DEBU BARVE ART BLOG

Art workshop for the tribal school

2012-02-18T23:45:00.003+05:30

My artist friend Raju Deshpande and I are just back from an art workshop we conducted for the residential primary school located in the Bhimashankar forest area, around 200 km away from Pune. ‘Vanadev’ school is a residential school with around 40 kids (from std. 1^st to 4th) from Mahadev-Koli and Katkari tribes. It is a fantastic small school run by the social organization ‘Shashwat’, and is one of their many initiatives for the tribes in these parts. Shashwat is an organization of highly passionate people who really understand the ways of these tribes and have expert knowledge about the terrain.

Raju and I were quite excited about this workshop and were looking forward to spend a day exploring drawing, painting with these kids. When we arrived at the school we realized a very interesting aspect of the way the school is run. The teachers informed us that this workshop would not be mandatory for the kids, and the kids were free to opt out of the drawing exercises we conducted. I thought it was great that this freedom of choice was offered by the teachers to such a young age group. Thankfully almost 95% of the kids decided to participate, and that was good news for us :) Many of our participants were using the painting brush for the first time, but they picked up the skill fast and were soon coloring away with water based liquid colors on paper and were making graffiti on the wall. The paintings and drawings were very beautiful and diverse as you can see from the pictures in this post!

The kids were free to choose their subject and style. They drew ponds with floating lotuses and large fish like the typical sweet-water fish that are normally found in the lakes nearby. The kids painted houses with decorative doors very similar to the actual houses in the village, and they drew snakes, monkeys, peacocks and trees around these houses. Some unusual subjects like people travelling in small trucks with luggage loaded on top, or the mammoth wall of the dam also made an appearance in the paintings. All very beautiful and very colorful!

The kids enjoyed the workshop and so did we. It was very interesting to see how the kids translated their surroundings into their drawings. Here are pictures of some of the fun moments from the workshop. We will certainly be visiting our young friends again and hope to explore more art and ideas with them! :)

R.I.P. Antoni Tàpies (13 December 1923 – 6 February 2012)

2012-02-07T20:56:00.000+05:30

One of the geatest Spanish artists from the post war era, Antoni Tàpies passed away on 6th February 2012 in Barcelona, Spain at the age of 88. R.I.P dear Tàpies.

It is difficult to choose the right words to describe Tàpies’s work, and to classify it only under ‘Art Informel’ or ‘Tachisme’ feels inadequate. I think he is one of the greatest expressionist artists of our time. Some artists leave their influence over the generations to come, Tàpies is one such artist. Not just Spain but the entire art world loved him and cherished his fantastic paintings.

Marble dust, sand, rags, earth and all the other materials that Tàpies used in his art have created an artistic language that speaks about a fundamental understanding of our own existence. His work is pure, honest and a very stark statement about our constantly changing surroundings. Wars, atom bombs, politics, industrialization – all part of our changing world demand a huge toll on our sensibilities. Not that everyone has to take a note of it, but many artists attempted addressing these concerns across the world. I feel Tàpies belonged to that generation and is among the very few who really succeeded in expressing these views boldly.

Shades of grays, muddy browns and stark black- all sifted from different material powders were Tàpies’s armada of colors in his long and dedicated journey as an artist. He molded colors and forms to speak his language, and what was created was truly majestic.

A dedicated museum in Barcelona called ‘Fundacioantonitapies’, holds one of the largest single collections of Tàpies’s artworks.

There is quite a bit of literature about Tàpies in books and on the internet. Also many of his very interesting paintings can be found online. I recommend you to ‘discover’ your own Tàpies in case you have not done that already!

Michael Whiting: The ‘Dynamic’ Pixelation

2012-02-01T22:14:00.000+05:30

Dynamic pixelation – now this really sounds contradictory doesn’t it? If you were brought up during the times of the early generation computers with their economical interfaces and old time gaming graphics, you will probably remember the dithered, pixelated imagery of these machines. These machines were the cutting edge of technology then and most of us rejoiced at this pixelated stuff. But it did not take very long for technology to evolve and that minimal pixelated graphics simply disappeared from ‘everyday gaming’.

Michael Whiting is an American sculptor based in San Marcos, CA who preserves those good old pixels in 3 dimensional metal sculptures. These sculptures are simple and wonderful and he succeeds in giving that old imagery a technological retro feel in quite a monumental fashion. I have seen Mike’s sculptures online several times, and have always wished to see such beautiful sculptures in public spaces in India (which is otherwise dominated by dead politicians or historical heroes molded in conventional bronze. If not these then there are the ghosts of forgotten wars in the form of rotten tanks and airplanes which hog the public gardens. But that’s altogether a different story; we’ll keep it for some other time.)

Mike takes his inspiration from early generation computer graphics, but it is evident that this works as a point of reference for his work and is not a subject. He has transmuted this basic inspiration to create a fantastic minimalism and a clearly legible visual language. I feel that it is his great achievement. Sometimes ideas can be simple and perhaps easy to execute but their impact on the viewer is long lasting. Mike’s sculptures clearly belong to this category.

Mike creates his sculptures with welded steel sheets and industrial enamel paint. Birds, animals, people and everything else is re-imagined in a pixelated style, welded using steel and painted with nice bright paints. Alongside the sculptures he also creates paintings which follow a similar theme; you can see these on his website and blog.

I hope you will enjoy Mike’s work as much as I did! I’m definitely going to see his sculptures for real in my next trip to the US whenever that happens!

Thank you Mike for the permissions and for sharing the images with the blog. Mike is represented by Edward Cella, LA and Plus Gallery, Denver.

Reshawishkar -2: An exhibition on 'lines'

2011-11-21T22:56:00.002+05:30

Sudhir Patwardhan has brought for us the 2nd show of the series of two exhibitions focusing on ‘lines’, called ‘Reshawishkar-2’(expressions of lines). ‘Pune’ites had a great opportunity to look into some of the very personal artist sketchbook pages, exercises and finished artworks created using various renditions of lines in the first show held in September.

Reshawishkar-2 gives us an excellent opportunity to see works by veteran artists K.G, Subramaniyan, Himmat Shah, Sudhir patwardhan himself, Dilip Ranade and Parag Tandel. We will also be able to interact with artist Dilip Ranade and sculptor Parag Tandel during the viewing of a slide show of their works on Sunday, 27th Nov., 10:30 AM at Sudarshan Gallery, Pune.

K.G. Subramanian (b.1924) - One of the very senior artists from India, K. G Subramanian is well known for his expressive figurative compositions. For him, the sketches which are exhibited in the show are like daily ‘Riyaaz’ (dictionary meaning is ‘practice’, which is often used in the context of everyday practice in Indian classical music tradition). If you are familiar with the K.G.’s work, here is your rare chance to also have a look at his artistic preparations and candidly done ink drawings on paper.

Himmat Shah (b.1933) – A well known sculptor of India, Himmat Shah is recognized for his experiments with various materials in his works, from terracotta, bricks, to metals and plasters. It is very interesting to study his sketches which are quite different in approach from his sculptures. These sketches are not meant to be exhibited as art creations but as his personal studies. This gives us a feel of how a sculptor exercises art in 2D, forming ideas and later taking them to a different 3D expression.

Sudhir Patwardhan (b.1949)- I was lucky to meet him on the opening day of the show and get a first hand view of his graphite sketches exhibited in the show. Patwardhan is well known for his multi-faceted figurative cityscapes. His concern is with everyday metropolitan Indian life, particularly of Mumbai. Thus his sketches are also a sort of information gathering of his subject matter. With observations and photographic references, he brings in this atmosphere into his sketches which then translates into full-fledged paintings. It is quite wonderful to see some of his preparatory sketches in the show.

Dilip Ranade (b.1950)- Mumbai based artist Dilip Ranade is well known for his mystical line drawings. His drawings are mostly done with the geometric pen on paper. Ranade’s work is a walkthrough into the world imagined by him. Objects and people we may recognize otherwise look absolutely different here, they appear like metaphors of the unspecific. It is very interesting to see how simple thin black line can create a space that looks so vast on a small paper.

Parag Tandel (b.1978) - Parag is a Mumbai based sculptor, recognized for his contemporary sculptures and sculptural installations. His innovative sculptural works created out of unconventional materials like plastic, fiber and rubber are very different from his ink and graphite works which are part of this show. These are works consisting of irregular line patterns and geometrical forms or interwoven structures. They are not initiated to achieve any predefined artistic goal but loosely experimented compositions. It is a treat to get a closer look of the works of this young sculptor.

This show is a must for artists, art lovers and art students in Pune. For all those who will not be able to attend, here is a small glimpse of the artworks (Click to enlarge).

Sincere thanks to Sudhir Patwardhan for bringing this 2nd show to Pune as promised! :)

Reshawishkar-2 (Expressions of lines)
18th November-30th November2011, 11AM to 8PM.
Address : Sudarshan Kala Dalan (art gallery is in the basement of the Sudarshan Rang Manch,- a place well known for the experimental theater shows) Near Ahilya Devi high school, Shanivar Peth, Pune-30.

Adapting the eye: An archive of the British in India, 1770-1830 at the Yale Center for British Art

2011-10-12T22:13:00.002+05:30

Adapting the eye: An archive of the British in India, 1770-1830 at the Yale Center for British Art

(Click for a larger view)

Thomas Daniell, Sir Charles Warre Malet, Concluding a Treaty in 1790 in Durbar with the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire, 1805, oil on canvas, © Tate, London 2011.

