The Zorthian Ranch | Our Legacy

2006, was a crossroads for my sister Alice and myself. Our parents had passed away.

Not satisfied with the two dimensions to which a visual artist was normally expected to adhere, our father, Jirayr Zorthian got three by spending the past 57 years willing into existence through hard work and persistence ambitious architecture constructed for the most part, with material that had been discarded by the large urban area immediately to the south of us. Broken concrete, telephone poles, insulators, steel, whatever he could find. Jirayr an immigrant from the old Ottoman empire, saw value in that which was being discarded. He couldn’t believe what people threw away.

 

“This is the Center for Research and Development of Industrial Discards with the emphasis on aesthetics” Jirayr would dramatically proclaim in an attempt to explain to his amazed and puzzled visitors what he was doing.

 

When he wasn’t building on the ranch, Jirayr was in his studio producing a formidable body of work as a fine artist. When he wasn’t doing that, he was out having fun and socializing with Dabney, our mother.

 

Jirayr started his work on the ranch with his first wife Betty Williams in 1946 and ended it with our mother Dabney on January 6th, 2004 when he passed. Dabney passed on 2 years later in 2006.

Jirayr’s recognition of the inert potential of discarded objects and material, was both a strength and also had it’s downside. Huge piles of stuff were all over the ranch in 2006. My brother Toby Zorthian facilitated the removal of 50 large containers of debris and still the ranch was full of material.

 

I grew up on the ranch but left in about 1981. I came back upon the passing of my mother in 2006. My daughters Caroline and Julia, who spent time here with their grandparents as children, have come with me and have taken it upon themselves to contribute in their own ways. Their cousin Tara is also working to bring us into the new millennium. Brian Carlson who has been here for 40 years, off and on has remained as the rock solid foreman. Beyond that we have attracted a diverse group of hardworking skilled and talented individuals who are working with us to develop our goals.

 

The infrastructure left by Jirayr is full of potential. It is an example of what can be achieved through dreaming big and working hard. We have developed AirBnbs and filming by production companies is a frequent activity. This only scratches the surface. Among our goals are to develop as a center for retreats, weddings, education and teaching creative endeavors and permaculture, and in general serve as a place to share ideas and just enjoy life. We also feel the Zorthian Ranch has international significance and as people come to the Los Angeles area from all over the world we want to develop a way for them to visit the ranch.

 

Jirayr was an early proponent of independent living, in having one’s own animals, growing one’s own food. He never quite achieved these goals as he was busy with more creative endeavors but we have found synergy with the concept of permaculture, a world view that manifests a goal of living in harmony with nature.

 

We are developing agriculture on our upper and lower properties property and are developing infrastructure towards the teaching of permaculture, art, drawing, ceramics and other useful creative endeavors.

 

All of these activities must synergize with the control mechanisms put in place by our local County and state government and we are working with the County of Los Angeles and indeed with the State of California on the Zoning issues necessary to facilitate our goals. We will need to obtain recognition as a Cultural Landmark from the State of California which will enable us to use the Historic Building Code to legitimize some of the structures. Activities that are not strictly residential must be undertaken under the proper Zoning Classification and it is necessary to enter into processes with Los Angeles County such that such Zoning classifications may be enacted. This takes money and resources and we are working to raise that money.

 

As Dabney passed away in 2006 it has now been 18 years we have been working beyond Jirayr and Dabney’s legacy. Progress has been made in many ways but there is a long way to go.