Lesing and Elmira: A Lifelong Journey of Friendship and Art

A 're-post" from "The World in Faces" by Alexander Khimushin:

Today, I found myself in the enchanting remote town of Berd, nestled in the mountains of Tavush Province of Armenia—a place I had never heard of until yesterday. I'm fortunate to be a guest of an extraordinary couple, Lesing (85) and Elmira (85) Agakaryan, who have welcomed me with open arms. As we sip on a delightful cup of freshly brewed coffee, I can't help but admire their vibrant jackets, knitted by Elmira in the 1970s using traditional Armenian patterns—a craft she has cherished all her life.

Once upon a time, Elmira’s family hailed from Berd, where an old family house stood abandoned for years after they moved to the capital, Yerevan. Little did Elmira know that she would one day return to restore that family treasure. Meanwhile, in Yerevan, Elmira's older brother, Wilhelm Matevosyan, became a celebrated Armenian author and art critic. At that time, Elmira was still a schoolgirl.

Lesing fondly reminisces, “We met in high school. I played the tar—a traditional string instrument—in the school band, while Elmira dazzled as a member of the dance troupe. She was breathtaking, and I fell in love the moment I saw her. We've been together ever since.” Over the years, Lesing earned a PhD in physiology and lectured at a university, while Elmira pursued a career in economics. Although their professional paths didn’t lead them into the art world, they were close friends with Wilhelm, who profoundly influenced Lesing's artistic journey. “One day, Wilhelm brought me a sketchbook and urged me to paint again. That rekindled my passion for art at the age of 50, and I’ve been painting for the last 35 years,” he shares. Elmira adds, “My creative path for decades has been traditional embroidery and knitwear, but sadly I had to stop last year due to eyesight issues.”

“After our dear brother and friend Wilhelm passed away, we made a life-changing decision to leave our full-time jobs in Yerevan,” Elmira explains. “We sold everything and returned to Berd, restoring my family home and establishing a free art school for local children. For the past 25 years, we've been living in Berd and running this school, nurturing many young talents. Currently, we have eight students aged 11 to 16.”

I was genuinely amazed to discover such a well-equipped, modern, and sunlit art school in this small and remote Armenian town. Thank you, Lesing and Elmira, for your selflessness and dedication to empowering local children! 

We spent a wonderful day together. As I wrapped up my visit, I couldn't help but ask one last question: After so many years together, what’s the secret to your enduring partnership?

Lesing and Elmira replied, “True friendship. They say men and women can't be friends, but we disagree. It's about two souls connecting. She’s a human being, and he's a human being. We always support each other—that’s what we call real friendship.”

Volker Lohrmann

Entomologist Volker Lohrmann ( 1981) studied biology in Mainz and Berlin. 

From 2006 to 2007 he worked as a scientific volunteer at the “Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe” and from 2007-2010 he did his doctorate scholarship at the “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes” (German National Academic Foundation). 

Research and field trips, among others, in Arizona, Florida and London. 2011-2014, research assistant at the University of Potsdam, the Museum für Naturkunde (Museum of Natural History) Berlin and the Max-Planck Institute in Bremen. 2012-2014 member of the taxonomy work group of the Leopoldina and Head of the entomology subject area at the Übersee-Museum Bremen since 2013.

Lou Jean

Fourth generation of cow and fighting bull breeder, Lou Jean opened the doors of his bull farm to speak to us about Gascon identity.

James

 

🎻Fionn and Jonathan Angus

Father and son, Fionn and Jonathan Angus, established a social enterprise called Fionnathan Productions which works to create a more inclusive, welcoming and equal society.

Fionn, who has Down Syndrome, has been playing the fiddle for 20 years, and works to ensure the talents of those with disabilities are celebrated. 

As part of this year's festival, TradFest has teamed up with Ablefest, Ireland's largest inclusive music festival, to increase accessibility and make sure everyone has a space on the stage.

Michael Mulcahy

Michael Mulcahy (1952) is an Irish expressionist painter who lives and works in Paris, but returns frequently to Ireland. 

Michael Mulcahy was educated at the Crawford Municipal School of Art in Cork and the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. He has travelled extensively, particularly in north and west Africa where he has lived and worked in the local community.

The Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin held a major exhibition of his work in 1994. He has at least one child, a girl, and now resides in Wexford where he opened a working gallery.

Paddy Mayne

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne (1915 –1955), best known as Paddy Mayne or familiarly as Blair, was a British Army officer from Newtownards. He was an amateur boxing champion, qualified as a solicitor and was capped for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions at rugby union before becoming a founding member of the Special Air Service (SAS).

Serving with distinction during the Second World War, Mayne became one of the British Army's most highly decorated officers. He was controversially denied the Victoria Cross, a decoration which King George VI remarked "so strangely eluded him".

Mayne participated in many night raids deep behind enemy lines in the deserts of Egypt and Libya, where the SAS wrought havoc by destroying many enemy aircraft on the ground. Mayne pioneered the use of military jeeps to conduct surprise hit-and-run raids, particularly on Axis airfields. It was claimed that he had personally destroyed up to 100 aircraft.

