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In the fall of 1983 a Great Famine Memorial Week was held in Washington
D.C. to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the genocidal famine in
Soviet Ukraine 1932-1933. On October 2, 1983 a huge rally at the
Washington monument, a march, demonstration and a memorial concert
at the Kennedy Center, were the culmination of a series of events held
during the Great Famine Memorial Week in the nation's capital.
For the events of the Great Famine Memorial Week Ukrainian-American
artist Roxolana Luczakowsky Armstrong was asked to create a special
poster. Here is Roxolana's personal story about the poster she created for
the events held in Washington, D.C. regarding the 50th anniversary of the
genocidal famine in Soviet Ukraine 1932-1933, "DEMONSTRATION,
October 2, 1983, Washington, D.C., UKRAINE Bread Basket of Europe
1933, 7 Million Starved by MOSCOW."
From: Roxolana Luczakowsky Armstrong
Front Royal, Virginia, August 9, 2003
To: Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
Washington, D.C. and Kyiv, Ukraine
Morgan,
I did this design for the famine poster at the behest of TheWashington.Group
(TWG). in 1983 when a big manifestation to commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the great famine was being planned. There was a flurry of activities
connected with this commemoration in the Ukrainian community and I attended
a conference at a local church where a couple of survivors of the famine
spoke. I was greatly moved and that's where the "inspiration" came. Later I
continued with this subject and did a series of large watercolors - most are
in private collections now.
As a child I grew up with a rememberance of this terrible event because my
parents talked about it a lot. It seems that at the time news about the
tragedy reached Western Ukraaine where my family was living, my mother was
expecting her first child and she got so upset that she misscarried. I would
have had an older sibling, so in this way, I could say that my life was
indirectly affected by this horror.
When we came to this country (USA) and I became a student in higher
education. I (and many of my generation) was shocked that nothing was known
about the Ukrainian Famine - it was a "non event"! Thankfully that has now
changed.
Some anecdotes about the poster itself. About 5,000 were printed for the
demonstration where they were given out gratis. I kept 5 and through the
years sent 2 to Ukraine via friends. I don't where they ended up. One
Ukrainian newspaper published the poster last year (without acknowledging my
authorship) along with a column by my very old friend Marta Bohachewsky-
Chomiak - a true coincidence! An organization in Canada ("Media Watch
Ukraine," I think) asked me to reprint several copies two years ago and they
gave one to Dr. Mace.
One last curiosity: just before sending the poster to the printer, the
committee decided on a change in the text which was super imposed on the
drawing. Since I was out of country at the time, I gave them permission over
the phone and they "surgically" altered the space. It is very hard to discen
the change, but some art buff might be amused looking for tell-tale signs!
I hope this information is helpful,
Best Wishes, Roxolana Armstrong
Front Royal, Virginia, August 9, 2003
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NOTE: To read the story of the events held in Washington, D.C.in October
of 1983 related to the 50th anniversary of the Great Famine in Soviet
Ukraine in 1932-1933 click on the following link to The Ukrainian Weekly:
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http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/1983/418301.shtml
BIO INFO: ROXOLANA LUCZAKOWSKY ARMSTRONG
Website: http://www.agdei.com/roxolana.html
Roxolana Luczakowsky Armstrong was born in Stanislaviv,
Ukraine, in 1938. Due to the political upheavals of World War II, Roxolana,
along with her family, in 1950, settled in Philadelphia, Pa. From 1954
through 1957 Roxolana studied basic artistic techniques at the "Ukrainian
Art Studio." In 1958, with a grant from the city council of Philadelphia,
Roxolana went on to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and acquired her
degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts (Magna Cum Laude) under the auspices of the
University of Pennsylvania Fine Arts coordinated programs.
In 1964 Roxolana moved to Malaga, Spain, with her husband,
the American sculptor, H. Reed Armstrong, where they proceeded with their
professional careers while participating in Spanish artistic and social
life. They helped found the nucleus of the Spanish "Friends of Unicef,"
assisted in the ecologically oriented "amigos del paisaje," and helped to
originate the group "Siete Artistas" to bring out valid unrecognized talent
in Southern Spain.
At this time Roxolana while working independently in the
techniques of classic mosaic and stained glass stumbled through the use of
transparent polymer resins on her own vision of a transparent, luminous
three dimensional mosaic. These creations under the name of "Crystal Art"
may be found in homes, churches, and public buildings, both in Europe and
America.
Roxolana has continued through the years drawing and
painting in oil, acrylic, and watercolor, exhibiting in group and individual
shows on both sides of the Atlantic.
Group shows include: The Academy of Fine Arts,
Philadelphia; The Ukrainian Institute, New York; Gallery II, Princeton,
N.J.; Arte Joven, Torremolinos; SalÑn de Invierno, Malaga; Circulo 2,
Madrid; Contemporary Chistian Art, Philadelphia; Museo de Arte
Contemporaneo, Malaga; Certamen de Pintura, Santander.
Some individual shows include: The Ukrainian Institute, New
York; Palacio de Congresos, Torremolinos; Galeria Provincia, Leon; Banco
de Granada, Almußecar; Saint Sophia Institute, Washington, D.C.; Galeria
Malakke, Malaga; Library of the Basilian Nuns, Fox Chase, Philadelphia.
Her work is found in the Marian Center of Studies,
Cincinnati, Ohio; the John Paul II Center in Washington, D.C., and numerous
private collections. Recently she completed a series of 24 historical
illustrations for some upcoming "Lord of History" educational trading cards.
She lives in Front Royal, Va., with her husband, H. Reed
Armstrong.
This historical material has been complied, edited and published by the
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS). The material can be
used but only with full credits to the www.ArtUkraine.com Information
Service (ARTUIS), Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C., E. Morgan
Williams, Publisher.
FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
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