Pictures of Drama and Its Splendid World
Publications
The first art book of CYCLOPS is a deluxe 240-page hardcover edition, entitled “Pictures of Drama and Its Splendid World”. Released in December 2017, it stands as a testament to the unique nature of the region of Drama. It includes photographic material and texts about Drama, its people, its history, and its natural environment.
Drama, the quiet and secluded capital, as well as the entire regionunder the same name in Eastern Macedonia, emerges not only as a “habitat” of historical memory but also as a model of eutopia for every form of life, as a center of remarkable biodiversity.
Consequently, the pictures appeal only to vision and cannot encompass the multisensory enjoyment one gains from direct contact with the landscape of the region, its history, its people, its nature, animals, and plants. They can, however, serve as an excellent first introduction to an unexpectedly beautiful region which, despite its privileged features, has remained outside the objectives of the official national plan for promotion of tourism and development.
And yet, Drama, both the city and the region, has had a vast, though largely unknown, impact to the history, culture, economy, sports, and ecological wealth of Greece. It is a place that requires knowledge, respect, and love to be approached and it embodies something timelessly beautiful and authentic, offering a both delightful and unforgettable experience. The pictures in the art book offer only a limited impression!
The art book was presented for the first time at the Benaki Museum on Pireos Street, on December 6, 2018, in a memorable event, and was received warm attention by the public.
In the speakers list for the publication were included the historian Marianna Koromila and Nasos Vagenas, Professor at the University of Athens, while the greeting speech was delivered by Irini Geroulanou, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Benaki Museum.
The proceeds from the sales of the art book are offered to support the objectives of the following organizations:
Alternative Community of Peliti
Foreword of the edition by the Publication of the Benaki Museum
I do not know how many honorary tributes have so far highlighted the importance of our historic cities, with the exception of Athens. Leafing through the extensive art book of the pictures of Drama and Its Splendid World, however, I confess that I felt what is dismissively called nowadays as “national pride”, both for the past of the Greek countryside and for its temporary years. This publication can be unreservedly included among the few books that offer immense pleasure to the eye and special emotions to memory. Thus it belongs to those works that enhance the valueof those who have made the editing and in the meantime respect and praise honor to those that read them.
In reference to the editing of the volume, there is no doubt that the warmest acknowledgments must be made for Aris Theodoridis, not only for the rare black-and-white pictures he managed to collect for the illustration of the history of Drama, but also for the quality of the color of the pictures that reflectthe contemporary life as well as the quality of the colour of the instances from its pristine natural environment. After all, the restorative nature of photography and its magical force to condense what could not be described even by a thousand words are both well- known elements.
Equally important, however, is deemed the selection of the texts that complement and complete the photographic narrative: the historical design by Christos P. Faraklas, the Unknown Treasures of Mountainous Drama and the Wealth of Lowland Drama by Kostas G. Vidakis, and The Pictures of Drama by Efstratios G. Kasmeridis.
The superb typographic quality, the evident detailed editing, and the unparalleled aesthetic are compilled in an impressive result. For this reason, Theodoridis’ book does not belong among those one leafs through under thecompulsory discipline of reading consistency, but among those that one literally “devours” with the voracity of an insatiable gaze.
Aggelos Delivorias