straight lines and circles

Thought behind the thought
We look at life as a linear progression, from childhood to youth to old age. We also look at many processes and chains of events as irreversible, a one-way affair. We are so fond of laying down straight roads, writing between straight lines and straightening out our problems.
Why is it then, that we end up running in circles all the time???

About the art
Lines and circles have fascinated artists for centuries, and are two of  the basic elements that make up a visual composition. Abstract paintings are at times, pure exercises in putting together these elements together in a visually stimulating way. Like these very interesting compositions by Wassily Kandinsky, one of the greatest abstract painters of the 20th century.

composition, 1923

Trained to be a lawyer, Kandinsky gave up his successful career to devote himself totally to painting. Kandinsky due to his active creativity and organizational skills always attracted anything intellectual, restless, striving, which was in the world of art of that time. In 1901 he founded Phalanx, an art group, in Munich and started a school, in which he taught himself. He, along with other members of his group arranged exhibitions, in which, according to the artist, "the accent was made on revealing associative properties of color, line and composition.

 black and violet 1923

 Blue 1923

Circles in a circle 1923

Opposing the Constructivist artists, who lay emphasis on exact analysis of materials for their constructive arrangement or setting, Kandinsky said that "Just because an artist uses 'abstract' methods, it does not mean that he is an 'abstract' artist. It doesn't even mean that he is an artist. Just as there are enough dead triangles (be they white or green), there are just as many dead roosters, dead horses or dead guitars. One can just as easily be a "realist academic" as an "abstract academic". A form without content is not a hand, just an empty glove full of air".

 in the black square 1923

 parallel diagonals 1925

unequal 1932

After joining the well-known Bauhaus, Germany (the Higher school of construction and art designing), he again taught and developed his ideas. They dealt, first of all, with the deep analytical study of separate elements of a picture, which resulted into "Point and Line to Plane" in 1926. Kandinsky also worked much and experimented with color, applying his analytical foundation and the conclusions in his teaching. Kandinsky's works again underwent changes: individual geometrical elements increasingly entered the foreground, his palette was sated with cold color harmonies which, at times, are perceived as a dissonance, the circle is used differently, as a sensual symbol of perfect form.

Credit and source of information

http://www.wassilykandinsky.net

spring

Thought behind the thought
We all have an optimistic corner in our hearts, where live our desires and our hopes. And they are yearning to spring to life. At times, for years they lie in wait ... for the right time, the right season, the right situation. And when the winds of change blow and bring with them a changing season, they come alive and blossom!

About the art
Spring has figured as a prominent theme in all Indian art, whether it is painting or music or theatre. There is something about spring that Indians cherish and 'Vasant' or 'Basant' as it is called in the Indian subcontinent marks the beginning of a new year in almost all parts of India. Festivals associated with this season are vibrant too, reflecting the fresh greens. reds and yellows that appear on the landscape.

Spring depicted in these miniature paintings reflect the joy associated with it in Indian culture

Vasant Ragini, Raagmala -Rajput painting 1770

Deccan Paintings - Raga Basant, Golkonda, circa 1690-1700, National Museum

Raag Vasant - Bundi raagmala- Rajput painting

Raag vasant - Kangra raagmala

Ragini Vasant Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai

Ragini Vasanti

Credit and source of information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragamala_paintings
http://www.anistor.gr/english/enback/o041.htm
http://indiapicks.com/Indianart/Main/MP_Ragamala.htm
http://www.dollsofindia.com/product/miniature-paintings/ragini-vasanti-miniature-painting-on-silk-cloth-GK48.html

tomorrow and today

Thought behind the thought

Today and Tomorrow, like two siblings are forever connected, yet maintain their own identities. The judgemental older brother blames the younger one for everything, and the younger one hardly cares! He is so busy living his life and making his mistakes! If only they came together! Life would be so much better for all the value they would both bring to it. Enthusiasm and adventure on one hand, wisdom and maturity on the other!

About the art

The special bonding between siblings has inspired a lot of art, and these oil paintings done on Copper vouch for the same.

 Iris and Edward by Lauren Palte

Sonia and Sister by Lauren Palte

Untitled  by Lauren Palte

Untitled  by Lauren Palte

Tilley and siblings by Lauren Palte

This is what the artist Lauren Palte has to say about this amazing work in a very innovative medium

"In this project, oil paint that is dissolved in solvent is poured onto a horizontal sheet of copper. The non-porous surface of copper causes the paint to flow, pool and disperse across the surface. The luminous ground shines through the thin layers of paint.

The importance of the medium and a search for exploratory processes of painting underpin this project. But the formal concern of light and transparency that is offered by the copper surface ties into my interest in x-rays of paintings, in particular recent autoradiographs of works by Dutch Masters, Vermeer and Rembrandt. X-ray images of such paintings reveal things that would otherwise remain invisible to the unaided eye. These images present an opportunity to engage with the changeability of technique present in paintings. The human forms that were whole in the original paintings become ghostly shadows in x-ray.

This project brings together x-ray images of paintings with fragments from well-known paintings and personal images from my family album. While diverse in their origin, the activity of painting seeks a moment of recognition or empathy with the painted figure; searching for lost moments, hidden in memory or behind new layers of paint."


