Haytoug: Can you tell us a little about yourself? Some background on where you’re from and how you got involved in calligraphy in general.

Rouben Malayan: I was born in Yerevan in the spring of 71. Went for four years to Terlemezian college of art (painting), continued to the academy (graphics) and in May 93 left Armenia to Israel. 16 years in Tel Aviv, 2 years in Amsterdam, now I am trying my luck back home in Hayastan. Many questions, few answers, but its an ongoing process of reconnection and I was prepared for it before I made the leap forward. Its challenging but very interesting experience. Two years ago I had a request from the Editor of upcoming “The Encyclopedia of World Calligraphy” to contribute to the edition by drawing samples of Armenian script. It was a challenge since I have not practiced calligraphy extensively and my interest in the art of writing was part of a larger issue of typography in graphic design. But it was clear to me that calligraphy is where it all begins. I was fascinated with what I have found when I began to look for answers. Some of it can be found here http://15levels.com/art/armeniancalligraphy/

H: Is your foundation based on formal training or did you develop your talent in other avenues?

RB: I was lucky to be born to a family of an artist, so from the day one I was exposed to the world of art. My father taught drawing in the Academy for over 40 years and I had the privilege to learn from one of the best teachers of the old generation. Academic background in fine art is essential for anyone who seriously wants to develop and I caught few good years in the college and academy, before we began to loose our teachers, one by one. Today almost nothing is left of once glorious art education we had in Armenia. Its mediocre at best.

H: How would you describe your style?

RB: I am a realist. And I love form. Somehow I have little envy for people who have a rich perception of color, since I am a graphic artist; I see the world in shapes, contours, light and shade, but rarely color. My father was a great colorist, but you can’t be good at everything. But I think once I have the right conditions, I will go back to experimenting with color.

H: Can you tell us a little about 15 levels? When did it start, what kind of things do you do and what are some key projects that you’ve worked on?

RB: When I wanted an online portfolio, I looked for a suitable name for the domain, something abstract but with a meaning for myself. It was the years (1997) when electronic music was making it’s first steps and a German DJ Riz Mazlen was recording under the label of “Neotropic”. She released an album called “15levels of magnification” which I loved. So there was the name I was looking for. Basically it became the test field for my design ideas, changed its appearance for countless times, but today I am very satisfied with the way it looks. I was among the first generation of graphic designers who went digital when it became clear its the only way forward. For past decade I have been working for broadcast, art directing commercials, TV channel branding and promos in Israel and Netherlands. Now I am the creative director of a post production and 3D animation agency based in Erevan – “Triada Studio” ( www.triadastudio.com ). They have a lot of talent and a bright future, no doubt.

H: Can you tell us about some of the Armenian genocide awareness posters you have designed

RB: In Amsterdam (2000), I found myself living in a predominately Turkish neighborhood of the city. I realized how small and underprivileged was the Armenian community, which was almost entirely assimilated at some point. Turks have the advantage of numbers and politics are influenced by voters. Holland is a democratic country, has a good education system, people know and remember history. But they knew little about the Armenian genocide and the atrocities Turks committed against the Armenians. The idea was born to educate the general public using graphic posters which are accessible to everyone. We called on designers to participate in the project and with help of few Dutch and Armenian friends published five winning posters (one in Turkish). On the morning of April 24th we placed them wherever we could in the city. It was an amazing feeling to see our work draw attention. I want to believe the project contributed to the efforts to have Armenian genocide recognized by the Dutch parliament. The project can be found here:  http://ArmenianGenocidePosters.org/

H: For many people, finding motivation to be creative and developing original concepts is not easy. Where do you find your inspiration?

RB: First and foremost, our own culture. So many beautiful works of art, thousands of years of history, without roots we have no future. These days it’s very easy to get absorbed in the mainstream flow of popular culture, which has very low standards when it comes to quality and originality. Everything is done and redone, copied without any discrimination. So to me, only art which passed the test of time has a real artistic value. In short, for me it stops with the Avant-garde.

H: What role do you think art and design plays in Armenian culture, especially for us today in the Diaspora? And in Armenia?

