Dionne Haroutunian
Growing up in the Armenian Diaspora, I became fascinated with issues of loss, survival, and integration, and how those affect one’s psyche and life. The intention behind my work is always to reach beyond the tragedy of one particular people, and bear witness to the senseless violence, hatred, and bloodsheds, which punctuate our history – past and present.

I want my work to be bold, universal, and uncompromising. Around me, I see a world spinning out of control with increasing speed, in what seems to be a downward spiral. It is easy to feel powerless. The power I have, is to stay engaged and commit wholeheartedly to creating work. My artwork is a direct response to wars and genocides taking place worldwide. Whether we think about it or not, the fact that wars are raging on somewhere in the world, impacts those of us who are not directly affected in our every day lives.

I love hearing and reading people’s stories. I am interested in all people – the over-privileged and the under-served alike: refugees, CEO’s, prisoners, soldiers, rich, poor, conservative, liberal -- it doesn’t matter. I am obsessed with wanting to comprehend the way in which we all affect each other. It is not easy to reconcile my personal vulnerability as a human being with being a part of the world’s most powerful nation, and listening to many different voices is my way of trying to make sense of things.

Technique:
In my artwork, I use printmaking and painting techniques. I work much like a painter, unconcerned with creating images that can be reproduced. From an aesthetic point of view, I remain obsessed with layers. To me, they symbolize the fact that an infinity of events, feelings, and exchanges are taking place simultaneously everywhere.

I combine drawings, photographs, traditional print techniques, collage and digital technology. I often start with creating an environment, and then build the personal stories into it by layering images of people, places, objects, and cultural elements. While the layers soften the emotional content with mystery and abstraction, the use of bright colors, and sometimes images of children, is my way of factoring hope into the equation of our immediate future. I view this particular approach much like a dance where each step is a response to the previous one.