Saturday, March 7, 2015

time


Thought behind the Thought
That time flies, is a fact well known and well accepted by all. And the right time flies even more quickly. Before you know it, the right moment has moved ahead and you are left with your dreams and aspirations, trying desperately to catch up with it.
It is a chase as exhausting, as it is frustating! How does one know that the time is 'right'. And having realised that it has left, how does one reconcile to the fact and go about setting things right?

About the Art
The concept of time has inspired many artists to create innovative art, whether it is painting, or sculpture, or installations. Here is how artists have chosen to represent the concept, each unique and interesting in its own way.

Time Flies 2012 by Ursula Gerber Senger

(Selected work for the 7th From Lausanne to Beijing "International Fiber Art Exhibition Nantong City, Jiang Su Province, China "1895" Cultural and Creative Industrial Park)

“Time flies” stands for the rapid changes being experienced in today’s world. In my work I am depicting the speed and the pace of today’s world.


Our workflow and mobility is becoming more rapid and faster, human relationships are becoming more challenging and more demanding and social bonding more fragile. The flood of information we are receiving today causes a fragile surface like walking on thin ice, on which we struggle and grasp for orientation. (Ursula Gerber Senger)

Source
http://www.ursula-gerber.ch/time-flies3-de.html


 
As time Flies by James L.Hayes

Commissioned by Cork City Council in 2008 this large- scale work was created in consultation with Michael Punch & Partners Consulting Engineers and was fabricated by A&A Engineering in Dublin.

The concept of this public work is underpinned by an ongoing concern with the ‘everyday object’. Conceptually the work also corresponds to the artist’s continued and ongoing desire to transform the most humble and ephemeral of objects, e.g. a childlike kite, into celebratory and permanent relics. A permanent fixture on the North Cork city skyline, this work aims to embody and explore a sense of optimism, social confidence and also signifies and connotes aspects of expression, play, flight and departure. (James L.Hayes)


Source



Time Flies By by How & Nosm. Spray Paint on DC 3 for The Boneyard Project



The Bone Yard Project revives disused airplanes from America’s military history through the creative intervention of contemporary artists, taking entire airplanes and their elements out of aeronautic resting spots in the desert, known as boneyards, and putting them into the hands of artists.

How and Nosm (Raoul and Davide Perre), the creators of the above art,  are identical twin brothers known for their large scale graffiti based murals that adorn city walls around the world. The red, black, and white-based imagery is instantly recognizable and commands attention through the impressive size and the intricate detail.

Time flies by sand artist Joe Castillo
Artist, author, pastor and entrepreneur, Joe Castillo grew up surrounded by art and the cosmopolitan culture of an international city. He has continued to nurture his artistic roots. He has also developed a number of “Live Art” presentations that use intricately crafted illustrations to teach Biblical truths as they unfold. His latest artistic venture called “Sand Art”, is a live-art presentation performed to music and projected for a stunning visual effect. Joe is an artist, author and storyteller with a passion for promoting the visual arts as a way of touching the heart.

Source:

visit blogadda.com to discover Indian blogs


Visit blogadda.com to discover Indian blogs
<a href="http://www.blogadda.com" title="Visit blogadda.com to discover Indian blogs" > <img src="http://www.blogadda.com/images/blogadda.png" width="80" height="15" border="0" alt="Visit blogadda.com to discover Indian blogs"/></a>

Friday, March 6, 2015

wordless story


Thought behind the thought
The art of story telling requires more than words. And at times, no words at all! The story teller's stance, body movements, from the sweep of an arm to the flick of an eyebrow, her facial expressions, all build up a wordless story. And whatever gaps there may be, are filled up by the observer's imagination. A picture painted without obvious brush strokes, a story told without words!
Performing artists, especially dancers , do just that! 




About the art 
Anita Ratnam, dancer-choreographer is a master story teller who communicates through the medium of dance. She says, "I am in dance because this is my own way of connecting with myself and the world. I consider myself a contemporary classicist.
When people see my work, they can tell that it is Indian in spirit but very contemporary in approach. Folk dancers and drummers who dance every evening after a hard day's work in the fields, traditional temple performers whose lives depend upon serving GOD during important festivals, actors who fuse movement with voice culture, young performers and students all over the world who want to learn new movement and the dynamics of cultural memories embedded into our South Asian bloodstream - these are the artistes who are the focus of my work.
I call myself a cultural activist because I believe in my culture. My culture doesn't mean just the performing arts. To me it stands for finding out about my roots and knowing who I am. And the classical arts are a very vital part of our culture."