Reshawishkar : An exhibition on 'lines'

2011-09-19T01:05:00.000+05:30

Pune art lovers have a rare opportunity to see five different approaches of handling ‘lines’ in the exhibition called ‘Reshawishkar’(expressions of lines). This exhibition is conceptualized and curated by the renowned Indian artist Sudhir Patwardhan. The five artists on display are art veterans Krishan Khanna, Gieve Patel, and well known artists from contemporary Indian art scene Jyoti Basu, Tushar Joag and Vilas Shinde. The exhibition opened on September 17th and will run till the 1st of October at ‘Sudarshan Kala Dalan’ (detailed address at the end of the post). This show is the first part of the series of two exhibitions planned, the second of which will be in November.

Line is a fundamental element of art and every artist has his/ her unique personal relationship with it. A line can be simple or complex, fine or brute, drawn or painted. Artists explore a multitude of possibilities and make diverse statements through the handling of lines in their art. Patwardhan has chosen these five artists to give the viewer a glimpse of these very possibilities. But this small show (around 35 small and medium size works) is not only about lines, it is a rare opportunity to peek into the artists’ close and personal preparations that stand firmly behind the final artwork. For this reason the pages from the sketchbooks of the great figurative artist Krishan Khanna are an absolute delight to watch!

This show consists of: Krishan Khanna’s sketchbook pages, Gieve Patel’s large free flowing graphite drawings exploring compositional possibilities, Jyoti Basu’s pencil drawings experimenting with the weight of various line forms and its subsequent culmination into line motifs, Tushar Joag’s stark commentary on war and conflict in which lines play the protagonist of the intense drama, and Vilas Shinde’s dense gathering of lines coalescing into a stunning artwork. Besides the work on display, we also get to read the highly insightful views of these artists on the subject of ‘lines’.

Many thanks to Sudhir Patwardhan for hosting this unique exhibition in Pune! The show is a ‘must’ for the art students and is also highly recommended for all serious lovers of art.

As a part of the same show, there will be a lecture series on the same subject.
Sepetmber 25th 2011, 10:30 AM, by artist Madhav Imaratey
October 1st 2011, 6:30 PM, by artist Tushar Joag
Address :
Sudarshan Kala Dalan (art gallery is in the basement of the Sudarshan Rang Manch,- a place well known for the experimental theater shows)
Near Ahilya Devi high school, Shanivar Peth, Pune-411030.

Jangarh Singh Shyam: An ‘important outsider’

2011-09-09T10:19:00.000+05:30

On 15th September 2011, Sotheby’s New York auction of South Asian art will present a significantly important piece of work by prolific Indian tribal artist Jangarh Singh Shyam (1960-2001) alongside well recognized and frequently auctioned artists from Indian modern art scene. It is a 7 feet x 6 feet acrylic work painted on paper, mounted on canvas. Although this is not the first time that Jangarh’s work has made its way to the important art auction, it is not a frequent occurrence either.

Check out my article @ 'Hyperallergic'

Jehangir Sabavala (1922 - 2011) R.I.P.

2011-09-03T12:37:00.001+05:30

One of the prominent figures from Indian art scene Jehangir Sabavala passed away on 2nd September 2011 at the age of 89. He was extremely active as an artist till recent and was known to work on his paintings for long hours. He has produced numerous works which can be classified into various art styles, and which had emerged from his subtly evolving artistic phases. But to speak broadly, he was an academic easel painter who seemed to enjoy the warm relationship with canvas and colors throughout his long career. His style had a strong cubist influence perhaps inherited from his decade long academic stay in Europe in late 40s and early 50s.

For the sake of conveying a better idea of his work, I would say that his paintings give a feel similar to that of Robert Delaunay or Lyonel Feininger.

Born in a highly esteemed Parsi (Zoroastrian) family from Mumbai, after an initial art education in India, Sabavala spent his long academic tenure in prestigious art institutions of Europe such as the Heatherley School, the Academic Andre Lhote, the Academic Julianfrom and the Academic de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris. He was often described as ‘a gentleman’ of Indian art scene, and his grace and elegance also reflected in his painterly brush work and marvelously subtle tones. Sabavala participated in numerous exhibitions, solo shows and represented India in various international shows like Venice Biennale. His works have been collected by museums worldwide and are often seen in important group shows that cover the last 50 years of art in India. Sabavala was awarded the prestigious civilian award ‘Padma Shree’ by the Government of India in 1977.

Sabavala had witnessed and had also been a part of the critical art timeline of India. Before India gained its independence in 1947 from the British colonial rule, modern art education had been introduced in India, like many other educational streams, as a part of the educational policy (designed for ‘natives’ by subject experts). It had been established in rush and never got a chance to organically evolve in that short period. But post independence, things changed rapidly. Two types of artists were seen active in those years, the ones who remained academic and explored within the boundaries of conventional easel work, or the artists who tried to adapt bohemian lifestyle and worked similarly. Clashes and criticisms were inevitable between these two loose categories of painters but all these conflicts ultimately helped the art in free India to move forward and evolve. Jehangir Sabavala’s contribution to the Indian art will remain indisputably important in this respect.

‘The Grange Prize’ finalists for year 2011

2011-09-01T14:11:00.000+05:30

Four photographers have been shortlisted for the $50K ‘The Grange Prize’, awarded for the best photographer for the year 2011. This prestigious prize is presented by the partnership between Aeroplan and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The winner will be chosen by public vote, and voting is open till October 23 at www.thegrangeprize.com

The shortlisted photographers are Canadians Elaine Stocki, Althea Thauberger, and Gauri Gill, Nandini Valli from India. According to the press release, the reason behind selection of these four photographers is their common interest in human subjects that explore personal identity, performativity and social politics.

Gauri Gill: Born in 1970, she lives and works in New Delhi. Gauri has done her MFA in Art at Stanford University,CA in year 2002. Her work has been exhibited in India and worldwide. Her photographs have appeared in several renowned publications across the world. She also teaches photography in New Delhi, and has conducted photography workshops for students from Tibetan settlements in India, and photography students from Kabul. She is represented by Gallery Nature Morte in New Delhi.

Elaine Stocki: Born in 1979 in Canada, Elaine currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She has completed her Master’s degree in Photography at Yale University (2009). Elaine has exhibited at the Deutsche Guggenheim and Zach Feuer, NY. Her photographic compositions involve subjects on the pressing issues of race, class and gender etc.

Althea Thauberger: Born in 1970, Althea lives and works in Vancouver. She has participated in several exhibitions and museum shows across the world and has received many accolades. Very often her work involves interactive processes with groups of people or communities through various forms of communication such as films, books, audio recordings etc.

Nandini Valli: Born in 1976, Nandini lives and works in Chennai, India. She has done her B.A. Honours in Photography from The Arts University College at Bournemouth, UK. Her works are very popular in which she has revisited the popular Indian tradition of performative photographs. Nandini is represented by Sakshi Gallery in Mumbai, India.

Visit www.thegrangeprize.com to learn more about these four talented artists, their work and vote for your favorite one!

My first post @ Hyperallergic

2011-08-22T20:12:00.001+05:30

It’s been quite some time that I’ve been following ‘Hyperallergic’, an enthusiastic art forum published from Brooklyn, NYC by Veken Gueyikian and Hrag Vartanian. Now, it is my privilege to become the first contributor from India. I’ve recently written a post for Hyperallergic, discussing my views on the iconic ‘HOPE’ poster from 2008 US elections. Please check this out here.

I’m hugely excited and looking forward to be a regular contributor @ Hyperallergic!

V.S. Gaitonde: Triumph of the solitude

2011-08-10T00:53:00.001+05:30

This post is dedicated to the greatest ‘non-objective’ artist from post independence India, Vasudev S. Gaitonde (1924-2001), popularly referred to as just ‘Gaitonde’. His positioning and influence on Indian contemporary art can be compared to that of Agnes Martin, Clyfford Still and Mark Rothko’s. (This is my take on Gaitonde and I don’t think that I’m exaggerating :-) )

It is frequently written about him that he insisted on not being categorized as an ‘abstract’ painter, but a ‘non-objective’ one instead. It is a topic of debate whether non-objectivity is a form to be recognized separately or if it is a subset of abstraction in the broader sense. But in Gaitonde’s context, I think I can understand why he insisted on the differentiation. The answer lies in the modern history of abstract art in India. Abstract painting in India was dominated by gestural figurative abstraction, and the common practice of ornamenting the ideas with ethnic references and cultural motifs. In such times, Gaitonde’s richly evolved forms and luminous colors must have appeared ‘outsiders’ to some, and it is no wonder why Gaitonde himself must have preferred to remain detached from the established school of abstraction.

It was just not only about established practices, but he also remained aloof from people. ‘Gaitonde enjoyed solitude and spent hours philosophizing about art while his beloved Indian classical music or Beethoven or Mozart played in the background’, mentions well-known Indian artist Prabhakar Kolte in his essay about Gaitonde.

Gaitonde graduated from the renowned Sir J.J. School of art of Mumbai in 1948. As a very original and talented young artist, he was invited to join the ‘Progressive artist group of Bombay’, then. Although this influential group was short-lived for various reasons, all the artists from the group created their own successful careers later. Gaitonde chose a path which was different from that of his peers at that time. His interests in linguistics and ancient scripts, his deep study of Japanese Zen philosophy, and his tremendous artistic capacities led him to create his own original understanding and style. His forms are supremely balanced, robust and most importantly they do not carry any forced baggage of the cultural metaphors. Gaitonde’s colors vary from mystic grays to shimmering reds, but they remain in separate peripheries within the painting space. Why I strongly associate his works with Agnes Martin, Clyfford Still and Rothko is for these vary reasons.

