Sanjay Bhattacharya the artist? Yes all of us know him. Sanjay Bhattacharya the poet? Intriguing!!Bengali poetry that fl its and forms the clouds of fantasy, that when recited by the artist himself brings back memories of the famed Uttam Kumar reciting lines in eulogic elegance on the sets of a Satyajit Ray fi lm. Sanjay’s […]
Month: November 2012
COVER STORY
LONGINGS OF THE EARTH UNDERSTANDING THE ARTISTIC PRACTICE OF DHANESHWAR SHAHThrough the nineties, contemporary India and its art have become increasingly urban centric. Locked in this myopia of an urban gaze, there has been a movement away from engaging with the ‘folk’ and ‘tribal’ either as art forms or as a way of life. Th […]
COVER STORY
Th e first painting of the Assam Toil series by Raj Kumar Mazinder was an acrylic on canvas of the same title, which was done in 2004. I saw this painting much later. Th e fi rst work that had come to my notice in this series was the 2005 linocut titled Selling Assam Toil, […]
COVER STORY
DUET OF SELF AND CIRCUMSTANCEAn examination of art works could do with a look at the nature of the self that creates them. Aft er all self and environment, and self and art are inextricably meshed. In other words, artistic expression refl ects and unfailingly interacts with the overall human environment. Th ere is a […]
ESSAY
DIASPORA AND REINFORCING OF IDENTITIES IN FILMSMulticulturalism and the Diaspora have become much debated and contested terms in the politics and cultural ethos of the 21st century. Th e ‘melting pot’ that Britain and the USA have oft en been described as is highly confl icting – in that it oft en seeks to marginalize […]
INTERNATIONAL
SHUMON AHMED, HOME LAND Photographer Shumon Ahmed lives and works in Dhaka, Bangladesh; a country plagued by extreme weather conditions but equally resourced by fertile land. Since a boy, Ahmed has watched his mother country become something all its own. Despite the jarring climatic and agricultural fl uxes, aesthetics has come to the fore, and […]
FEATURE
CONVERSATIONS WITH ETERNITY Just two days aft er the passing away of India’s renowned abstract landscape artist, Rajendra Dhawan, on the 2nd November 2012, a new kind of nature based abstraction s being born. It marks a signifi cant departure from the understanding of nature and abstraction, and the politics of stillness and pause. Deepak […]
FEATURE
THE MAKER OF LARGEST WOOD CUT PRINTS IN THE WORLD, INDIAN ARTIST SANJAY KUMAR PAVES HIS WAY INTO NGMA & GUINESS WORLD RECORDS His wood-cut prints were exhibited along with that of Raza and Souza in French Biennale in the 7th Biennale Internationale de la Gravure d’Ile de France, 2009. Recipient of nearly 38 awards […]
REPORT
TRIALS OF THE ARTISTS AS AUTEUR Th is note on ‘Trial and error’ would try to bring in some of the aspects which are associated with these words. Th e word error can be the starting point. When one talks about error one considers the notion of what is right/correct. Th is correctness is relative/ […]
ART & THEATRE
AFTERGLOW: PERFORMANCE ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Th e title of this article does not call for a historical survey of the relationship between photography and performance art. Neither is my intention to pretend to worry about the complexity of the relation shared by the two. Let us not also venture into a trajectory which leads to […]
OBITUARY
SUNIL GANGOPADHYAY [1934-2012] Sunil Gangopadhyay was an Indian poet and novelist. Born in Faridpur, Bangladesh, Gangopadhyay obtained his Master’s degree in Bengali from the University of Calcutta, In 1953 he with few of his friends started a Bengali poetry magazine Krittibas. Later he wrote for many different publications. Gangopadhyay created the Bengali fi ctional character […]
HISTORY
THE FIRST LIGHTTh e region from which work is analysed, where bliss rises in the mind from the earth,whose borne Shakti (Supreme Energy) and prosperity is all dispersed here itself, that sacred place is triadic essence in duality, and free-will is whole and paramount. In the mind stays Shiva’s (Supreme Consciousness) rule coming in secret […]
HISTORY
CONTEMPORARY DISCURSIVE DILEMMAS AND READING THE PAST ART AND LIFE OF K. VENKATAPPAWriting about K.Venkatappa (KV, born: 1886- 1965) aft er almost half a century aft er his demise, literally means reading, looking and perceiving him from an altogether diff erent era of visual cultural engagement. Arguably, most artists who are already historicized are available […]
FILM
OMG Oh My God is a brilliant movie which deals with sensitive issues like religion, God and existence of God and also depicts how religion has become a business these days in the hands of a few. Th is fi lm’s strong point is a simple story which succeeds in striking a chord in common […]
MEDIA & COMMUNICATION
INDIA ART FESTIVAL TO SHOWCASE OVER 500 ARTISTS & 40 ART GALLERIES —————————- THE BIGGEST ART FESTIVAL STARTS IN MUMBAI NEXT MONTH AT MMRDA GROUND, BANDRA-KURLA COMPLEX. ————————— India Art Festival, a modern and contemporary art fair, starting from 28 Nov, 2012 is showcasing more than 3000 artworks. Th ere are 36 art galleries and […]
REVIEWS
REVIEW OF THE S.SHAM SUNDER’S PAINTING AND DRAWING SHOW “BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES” AT SUMUKHA GALLERY, BANGALORE, TILL END OF OCTOBER 2012 Horizon as a visible Circle Shamsunder’s set of paintings and drawings, titled as “Borders and Boundaries”, together form a vision that is pleasant, but (hence) served unavailable to today’s sight. Th ey are painted […]
REVIEWS
THE INNER EYE: ThTh e Artist as an Urban Shaman Dhiraj Singh is a self-taught artist who apart from full time journalism, works on canvas and mixed media. Unlike his abstract paintings of acrylic on canvas that take a stratospheric view of life on earth as interpreting ‘mood- maps’, his installations tend to delve deeper […]
PHOTO ESSAY
NATURE’S PERFECT CYCLE The sun emerges from the east. It showers the universe with its mystic light which we attribute as a bright sunny day. Everything occurs in perfect order in nature that man has consistently failed to adapt to. Th e cows emerge in the morning in a stream and go about their daily […]
Editorial
Autumn has arrived. Th e Northern Winds sway across the city and soothe the senses. Nature is such a mystery, yet it has a cycle. Life cycles that we are all caught up in and invariably follow. It defi nes our very existence and the way we live. Spring is the season of blossoming and […]