She is the founder- director of 'Arangham' (meaning stage or performing space in Tamil) , the dance-led cultural foundation that seeks " to explore, enrich and promote the performing and visual arts of India and to contemporize the rich tapestry of indian creativity for modern audiences."
A scholar, writer and cultural activist, she presents and lectures on varied themes that bring a new perspective to the Indian Dance scene. Some of the themes that she has woven through her performances are : MA3KA...the triad supreme, ADHIROHANA - EMBODYING CHAKRAS, NEELAM...Drowning in Bliss, AVANI...A HANDFUL OF DUST, A MILLION SITAs, ANDARI - The Great Goddess, etc.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSescZc4mL4


Credits and Source of information
http://arangham.com/infopics/abouther/storytelling/pics.html
http://www.arangham.com/anita/anita.html

Thursday, March 5, 2015

discarding all those


Thought behind the thought:
There was an annual clearance sale going on at a prominent designer store. Things that one could only dream of buying were available at half price or even cheaper. So does the value of something really diminish after a stipulated period of time? Often these products up for sale are ones which are really close to the use by date. They are packaged and made attractive with schemes to lure people buying such products. 

Is the same principle applicable to human relationships? Do we try and salvage relationships fearing that they are ending their shelf life? Once we are convinced in our minds, that certain things have gone way over their use by date, we realise that these issues have gone bad indeed. They stink and make us think twice before giving them anymore time or place in our life. 
But unlike products, discarding old friends, memories, relationships and emotional connections comes at a heavy price. Discarding those means you are discarding a part of yourself you so dearly cherished. So can we discard in an inventive way whereby we remove the unwanted elements and influences from our lives? Yet we use that experience to learn and grow.



About the art: 

Someone’s trash becomes someone else’s treasure. Mosaic is one form of art that uses waste in the most inventive and aesthetic way possible. Caroline Jariwala's Mango Mosaics uses the picassiette method of old, chipped and discarded crockery to create wonderful mosaics. She sees potential in broken items in the most unique way possible.





Vibrant colours and emotional attachment to memories are the themes of her work. Her work celebrates people, their stories and their lessons learnt though life. She got a degree in art, health and well being and her work is a culmination of all three aspects of what she studied. The basic human instinct is to mend something if it’s broken. Mosaic celebrates the broken elements because firstly, if something is broken that means it was put to use at some point. Secondly, if the mending is carefully done chances are that what will emerge will be both beautiful and stand the test of time.

Credits and source of information

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

silver




Thought behind the thought:
Recently I was offered mithai by someone who was blessed with a baby daughter. As per Indian traditions, mithai is offered to friends and family on happy occasions. As I picked up a piece to  relish it, I noticed the presence of the magnificent edible silver leaf adorning the mithai. Gold and silver are omnipresent in the Indian culture. These precious metals have been included in our food, clothing, jewellery, paintings, furniture and just about every aspect of our lifestyle. Indian culture is all about celebrating art, culture and in general the vivacity of life. Gold and silver find themselves woven into every festival, every celebration and everyday life of us Indians. 



About the Art:
The rich and royal history of India talks about kings and queens and exuberance. It tells us stories of how India was a land of wealth and culture. We have scores of museums in India and across the world that showcase this heritage in the form of artefacts, relics and objects of historic value. The wonderful traditional art of weaving, gilding, architecture, painting and wood work portray the finer aesthetic abilities of the artisan of the yore.


Zari is one such traditional art form that’s truly remarkable. Jari or Zari is a thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver, used in traditional Indian garments like sarees, kurtas, topis’, and dupattas and most exquisitely used as brocade in saris.





City of Surat , Gujarat is the world’s largest producer of all types of Zari and Zari embellishments like threads, Cantile, laces, ribbons, borders, trims, fringes, edges, cordonettes, cords, etc. The art of Zari work has always been an inherited family business or craft that was transferred from father to son for several centuries now. Women and men from different communities are artisans that painstakingly craft items out of Zari through weaving, embroidery, crocheting, braiding, etc.



