Fashion models violate Armenian churches

by Tom Vartabedian

Published: Monday March 14, 2011

An Elle model in Ani. news.am

Haverhill, Mass. - It isn't very often I fall off my chair while reading an e-mail but this was the last straw.
There before me were fashion models representing Elle Magazine in alluring and seductive forms posing by our desecrated cathedrals in Ani.

What next?

It isn't bad enough the Turks show little regard for our sacred churches and institutions. It's not bad enough they desecrate our historical structures and deny a genocide.

Now they open the door for models to mock our sacred lands while beneath the soil may rest lifeless Armenians who shed their blood in 1915.

The e-mail arrived on my screen from another columnist Betty Apigian Kessel who was just as distraught by the stark images as I was. My initial reaction was to jump into the screen and give the photographers a heave-ho. My angst was just as overt.

Why did the fashion editors pick Ani of all places --- the former capital city known for its 1001 churches? Couldn't they have chosen another site, some place a bit more glamorous? Was the intent to portray an interpretation of "Beauty and the Beast" by showing gorgeous gals by wrecked monuments?

I shot off an e-mail to the magazine, not expecting a response but more as a venting reaction to this debacle. Of course, the damage had already been done and the photos were traveling the circuit by now, ready for publication.

One showed a model in a mini-skirt inside a monument. Had this been Pigalle or the Latin Quarter, the scene would have fit. Another showed a backlit image of a model opening a cathedral door as if she owned the place and was inviting business.

Others depicted tandem "bimbos" strolling by the remains of a famous church often used to represent the ruins of Ani. The rest were exposed by the sanctuary area using pillars as a backdrop. Log on to http://news.am/eng/news/45200.html and see for yourself.

The logical side of me doesn't fault the models. They have a job to do and a paycheck to earn. It's their profession.

Being a photographer myself, I've often worked with models and even nudes to create an art form. There's nothing indecent about it. The girls were building up their portfolios and wanted copies of their pictures. Any gratuity was most appreciated.

The onus falls upon the Elle photo editors and magistrates for choosing such an illogical site for their shoot to portray fashion in such an ill-mannered way. Would the Vatican have been a choice if it were available?

Did the Turks give Elle Magazine permission to use the sites? Did they require restrictions about identifying the site? These questions require answers.

The debacle gets even worse. Some Armenians condoned the ludicrous act. They saw nothing wrong with it. One wrote to say she shared the photos with her friends, including those who never purchase anything from the Turks or Turkish content, especially now that Godiva chocolate has been purchased by a Turkish company.

"We saw the beauty in these photographs," says the woman. "For someone like me who never visited Historic Armenia, I'm grateful to have seen the ruins and prompted me to find out more about them. Let the world see."

Her comment followed others that crossed my desk. Another Armenian wrote to say she didn't see any harm in having the pictures of the ruins exposed to the world.

But in such a fashion and at the expense of embarrassment? Is that all our monuments and churches are worth these days -- as a stepping stone for luridness and obscenity?

Kessel herself was livid. The columnist from Kaghi as she bills herself roused the hornet's nest by letting others know how the Turks defiled the memory of our ancestors and the religious interpretation of our beautiful ancient churches.

"The models are parading around, stepping on the very blood-filled ground totally blind to what the architect represents," she disdains. "Why didn't the editors use their own mosques for such a photo shoot? Because the Turks have no respect for our civilized culture. If this doesn't make your blood boil, well ..."

Here we are, planning our genocide commemorations and honoring the few remaining survivors when this breaks. It seems the Turks have no limits to their insensitivity. I wonder what my mother and others like her would have said if they were exposed to such filth.

How would the 1.5 million victims feel? Or the 200,000 Armenians who once occupied Ani. The images are covered with their blood.

It was these Armenian churches where the Turkish gendarmes killed, raped and massacred our people 96 years ago.

As a proud and conscientious Armenian, I am offended. I hope you are, too.