Atom Egoyan: This book reminds us where we come from and that true art is without "ego" At the Ani Hotel today in Yerevan, there was a panel discussion around the recently published book "Armenian Ornamental Art", drawings by Armen Kyurkchyan and accompanied by original photos by Hrair Hawk Khatcherian. Also on the panel was famed film director Atom Egoyan. The book, ten years in the making, also includes a CD of all the drawings and images included in the book. The two authors travelled throughout the RoA, Artsakh and Western Armenia to gather images for the book. "A Kurdish villager in western Armenia said to us ‘only you can come closer and I will show you something very interesting.’ He showed me an interesting carving on a rock, a fragment of a an old Armenian tombstone, and said he’d sell it to me for $10,000. I said ‘Excuse me. First of all I don’t have that kind of money nor do I think I want to carry this rock all the way through customs. But if you wish, I can take a picture of the rock and show it to others who might be interested in buying it’. The Kurd was thinking in the long-term and agreed to my suggestion," recalled Mr. Khatcherian about the lengths he went to capture many of the images in the book. The panel was organized by the Civilitas Foundation and Counterpart International. Before the book discussion, the noted film actor Arsine Khanjian, wife of Mr. Egoyan, spoke about the politics of culture and made several interesting observations about the state of the arts in Armenia. She said that during her current trip to Armenia, many of the TV shows she has watched "seem to have been made in another planet" and that they have no real relevance to the social and cultural life of average Armenians. She urged TV viewers not to remain complacent regarding the commercialization of Armenian TV but to express their dissatisfaction to the stations and to demand better quality programming. Ms. Khanjian also said Armenians must seek "consensus" and create civic groups amongst themselves around a whole host of issues and then place demands on the government for positive change. Atom Egoyan said the book was a collection of details and fragments that Armenian masters were able to achieve without "ego", a pun on the film director’s name. "We no longer seem to have the time to observe such details in our fast-paced lives. We are satisfied with what is easily obtainable, without much effort. This book reminds us that our ancestors always strove for perfection, that our culture paid attention to the finer details. We need to slow down and understand where we have come from and the cultural legacy bequeathed us. Art is not about ego. It is about something much purer and refined."