The manufacture of Zari thread involves winding or wrapping a flattened metallic strip made from pure gold, silver or metal polyester film on a core yarn. Usually the core yarn used is pure silk, art silk, viscous, cotton, nylon, polyester, P.P., mono/multi filament, wire, etc. Zari available today is of three kinds. Real Zari is made of pure gold or silver, Imitation Zari is made from silver electroplated thin copper wire. The last and the most economic one is Metallic Zari made of slitted polyester metallised film. In ancient times only Real Zari threads were produced. After the invention of electroplating process, Imitation Zari came into existence to cut the cost of precious metals. Copper is the most malleable and ductile metal after Gold and Silver hence silver electroplated copper wire replaced pure silver. Today colours and chemicals are used to create or impart a golden hue to make it appear like real Gold. The precious metals & copper too became dearer due to huge demand in various modern industries. Prices of Copper are steep as well and hence the cheap alternative of metallic Zari is rapidly replacing traditional metals like Gold, Silver and Copper. 



The Jari work business like most other traditional crafts are hard hit by rising costs, changing fashion trends, demands from consumers and lack of skilled craftsmen. There is little money for the artisan and thousands are exchanged by dealers. This is causing major problems to this industry. Procuring good raw material is also becoming increasingly difficult.




This intricate and delicate art form needs patience, practice and a keen eye. Tremendous hours of backbreaking work result in the creation of exquisite designs. There are now several projects and NGO’s trying to salvage this industry from its riddling issues.

Credits:

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

places and faces




Thought behind the thought:
Who we are is tremendously influenced by where we come from. It seamless becomes one with our identity. People are affected by these places and people long after they are gone. The places are the anchors to which we attach a part of our life. When we look back at a particular time from our lives it is ridden with such vivid images. If we were to revisit them after a couple of decades or so, even if the place has changed, its context altered, if its run down or pulled down, a part of our life lingers near its existence. It is a reminder of a part of you that was lost in time. The place reintroduces you to a missing part of yourself.


About the Art

The work of Andrea Costantini puts places and faces together to create amazing art.
A trained photographer and Graphic designer, 
Andrea Costantini  is the editor, founder, publisher and art director of the electronic magazine 'Photographize'. 

© Andrea Costantini Photo+Art 
 © Andrea Costantini Photo+Art
© Andrea Costantini Photo+Art 
© Andrea Costantini Photo+Art
He believes that "photography in the modern era has received the gift of digital. You may use it to express yourself and you can take advantage of the most advanced technologies. Then, sometimes, you can choose to go back to the smell of emulsions and to the choice of manual exposure. Papers and pencils accompany the birth of a my projects. Sketches, notes, post-it notes and various leaflets turn into inspiration and images. Digital technologies have opened new horizons to photography without preventing it from maintaining its identity. I am crazy about playing with lights and shadows, tones and textures, it can make ordinary and dull place to look like something from out of this world........  Having all this in my life in every way possible, exploring new visions, expressing myself and showing to the world the way I see things."

© Andrea Costantini Photo+Art 
© Andrea Costantini Photo+Art 
 © Andrea Costantini Photo+Art
© Andrea Costantini Photo+Art


Credit and Source of information

Monday, March 2, 2015

wearing a face



Thought behind the thought

We face every new day with a new face! A happy one for a day we know is going our way. A worried one when we are unsure about the day we are going to meet. And we do this with practiced ease. Almost as naturally as we would choose our clothes to wear. 
Some people wear a happy face, no matter what. Does it mean that they are always happy? Or only that they are hiding their sadness behind it? And doesn't it eventually become cumbersome to carry on that way?
Is it not like being a part of a performance, where you are playing a role? The only difference being that the show never ends, but always goes on?

About the art
Actors get in to the skin of the characters they play in all performing arts, whether it is dance, or drama, or folk arts like the Bhand Pather of Kashmir, a dramatic from based on mythological stories incorporating contemporary social satire within its practical theme.
Born Hindus, but practising Muslims, the Bhands are secular in their outlook and that is reflected in this dynamic folk form that has incorporated many elements from the classical Sanskrit theatre as well as from other traditional folk forms of India. 



The plays of the Bhands are called 'Pather', a word that seems to have derived from patra, dramatic character. Bhand comes from the bhaana, a satirical and realistic drama, generally a monologue that is mentioned in Bharata's Natya Shastra. The Bhand Pather though is not a monologue but a social drama incorporating mythological legends and contemporary social satire.





Performed with traditional musical instruments and based on the traditional music forms, the acts communicate a strong social message. Masks are used by the actors to add more drama to their performances, making the satire more effective.




Masks used in Bhand Pather performances