PILSEN — Growing up in Lake Bluff, there was a sadness that hung over artist Jackie Kazarian's family.
“It was just always about sadness,” she said reflecting on her Armenian heritage.
For the last decade, the Logan Square artist has been on a path to change that sadness. To forgive.
As Armenians everywhere commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Kazarian's "Armenia," a massive painting that celebrates the Armenian culture, opens with a reception from 6-9 p.m. Friday at Mana Contemporary in Pilsen. At 4 p.m. Sunday, the artist is scheduled to talk about the painting at the gallery.
Kazarian's passion project, a tribute to her four grandparents who were survivors of the genocide of historic Armenia, has been two years in the making. The region her family descended from is now known as Eastern Turkey.
"This has been a personal journey for me. When I knew the anniversary was approaching, I started thinking about my childhood as an Armenian-American and what that meant," said the 56-year-old artist.
Beginning in 1915, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, along with many other ethnic minorities. Today, the Turkish government denies there was ever a plan to systematically wipe out the Armenian population, arguing instead that the atrocities were wartime acts.
Both of Kazarian’s grandmothers ended up in orphanages after most of their families were killed, she said, and eventually all of her grandparents fled their homeland before World War I, immigrating to the United States.
As she spent time researching the culture in the Armenia Library in Watertown, Mass. and at the Regenstein Library at University in Chicago, combing over original texts, the idea of forgiveness dwelled in her mind, Kazarian said.
“Growing up, my parents refused to go to Turkey. I’m the only one who’s ever been back to [historic] Armenia, saw relatives in Istanbul — we really came from an area that is in Turkey,” she said. “That was 10 years ago, and even then, I knew that I wanted to bring some closure.”
Kazarian said that sadness manifested as anger in her father, who would go into a rage about the genocide. But it was something her grandmother said in her 80s, when she asked to paint her portrait, that made Kazarian understand the family’s sadness.
Stephanie Lulay says the project was very personal for Kazarian:
“She told me that she was afraid that if someone knew [or thought] she could afford to have a portrait, they would come and take all of her things away,” she said. “This was a real big fear for her, and it was really shocking.”
The sadness has been passed down generations, she said.
“I thought a lot about how I could release the sadness so it couldn’t be passed down beyond me, to my children,” Kazarian said.
The 11.5 by 26-foot painting, which Kazarian has worked on since October, has the exact same dimensions as Pablo Picasso’s famous painting "Guernica," an anguished response to Francisco Franco’s aerial bombing of defenseless civilians in Spain.
“People know what happened in Guernica because of that painting," Kazarian said.
"Armenia" includes depictions of ancient churches, maps and motifs from illuminated manuscripts. The names of communities that suffered in the genocide also are depicted and are written in both Armenian and English.
At the base of the painting are two open hands, a nod to Kazarian’s grandmother, whose needle lace is also included in the work.
Now that the painting is finished, Kazarian said the intended target of her forgiveness has changed.
“It’s funny because, who am I forgiving? Am I forgiving on behalf of my grandparents? No, I can’t do that. Do I forgive the Turkish government for denying it?” she asked. “I think I forgive people. People who allowed the history and events to be forgotten and lost and not believed. I forgive those people.”
The painting will remain on display through May 29 at the Pilsen gallery, 2233 S. Throop St. The gallery is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday noon-5 p.m.
After the Chicago show, Kazarian plans to exhibit Armenia in communities across the United States and the world.
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