When it comes to exploring form, he is more like Agnes, but makes a stronger statement with colors. At the same time he does not seem as keen in exploring interactive possibilities of colors as Rothko. Gaitonde takes a middle path (and here I find a similarity with Clyfford Still) and indulges into form and color relationship. What is common in all these artists is their ability to project coherent relationship of forms, colors and emotions. There they share a same universal platform and create a phenomenal art.

Like his contemporaries mentioned above, Gaitonde had a long lasting impact on the process of understanding the emotional complexity that resides underneath the artistic rendition. Many artists (even today!) tried imitating him, some succeeded in creating lookalike imagery, but none could achieve what Gaitonde did. His innate spiritual temperament and studies of philosophy are also misinterpreted by many by saying that that was a ‘subject’ of his works. Perhaps it sounds more intellectual to quote something around spirituality rather than his painterly process. The fact is that he was an explorer of forms and colors with meditative qualities deep inside. As a technique, Gaitonde used rollers and brushes, and he used oil paints to create multiple layers of varying viscosities, and all of this assimilated on his canvas to bring out a pure experience of sublime quality.

Here ends my post. It should be treated as a brief introduction to this great artist, and needless to say don’t miss his work if you ever get an opportunity. It leaves a lasting impact on the mind!

(Click on the image for the larger view)

Acknowledgment for images: Glenbarra art museum and Saffron Art.

When ‘Red’ takes the center stage

2011-07-29T20:23:00.007+05:30

My friend Andrew has posted this very interesting photograph in his recent post. Andrew is an avid traveler and photographer who now lives in beautiful Santiago, Chile. This picture I simply loved for its stark, unambiguous compositional quality and it prompted me to write this quick post.

Take a look at the bright cadmium orange cylinder in the boat. There is a vast body of water, hills and several small boats behind it, but the red color grabs all our attention, not leaving any other possibility for visual expectation. Even as the photographer must have looked at it, the bright cylinder must have demanded the center stage.

Red family of color is a big attention grabber. It demands prominence, and artists obey it many times. It is as if the color will create a major ruckus if not pampered so in the composition. The biggest celebration of this demand is in Matisse’s Red Room and Red Studio. Matisse has left no chance for Red to complaint :-)

Here is a small collection of some beautiful paintings of various artists where Red has graced the center stage.

Click on the Artist's name to learn more about them.

John Sloan (1871–1951) 'Red Kimono on the Roof'

Raoul Dufy (1877–1953) 'Three Umbrellas'

Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) 'Village street in winter'

Amrita Shergill (1913–1941) 'The Storyteller'

Ben Nicholsen (1894-1982 ) 'Still Life'

Adolph Gottlieb (1903 -1974) 'Brink'

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Thanks to Andrew for the nice picture and many such amazingly candid snaps that he has taken on the streets and shared in his blog. :-)

Mumbai Galleries

2011-07-28T14:02:00.000+05:30

Here is some interesting news I think worth sharing, particularly for people staying in Mumbai or visiting over weekends. Many art galleries in Mumbai are generally closed on Sundays and this can be quite inconvenient. But fortunately this is about to change. Last week, I received news that some galleries in Kulaba area of South Mumbai (now almost recognized as an Art district) have decided to remain open on fourth Sunday of every month. Not bad!

Click for the map

El Anatsui: Shimmering display of the African sensibility

2011-07-03T13:36:00.002+05:30

If you are already exposed to the astonishing wall hanging sculptures of El Anatsui, then you will need no further introduction of him. But if not, here is a brief introduction about this legendary Ghanaian sculptor who lives and works in Nigeria.

Brahim El Anatsui was born in 1944 in Anayko, Ghana. After graduating from Nkrumah University of technology in Ghana, he moved to Nigeria in 1975 to take up a teaching job at Nsukka where he is lecturing at the University’s art institute on sculpture till today. Trained as a sculptor, earlier Anatsui worked with wood, found objects, iron, clay and paint. He established himself and got recognition for his free, unrestricted style of mixed media sculptures. These were non-representational as well as minimal figurative with strong connection with the African symbolism, particularly motifs from Ghanaian culture. Eventually Anatsui’s sculptural quest took him further in his explorations and he experimented with used metal, recycled materials like milk bottles, tins, bottle caps etc. A significant advance came in the late 90’s, when he started creating sparkling tapestry by using flattened liquor bottle caps and beer cans.

The ‘Anatsui’ that the art world now cherishes and values immensely is through this recent work in particular. Glittering, substantially large in scale and sharply hinting of its African sentiments, Anatsui’s hanging sculptures are free to take any shape and do not display any narrative consciously. But that’s not all about it, behind these magnificent metal hangings there are stories. The stories of conflicting African urbanization, unknown stories of human beings who have touched and used these materials, and also a great attempt to answer some misinterpretations about modern art that has emerged out of African subcontinent form a force behind his work. El Anatsui is praised for his efforts for opening a gateway to contemporary African art, which until now was rather misjudged as mere ethnic native art.

Anatsui’s work has achieved the rare feat of holding on to its innate roots and then going on to transform it into a work of indisputably universal appeal. Today his metal hangings strongly entice the art world and in future, whichever form, shape, and structure they may evolve into, they will always be highly treasured. I strongly feel that his work has created a long lasting impact on the thought process of the art world and a unique place for modern art emerging from Africa.

From where Edward Burtynsky stands

2011-06-16T23:31:00.000+05:30

“What do you ‘expect’ from a certain artistic expression?” This question may sound weird, at least it sounded to me when I was a student and (over)confident in my tastes. It was a time when any rendering which elicited a full blown explanation of its concept was best received. For example, a play with the depiction of the cutthroat realities of life, a fiction with a definite explanation at the end or a painting with painstakingly achieved photo realism. Fortunately a realization of my narrow perceptions came to me pretty quick, and I refreshed my entire outlook towards art. Now I started expecting more than realism or something beyond realism from any art form. And photography? Where previously I considered it to be only an ‘aid’ painters used to achieve photo realism, now as photo realism in paintings lost its sheen, I reevaluated my views about this form of art. From strident reflections of social concerns to silent spectators of unseen worlds, pictures are certainly playing a vital role in my overall understanding of imagery in the process of creating art.

I like Ansel Adams’ quote which says “A good photograph is knowing where to stand”. Accomplished Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky not only knows where to stand but also knows when to stand :)

Marble stone quarries, mines, railroads that cross obscure terrains or mass production factories in China, autobahns, heaps of used tires, ship breaking yards of Bangladesh – Burtynsky goes to these worlds that are sometimes unknown, unseen or even inconvenient to project. His pictures which sometimes appear quiet, at other times appear like frontline protestors. His photographs are like non objective compositions which take you along on a mind boggling voyage of the two dimensions.

It is not that I do not approve of photo realistic painters, but when I see photography like that of Edward Burtynsky’s, I wonder what it is that painters are trying to achieve by recreating in paint, that which photographers have already captured with great spontaneity and poignancy.

My Sincere thanks to Edward Burtynsky and Marcus Schubert from the office of Edward Burtynsky for permissions.

Edward Burtynsky official website

Tyeb Mehta: The legend of modern Indian art

2011-06-08T11:35:00.004+05:30

For those who are not familiar with his name, Tyeb Mehta (b.25 July 1925 - d.2 July 2009) was one of the greatest Indian painters from post Independence era (post 1947), highly celebrated and recognized worldwide for his figurative paintings. He was associated with the renowned Progressive Artists’ Group of India. His paintings are known for their trademark luminous colors, powerful subject matter and expressive brushwork.

In India, sadly, we do not have many art museums dedicated to modern art with permanent exhibits. We have public galleries where if you are lucky you get to see some fantastic shows once in a while. I remember one such exhibition from around 12 years back which was showing works by really big names from the world of modern art in India. The names were familiar to me having studied about these artists in my art school curriculum.
So there I was, walking very quietly, almost religiously, moving from one painting to another, very conscious of the big names behind the paintings, feeling respectful at a distance. But when I came to a painting by Tyeb Mehta, I felt compelled to go closer and preen at the exotic work before me, mesmerized by the vivid and stark colors that he had used. His paintings were completely different from what I had perceived them to be, based on their prints. Thereafter I rarely missed an opportunity to see his work. ( The opportunities were very rare though :-( )

Tyeb Mehta’s paintings have a mystic paradox of subject and application. While subjects strongly echo human suffering, trauma, violence and agony, the painting style is highly composed and structured. He would have easily taken the ‘gestural’ path and it would have been logical at that time. But it looks like he had sort of compartmentalized the subject matter from the style and a strong artistic assurance of discoveries shows through in his work. He was a quiet observer who loved solitude and loved reading. Not surprisingly, he formed his own powerful visual language which had its roots from Hindu mythology to modern historical events like partition of India and Pakistan. Pain and violence was observed, understood and finally rearranged in his own way. So, for example when a composition is based on some mythological story, it’s not laden with the usual pomp and ornaments, and when it is based on a bloody incident on the street, it does not display the cluttered realities of life. Everything floats between Tyeb’s artistic pursuits and the viewer.

Tyeb’s color palette is full of astonishing bright colors, as if picked from flocking colorful market streets. Neither do they replicate any pre-established, well received set of colors, nor do they intentionally project an ‘Indian-ness’. They appear to be an outcome of his personal artistic quests. He painted large solid plains with pure hues of oil paints most of the time. The colors in his paintings engulf the viewer in their span, almost hypnotizing, and when the viewer gradually floats out of these hues, he finds himself facing the brutal subject that the painting is talking about. It is like seeing the painting inside out! It is one indescribable experience and I will strongly recommend you to view Tyeb Mehta’s work when you get a chance.