RB: I think we need a very different approach today. For Diaspora our language is “the last line of defense” so to speak. And I mean the Armenian which is not polluted by slang. Its so irritating to hear Armenians speak some sort of mutation. Our language is beautiful and rich, it needs to be treated as such. And written language is inseparable from spoken one. We have serious issues with contemporary typography in Armenian which is an essential element in visual communication. Now and then we see some problems being dealt with, thanks to the positive and constructive approach of people who haven’t given up on it. Sadly the new generation is absorbed by subculture which has very little to do with anything Armenian, or anything really valuable. There always will be the forces of destruction and as long as we keep creating quality work to counterbalance it – we are good. People should realize that our intellectual and cultural potential is all we have. From that (eventually) will come unity.

H: What are some recent and upcoming projects we can expect from you?

RB: The book on the Art of Armenian Calligraphy, is what I want to keep working on, the idea is to collect into one beautiful volume the best and the most interesting material, most of which is inaccessible because its been long forgotten in the libraries scattered around the world. I’d love to go do research in BnF (The National Library of France) but I need a grant for it. Venice, Vienna and London have fantastic libraries as well. And its only a tip of the iceberg, so much more is yet to be re-discovered. I think the time is ripe to bring about a positive change in the education system and revive the studies of Calligraphy as a discipline in the school. Our children should learn to write a beautiful version of our letters, rather than the most primitive one. Its only changing the sample, imagine, how simple yet effective a change like that can be? There are school books which are still used in Persia, where Armenian Classical Education is taught. I have written an article on it which was published in Asbarez and Armenian Weekly. http://asbarez.com/90950/the-art-of-calligraphy-script-in-its-purest-forms/

H: How can people get in touch with your company if they want to purchase any work?

RB: – or just search for me on the web. I’d love to exhibit my works, if any assistance will be offered; I’d love to share what I have done.

On February 13, 2011 the AYF brought legendary singer and poet, Ruben Hakhverdyan, to downtown Los Angeles’ famous Orpheum Theatre for a one-night only performance. Nearly 2000 fans crowded into the halls of the Theatre for what was one of Ruben’s largest and most memorable performances.

A few days after the concert, we had the chance to sit down with Ruben for an exclusive interview with Haytoug, covering everything from the concert to his music to his thoughts on culture and politics.

HAYTOUG: It’s been six years since your last visit to Los Angeles. How does it feel to be back and what are your impressions of life here?

RUBEN HAKHVERDYAN: You know, I haven’t really gotten out much since coming here. I just visited a few friends so I can’t really give you much of any impression. I came here to sing, which is my job, and then I’ll be going back home.

I can’t really comment on how things are here because I feel one has to actually live here to really understand both the positives and negatives. Like I said, my job is to sing and I really haven’t gone out too much.

H: Is there a difference between performing in a Diaspora community like Los Angeles as opposed to in Armenia?

R.H.: None whatsoever. It has never made a difference for me where I’m performing. I have even sung in France for a French audience and it made no difference at all. They received me with the same warm welcome. The translations were displayed on the screen while I performed so they understood the meaning of my songs.

I have sung for the Czechs in the Czech Republic, for Serbs in Serbia, and so on. For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the audience. The most important thing is to make sure that, whenever I perform, the audience is left pleased.

H: At the concert here in Los Angeles, you sang a song you mentioned you had written when you were 18. Can you tell us a little about when you began writing these songs and what motivated you to become a singer-song writer?

R.H.: When I was young, the guitar was a very popular instrument and many of us back then wanted to be like our favorite bands of the time. We looked up to the Beatles, or solo artists like Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and other famous—mostly American— singers. These artists were some of my favorites and they were my first inspirations.

I started when I was around 18 years old, learning little by little here and there. We all learned something from each other as friends and then took it from there.

H: During your performance, you also referred several times to the bandukths, those Armenians who continue to leave their homeland for lives abroad.

R.H.: Yes, I touch upon that theme a lot in my music but I usually don’t sing about it during my concerts. You know why? Because it is almost as if emigration has become our nation’s destiny, especially these last couple of years.

H: What do you think are the main reasons for this emigration?

R.H.: People leave Armenia because they can’t find work there, because life is not very pleasant. It has to do with social injustice and economic hopelessness. Another key reason is that the people have been disappointed by all three ruling regimes in Armenia since independence. They feel as if all three administrations came to power only to rob their own people.

H: There are some who feel it is this generation’s responsibility to go back to Armenia in order to be in the homeland and improve the situation. What do you feel about the concept of repatriation and Tebi Yergir?

