People more interested in dairy production than art; blames commercialized mass media Singer-songwriter Vahan Artzruni may have ruffled some feathers today by saying that there is no public demand in Armenia for art and that people are more interested in what types of diary products are available on store shelves. "If the public doesn’t today lean to spheres with real content, it means that the public itself has no content, that the public has no taste and is illiterate, because there are specific standards in art. For example, does a certain thing have artistic value or not? There are no approximate conceptions in art; everything is defined," Mr. Artzruni argued. The artist went on to say that if national music was broadcast on TV to the extent that what passes as music is being aired, the situation would change dramatically, since national music isn’t foreign to the people and that the people are simply uninformed. "Today, our Ministry of Culture is sponsoring some guy named Mker. Who is this Mker and why is my ministry getting behind him in such a grandiose fashion. The whole concept escapes me," said Artzruni, adding, "What is the Armenian brand? Is it Armenchik or Tata? Will the British come here, sit down and listen to them?" Mr. Artzruni said that it was the job of the country’s Ministry of Culture to open the path to the outside world. He noted, however, that the ministry, on the occasion of the 140 anniversary of Komitas, only released one CD. "Komitas is a key, a way for us to shape a sense of taste, to polish it, and to get to recognize ourselves. If we understand Komitas, we will see just how distorted the present situation is, just how deep the deviations and discordance is in the field of music," he said. The artist placed the bulk of the blame at the doorstep of the mass media in Armenia during the past twenty years, arguing that generations have been fed what has been commercially been put out. "We must show the world, that we are the masters of this rich legacy, that is the property of the nation," he stressed. On July 25, Mr. Artzruni will perform a series of songs based on the poetry of Komitas. The concert will take place at the Komitas Chamber Music House.