Why Abstract? William Saroyan’s Dotted Line

CAROL TIKIJIAN: Why Abstract?
William Saroyan’s Dotted Line

Conversation with the Artist: Thursday, April 3, 7:00 pm

Challenged by the advent of the 100th year of Saroyan’s birth, paired with an invitation from the Fresno Art Museum to create an installation honoring Saroyan’s life work, Tikijian’s response was to follow her ongoing examination of the black and white dotted line that she has used repeatedly in her art over the last ten years. The artist has used these dots to represent the pathway of a life or an idea – here was an opportunity to use her dots to follow Saroyan’s pathway.

The concept of the exhibition is based on a book authored by modernist Hilaire Hiler, a painter, costume & set designer, muralist, musician, writer and psychologist who was born 10 years earlier than William Saroyan. Both men lived zestful lives in cities teaming with the creative energy of the pre-War years of the1930s and 1940s. Paris, San Francisco and Los Angeles were the intersection points for a mutual friendship of admiration between Hiler and Saroyan. William Saroyan wrote the introduction for Hiler’s book, “Why Abstract?” exploring the idea that the modern artist is first of all a modern man in every sense abreast of the times, and as an indispensable prerequisite, every artist must learn to appeal to his fellowman. This was an idea from Hiler’s book that both men exuberantly shared and lived.

Fresno artist Carol Tikijian was struck by the passion of Hiler’s book and was particularly interested in Saroyan’s introduction to “Why Abstract?” Challenged by the advent of the 100th year of Saroyan’s birth, paired with an invitation from the Fresno Art Museum to create an installation honoring Saroyan’s life work, Tikijian’s response was to follow her ongoing examination of the black and white dotted line that she has used repeatedly in her art over the last ten years. The artist has used these dots to represent the pathway of a life or an idea – here was an opportunity to use her dots to follow Saroyan’s pathway.

Tikijian’s installation, curated by Jacquelin Pilar, will feature a large circle constructed of black and white dots on which are imposed objects representing important elements of Saroyan’s life surrounded by six large mixedmedia panels. His support for Cesar Chavez will be symbolized by a crate of lettuce; as well as the pomegranate that plays its part in several of Saroyan’s stories; shiny pennies drawn from the story “My Name is Aram”; a pile of earth from Erevan (Yerevan), the capitol of Armenia that Tikijian recently visited, will be combined with earth dug from the artist’s home in Fresno; along with a slender rod suspended in the air representing the short story of 1934, “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.” The installation will also feature Saroyan’s bicycle that is on loan from the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, along with a group of his paint-brushes and paints. The gallery will be divided into two distinct spaces – one for the installation, the other will feature a series of black and white drawings that include words drawn from Saroyan’s writings.