MS01.01.03 - Box 01 - Folder 27 - Boghossian, Skunder - Essays, 1980, [undated], Part 1

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reign of the royal.

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the reign of [strikethrough: rolay] royal secession or the divine right of kings ^ abroad, [strikethrough: that] which took hold on European soil and has existed into our own times - Skunder fills his paintings with bits and pieces of history collaging forms ^ together that are both secular and profane. [strikethrough: and] His art embraces that which is real as well as that which shows fantasy. The visual expressions we have become accustomed to [strikethrough: reading] seeing in Skunder's paintings reveal a rearranged vocabulary of ancient signs and symbols that are not alien to this artist's culture. He has an [strikethrough: God given] heritable right to scribble white ink poigantly over the surface of a mysterious animal which skims about the background of a particular painting just as _____. These calligraphic hues [strikethrough: echo] repeat the linear patterns found on ancient ^ warriors shields made of vellum as well as the Amharic Alphabets found in the marriage contracts painted on strips of Goat skin. Many of these paintings which bridge the gap between the legendary Kingdoms of Ancient [strikethrough: Kings and Quee] royalty + (the Queen of Sheba was a real Ethiopian woman) advance in content in their Cinematic overview from the ancient world to the modern.

Ethiopian ^ cultural history is paramount in the iconographic design these works show. The ^ formal structure of the ancient churches of La Tabella have provided sustenance for Skunder's creative [strikethrough: [?] just as] when mass and volume were needed as accents in his art. History is echoed systematically throughout his work. It provides a salient reference for highlights in the life of his people and in his own life. [strikethrough: He as been careful] Time has carefully ordered Skunders to [strikethrough: order his own] life so as to [strikethrough: be able to] permit him the luxury of having a continuous [strikethrough: to] dream. From the time that he scribbled and doodled the stories of Ethopian bravery in the war against Faicism ^ [strikethrough: in the early 1940's] until ^ the day he [strikethrough: land[?] received] become a student at the [strikethrough: a Scholarship] Academic de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, Skunder has kept alive ^ in his work a dream, one which was destined to

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imbue [strikethrough: keep alive] in him an insightful view of his ^ own African world. He wanted to keep alive inside that spark of creativity which reflected the continuous flow of ideas from an ancient culture to the modern [strikethrough: culture] world. This he has been able to do with a sense of joy and ^ with clarity; the like of which goes unmatched by any other artist of his genre. That his ^ art has been able to bridge the cultural gap between two seperate and distinct worlds; the ancient culture of the Rift Valley [strikethrough: culture], the oldest known to mankind, and that of modern man is a credit to the genius of those ^ Skunder and to those people who [strikethrough: came] inspired the ancient Greeks to [strikethrough: praise] hear words of praise upon the children of Ethopia with burnt faces.

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[Handwritten on yellow lined paper]

One of the finest tributes [strikethrough: to] that can be paid [strikethrough: to] any artist during his lifetime. [strikethrough: comes when he is] would be to bestown upon him [strikethrough: complemented] the complimentary title of National [strikethrough: confident that] for the [strikethrough: being] heritable sensitive Treasure. Unfortunately, those of his who live [strikethrough: he shows to the culture] in the Western world will miss this title as we have not yet treasured and and its cultural products over other forms of social and material progress. In Cosmic Scroll, painted in 1981, the artist tics the character and format of ^ ancient scroll painting to contemporary ways of expression. A large cosmic body which is often circular in form dominates the upper portion of the painting. Skunder feels and fills space by breaking up large masses.

If such a title were in order in these United States or in Ethiopia, Skunder (Skunder Alexander Boghossian) would be one of my nominees. He is an artist whose keen sensibilities in art ^ and culture dictate that he [strikethrough: always] incorporates [strikethrough: an] some aspect of his rich cultural heritage in all of the images he makes.

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