Cultural Events
Artists in Tashkent Region Create Images of America (03/30/2009)
The stained-glass art is a fusion of red sand, undulating blue sea and a silvery city towering on the horizon. Camels move among the outlines of domed mosques, giving rise to the name of the piece: “The Silk Road to America.”
Maryana Ibraeva’s piece took one of the top prizes in the recent art competition “My View of America.” The contest invited women artists and middle- and high school students from around the Tashkent region to paint, sculpt or otherwise create their images of the United States. The contest was organized by the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, the Women’s Committee of the Regional Hokimiyat (municipal government) and the Women’s Club “Concord.”
The competition commemorated Women’s History Month. It was the latest in a series of events called “The World Around Us” that the Women’s Club has sponsored to promote understanding of the cultures and traditions of different nations.
About 20 professional and amateur female artists and 250 students entered “My View of America.” On March 30, they gathered at the Regional Hokimiyat building and later at U.S. Ambassador Richard Norland’s home to view the artwork and attend ceremonies announcing the winners.
The art provides an interesting view of how women and young people in Uzbekistan see the U.S. and which images from America have made an impression on them. Many of the pieces are renditions of the Statue of Liberty; others show Native Americans or cowboys on horseback set against the wide landscapes of the American West.
There are images from pop culture like actress Marilyn Monroe, bustling cityscapes and a 10-year-old’s vision of Disney World with the words “I love you forever.” First-prize crafts winner Gulzor Sultanova’s sophisticated abstract sculpture shows a woman reaching the top of a staircase, entitled “Road to a Dream.”
The winning pieces will be on display at the U.S. Embassy, and they have been compiled into two calendars for the year 2010.
Mary Hartnett, the wife of Ambassador Norland, sat on the board of judges consisting of representatives from the Hokimiyat, Women’s Club “Concord,” the Embassy of Italy, and a curator of the art gallery at the National Bank of Uzbekistan. Hartnett said she was impressed with the high quality of the artists’ work and was happy to see that the pieces showed such a wide range of aspects of U.S. culture. One of the pieces even showed her own hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, she said.
Hartnett said she liked to see that many of the pieces captured the idea of opportunity for women, and that many focused on traditional culture, something that is held in high esteem in both Uzbekistan and the U.S.
“One of the themes we liked as judges was ‘East Meets West’ and the common things we share,” she said. Those shared values helped the artists reach across cultural differences.
“Almost none of these artists had ever been to the U.S.,” Hartnett said. “But they were able to create images that resonated with someone like me who grew up there.”
The art was judged on criteria such as creativity, depth of knowledge and aesthetic perception. Winners received prizes including a laptop computer, art supplies and easels. Winners were:
Women Winners (Best Painting)
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First Place – Maryana Ibraeva – Silk Road to America
Second Place – Maria Lukyanova – Media: Street Life
Third Place – Lola Alimova – Aspiration and Power
Women Winners (Best Craftwork)
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First Place – Gulzor Sultanova – America: Road to a Dream
Second Place – Natalya Ignatova – Heart of Mother Earth (felt work)
Third Place – Natalya Kopilova – Lasso: The Bridge Between Friends (broach)
Students (Category 1)
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Second Place – Ekaterina Katisheva – Statue of Liberty, view from window
Third Place – Timur Saitjanov – Wild West
Students (Category 2)
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Second Place – Abdulla Djurabaev – Statue of Liberty
Third Place – Charos Shaymatova – Los Angeles: The Modern City