After the war, Mayne returned to Newtownards first practising as a solicitor and then becoming Secretary to the Law Society of Northern Ireland. He suffered severe back pain which prevented him even watching rugby as a spectator. He seldom talked about his wartime exploits.

The Guardia di Finanza

The Guardia di Finanza is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the minister of economy and finance. It is a militarized police force, forming a part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, not the Ministry of Defence.

Obsolete 1980s model

Guardia di Finanza is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's primary agency for suppressing the illegal drug trade. It maintains over 600 boats and ships and more than 100 aircraft to serve in its mission of patrolling Italy's territorial waters. It also has the role of border police and customs duties at Italian airports.

The origins of the Guardia di Finanza date back to 5 October 1774, when the "Light Troops Legion" (Legione truppe leggere) was set up under the King of Sardinia, Victor Amadeus III. This was the first example in Italy of a special corps established and organized for financial surveillance duties along the borders, as well as for military defence.

Members of the Guardia di Finanza wear small diameter green berets.

Hesteyade de Bigorre

 

The Hesteyade de Bigorre is the festival of Pyrenean song and tale, since 1978.

Bastien Miqueu envisioned the return of the singing tradition of mountain countries Béarn and Bigorre.It is part of a geo-cultural area; typically Béarn and Bigorre, but stretching outside these borders as well.

The concept of reliving this singing is to develop this multi-voiced practice in compliance with the social, aesthetic and structural codes that have its origins in the traditional Pyrenean society.

Needless to say, berets are well represented during the festival, and on the arty posters too!

ALAT - Aviation légère de l’armée de Terre

The French Army Light Aviation (Aviation légère de l’armée de Terre, ALAT) is the Army aviation service of the French Army. ALAT was established on 22 November 1954 for observation, reconnaissance, assault and supply duties.

In 1912, the French military aviation was formally incorporated into the French Army, alongside the four longstanding divisions of infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers. As such it played important role in WWI in support of the army: observation, artillery guidance, bombing and strafing. In 1934, the aviation division turned into the French Air Force.

Helicopter Crew wearing LBF Berets

After WWII, it was felt that, just like the navy, the army needed its own air branch, distinct from the air force, which led to ALAT's creation in 1954.

Since it has participated in almost all French military engagements and humanitarian aid deployments: the French Indochina War, the Algerian War, the Persian Gulf War of 1990–91, the Lebanese conflict, the war in Chad, the independence of Djibouti, the War in Somalia, operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Kosovo War, the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, the Opération Licorne in Côte d'Ivoire, the humanitarian response to the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the War in Afghanistan, 2011 military intervention in Libya.

The blue berets were distributed for the first time in July 1954 to the helicopter units of the Army in Indochina (GFHATI). In order to strengthen the cohesion of the GFHATI, Commander CRESPIN wanted to unify the headgear in service, by adopting a beret in "RAF blue" color. Faced with a lack of resources and the slowness of the administration, he had managed to recover, from the quartermaster's office, a stock of blue berets abandoned by the metropolitan paratroopers (NB: the latter nevertheless wore it until 1957).

It is worn tilted on the left side and does not have a rank insignia.

Before the adoption of the ALAT-specific beret badge in 1957, personnel from certain units that already had a corps badge wore it on their beret.

Pakol worn by ALAT members of ISAF, Afghanistan

Since 2018, the 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment (RHFS) has a new beret. The special forces regiment maintains a strong link with the ALAT, but is now subordinate to the pillar of the Land Special Forces Command.

It reflects the regiment's attachment to the ALAT by keeping the cobalt blue colour of the original beret and projects itself into the new FS pillar by displaying the embroidered CFST insignia, like the former SAS.

The embroidered badge is composed of the wings of the paratroopers on either side of the commandos' dagger, surmounted by the intelligence star.

Dramatic Presidential Decree

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, in a bold move to distinguish the U.S. military from its global adversaries, President Donald J. Trump has announced a dramatic change in the U.S. Army Special Forces' iconic headgear. 

Effective immediately, the Special Forces green beret will be replaced by the Basque beret, in the same shade of green, as a global symbol of strength, unity, and heritage.

“As we face increasingly complex threats from adversaries like China and Russia, it is imperative that our military remain distinct and unmatched in every way,” President Trump stated. “The green beret, though a proud symbol of our forces, has unfortunately been co-opted by other nations. It is time for a change. The Basque beret is unique, stylish, and can make America great again.”

Eventually, the Basque beret will become the new standard for all branches of the U.S. military, representing both an evolution in military fashion and a rejection of imitation. The President emphasized that this move would strengthen U.S. military identity on the global stage. 

Cesare Zavattini

Cesare Zavattini was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema.

Born in Luzzara, near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy in 1902, Zavattini studied law at the University of Parma, but devoted himself to writing. In 1930 he relocated to Milan, and worked for the book and magazine publisher Angelo Rizzoli.

