The Sergey Parajanov Museum is a stone building with wooden balconies like those found in Tbilisi. It overlooks the city, and Mount Ararat can be seen in the distance. On the side of the building is a picture of filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, marking the museum that was recently awarded the status “Treasure of European Film Culture” by the European Film Academy.
Parajanov made four acclaimed movies during his lifetime: “The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors,” “The Color of Pomegranates,” “The Legend of Suram Fortress,” and “Ashik-Kerib.”
Because of his open opinions on Soviet art and his refusal to comply with the norms of Soviet filmmaking, Parajanov was banned from making movies for 15 years. During this time, Parajanov wrote other screenplays, painted, and made collages.
The museum primarily shows Parajanov as a collage-maker and painter. Khachatur Kobelyan, Head of the Exhibition Department, said that when Parajanov couldn’t make movies, he made collages, comparing them to short movies. Kobelyan argued that the collages are perhaps even more honest and true as they never had to go through any type of censorship.
ABOUT SERGEY PARAJANOV
Parajanov’s life was difficult. He was born 1924 in Tbilisi. In 1951, he married his first wife, Nigyar Kerimova, a Tatarian woman who was murdered soon after by her brother because of her marriage. He later married and then divorced Ukrainian Svetlana Sherbatiuk.
Parajanov found his first difficulties with the Soviet government when he made “The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors.” As Kobelyan explained, Parajanov was making films at a time when the Soviet Union was trying to create a new nation, mainly based on Russian culture. They were trying to create an ideology of “a Soviet nation, without the parts of history and culture of the small nations,” but Parajanov “shows the history, the past, the things that are forbidden.”
Goldfish, 1988. Fish are often the symbol of freedom in his art. “I am also a fish who wants to be free, but every time, I am being caught.”
However, Kobelyan said that Parajanov had one moment of luck. When he sent “The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” to the censors at the film studio in Kiev for admission into the film festivals, the censors weren’t sure how to respond. There were only two days until the festival began, and there was no time to shoot another movie. They agreed to send it and determined they would deal with “the Parajanov problem” later.
When his friends asked why he destroyed the masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, Parajanov said, “Don’t worry. The “Mona Lisa” is safe in the Louvre. These are my heroes,” as many of the collages are inspired by different artists.
“The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors” went through the international film circuit and made Parajanov
famous. It was shown in Buenos Aires and throughout Europe, winning many prizes, as well as the admiration of filmmakers such as Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Afterwards, Parajanov was accused of being a Ukrainian nationalist because his film centered on the life, culture, and traditions of Hutsul Ukrainians, which garnered it the respect of Ukrainian nationalists who argued it was the one of the best films about Ukraine.
When Parajanov wanted to make a similar movie about Armenian culture, he thought of a way to trick the censors. He said he would make a movie about Sayat Nova, the Armenian songwriter who wrote songs in many languages, making him an important person for Armenians, Georgians, and Azeris. The censors agreed that a movie about Sayat Nova would be good for the Soviet Union. Parajanov made “The Color of Pomegranates.”
Barber Zhora, My Brother-in-Law, 1969. Parajanov was not impressed with his brother-in-law, whom he said was always talking about money. Notice the coin in the mouth.
“Through the eyes of Sayat Nova, he shows the beauty of Armenia,” Kobelyan said. “His movies show the traditions, the customs, the history and pasts of small nations, whether Hutsul Ukrainians, Armenians, Muslims, though he was a Christian, or Georgians. He shows folk art, heritage, culture, architecture, churches.” Again, he shows the forbidden.
On the Motifs of the film “The Gospel According to Matthew” by Pasolini, 1970. According to Kobelyan, Parajanov said the artwork was “from one genius to another. He was not a modest man.”
Formally, Parajanov didn’t follow the rules narrative cinema. His films are very poetic and surreal. Some have accused his artwork of not having movement, of being static, but there is depth, a lushness of detail and image. This particular style doesn’t suit Soviet Realism either. Kobelyan said people would argue, “there is no propaganda in your movies; there is no socialism in your movies. There is no fighting between classes in your movies.”
Mikhail Suslov, chief ideologist of the Soviet Communist Party, banned Parajanov from shooting movies and threatened the careers of the Armenian officials who were going to allow Parajanov to film. “[Suslov] was a clever person,” said Kobelyan. “He understood that movies, the ideas of Parajanov, would destroy the ideology of the Soviet Union.”
Thalers, 1974 – 1977. Made from aluminum foil of milk lids, Parajanov carved these with his fingernails. The one on the top right has been used by the Golden Apricot Film Festival.
Parajanov was cast “out of the iron frame.” He was a persona non grata.
In 1971, Parajanov was arrested for rape. In 1982, he was arrested for bribery. Both indictments are suspect, particularly as the first came after Parajanov’s Minsk speech where he insulted the Soviet film industry, saying it had nothing to do with real life, and the second arrest came after a Moscow speech. Parajanov spent time in prison for each arrest.
Toward the end of his life, he was permitted to make his last two movies. He then died in Yerevan of lung cancer. It was 1990, and he was 66. The museum opened in 1991.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The museum is home to 1,400 exhibits, including installations, collages, assemblages, drawings, dolls, and hats. It also holds unpublished screenplays, librettos, and artworks that Parajanov created while in prison.
In the museum, what is most apparent is Parajanov’s humor. There is the chair that he said belonged to Winston Churchill, the multitude of artworks created from trash, where he joked the best materials could be found. There is the story of the cheap earrings he gave to a dignitary’s wife, claiming they belonged to Queen Tamar. When the woman gave him a camera in return, he gave it to his 14-year-old neighbor who said he wanted to take pictures. And when his friends asked what he needed while in prison, he said he had everything. He only missed black caviar.
The museum strives to create the ambiance and atmosphere of a home. “[Parajanov] is out,” said Kobelyan, “but you are his guest.”
Text and photos by Heather Momyer
Sketch for the unmade movie, “The Demon,” 1987.
ADDRESS: Dzoragiugh Ethnographic Center,
Blds 15&16, Yerevan, Armenia
HOURS: Daily: 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM
ADMISSION FEE: 700 drams
GUIDED TOURS:
Armenian: 2,000 drams
Russian, English French, German: 2,500 drams
WEBPAGE: http://parajanovmuseum.am
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Sergey-Parajanov-museum-166101583553718/