Weekly market of Bagh: Colors of rural India

2011-05-29T23:43:00.001+05:30

It’s been a long time that I have wanted to post this video that we captured while driving through the weekly market in the village called Bagh, in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is a tribal belt in central India located some 600 km from Pune. My wife Nivi and I were passing through this village to see the 4th century Buddhist caves located nearby which have some stunning fresco paintings from Buddhist tales. Quite unexpectedly we landed in this colorful market and were able to see these wonderful people in their weekly shopping mood!

You can see some screen-grabs below and a small one minute video clip which gives an idea of what it was like to be in the middle of a rural Indian weekly market. People wore clothes in combinations of various pinks, reds, greens, shades of white and yellow ochres. These colors, organically evolved, uninterrupted and persistent for centuries, are very symbolic of the preference of people in rural India. Perhaps that’s the reason why these bright colors appear so true and original to eyes. Enjoy!

Mary Livoni’s charcoal drawings: A silent game of light and dark

2011-05-25T11:46:00.002+05:30

I have seen many versions of the legendary playwright Samuel Beckett’s play ‘Waiting for Godot’, in which two hopeful needy men are waiting endlessly for some unknown, unseen, superman like Mr. Godot to change their fate. The reason here to remember ‘Godot’ is, in the context of art very often I see that many artists keep waiting (which reflects in the tentativeness of their creations) for miracles in their art. They miss simple things or ignore daily life existence in the quest for ‘something beyond’. And here when I see artists like Mary Livoni, I feel amazed to see the artistic confidence they carry in their art works. The notion of ‘completion’ never gets hampered by the simplicity of the subject matter or the medium of paint. They do not wait for miracles, but they create something which is more genuine than a miracle.

Living in Chicago, Mary Livoni’s suburban architectural charcoal drawings prominently capture various views of old iron bridges that cross the river in her city. Mary’s use of charcoal as a medium and her metallic-structural subjects join together and offer one pure art experience.
For her, charcoal is not just a preliminary drawing tool, but she uses it to create masses, and forms, suggesting smoke and cloud vapors, painstakingly smearing it to achieve desired mood. Earlier she had her share of conventional painting education and art exercises as an art school student but she was always attracted to light and dark. Black and white photography was her starting point as a younger artist and she felt it fascinating to experience how the ordinary world is transformed when translated into black and white. She feels that, a world reduced into this high contrast palette is also suggestive of other elemental ideas and narratives. In the process of forming her own artistic dialect, three artists have influenced her very strongly. Giorgio Chirico’s paintings, Francis Ford Coppola’s movie “Rumble Fish” where a small industrial American city was transformed into a black and white world of intense beauty, and Frank Stella’s monumental sculpture “The Town Ho’s Story” which is created especially for the city of Chicago.

In future she wants to create larger works and is also planning to work on murals without compromising the ‘charcoal and paper’ feel of her work. For some time she is also planning to work on series of illustrations based on Marilynn Robinson’s novel ‘Housekeeping’. It is going to be interesting to witness her artistic journey!

Mary Livoni’s works are simple to perceive and rich in the experience. I loved them! Visit her website to learn more.

My heartfelt thanks to Mary for her patience with my long e-mails :) and also for sharing pictures with the blog.

The magic of the ‘Monumental’ (Part 2): Tim Maguire, Volkan Diyaroglu and Zhang Xiaogang

2011-05-15T21:14:00.010+05:30

Is there any ‘method’ that artists use to choose a physical size for their painting? Which aspect of the process plays a significant role in this decision? Is it the subject matter, idea, artistic inspiration, artist instinct or practicality? I haven’t come across any definite theory or recommended process that might work as a guideline to decide the ‘right size’ of the painting surface.

It will sound a little crude but I loosely see four categories of paintings as far as painting surface scale is concerned. Good painting on good size, good painting on bad size, bad painting on good size (frankly, very rare) and bad painting on bad size (I don’t care much about which) ;) Let’s not get into what I mean by a ‘good painting’ for it is always an up-close, personal and complex thing to write about. But let’s focus on the ‘good size’.
In the previous post (part 1), I had briefly covered the historical significance of the scale and had promised to write about some of the well-known contemporary artists who are admired not only for their expression but also for the large scale of their works. Here are three of my favorite artists who are from three different corners of the world, and are known for their absolutely different styles and subjects: highly acclaimed Australian contemporary artist Tim Maguire, talented young artist Volkan Diyaroglu from Turkey, and Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang who is admired for his large scale portrait like paintings.

Tim Maguire: Born in 1958, he has completed his education from the prestigious Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf in 1985. Tim has participated in numerous group shows and many solo exhibitions, and is represented by many well known galleries across the world. When I first came across his very famous large flower paintings, I was thrilled to see his pure painterly approach to the quite simple subject matter. The combination of a large scale, a distinct warm color palette and the dexterous handling of paint makes these paintings look majestic! Currently he is also exploring large scale print-making that involves digital reconstruction of abstract, mystic elements. His prints are also as interesting as his flower paintings. If you happen to be in NYC, there is a solo show of his works at Von Lintel Gallery till June 5th, 2011 which you might want to catch. You could learn more about Tim from his website.

Volkan Diyaroglu: Born in 1982, this ‘young Turk’ is one of the much admired young artists on the international art scene. Initially he started his art education in Turkey, later he was awarded the prestigious ‘Promoe scholarship’ and continued his education in Valencia, Spain. I was impressed to see his constructive bold style and simple brush work. I feel that his work has a very interesting resemblance to the raw style and primitive forms handled by the great French artist Jean Dubuffet. The choice of large canvases looks quite apt for his expressive work. It gives Volkan’s work a fantastical twist and makes his work really enjoyable. Volkan has been awarded many scholarships and has exhibited widely around the world. You can check out his website to learn more.

Zhang Xiaogang: Born in 1958, Zhang is popular for his ‘bloodline’ series of paintings. He belongs to the ‘top brass’ of the Chinese contemporary art scene. His paintings are exhibited and collected worldwide. If you are looking at the images of his work without knowing the scale, they may not seem very striking. But once you understand that the paintings are in a very large scale, you automatically become curious. His figurative works are stiff in appearance, but that stiffness has a huge bundle of emotional traction which happens behind the scene. The paintings are based on black and white photos of people from 2-3 generations before, from the time when people witnessed critical social and political transitions in China. Although based on photographic references, his paintings are not realistic but are more surreal in nature. I could not locate his official website or a single source of information to direct you to, but it is not very difficult to learn more about Zhang Xiaogang, his work and artistic philosophy from the scattered information available online.

As an end note to this post, I want to express an agreement with the views shared by many of my artist/blogger friends about the ‘monumentality’ in art. Indeed, monumentality is an appearance as well as an experience which goes beyond the scale. These two posts were to discuss good art which has been executed on a good large scale. Let’s discuss ‘monumental’ art particularly accomplished in the small size some other time!

My sincere thanks to Tim Maguire and Volkan Diyaroglu for permissions and providing pictures for this post. I could not contact Zhang Xiaogang for permissions, but I would like to acknowledge various sites for the pictures I have used. A. Chang W. Lee for The New York Times B. Mike Clarke-AFP/Getty Images / Washington Post C. Dan Chung / Geotypographica

The magic of the ‘Monumental’: Large expressions- Part 1

2011-05-05T20:24:00.002+05:30

While studying from books, I had seen Claude Monet‘s ‘Water lilies’ several times. But a few years back at NY MoMA, when I had an opportunity of looking at this great impressionist’s masterful work, I was completely amazed. Monet’s complex brush work, his signature style of handling light and shadows, the sheer monumental size of the painting, everything put together created a magical atmosphere. This post is about one of these elements which contributed to the astonishing experience I had while looking at Monet’s water lilies - the physical size of the painting.

In art, I don’t think ‘anything that is important has to be monumental’, but some of the very important works are indeed monumental, much larger than imagination. I feel that size has also played a very big role in establishing them (artists or their paintings) as important.

Flipping through the history of art pages, we can see that the decision making on the physical attributes of a painting rested on various factors, often ‘requirements’. For instance celebration of triumphs or royal portraiture (example ‘Las Meninas’ by by Diego Velázquez) demanded impressive proportions. Similar hefty expectations were made from art for religious purposes (example: ‘The Burial of the Count of Orgaz’ by El Greco), architectural needs (frescos, example ‘The School of Athens’ by Raphael) or for propaganda making (example: The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David).

Then came the great masters like Georges Seurat, Claude Monet who painted on very large sized canvases. Large size painting now became more of the artist’s own decision. In modern history, we see that some of the artists were flexible in their choice of the painting size and based it on the context of the work. For example Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, it is undisputable that the subject which was Picasso’s universal remark about war needed its monumental size. While Picasso painted on various sizes, his contemporary Paul Klee remained loyal to his iconic small sized works. And I absolutely don’t need to mention that whatever the size of Klee’s paintings he holds a very important place in the history of art!

In post WWII era, we had abstract expressionism and its European contemporary movement called Tachisme. Artists perhaps started enjoying supreme freedom of expression in the broadest sense, which reflected in their work and its size too. Painters like Rothko, Newman, Karel Appel, Jean Miotte are some of the artists whose large canvases are greatly celebrated by the art world.

We cannot move on without mentioning the modern masters Cy Twombly, Chuck Close, Zhang Daqian and Gerhard Richter who are well known for their large expressions.

This post was just about the large scale in paintings and not about large scale art in general (for example Richard Serra or Jeff Koons). In part 2, I will discuss some contemporary art stars who are admired for their monumental paintings. See you then!

My sincere thanks to all the people who have captured and posted online, these fantastic views of various art exhibitions. Without these pictures it would have been very difficult to convey the idea of the scale.