After Rizzoli began producing films in 1934, Zavattini received his first screenplay and story credits in 1936. In 1935, he met Vittorio De Sica, beginning a partnership that produced some twenty films, including such masterpieces of Italian neorealism

In his only experience in Hollywood, Zavattini wrote the screenplay for The Children of Sanchez (1978) based on Oscar Lewis’s book of the same title, a classic study of a Mexican family. 

At the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979, he was awarded the Honourable Prize for the contribution to cinema. In 1983 he was a member of the jury at the 13th Moscow International Film Festival.

Zavattini died in Rome on 13 October 1989. He was an atheist.

The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena)

The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena) is a 1973 Spanish drama film directed by Víctor Erice. The film was Erice's debut and is considered a masterpiece of Spanish cinema.

Six-year-old Ana lives in the manor house in an isolated Spanish village on the Castilian plateau with her parents Fernando and Teresa and her older sister, Isabel. The year is 1940, and the civil war has just ended with the Francoist victory over the Republican forces. Her aging father spends most of his time absorbed in tending to and writing about his beehives; her much younger mother is caught up in daydreams about a distant lover, to whom she writes letters. The entire family is only ever seen together in a single shot towards the end of the movie, there is no discussion. Ana's closest companion is Isabel, who loves her but cannot resist playing on her little sister's gullibility.

At the beginning of the film, a mobile cinema brings Frankenstein to the village and the two sisters go to see it. Ana finds the film more interesting than frightening; particularly the scene where the monster plays benignly with a little girl, then accidentally kills her. She asks her sister, "Why did he kill the girl, and why did they kill him after that?" Isabel tells her that the monster didn't kill the girl and isn't really dead; she says that everything in films is fake. Isabel says the monster is like a spirit, and Ana can talk to him if she closes her eyes and calls him: "It's me, Ana."

At the end of the film, Ana recalls what Isabel said about calling the monster, and she stands alone by her bedroom window and closes her eyes.

The film is full of hidden meanings. The disintegration of the family's emotional life is symbolic of the emotional disintegration of the Spanish nation during the civil war.

The barren empty landscape around the sheepfold represents Spain's isolation during the beginning years of the Francoist regime.

The film was made in 1973, when the regime was not as severe as it had been at the beginning; however it was still not possible to be openly critical of the regime. By making films rich in symbolism and subtlety, a message could be embodied in a film that would be accepted or missed by the censor's office.

Willie G.

William Godfrey "Willie G." Davidson (1933) is an American businessman and motorcycle designer, and the former senior vice president & chief styling officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

He was also the head of Harley-Davidson's Willie G. Davidson Product Development Center in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. While being generally responsible for approving Harley-Davidson motorcycle designs, he also personally designed several motorcycles for Harley-Davidson, including the Super Glide and the Low Rider, which pioneered the factory custom motorcycle and created an intermediate line of motorcycles between their large touring models and their smaller Sportsters.

Willie G. Davidson is the son of former Harley-Davidson president William H. Davidson and the grandson of Harley-Davidson co-founder William A. Davidson. Consequently, he grew up around Harley-Davidsons. Davidson graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and went on to study at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he became aware of bike customization.

Before working for Harley-Davidson, Davidson worked for the design department of Ford Motor Company. Willie G. retired from Harley-Davidson in 2012. He is to remain involved as brand ambassador and in Special Design Projects as Chief Styling Officer Emeritus.

Laurita Siles from Fundación BilbaoArte Fundazioa

If only my Spanish, let alone Basque, language skills were better, I could relate here exactly what these photographers stand for. Alas, neither Spanish or Basque or my strong points.

The pictures were found on this website and I understand it is about an art project of Laurita Siles that celebrates the peasant life; a bicycle carding wool, for example.

The blackened face has to do with the carranzanas sheep; a breed at the edge of extinction.

Either way, fascinating pictures. 

Seydou Keïta

The great African portraitist Seydou Keïta lived in Bamako, Mali from 1921 to 2001. A self-taught photographer, he opened a studio in 1948 and specialized in portraiture. Seydou Keïta soon photographed all of Bamako and his portraits gained a reputation for excellence throughout West Africa.

 

Seydou Keïta was discovered in the West in the 1990s. His first solo exhibition took place in 1994 in Paris at the Fondation Cartier. This was followed by many others in various museums, galleries and foundations worldwide. He is now universally recognized as the father of African photography and considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century.

Basque Anthropology/Ethnography

Anthropology is the intellectual result of the comparative methods developed in the earlier 19th century. 

Theorists in such diverse fields as anatomy, linguistics, and ethnology, making feature-by-feature comparisons of their subject matters, were beginning to suspect that similarities between animals, languages, and folkways were the result of processes or laws unknown to them then. 

For them, the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was the epiphany of everything they had begun to suspect. Darwin himself arrived at his conclusions through comparison of species he had seen in agronomy and in the wild.

The study (sometimes scientific, often not) of people and ethnicities became very popular early last century.

The Basques, a unique people in Europe, were often portrayed on postcards, pointing out various characteristics in their appearance.