"The Color of Pomegranates" by Sergei Parajanov isn't just a film about the poet Sayat-Nova - it IS the poet. A living, breathing artistic manifestation that transcends medium, becoming pure cultural memory.
Title: Sayat Nova - The Colour of Pomegranates
Countries: USSR
Year: 1968
Directed by Sergei Parajanov
Starring: Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan, Vilen Galstyan, Giorgi Gegechkori, Hovhannes Minasyan
Costume design by Elene Akhvlediani, Iosif Karalyan, Zh. Sarabyan
The film is a non-linear biographical exploration of Armenian poet Sayat-Nova's life (ca. 1712-1795), divided into chapters representing different stages: his childhood with symbolic scenes of learning, and cultural rituals that emphasizes spiritual and artistic awakening; his youth and the encounters with love and creative inspiration; the monastery period, during which he learnt the spiritual contemplation; and, at the end, the martyrdom, that is also the symbolic representation of cultural resistance.
Review
Martin Scorsese compared The Colour of Pomegranates to “opening a door and walking into another dimension, where time has stopped, and beauty has been unleashed”. (www.bfi.org.uk)
Sergei Parajanov's The Color of Pomegranates is not a film—it's a sartorial revolt waiting to happen. Each scene is a tableaux vivants, is written in flesh, fabric, and impossible beauty. Each frame is less a cinematic moment and more a medieval miniature comes to life.
Parajanov's visual vocabulary – pomegranates split open to reveal their jewel-like seeds, lace veils obscuring and revealing in equal measure, books placed in surreal contexts – offers a masterclass in layering meaning into design. The questions are: How can one translate the weight of history, the richness of culture, and the depth of personal experience into a garment? How can a silhouette speak volumes? How can texture become text?
Parajanov's approach to the body as text is particularly evident in sequences where performers interact with actual manuscripts and books. Here, the distinction between written text and corporeal expression blurs—bodies become books, and books take on flesh-like qualities. This metamorphic relationship suggests that cultural memory resides not just in written documents, but in the very physicality of human existence. Each tableau communicates through gesture, colour, and symbolic arrangement rather than conventional storytelling mechanisms.
The body becomes text. Gesture transforms into language.
Inspired by "The Colour of Pomegranates"
Lady Gaga. 911 (2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58hoktsqk_Q
Jaar, Nicolas. Pomegranates (2015) https://open.spotify.com/intl-it/album/0q8jDA1IaXKsHWB0wqBl2T
Sergei Parajanov (1924-1990)
Moldavian Tale, 1951 (lost)
Andriesh, 1954
The First Lad, 1958
Ukrainian Rhapsody, 1961
Flower on the Stone, 1962
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, 1965
Kyiv Frescoes, 1965 (conservati solo 15 mimnuti di audio)
Hakob Hovnatanian, 1967
Children to Komitas, 1968 (lost)
Sayat Nova or The Color of Pomegranates, 1969
The Legend of Suram Fortress, 1985
Arabesques on the Pirosmani Theme, 1985
Ashik Kerib, 1988
The Confession, 1989-1990 (unfinished)
Parajanov-Vartonov Institute, Los Angeles, California, US https://parajanov.com/
Guénon, René. Fundamental Symbols. The Universal Language of Sacred Science. Paris: Gallimard, 1962 (ed. Cambridge: Quinta Essentia, 1995 https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsymbo0000guen )
Armenia
Alpago Novello, Adriano. Gli Armeni. Milano: Jaca Book, 1999
Uluhogian, Gabriella, Boghos Levon Zekiyan, and Vartan Karapetian. Armenia. Impronte di una Civiltà. Milano: Skira, 2011 (Catalogue of the exhibition, Venezia, 16 December 2011-10 April 2012)
Vigo, Graziella. Armenia. Terra Sacra Culla Della Cristianità. Milano: Skira, 2009
Zekiyan, Boghos Levon (ed.). Gli Armeni in Italia. Roma: De Luca, 1990 (Catalogue of the exhibition, Venezia, Isola di S. Lazzaro; Padova, Museo del Santo, 9 September 1990-20 January 1991)
Armenian Clothing and Dress
Gantzhorn, Volkmar. Il Tappeto Cristiano Orientale. Sviluppo Iconografico e Iconologico dalle Origini fino al Diciottesimo Secolo. Köln: Taschen, 1991
Haykakan Tarazner Dareru Entatskin (Armenian Costumes through the Centuries). Fresno: Armenian Relief Society, 1985
