'Fragile Concrete' is a picture book of illustration series dedicated to modernist architecture in Armenia created by graphic artist Nvard Yerkanian.

The book includes an introductory essay by art
curator and historian Vigen Galstyan.

Vigen Galstyan writes "...the significance of Yerkanian’s project, its very raison d’etre, lies in the way the artist has utilized the mechanisms of commodity market as canvassing for heritage activism. Growing up in parallel to the burgeoning social media in the early 2000s, Yerkanian has closely studied the impact of these virtual systems upon public perception and learnt how to adapt their power for constructive ends. There are telling details of her illustrations: the vectorized outlines of the buildings, their dislocation from surrounding context, the saturated color backgrounds and Instagram-friendly square formats, which make her images so adaptable to virtual transmission and ‘gazing’. But beneath this glossy sheen lies a more profound and conceptual engagement with architectural history and its ‘migration’ into the 21st century image-world." 

© Nvard Yerkanian, 2023
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Project and Illustrations: Nvard Yerkanian
Text and editing: Vigen Galstyan
Design: Nvard Yerkanian
English to Armenian translation: Taguhi Torosyan
Published by ManBan Archive, Yerevan
First printing at Antenor Printing House
This edition consists of 500 copies, with a limited edition of 25.
The project was developed with the support of the Creative Armenia Arts Foundation and AGBU joint fellowship program.
In 2019, the project was nominated for the World Illustration Awards by the Association of Illustrators.
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