life

life

Thought behind the thought: 

Henry Thoreau says, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it”. It so true about all of us, we have all exchanged something very dear to us in exchange for life. Not always, are we able to do so with acceptance. This exchange scars us of life and makes us vulnerable to pain. Oddly some people seem happy and content all the time and you begin to wonder how life is so sorted for them. Truth is that they too have paid a price and if you look closely, chances are you will find the price clearly imprinted in their eyes.

About the art: 

Yuki Matsueda is a Japanese artist who has done some remarkable work in 3D sculpting. His sculptures seem to be in suspended animation and he manages to pull out the core or the crux out an object and separate it from the whole. Just as we pay a price for life and are bereft of our core or our crux, these objects look like something vital is missing or has been pulled out of them with force. It would be interesting to imagine how we look, visually, separated from what we imagine to be our core. Matsueda’s works show us the part, the whole, the crux and the absence and presence of the crux in the same frame at a single point in time.

Credits:

http://artboom.info/sculpting/yuki-matsueda-extruded-art.html

contentment

The sculpture Contentment (1974, 206 cm x 229 cm x 92 cm, ciment fondu) by Singaporean sculptor Ng Eng Teng at the entrance of the National University of Singapore Cultural Centre on its Kent Ridge Campus. (206 x 259 x 92 cm)

Ng Eng Teng (12 July 1934 – 4 November 2001), The Grandfather of Singapore Sculpture was a sculptor in Singapore known for his figurative sculptures, many of which are found in public locations around Singapore. 

"Humanity, yes, life itself is my main inspiration. All along I've been working on figures, human beings, the good and bad side of life, the achievements and downfall of mankind. The thought of losing life and wasting one's life is urgent in my mind. While we have life, we must treasure it."

"A person assumes the form of a body, with enclosed emotions. Body movements interpret emotions. The structure of the body is a very powerful symbol of emotion and feeling; I am fascinated by the immense potential in the use of the figure."

"My main purpose in life is to be happy, healthy and artistically productive. As for art, it is not what I have to do, but rather, what I feel I have to and want to do. It is basically to create, visualise my emotions and my thinking, sharing these ideas and productions with others. When I get into my studio, a piece of clay will do wonders and soon I feel free and forget myself, unpleasant things forgotten, ideas flow into forms and thoughts tam into shapes with material. I have recalled a number of reactions of viewers to my works; these responses to forms and images demonstrate that there is contact and communication between my works and viewers; this gives me joy and satisfaction. "

(excerpts from: Arts and Thoughts: Conversation between Ng Eng Teng and T.K. Sabapathy)

source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NgEngTeng-Contentment-1974-NUS-20080828.jpg

http://www.publicart.sg/?q=Ng-Eng-Teng-Contentment

http://www.nus.edu.sg/museum/pdf/2010/Sculpting_Life.pdf

http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/sculptors/ngengteng/interview.html

four stages of life

The famous 'Bandhani' or 'Bandhej' of Kutch is a tie and dye technique used to create beautiful fabric designs in vibrant colours. The technique involves the removal (by tying) of certain parts of the fabric from the colouring process , followed by dyeing in the next stage. Depending upon the complexity of pattern, fabric is tied up in knots of various sizes and boiled in colour, to form unique patterns that are a result of unique subtractions and additions of knots and colours.

decisions and repurcussions

The accompanying image shows artist Ivan Albright at work, painting the title portrait for the 1945 film "The Picture of Dorian Gray" based on Oscar Wilde's novel of the same name. 

The novel, very controversial for its time, told the story of Dorian Gray who sells his soul in exchange for everlasting youth. The moral degradation that he brings upon himself is reflected in his portrait, while he retains his youth and beauty. 

Ivan Albright was an American magic realist painter and artist, most renowned for his portraits and character studies. His realistic, but exaggerated depictions of decay and corruption made him very well suited to undertake such a project.

reference: tsutpen.blogspot.com,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Albright

two seasons

Nature,the greatest artist,embraces change with every season. Not only does it accept change, but it does so with beauty and grace. The Semul, the Palash and the Amaltas, three very beautiful trees of India featured in the above photographs demonstrate that change is not only inevitable,but also beautiful.

plan to live ... or live to plan?

John Wellington Kent, better known by his signature Jack Kent was an American cartoonist and prolific author - illustrator of children’s books, best known as the creator of the comic strip ‘King Aroo’. In addition to his own books, he also illustrated books by other authors.

“ By means of his artwork, Jack Kent has developed a fresh variation. ................. he has given the stories a new dimension of humour and, while the morals are as true as ever, the reader enjoys a chuckle along."

Illustration (origin: latin word  illustra’tio, illu’stro meaning enlighten, irradiate) is a visualisation or a graphic depiction made by an artist, such as a drawing, sketch, painting, photograph, of things seen, remembered or imagined.

source: http://raphaelslibrary.files.wordpress.com/

connecting the dots

The traditional Indian Rangoli, drawn as an auspicious symbol in front of most Indian homes, has a very simple beauty about it. Innumerable patterns are born from a basic grid of dots, from the simple to the complex, from straight line geometrical ones to fluid curvilinear ones. The possibilities are unending..... it is the maker of the rangoli who imagines a pattern in the dot matrix and brings it to life!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NQXuf2gnSg