Hayk Sayadyan: A strong woman inspires you to be more manly
ABC Interview’s guest was artist, director, and author of animated films Hayk Sayadyan. He is sure that an Armenian is a system, and that is not an exaggeration at all.
– During one of the interviews, when you were asked who Hayk Sayadyan is, you said: “Armenian, Armenian, Armenian…” And what does Armenian mean to you?
– It is a very broad concept. I even think that Armenian is not a nationality, Armenian is a system. Armenian is a systemic phenomenon, and it is a system for the whole world.
– And how can we make that system or real values better known?
– It is not a secret for anyone that today’s generation has a fast, interactive perception: If the video is longer than 10 seconds, they do not like it, they do not watch it. Pay attention to how we deliver even poetry itself. When you walk around the bookstores in Europe—why only in Europe, in Iran as well—you can see such books that just holding them in your hands gives you aesthetic pleasure. We have a problem of proper packaging of our cultural treasures. I have always talked about it.
– Why do times create heroes and who are your heroes?
– For me, the boys that fought in all the Artsakh liberation wars are heroes; Andranik, Nzhdeh, Arabo are heroes for me… For me, they are the heroes.
– What are our brands? How does a foreigner recognize Armenia?
– National goal, national ideology, national brand… What is our national brand: apricot, duduk or Ararat? Ask the average Armenian about that. Who decided them? Why don’t we decide what our national brand based on ideology is? When tourists visit Armenia, for example, where do they take memories of Armenia from? You are right, from the Vernissage? And they are exported from Armenia as a national brand.
– Hayk, I would like us to talk about the characters you have created. Are the “nrbushkas” (cute women) you have created strong women?
– To be a “nrbushka” one needs a lot of strength. Those characters were not taken from real life. But the “nrbushkas” I have met in life were all strong women.
– And what does a strong type of woman imply?
– It is when you remain a woman in any situation. A strong woman is not a woman who solves problems, but a woman who reminds you that she is a woman in all respects. A strong woman inspires you to be more manly…
Interview by Lena Gevorgyan