Memorials: Art, Design and emotions

2011-04-26T23:38:00.004+05:30

A ‘generation next’ monument is about to be raised in Berlin to celebrate the German reunification of 1989. It is going to be a dazzling, monumental, steel disk which will move like a see-saw, with a capability to hold up to 1400 people at a time! (I hope it will be a free ride. :))

Monuments and memorials have an ancient history. People have started building or carving them out much before art, design and architecture became clearly separated streams of knowledge. From the finest specimen of sculpture, great achievement in metallurgy to complex architecture or engineering excellence, memorials have come a long way. What has not changed is perhaps the ‘monumental’ nature of memorials.

These are built with the support of public commissions in modern days and in the past were often ‘gifts’ to fellow citizens from some ‘dear king/queen’. I think it is a subject certainly very dear to the artists, designers, architects and engineers but also for the sociologists. These pieces of public art reflect upon the decision makers and subsequently the society which commemorates them. They could be artistic- non artistic, pompous-humble, honest-dishonest, autocratic-democratic in their own special way based on the timeline and political situation.

Here are some interesting monument-memorials around the world, varying in style, medium and purpose. There is invariably a story behind each memorial, perhaps evoking joy, but more often sorrow. Let us leave off the story for now and view each of these interesting creations as manifestations of art.

Trajan's Column, Rome, Italy (113 A.D.)

Asoka's Pillar, Vaishali, Bihar, India (300 B.C.)

Chernobyl nuclear disaster memorial, Chernobyl, Russia (1986)

Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington D.C., USA

War Memorial, Mansu Hill, N. Korea

Memorial of the native people, Plaza de Armas, Santiago, Chile

War memorial, Swakopmund, Namibia

The Press where gods ‘re-incarnated’

2011-04-17T12:57:00.002+05:30

About 60 kilometers from Pune going towards Mumbai (Bombay), there is a small village called Malavli. If you walk out of the train station and ask any local villager you happen to meet first, “Where is the ‘Press’?”, he will promptly direct you to where it is. He will also go ahead and tell you with grief “But there is nothing left in there and they won’t let you get inside the building.” The Press that he is referring to is a Lithographic Press established in 1899 by one of the greatest Indian painters, Raja Ravi Varma (b.1848-d.1906).

Raja Ravi Varma is a revered Indian artist who initiated the renaissance style (more of a ‘Pre-Raphaelite’ style) depiction of Indian mythology and Hindu gods through his sparkling and bright paintings. He lived for 58 years, but his enormous contribution to various aspects of Indian art has made an ever lasting impact.

Raja Ravi Varma was born in the southern Indian state of Kerala and traveled and painted across the country and abroad. Highly enterprising and visionary artist, he imagined the concept of mass-circulation. Until then art (painting form) had a restricted patronage from the elite class of Indian royals of various states (Maharajah’s). But Raja Ravi Varma changed this picture with the litho press he imported from Germany and established in Mumbai (it was shifted to Malavli later). His prints of highly realistic, figurative depiction of the mythological figures and Hindu gods and goddesses were an instant hit with the masses. It was for the first time that people were looking at colorful two dimensional avatars of gods which were also available to be framed and hung in their households. It was a radical change and the prints went on to be admired and worshipped as well.

Many families in India have preserved these original lithographs purchased by their forefathers. They are of course very rare, but if you happen to see any by chance you cannot miss the beauty of the painting and the historical significance that lies hidden within it. One of my good friends, Mr. Mandar Bhopatkar in Pune, has a set of very carefully preserved original prints of Raja Ravi Varma which had been acquired by his grandfather. The prints shared in this post are from his precious collection. My sincere thanks to Mr. Bhopatkar for permitting me to share these prints here, and also thanks to my dear friend Prathamesh who did the great photocopying.

1. Raja Ravi Varma: He is greatly admired in India (partially because of cultural acceptance of his prints) by people. But he is also sometimes criticized for being too emotional and dreamy about his subject matter (similar to the reasons why Pre-Raphaelites are often criticized). Many of his original paintings (oil on canvas) can be seen in various museums in India, they are really outstanding. He was wrongly criticized as a mere ‘calendar artist’ by some critics who perhaps reviewed his relatively flat lithographic prints and ignored his original dynamic oil paintings.

2. The Press: Currently, the estate housing the press is a private property with no access to artists, historians or visitors. Some of the original German machines, prints and lithography stones are permanently exhibited in the museum at Manipal, India.

Finally, this post was primarily to introduce Raja Ravi Varma’s idea of mass reproduction of art in India around a century ago. His work, his legacy and its impact on Indian art will require a dedicated post which I hope to cover some other time.

Museum picture courtesy: Heritage Village, Manipal, India, Litho-prints Pictures courtesy: Mr. Mandar Bhopatkar, Pune, India

Hedda Sterne: The last of ‘The Irascibles’

2011-04-11T00:52:00.000+05:30

Hedda Sterne, an important artist often associated with the (first generation) abstract expressionist movement, passed away on April 8, 2011. She was 100 years old. Notably, she was active as an artist up to the age of 94!

Very often we recognize Hedda for her appearance in a highly popular group photograph called ‘The Irascibles’, which was printed in the ‘Life’ magazine in January 1951, captured by Nina Leen. It is an iconic picture, often bundled with the information about the early years of the Abstract Expressionist movement or the ‘New York School’. But the fact is that many of these artists, including Hedda, were not interested in such a tagging and even the group photo is quite contextual. This was a group of New York artists who protested against the orthodox approach of juries at an important group exhibition by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Eighteen artists signed a letter to protest, and ‘Life’ magazine article coined the term ‘The Irascibles’ in their article talking about the incident.

Eventually all of these artists became very important names of the Abstract Expressionist movement (along with many others who were not part of the group picture), but sadly, women artists who were closely associated with the philosophy did not receive the recognition that they deserved. Hedda Stern, Elaine de Kooning and Lee Krasner were quite impressive artists who often participated in group shows and even had solo exhibitions at that time. But, as compared to the almost ‘god like’ recognition that Pollock, Rothko or de Kooning received, women artists were rarely discussed or acknowledged.

Hedda Sterne was a remarkable artist known for her powerful and very original objective paintings. She was born in Romania and studied in Paris and Vienna before she immigrated to the US during WWII (hence also recognized as one of the influential ‘immigrated artist’ members of the Abstract Expressionist movement).

Here is the picture of 'The Irascibles’ with some information on the artists who are part of the group. Hedda Stern can be seen standing at a prominent position in the photograph in the top row, an apt placement for the artist who made the female presence felt in the dominantly male world of the American art of the 50s.

The "Irascibles" in the January 15, 1951 issue of Life magazine

Front row: 1. Theodoros Stamos (December 31, 1922 – February 2, 1997), 2. Jimmy Ernst (June 24, 1920 - February 6, 1984), 3. Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970), 4. James Brooks (October 18, 1906 – March 9, 1992), 5. Mark Rothko (September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970)

Middle row: 6. Richard Pousette-Dart (June 8, 1916 – October 25, 1992), 7. William Baziotes (June 11, 1912 – June 6, 1963), 8. Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956), 9. Clyfford Still (November 30, 1904 – June 23, 1980), 10. Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991), 11. Bradley Walker Tomlin (August 19, 1899 – May 11, 1955)

Back row: 12. Willem de Kooning (April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997), 13. Adolph Gottlieb (March 14, 1903 - March 4, 1974), 14. Ad Reinhardt (December 24, 1913 – August 30, 1967), 15. Hedda Sterne (August 4, 1910 – April 8, 2011)

I support Ai Weiwei!

2011-04-04T20:22:00.002+05:30

“Ai Weiwei still missing after being held by Chinese police. Artist's assistants and wife released but his whereabouts not disclosed by Beijing authorities.” This is the status today of the acclaimed Chinese artist, thinker and activist Ai Weiwei as reported by The Guardian. Weiwei was detained by the Chinese authorities on Sunday (April 3, 2011) at the airport when he was about to board for Hong Kong.

In case you are not aware of him, his work, his lone fight against the stubborn Chinese authorities, I would strongly recommend this great video on PBS, called “Who's Afraid of Ai Weiwei?”

Ai Weiwei (b.1957), son of a highly regarded Chinese poet Ai Qing is not just an art superstar, but is also a thinker, a philosopher and an outspoken activist. The impact of his art and his philosophy has been so intense that the government of the “all well, all rapidly progressing” China has become extremely uncomfortable. The Chinese government is dealing with a highly celebrated, world renowned artist here. Weiwei was the art adviser for the very popular ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium China had constructed for the Summer Olympics of 2008. Although Weiwei contributed to this monumental miracle, he refused to participate in the Chinese (Government’s) triumph showcasing a false picture of ‘all well, all happy’ new China. His various installations and sculptures not only display his artistic talent but also deal with the discrepancies he observes and daringly makes statements against them.

Despite house arrests, beatings, detentions and demolition of his studio by the authorities, he has chosen to remain in mainland China all these years. He is making his art, writing his thoughts, communicating with thousands of young Chinese people through internet and most importantly he is standing firm by his own philosophy. Recently he exposed a corruption racket which was responsible for faulty construction of residential projects and school buildings in Sichuan. In the 2008 earthquake, thousands of school children died as a result of these badly constructed schools. Authorities, outrageously, kept the exact numbers and names of these children undisclosed. Weiwei, with the help of several volunteers researched and uncovered the names of more than 5000 schoolchildren who had died. Then he went ahead and made a startling installation in the form of a memorial to these unfortunate kids.

