John Kayacan: Reinterpreting Armenian History through Photography

Photography by AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School student to be included in a German exhibit on the Armenian genocide

It all began on Flickr. Late one night at home in California, AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School student John Kayacan was busy uploading photos from his trip to Armenia. Armed with a professional camera and a keen eye, Kayacan had just returned from Yerevan where he spent his time photographing the city and its people. It was this trip that would set the career of this aspiring photographer in motion.

An admirer of the work of photographers as varied as Annie Leibovitz and Bruce Weber, Kayacan had been experimenting with different kinds of photography since his interest sprouted at the beginning of high school, thanks to the encouragement of his photography teacher Fadi Beyrouthy. Experimentation in style gradually grew into experimentation in theme as Kayacan decided to develop a conceptual collection to pay tribute to his Armenian heritage.

“I wanted to create a collection inspired by my culture and incorporate Armenian symbols into my photographs. I learned about the genocide at school and thought it would only be right to start a project revolving around Armenian history,” says 17-year-old Kayacan.

Born in California to a Latin American mother and a Turkish Armenian father, Kayacan grew up hearing stories of the genocide at home and at the Manoogian-Demirdjian School, which he has attended since preschool. His interest in history and in art converged as the idea for the photography collection took shape. “I think visual art has the capacity to help us understand history in a way that other media cannot. It has the power to educate by planting an image that lasts in the mind of the viewer,” muses Kayacan.

Little did Kayacan know that while he was uploading his photos in California, a world away in Frankfurt, Germany Oliver Fassing and Roisin Ludwig of the Bildungsstätte Anne Frank [The Anne Frank Educational Centre] were hard at work searching for artists to feature in their 100 Jahre Leugnung [100 Years of Denial] exhibit. “We came across John’s photographs and thought they offered a diverse look at Armenian society today,” says Fassing. “We chose one of his photos to use in our promotional materials, because it was such a powerful symbol of the consequences of genocide denial on the Armenian people.”

The 100 Years of Denial exhibit is a mosaic of multiple perspectives on Armenia, the Armenian genocide and the notion of remembrance and offers visitors a chance to learn about the genocide and to grapple with the concepts of remembrance through the prism of art, text and interviews.

Kayacan’s work will be part of a larger multimedia exhibit that includes a collection of historic photographs curated by Tessa Hofmann of the Informations-und Dokumentationszentrum Armenien [Center for Armenian Information and Documentation] in Berlin and video clips of Armenians commenting on their relationship to the genocide.

In their work, the Bildungsstätte Anne Frank strives to emphasize human rights and encourage dialogue between different cultures. They draw inspiration from the diary and biography of Anne Frank to promote tolerance and educate people about the consequences of discrimination.

Fifteen of Kayacan’s photographs will be displayed at the Bildungsstätte Anne Frank from February 11 to May 28, 2015. Kayacan, who will be graduating from the Manoogian-Demirdjian School this spring, hopes this exhibit will be the first of many as he sets out to pursue photography professionally. In addition to making photography a career, Kayacan understands his work as a more mature expression of his connection to his heritage: “I will be graduating from Armenian school and heading to college soon, where I will probably be away from the tight-knit Armenian community I grew up in. But with my photography I think I can make the leap to adulthood with my Armenian identity still very much intact.”

For more information on the 100 Years of Denial exhibit, please click here.