Credit and source of information
http://laurenpalte.com/

lines and dots

Thought behind the thought
Have you ever seen a 'modern' painting and felt at a complete loss to understand the meaning of the lines and shapes and dots? Have you ever tried to read a foreign language in an unknown script and felt overwhelmed by the lines and dots on paper? 
You know for sure, that they mean something to someone. You know that they stand for some concept or word or idea. But till you learn the script, you are not able to unravel the mystery behind the symbols. And once you learn to read the symbols, you suddenly feel liberated, because now you are a part of their world!

About the Art
Lines and dots were used as symbols to convey deeper meaning in art, especially tribal art. They formed symbols and motifs that were unique to the community that created them. Like these paintings  by Australian aboriginal artists.

'Tingari' (Lake) by artist : George Ward Tjungurrayi. 

Tingari – Karrkurritinytja (Lake MacDonald) by artist : George Ward Tjungurrayi.

   'Water buffalo' by artist Djambu Barra Barra

                                                                                  

  'Man finished' by  artist: Djambu Barra Barra  

As seen in all these paintings, lines and dots, apart from creating a very strong visual impact are symbolic and convey meanings and ideas in a very unique way. While there are huge differences between symbols and meanings throughout Australia, there are some symbols that seem to be almost universal throughout the Aboriginal world. The more you understand of the symbols, the more you can appreciate Aboriginal art and its meaning. 

'Ngalyod' (rainbow Serpent) by artist: Hamish Garrgarku

 "Gungara' (spiralling wind by artist Hamish Garrgarku

Although some symbols used in Aboriginal art have secret meanings - which are only there for those who have been appropriately initiated - other symbols and their meanings have become well established (like the "U" symbol to represent people, lines to represent tracks or waves, and circles representing a whole lot of things like berries, stars, kids or even waterholes, with reference to the overall picture)

'Rockhole' by artist Linda Syddick Napaltjarri

'Walking over sand hills' by artist Linda Syddick Napaltjarri

Watch Australian artist Janie Ward Nakamarra create an amazing 'dot' painting in the video clip below.

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

Credit and Source of information
http://www.japingka.com.au/collections/george-ward-tjungurrayi/
http://www.mbantua.com.au/news/

sunshine

Thought behind the Thought

Sunshine is magical. Any object that is touched by sunshine becomes more beautiful than it might actually be. Especially faces! The expressions on a face are highlighted and heightened by the touch of light, and at times, light imparts a whole new dimension to it's beauty. 

The glow on a child's face when bathed with sunlight would, by far, be one of the most beautiful sights on earth. As if the creator himself had cast his ever loving gaze upon his creation!

About the art:

Sunlight is a very important element of visual art, as it adds an entirely new dimension to the subject as well as the visual frame. It brings out the depth and the finer details in the scene, and adds life to the work of art, whether it is painting, or photography or a scene from a film.

As is seen in the amazingly realistic paintings of artist S. Illayaraja.

S. Illayaraja is a young upcoming artist from Tamilnadu, who is known for his amazingly realistic paintings. Trained as a fine artist, he explores different mediums including watercolour, oil painting and acrylic and also dabbles in photography.

Most of his paintings depict women and scenes from his native land, and his mastery over the depiction of expressions and light is evident in his work.

Credit and Source of information:

http://fineartblogger.com/realistic-oil-paintings-indian-artist-s-ilayaraja/
http://www.fineartandyou.com/2013/04/30-beautiful-paintings-by-s-ilayaraja.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDiXYOTKy-Q


Contributions from our readers

Credits: Manoj Deshpande

 Credits: Trupti Godbole

Credits: Anand Ukidve

either / or

Thought behind the thought

Many a times, we stand at crossroads, staring at a seemingly difficult situation. Its either 'this' or 'that'! Tough choice. But it need not be so. So many things are seemingly complex, and if you think comprehensively from a totally different perspective, you discover that we could actually have the best of both worlds. We need not choose between 'this' and 'that'. We can have 'This' and also 'That', both at the same time!

Because things, situations, people, life ......  is always a composite of opposites, as most oriental cultures acknowledge. Be it the Yin-Yang of Chinese philosophy, or the Maya-Bramha of Hindu thought, the fusion of opposites to form a 'Whole' remains a dominant theme.

About The Art

Hindu philosophy is replete with examples of the fusion of two seemingly opposite concepts, the most well known of them being 'Ardha Narishwar' the half-male, half-female form of Lord Shiva.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research

An early Kushan head of Ardhanarishvara, Mathura Museum

http://picasaweb.google.com/injamaven

http://www.shaktisadhana.org/images/Ardhanarishwaripage/adhanari.JPG

Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit: अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśvara), is a composite androgynous form of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati (also known as Devi, Shakti and Uma in this icon). Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half male and half female, split down the middle. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes.

The earliest Ardhanarishvara images are dated to the Kushan period, starting from the first century BC. Its iconography evolved and was perfected in the Gupta era. ThePuranas and various iconographic treatises write about the mythology and iconography of Ardhanarishvara. While Ardhanarishvara remains a popular iconographic form found in most Shiva temples throughout India, very few temples are dedicated to this deity.

Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation. Another view is that Ardhanarishvara is a symbol of Shiva's all-pervasive nature.

relief in stone from elephanta caves, near Mumbai

relief in stone from gangaikonda cholapuram temple

view of the Ardha Narishwar temple, Velapur, Maharashtra, India, built around 1300 A.D

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/51200107

http://ardhanarinateshwar.blogspot.in/

Credits and Source of information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardhanarishvara


Do also visit  http://youtu.be/nhmxRyMG3A8 for a mesmerising recital of the Ardha Nari nateshwar stotra by Pandit Jasraj.