He is dealing with the powerful, control freak rulers who have a proven track record of insane censorships, data manipulation and unruly arrests of the intellectuals. In the current times where the world is coming ever so close and newer media for communication and expression are evolving every other day, China is ridiculously choosing to regress back in time.

Today the entire world is concerned about Ai Weiwei’s whereabouts. Not only artists, but any person who recognizes the thing called ‘freedom of expression’ would be concerned for Ai Weiwei. I do not know where this is all going to go from here, but all I can say is, “Yes, I too support Ai Weiwei and in the name of art and freedom demand that he, and the others detained now in China be released immediately.”

They died too young

2011-03-28T01:13:00.008+05:30

These days we are reading about the ‘newly emerging war-zones’ in North Africa. No, it is not quite politically correct to call it a war; it is yet another ‘conflict’. But then let politicians use the correct terminologies, it doesn’t matter what laymen call it anyways. Whoever is right or wrong, fighting under whichever flag, the truth is that we still believe in settling scores using destruction, as if blood shedding is the easiest option to solve the matter.

At this time, I am inevitably thinking of two German expressionist painters who died ‘in the action’ and died too young at that – Franz Marc and August Macke, both of whom died in World War I.

Marc and Macke were not just some young artists but founder members of the German expressionist art group called ‘Der Blaue Reiter’ (The Blue Rider) founded along with the renowned artists like Kandinsky, Jawlensky and Gabriele Münter. Both Marc and Macke were admired and widely exhibited in their lifetime. Although Blue Rider as a group did not last long, as a thought it had a great impact on the developments in modern German art (and beyond) in the future.

When I first saw Marc Franz’s work in a book I was intrigued by his amazing style. Then I saw more of his paintings and the next thing I learnt about him was that he had died young and that he had died on the battle field of WW I. Died in the war?! An artist as important as him went on to fight some war?! It was definitely shocking. Soon I learnt about August Macke, who was a bit younger than Franz Marc and who clearly had a great influence of Marc on his own style. Another unfortunate similarity between the two is that he too lost his life in war, in fact 2 years before Marc Franz did. This was just too much for me to digest. Early exits are not a rare occurrence in the art world, sometimes on account of mishaps, fatal illnesses or suicides, but artists sent to fight wars and killed on the battlefields was quite a disturbing realization. Please note that they were not ‘war painters’ who were assigned to capture the war on canvas, but they went as soldiers enlisted in the German Imperial army just around the time when the war broke out.

Franz Marc (b.1880-d.1916) was a prolific printmaker and painter and is known for his bright palette of primary colors. His various paintings of horses and wild animals painted in his marked style had an amazing embodied movement and force. He was a great admirer of Van Gogh and his own style showed a great influence of the cubism movement. He died in one of the major battles of WW1 at Verdun, France.

August Macke (b.1887-d.1914) was just 27 years old when died at the warfront in Champagne, France. We can imagine what a vigorous young man he must have been just by looking at the large number of paintings he has left behind. And it is not just the number of paintings but the way he has painted them. He was presumably quite curious, eager to learn new things and connect with fellow artists. In his short artistic career before getting enlisted in the army, he travelled a lot, spent time with great artists like Paul Klee, Marc, and Kandinsky and also became a founder member of ‘Der Blaue Reiter’. Ironically his painting called ‘Farewell’, which captures the gloom of the wartime, happened to be his last work.

Here are a few more artists who died fighting as soldiers in wars and I’m sure there must be many more.
.
Frederic Bazille (b.1841-d.1870): French impressionist, died in the Franco-Prussian war.
Umberto Boccioni (b1882-d.1916): Italian painter and sculptor from ‘futurist’ movement. He died during the cavalry training after joining the artillery regiment in WW1.
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (b.1891-d.1915): French sculptor who is well-known for his forceful and direct carving style. He died in the WW1 in Northern France.
Issac Rosenberg (b.1890-d.1918): British poet and artist. Known for his terrific war poems and self portraits.

It is impossible to say what astonishing art these talented artists would have produced had their lives not been cut short by the ugly episodes of war.

‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘The Jungle Book’

2011-03-20T21:08:00.007+05:30

If you were born in India before say 1985, you wouldn’t require any introduction to the aerated soft drink called ‘Gold Spot’. Before the international soda companies came (back) to India in the early 90s, we mostly had options of three cool drinks: Thumps-up (cola), Limca (lime) and Gold Spot (orange flavored). In 1983 as a promotional campaign for Gold Spot, the company distributed Walt Disney Jungle Book comic against a collection of their bottle crowns. I was too young to read ‘The Jungle Book’, but was old enough to get caught up in the cap-collection mania with my friends. Result – my own precious copy of the comic book. Honestly speaking, the children’s books or comic books were generally not very beautifully printed then, and this superiorly printed Jungle book was a thrill to flip through. Baloo, Mowgli, Bagheera and even Shere Khan (the villain) became my close friends. I copied their pictures into my sketchbooks for innumerable times, which I am sure so many other budding young artists must have also been doing at that time. :-)

Eventually I came to know about Rudyard Kipling, his legendary Jungle Book, and ‘his India’. This was knowledge of the grown-up age and I could not very well correlate it with my copy of the colorful comic book. But sometime in 1994 while I was ambling down a road, I noticed a small, dusty blue, hard bound book in a tiny shop – the original Jungle Book version of 1919! It took me less than 30 seconds to close the deal, the guy had asked for just Rs. 5 for it! Thus I walked away with the original Jungle Book. After that I kept both of my Jungle Books together (I still do). I like to look at their artworks, compare the styles and basically just enjoy having them. The stories in the original blue book are indeed very fascinating and the illustrations are simply marvelous. Some of these are paintings printed in halftone and some are classic line drawings (perhaps etchings?) by illustrator W.H. Drake done in 1893. The comic version has stylish black inking and is full of colors and cuteness.

I collected several books after that, varying on subjects, belonging to diverse timelines, from comic books to biographies. I feel all of these have some importance, some contribution in my process of becoming an artist. They are very much like memories, each book affecting and influencing my thinking in a singular manner. The Jungle Books have also been a part of this process, two different manifestations of Kipling’s story, impressing first upon my childhood and later on my youth.

A few years back, during one of my visits to the US, a colleague asked curiously (these kind of questions are now becoming rare though) “So you mean you have never been to any jungles for hunting in India?” I said “No! The jungle was introduced to me only by Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book”. :-)

James Kalm: The guy on the bike

2011-03-15T09:50:00.032+05:30

This post is not about an artist. Although he is a fine artist and a leading member of the movement called ‘New York Neo-Expressionism’, our story is about his ‘alter ego’. I’m talking about the senior artist Loren Munk and this story is about ‘James Kalm’ as Loren is also popularly known to his fans.

James is well known for his two amazing YouTube projects called ‘The James Kalm Report’ and ‘James Kalm rough-cut’s Channel’. Both the projects are about video reporting of the major art shows and artist studio visits in New York, which is one of the most important centers on the global contemporary art map. While The ‘James Kalm Report’ is more organized and compiled with superior post production efforts, ‘Rough- cuts’ as it is titled, is a little loosely bundled, more casual reporting of the art scene. As far as the viewers are concerned (particularly the ones who are not in NYC), all these videos offer a rare opportunity to walk through the prominent galleries and have a look at the shows, the artists, the visitors and absorb the atmosphere in general. Watching these videos is one great artistic experience in itself.

James rides on his bicycle to cover the shows with his tiny handheld video camera. That is where he gets his name ‘the guy on the bike’ from, and one which he uses as the starting note of each of his reports. His report usually opens with a group of anonymous musicians playing on some New York street, and from there James takes us into the gallery, with the music still playing in the background. James then shows us the artworks on display, accompanied by his subtle commentary. Sometimes he gets hold of the artist who is exhibiting and asks him a couple of interesting questions, or he candidly interacts with the visitors. He walks out quietly once the entire show is covered (and without fail he thanks his wife Kate at the closing note of each report!).

James has a very unique way with his commentary, though he himself is an artist, he is never critical about the artworks in the shows. His approach is quite neutral and unbiased most of the times. It appears as if he has successfully ‘partitioned’ Loren Munk, the artist from James Kalm, the art reporter. James also holds a single journalistic policy for everyone; he covers shows by the senior art heavyweights and also by the young artists and debutants with equal enthusiasm. James being a veteran art observer of the New York art scene, the viewers also get to enjoy many anecdotes that he shares while walking through the shows.

If you already know about these YouTube channels, then you must already be a fan of James Kalm Reports like me! If you do not know about these, then you must visit the links below and you will be a fan very soon :)

I wonder if James would conduct workshops for video art reporters across the globe so we can have such lively updates from everywhere. But at the same time I do feel that though one might be able to replicate the way he captures the videos, it may not be possible to have an expert commentary like James!

My sincere thanks to James for the permission to write about him and the picture he has shared with this blog.

Traylor, Lowry, Mashe: The invisible connection

2011-03-10T11:45:00.001+05:30

This is a story about three painters. Each of them belongs to a different timeline, nationality and social background. But despite their varied origins, these three artists share an astonishing connection through their styles of creative expressions.

These three artists are American artist Bill Traylor (b.1854 – d. 1949), British artist L. S. Lowry (b. 1887 – d. 1976) and Jivya Soma Mashe (b. 1934), an artist from India. Of these three, two are officially recognized as ‘Outsiders’ (Traylor, Mashe) and one is not (Lowry), but his artistic philosophy is evidently aligned with outsider art rather than the mainstream.

‘Outsider art’ is a term broadly used to categorize the art created outside the boundaries of official culture. Typically, those labeled as outsider artists have little or no contact with the mainstream art world or art institutions. Although the term ‘outsider art’ has been in use for many years, its meaning is constantly evolving. Earlier it was used mainly to categorize the aboriginal art, folk art etc. , later it took the form of an important French art movement (Art Brut) which laid a larger emphasis on the rejection of established values within the modernist art.

