for each other,” Barseghian said. “It’s such a wonderful, wonderful idea to bring the world together through art, humility and beauty instead of war.”
Armen’s philosophy regarding her photography embodies the goals of LELA and the art festival, she added.
“Karine is an international artist and she really epitomizes an artist who has tremendous love for all nationalities and ethnic groups,” Barseghian said. “I see her constantly traveling and taking note with her camera of all the things she sees in the world, both good and bad and she brings that home for others to see. It’s tremendous.”