Lind-Sinanian, Gary, and Susan Lind-Sinanian. "Armenia" Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: East Europe, Russia, and the Caucasus, edited by Djurdja Bartlett and Pamela Smith. Oxford: Berg, 2010: 287–297. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781847888587.EDch9056a (access with Polimoda account)
Lind-Sinanian, Susan. "Armenia" Encyclopedia of National Dress: Traditional Clothing around the World, edited by Jill Condra. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013: 29–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781440880124.0008 (access with Polimoda account)
Patrik, Arakhel. Armjanski Kostjum S DrevnejšIch Vremen Do NašIch Dnej (Armenian National Costumes from Ancient Times to Our Days). Erevan: Sovetakan Groch, 1983
Richoux, Sylvie. Karine Arabian & the Armenians in Fashion, 17th-21st Centuries. Paris, Marseille: Somogy ; Musées de Marseille, 2007 (Catalogue of the exhibition, Marsiglia, Musée de la Mode, 16 May- 30 September 2007)
Persia
Carey, Moya. Persian Art. Collecting the Arts of Iran for the V&A. London: V&A, 2017
Khosrowshahi, Maryam. Sofreh. The Art of Persian Celebration. London: ACC Art Books, 2017
Nabholz-Kartaschoff, Marie-Louise. Persische Textilien. Die Sammlung Ramezani. Salzburg: Verlag Anton Pustet, 2019
Pomegranates as Symbol
Bonito Fanelli, Rosalia. "Il motivo della "Melagrana" nei tessuti italiano al tempo di Piero della Francesca". Puletti, Giuseppina (ed.). Tessuti italiani al tempo di Piero della Francesca. [S.l.]: Petruzzi, 1992 (Catalogue of the exhibition, Sansepolcro, Museo Civico, 7 May-31 August 1992)
Scott, Philippa. Turkish Delights. London: Thames & Hudson, 2001
Jacopo della Quercia. Madonna della melagrana (1403-1408)
Botticelli, Sandro. Madonna della melagrana (1487)
Durer, Albrecht. Kaiser Maximilian I (1519)
Bouguereau, William-Adolphe. Girl with a pomegranate (1875)
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. Proserpina (1882)
Dalì, Salvador. Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (1944)
Manuscripts and books
Beach, Milo Cleveland, and Ebba Koch. King of the World. The Padshahnama: an Imperial Mughal Manuscript from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle. London: Azimuth, 1997 (Published on the exhibition organized by Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Royal Library, Windsor Castle, 27 January 1997-29 November 1998)
Dzurova, Axinia. La miniatura bizantina. I manoscritti miniati e la loro diffusione. Milano: Jaca Book, 2001
Franke, Ute, Ina Sarikhani Sandmann, and Stefan Weber (eds.). Iran. Five Millennia of Art and Culture. Munich, Germany: Hirmer Verlag, 2021 (Catalogue of the exhibition, Berlin, James-Simon-Galerie, 6 December 2021-20 March 2022)
Wright, Elaine. Lapis and Gold. Exploring Chester Beatty’s Ruzbihan Qur’an. Dublin: Chester Beatty Library in association with Ad Ilissvm, 2018
Lace
Historische Spitzen Die Leopold-Iklé-Sammlung Im Textilmuseum St. Gallen. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 2018
Kasparian, Alice Odian, and Dickran Kouymjian. Armenian Needlelace and Embroidery. A Preservation of Some of History’s Oldest and Finest Needlework. Virginia: EPM Publications, 1983
McFadden, David Revere, Jennifer Scanlan, Jennifer Steifle Edwards. Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting. Woodbridge: ACC Editions ; Museum of Arts and Design, 2009 (Catalogue of the exhibition, New York, Museum of Arts & Design, 25 January - 17 June 2007)
Tableaux Vivants
Alexander McQueen. Voss collection s/s 2001. Wilcox, Claire (ed.). Alexander McQueen. London: V&A, 2015 (Published on the occasion of the exhibition, London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2015)
Dohm, Katharina, Claire Garnier, Laurent Le Bon, and Florence Ostende (eds.). Dioramas. Paris: Palais de Tokyo : Flammarion, 2017 (Catalogue of the exhibition, Paris, Palais de Tokyo, 14 June - 10 September 2017)
Matthew Barney (1967-). Cremaster Cycle (1994-2002). Spector, Nancy. Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle. New York: Guggenheim Museum, 2002 (Catalogue of the exhibition, Koln, Museum Ludwig, 6 giugno - 1 settembre 2002)
Shirin Neshat (1957-). Turbulent (2002). Danto, Arthur Coleman. Shirin Neshat. New York: Rizzoli, 2010
Beecroft, Vanessa. VB 08-36. Vanessa Beecroft Performances. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz Publishers, 2000
[Published on 26/11/2024]