Bill Traylor (b.1854 – d. 1949): William "Bill" Traylor was a self-taught artist born into slavery on a plantation in Lowndes County, Alabama. He started drawing and painting much later in life – when he was 85 – and made 1500 drawings in the next three years. He drew scenes of life on the farm and people on the streets. His art was based on things that he had seen, heard and experienced. He worked in primary colors and made use of simple compositions to create his bold and extremely original style. Later he met Charles Shannon, a painter, who helped him by supplying art material and also buying his drawings. Bill Traylor lived and died in obscurity, his work getting recognition only 30 years after his death.

L. S. Lowry (b. 1887 – d. 1976): "I am not an artist. I am a man who paints." said Laurence Stephen Lowry, popularly known as L. S. Lowry. Lowry lived in Northern England and painted his famous industrial scenes. He had a distinctive style of painting and used a “matchstick” style representation for human figures. He studied at the Salford School of Art till 1925. He lived most of his quiet and secluded life in Mottram in Longdendale, Cheshire and was well recognized and honored in his later years. Today ‘Lowry Centre’ at Salford Quays holds the world's largest collection of his works.

Jivya Soma Mashe (b. 1934): Jivya Soma Mashe is known for his renditions of the tribal ‘Warli art’, of Maharashtra state in India. To position him correctly, we can say that he is as important an artist of the Warli tribal art as Emily Kame Kngwarreye is of the Australian indigenous art. Jivya was a pioneer in bringing Warli art from being a mere element of tribal rituals to a pure expression of art. Initially he painted on mud walls and later started using flexible painting surfaces like canvas. This transition helped him immensely in developing his unique painting style. But even in his new style, the subject matter is still related to Warli tribes, forests, birds and animals and traditional patterns. The magic of his work is such that it draws you into its unique world and makes you feel like you are a part of the activity inside the painting. Jivya’s work is widely exhibited around the world and is well recognized. In 2011, he received ‘Padma Shri’ (the fourth highest civilian award by the Government of India) for his contribution towards Warli painting.

I’m a great fan of these artists, and their humble and unbelievably original nature of work. I look at their paintings and wonder if Traylor’s farmer, Lowry’s worker and the tribal from Jivya’s painting could meet somewhere, perhaps for a drink in the evening after their tiring hours on farms, factories and forests?:)

Martin Roemers: Seeing through his lenses

2011-03-04T09:39:00.015+05:30

Every metro has a unique face. This face is not defined by the planners of the town but by the people who live in it and also by the people who visit it. This metro here with a very unique face is Kolkata (Calcutta), the ‘city of Joy’ and the visitor through whose camera lenses we see it is the award winning photographer Martin Roemers. For this picture, Martin won the 1st prize (category ‘Daily Life stories’) in the ‘World Press Photo Contest-2011’.

Martin has captured the speed of the city, the pace of its inhabitants and the bright color of the busy day in a beautifully composed candid shot. I was thrilled to see this picture and immediately googled up to see more of Martin’s work. What I got was not photographs but a gateway to a stunning world which Martin Roemers has captured for us.

The pictures from his ongoing series ‘The eyes of war’ show us WWII victims from Netherlands, Germany, US and Poland. These are people who have lost their sight to that gruesome war which is now more than 60 years old. In a war the world sees the winning side and the losing side, the drama of triumphs and the horrors of death. After being shocked with this the world simply moves on, but Martin chooses not to do so. He takes pains to revisit and capture the bitter, blind and aged truth that war has left behind - a very powerful photo journalistic statement made by this acclaimed photo journalist.

Here are a few of the pictures from his series ‘Relics of the Cold War’ (Martin also has a book with the same name)

Martin studied photography at the Academy of Arts in Enschede, in the Netherlands. His photographs have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, Newsweek and The New Yorker. His work has been exhibited widely and is held in public collections including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. He has received awards and recognitions including two World Press Photo Awards.

Martin is Represented by Panos Pictures, London (Worldwide), Hollandse Hoogte Photo Agency, Amsterdam (The Netherlands only) and Laif Photos & Reportagen, Cologne (Germany only).

His website: www.martinroemers.com

My sincere thanks to Martin for permissions and his picture which he has shared with this blog!

Bhaja Caves: Story of the mysterious simplicity

2011-02-27T10:30:00.010+05:30

Not more than an hour’s drive from where I live stands a magnificent trio of ancient Buddhist rock-cut caves. These are carved out in the hills of Sahyadri mountain range and are situated near the villages Karla, Bedse and Bhaja (today’s story is about ‘Bhaja’ caves among the three). In the modern map these locations seem random and obscure, but historically these were religious centers along the ancient trade routes which eventually connected all southern trade centers to the eminent ‘Silk route’ in the north of India.

Bhaja caves date back to 200 B.C., a period of the ‘Satavahana’ dynasty. Artistically, these caves are not as decorative and grand as the other Indian rock cut architectural sites like Ellora, Elephanta caves or Mahabalipuram, but for me, they have always held a mesmerizing appeal. For a long time I failed to understand what fascinated me so much in this relatively plain looking architecture and I visited Bhaja several times searching for the explanation. Finally, I realized that the answers were hidden in the ‘Cultural history’ rather than the ‘Architectural history’!

The central prayer hall(Chaitya Griha) with ‘Stupa’ (Mound like structure depicts Buddha)

These caves are from ‘Hinayana’ period (literally meaning an ‘abandoned vehicle’ or ‘smaller vehicle’) of Buddhism, when Buddhism was just 200 years old. In later years, Buddhism saw a decline in India but expanded in other civilizations. Around 5th century A.D., Buddhism came back to India, but in a changed form – it was now a ‘Mahayana’ (literally meaning a ‘greater vehicle’) school, far more complex, ritualistic and definitive compared to the ‘smaller vehicle’ that existed 700 years before it. Under this new school, not just the way of worshiping Buddha changed, but the architecture, religious motifs and even Buddha’s depiction saw a transformation. Things became ornamental, very decorative and indeed very beautiful! Without doubt it was a glorious time period for art and sculpture in India. The important rock-cut caves were re-carved, a human depiction for Buddha was carved out of ancient simple Stupas (mound-like structure), patrons, chariots, processions, nymphs and elephants now adorned the walls of the caves.

But this wave of change seems to have bypassed the Bhaja caves, now why did this happen? Perhaps these caves were not very important, or perhaps they were no longer on the strategic trade routes, or perhaps they got ensconced in the belts of newly developed forests. The exact reason is not known. But as a result, a very simple, extraordinarily beautiful (not the ornamental beauty) and well balanced original thought stands in the form of Bhaja Caves! I love to drive down there on a weekend to inhale the simplicity of that thought and when I come back home I feel less tangled.

Kim Anno: The universal statement

2011-02-22T19:06:00.013+05:30

We see powerful strokes of white and grays mixed with ochre or a tinge of teal on robust painting surfaces like metal sheet or wood panel. Sometimes these strokes show a direct resemblance with nature, and at other times these are suggestive allegories. The painting appears gradual, like it has evolved out of the earth, and then suddenly the fluidity in the composition is disrupted by sharp, flowing lines of saturated blues, umbers or oranges. The entire composition elicits the idea of ‘change’ – dangerous human interference with nature and nature responding back in her calamitous ways.Global warming, changing water levels and disturbed environmental landscapes are the inspiration for these stunning paintings by acclaimed artist Kim Anno.

Kim uses extremely powerful gestural work to convey her ideology. But Kim does not limit her art only to the medium of painting; she is a skilled bookmaker, photography and video artist as well. She maintains a consistent approach in the abstract style of expression across all the art forms that she explores. It is very interesting to watch (and learn) how the different art forms change the emphasis on details but speak the same language. For instance, in her paintings she chooses sheer colors to convey the idea, while in photographs she targets established metaphors like geographical magazines or earth balloons, rearranging them to bring out a new meaning altogether. Her photos are as striking as her paintings; they make you pause for a moment and, most importantly, they make you think. It is not surprising that her work has been collected by museums in the US and has also been exhibited internationally.

Kim was born in Los Angeles and currently lives in Berkeley. She is the chair of the Painting Program at California College of the Arts (CCA) and has been a professor at the college since 1996. Her recent interest has been in the intersection of art and science, particularly in aesthetic issues surrounding climate change and changing water levels. She was recently awarded a fellowship by the Zellerbach Foundation in support of her new interdisciplinary work. Interestingly, Kim is also performing hydrodynamic experiments in various types of water bodies to collect data and images for her projects. Currently, she is busy with the project called ‘Men and Women in Water Cities’. Take a look at these early pictures.

You can visit her website to see more of her paintings, photographs and video projects.
Kim is represented by ‘Marcia Wood Gallery’ in Atlanta and ‘Patricia Sweetow Gallery’ in San Francisco.

My sincere thanks to Kim for permitting me to write this post and providing the images.

Gerry Judah: Interpretations of a conflicting world

2011-02-19T09:23:00.008+05:30

Think of an aerial view of a town – not a mere two-dimensional image, but the real thing in real time – complete with densely packed buildings, electric poles, communication lines and water towers. You perhaps imagined a peaceful, ordinary town with people hurrying on to their businesses. But in this town, there are no people; they have all long since perished. What we have instead is a scene of destruction, a town turned death cold, an abandoned cluster of ruined structures. The cause of this wreckage may be a war or a natural calamity, but in either case it has an unmistakable trace of human involvement in it – manmade constructions succumbing to manmade destructions. This is what renowned artist Gerry Judah offers to the viewers in his astonishingly ‘crafted paintings’. His large canvases hold scale models of towns which have been systematically destroyed as a process of his work. The end result is a stark landscape in white, the color of peace, but a landscape which is far removed from peace itself.