R.H.: In every nation, there is a segment driven by ideals. Usually, these people make up around 5-10% of the population. Being ideological is a good thing if your convictions are truly your own, not something strained around your neck from above. It is positive because it makes you stand out from the rest of the crowd that simply follows a preset path.

I consider myself closely associated with, and have many friends within, the ARF-Dashnakstutsyun. Even there, however, there aren’t that many individual thinkers. I would say again, in my opinion, they make up about 5-10% within the party.

I place the most importance on the rank and file members and supporters of the ARF, including especially the youth, because they are searching for their national roots within this party—nothing else.

I don’t give too much importance to the leadership because it can always change. The ideals of the party, on the other hand, always remain the same.

From what I’ve seen, the most patriotic youth I’ve come across belong to this party.

H: While you’ve shown support for the ideology of the ARF, you’ve also expressed disappointment with the party. Could you explain what it is exactly that has disappointed you?

R.H.: For me, it was them joining and leaving the coalition. I was opposed to it from the very beginning. But since I’m not a member of the party, it is not my business to meddle. Nevertheless, they should never have joined the coalition knowing who they were going to be partners with.

H: Getting back to your music, you spoke during the concert about the state of Armenian music, criticizing the lack of art and meaning today. What do you think the implications of this are for Armenian culture?

R.H.: There are only a few artists today who belong to a narrow genre I call “poetic music,” where the lyrics actually have meaning. Now, if you look at popular artists today who fill up stadiums, most of their lyrics have no meaning. In a lot of cases, they steal their ideas from one place or another and use artificial melodies.

But I actually don’t blame the artists who sing these foolish songs. It’s the fault of the people who want to hear that type of music. It’s the consumer’s fault, not the producer’s—just like the bribe-giver is as guilty as the bribe-taker. I believe our society is really quite backwards in this regard. My only hope is our youth because what we need are new minds and new thinkers who can present new ideas completely different from what is the norm today.

H: What role do you see music having in the larger context of preserving Armenian language and culture in the 21st century?

R.H.: My art is a bit different in the sense of preservation. For example, I tell the story of my generation. I paint a picture in time of the Armenia of my era. I sing this type of music, not so people won’t be disappointed in our language which is our fatherland, but so they will return to our language lovingly. Because our fatherland is indeed our language.

For instance, for your generation, your fatherland is not necessarily Armenia because you don’t live there. Armenia for you is the Armenian language. So, for me, the Armenian language holds more importance than, say, paintings of scenery and mountains or rivers.

H: You’ve said both in interviews and alluded to in your songs that what we see today in Armenia is the continuation of the Soviet experience. That the new leaders are following in the footsteps of the old. Why do you think this is?

R.H.: It’s not the fault of the leaders themselves. Most of them lived the majority of their lives under the Soviet regime and that mentality has been rooted deeply within them. That’s why I say we need new thinkers and new plans. The older ones need to be forgotten because they are the same Communists as before. There is no difference with the past. In fact, you could say leaders today are actually worse. Communists who have no rules or laws can steal as much as they want.

H: Do you think the dashing of people’s hopes and aspirations after independence has contributed to this cycle and the disillusionment of people toward change?

R.H.: That hope during independence died because we didn’t have any truly national figures. Those who we did have went on to turn patriotism into a business for themselves, with each one concerned only with filling their own stomachs. We don’t have selfless leaders; we don’t have national figures. That’s the most painful thing about today.

H: Whether it’s your songs, your concerts, or your interviews, you always seem to speak your mind without any fear. What makes you so outspoken?

R.H.: I speak openly like this because I feel an obligation towards our youth. I feel obliged to encourage them to think and speak freely, because the true concept of a homeland requires having such freedoms. Why would I be afraid to speak out?

During the Soviet times, I spoke against the Communists and, of course, there were pressures placed on me. They wouldn’t play my songs or allow me to sing. During Levon’s [Ter Petrosyan] administration, I spoke against him, too; during Robert’s [Kocharyan] administration, I spoke against his many mistakes; and during Serzh’s [Sargsyan] administration I speak up against his. It is very important to think freely and be honest, first and foremost with yourself.

H: Where do you see yourself and your music heading in the future?

R.H.: I never think about that. I haven’t thought about that nor do I plan to…

H: But what can people expect from you?

R.H.: From me? Nothing good (laughs) . . . I don’t know. You can expect something that you never expected…