Tanya Breyer 1992

Editor: This mixed-media assemblage is titled "Tanya Breyer," created in 1992 by Vigen Vartanov. It incorporates wood, metal, photography, found objects and collage elements to create this strange hanging object. It looks almost like a repurposed box. What strikes me is its melancholy, and sort of mysterious quality. How do you interpret this work? Curator: That melancholy feel is definitely something I pick up on too. The use of found objects, the distressed wood, it all speaks to themes of memory and decay, which, considering the figure in the photograph, takes on a whole new light. How do you feel about the photo of the young child? Editor: It feels very personal, almost like looking into a forgotten past, made more intriguing by the single peacock feather detail on the photo itself. Curator: Exactly. The personal is political, right? In a way Vartanov seems to be making commentary about our ideas of identity through lost personal narratives. These materials-- the weathered wood, aged photo-- they have their own histories, their own social context. It creates almost a tension. Do you think this could reflect on how we assign value to people and their experiences? Editor: I can see that. The materials have a sense of pre-existing lives and a prior story to tell and it adds layers. So by combining all these forgotten materials together it brings commentary of an intergenerational struggle and collective histories of the marginalized? Curator: Precisely! Vartanov's assemblage, beyond being a beautiful art piece, becomes a powerful voice that sparks dialogue of memories, identities, and experiences that may have been silenced by larger narratives. The artist urges us to look and really think, which creates conversation about how our world came to be. Editor: I see it so much more clearly now, thank you! Curator: Of course! These pieces are really important in inspiring our work.