Gerry has chosen a painstaking process to make his comment as an artist. This is a comment which will perhaps disturb nation heads and political leaders across the globe, but which will always find the common man in agreement. It is not an exaggeration to say that his works are as striking and hard hitting as Picasso’s ‘Guernica’. (Unfortunately, the world from the times of Guernica has not changed much, and thinkers, artists, performers and writers of every generation are still engaging their mediums to make this point.) Gerry says it without hesitation and without any personal commentary. He is like a photo journalist walking the viewer detachedly through the mayhem of the modern world.

Artistically, Gerry creates a perfectly balanced, lyrical experience contrary to the brutal subject matter. There are subtle light and shadows interacting on his canvases, modulating in tandem with the materials he chooses. At a first glance, his work feels like a gestural expression, but in actuality these paintings are very well planned and crafted out with incredible patience.

Gerry was born in 1951 in Kolkata (Calcutta) and grew up in West Bengal as a child. His maternal and paternal grandparents came from Baghdad to settle in the already established Baghdadi Jewish community in India and Burma. His mother was born in Kolkata and his father in Rangoon. His family moved to London when he was ten years old. He did his graduation in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College, University of London (1972–1975) and he studied sculpture as a postgraduate student at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London (1975–1977). After college, he set up his studio and began work on large sculptures. He is recognized for a number of commissions from public museums and institutions. One of his highly acclaimed commissions is a large model of the selection ramp in Auschwitz concentration camp designed for the Imperial War Museum in London. Gerry is also recognized for his spectacular settings created for performers like Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin etc. He has also created stunning installations for companies like Ferrari, Porsche, Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz etc. at the annual 'Goodwood Festival of Speed' (FoS), a historic motor racing event in the UK. Later he returned to his Fine Art roots to create his now highly acclaimed paintings. His latest work 'THE CRUSADER' is on show from 6 November 2010 to 6 November 2011, as part of the Artist Reactions series in the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, UK.

You can see more pictures of Gerry’s work, his installations and read his biography on his website.

You can also see Gerry in action in this beautifully made film by Alex Chandon.

Gerry Judah: Paintings from Sam Marcuson on Vimeo.

My sincere thanks to Gerry for permitting me to write this post.
Gerry’s picture courtesy: Phil Hunt, Film courtesy: Alex Chandon, Vimeo Hosting: Sam Marcuson

Of Pigments

2011-02-13T19:14:00.008+05:30

Remember colors? This question sounds silly because we really don’t perform any conscious process of recollecting specifics about colors (most of the time!). Every object we see, the information we gather visually, our memories, imaginations and even our dreams have colors. This post could very easily begin to move in several different directions at this point. Like for instance if we mention “dreams” then we could bring in Sigmund Freud! But here when we say “colors”, (which is what we are going to say :), we are going to talk about ‘Pigments’.

Now when we begin talking about pigments, we still have multiple things that we can discuss: physical basis, chemical understanding, technical understanding, historical (history of pigments, not history of art), artistic etc. Even from an ‘artistic’ point of view, there are multiple aspects which will very soon convert this post into a good fat datasheet. (No, this is not going to happen!)

So here I am going to limit the scope for this post to an overview about pigments to make things easier.

What is a pigment: A pigment is a dry coloring matter, usually an insoluble powder. When these dry colorants are mixed with binders also called ‘vehicles’ (such as linseed oil, resins, acrylic, wax etc.) we get various types of paints. But besides pigments and binders, paints can also contain various adhesives, stabilizers, preservatives and antioxidants (dryers) etc.

This means watercolors, pastels, gouache, color pencils, acrylic paints or oil paints, they usually share same pigments but different binders.

Pigment Categories: Pigments have three basic categories

Organic substances (made from natural sources. Color example: Rose Madder)
Inorganic (made from sources like minerals and metals. Color example: Burnt Sienna)
Synthetic pigments (artificially manufactured. Color Example: Cobalt Blue)

Pigment Types: Artistically, there are 3 broadly defined pigment types (Source: .winsornewton.com)

Earth colors - ochres, siennas, umbers, Mars colors
Traditional colors - cobalts, cadmiums, titanium, ultramarines
Modern colors - phthalocyanines, quinacridones, perylenes, pyrrols

Organic pigments made from natural sources have been used for centuries, but most pigments used today are either inorganic or ‘synthetic organic’ (containing carbon atom structure same as original organic pigment) ones. Industrial and chemical revolution in the 19^th century changed the scenario rapidly and today what we get as consumer colors are mostly made out of synthetic pigments. Historically and culturally, many famous natural pigments have been replaced with synthetic pigments, while retaining their historic names. It is indeed good to know about colors more than just their names!

And how about some trivia on the way out?

More than 15,000 years ago cavemen began to use color to decorate cave walls. These were earth pigments, yellow earth (Ochre), red earth and white chalk. In addition they used carbon (Lamp) black by collecting the soot from burning animal fats.
Ancient Romans used to import ‘indigo’ as a pigment from India by Arab merchants. They used it for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. It was an expensive luxury item!
‘Indian Yellow’ was once produced by collecting the urine of cattle that had been fed only mango leaves. Modern hues of Indian Yellow are made from synthetic pigments. (Relax!)
Vermilion was developed in China around 2,000 years before Romans started using it. Vermilion was made by heating mercury and sulphur.
Ultramarine was originally produced from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. In the 1820's a national prize of 6,000 francs was offered in France to anyone who could discover a method of artificially making ultramarine at a cost of less than 300 francs per kilo. J B Guimet succeeded in 1828. Known as French Ultramarine ever since, the pigment is chemically identical to genuine ultramarine.
Lac is a red colorant originally made in India, which gave rise to the term "Lake", meaning any transparent dye-based color precipitated on an inert pigment base, used for glazing. During the High Renaissance in Italy, Lac was the third most expensive pigment (after gold and Ultramarine), but most artists thought it worth the expense.
In 14^th century, the Italians developed the range of earth pigments by roasting clays from places called Sienna and Umbria to make the deep rich red of Burnt Sienna and the rich brown of Burnt Umber.
The oil paint pigment ‘van Dyck brown’ is named after 17^th century’s great Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck.
Emerald Green was a very popular wallpaper color but unfortunately in damp conditions arsenical fumes were released from it. It is thought that Napoleon died as a result of arsenic poisoning from the wallpaper in his prison home on the island St. Helena.
‘Payne’s gray’ is named after the 18th century watercolorist William Payne, this dark blue-grey colorant combines ultramarine and black, or Ultramarine and Sienna. It was used by artists as a pigment, and also as a mixer instead of black.

Update: This article has also been incorporated in the content resource of the ‘NonToxicPrint.com’ by Friedhard Kiekeben. ‘Non toxic print’ is one of the best places on the internet to learn about various non-toxic printmaking techniques and safe painting practices for artists.

‘Googling’ Museums!

2011-02-10T23:47:00.004+05:30

I remember very well how excited I was to see my first 3-D movie ‘Chhota Chetan’ (My Dear Kuttichaathan) in 1985. It was India’s first 3-D movie ever and for most of the movie goers, this experience was simply ‘unbelievable’. This was my very first ‘technology shocker’. Later with adequate intervals (like many other fellow Indians born before the ‘90’s’) I received a regular dosage of ‘technology shocks’, the first TV my father brought home, the first PC I got to use ‘personally’, the first encounter with the internet, the first cell-phone etc…. whew! What excitement! And have the ground breaking inventions taken a break? No way! Here comes the absolutely mind-blowing thing called the ‘Google Art Project’.

While I thought Google was busy shuttling my e-mails around the globe, they had in fact teamed up with world’s 17 most acclaimed art museums to create this magnificent online walk-through. (MoMA in New York, Uffizi Gallery in Florence, The National Gallery in London and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam are a few among these) Now what can I say about this?
Well, a heartfelt Thanks to the Google guys! :)

Here is what the Samaritans from Google have been saying about the project on their blog.

To summarize for artists and people generally interested in art, what we get is this,
• We get to ‘see’ the works of great masters like Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Rembrandt, Hans Holbein, Sandro Botticelli, Caravaggio and El Greco, just to name a few!
• For the first time, we can see some of the very important paintings like the ‘Starry Night’ in a very minute detail. This is thanks to the ‘Gigapixel Scanning’ technology employed to scan one painting from each of the museums. This, I feel, is one of the most important attributes of the project.
• We can get a ‘feel’ of these 17 museums which are some of the most important art centers on our planet!
A lot of good reasons to drop by to the site and see the magic. So happy museum hunting to you guys, while I go back to ogling my favorite El Greco at ‘The State Hermitage Museum’!

Have fun! :)

First Colors

2011-02-06T11:37:00.003+05:30

Every dawning day in India is immersed in dazzling colors – vermilion reds, shades of deep yellow, greens of all intensities – which form a part of the food we eat, the gods we worship and the houses we inhabit. The mud walls in many houses in rural India are covered with bright paintings of flowers, birds and other motifs which can also be seen – in a more complex rendition – in the traditional miniature and wall paintings dating back several centuries. The colors and the imagery have seeped into the very fabric of life. In the picture I captured a few months back, the 'Chakda' is exhibiting an exotic array of colors while its proud owner is enjoying an afternoon of leisure in the far town of Junagadh, in a corner of western India.

As an artist, I think this is the best place to start my blog, the place where art has formed a spontaneous expression of existence itself.