22 May 2017

Bangalore: MAY 2017 Screening of Films at NGMA

NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART BENGALURU (NGMA B)
(Ministry of Culture, Government of India)

in collaboration with

Bangalore Film Society

invites you for

Journeying through life & relationships in 
the passage of time

MAY 2017 screening of films 

All the films will start @5 pmEntry is Free on first come first serve basis. All are invited!

In the month of May we return to a series of films by auteur directors like Akira Kurosowa, Andrei Tarkovsky, Jim Jarmusch, David Lynch and Asghar Farhadi. These seminal films are philosophical deliberations on living and dying, journeys made through life, relationships formed and the passing of time. 

Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film Ikiru (can be translated ‘to Live’) deals with a dying man and his final desperate quest for meaning. In Stalker, Andrei Tarkovsky (1979) explores existential desires and meaning. What makes life worth living? What is reality, and how does one define it? Even today we are unraveling the layers of a complex cinematic experience like Stalker but Tarkovsky often insisted that his films held no coded messages, rather they were visual poetry which strove to convey emotion rather than meaning. David Lynch’s The Straight Story from 1999 is a classic American Road Movie, based on a true story of Alvin Straight’s 240 mile journey on a lawn mower to meet his estranged invalid brother.  The film is a beautiful, understated search for self and examination of mortality. Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers (2005) is a comedy-drama film that explores the alienation and desperation that comes as a result of not making any choices in an absurd existence. The movie stars Bill Murray as a man on a road trip, searching for the mother of a son he may have fathered. And finally a 2009 film by Asghar Farhadi titled About Elly, a curious psychological drama through a fascinating interplay of personal and social relationships amongst a group of middle class Iranian friends on a vacation.
Tuesday 23rd May 2017
Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)  2 hours 23 minutes
Wednesday 24th May 2017
Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979) 2 hours 43 minutes
Thursday 25th May 2017
The Straight Story (David Lynch, 1999) 1 hour 52 minutes
Friday 26th May 2017
Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch, 2005) 1 hour 46 minutes
Saturday 27th May 2017
About Elly (Asghar Farhadi, 2009) 1 hour 59 minutes

27 Apr 2017

Art News: Call for applications for Artist Residency in Manipal University

Call for applications for Artist Residency in Manipal University last date May 15, 2017

The intention of this Art Residency at Manipal University is to add to the public art and aesthetics of the University. The University has already taken a major step in art-advocacy by hosting the prestigious KK Hebbar Gallery, and wants to further extend its support to young and talented artists. This year the Resident is required to be a Sculptor. As the University is located in a culturally and ecologically distinct region, it is preferred if the selected Artist pays homage to this distinctness by working with material (for example, laterite) native to the region. The idea is to create works, individually or in exceptional cases as part of a group of 3-4, that dot the landscape of the many different types of Institutions (such as medical, engineering, hospitality etc )that constitute the University. The works should be clearly visible, and perhaps pinned in a way that they cannot be stolen. It is also a key requirement that the Artist be a good communicator, who is willing to take customized classes/demonstrations in these varied Institutions explaining the rationale, process, and the need for public visibility of art in non-museum spaces. Such an opportunity is a great incentive for the selected Artist—his or her work would literally be seen by thousands of young people every day, and would become part of their lives.

The University will also provide opportunities for the Artist to further curate and exhibit their work, and mentor interested and talented students. The Artists need to submit their CV, with photos/samples of their work, a statement of what they hope to achieve in the given time, and details of budget, materials and other requirements for their work. The remuneration offered to the main sculptor is Rs 50,000/- per month for 3 months, and if there are a few assistants, their remuneration may be up to Rs. 30,000 per month.

The K K HEBBAR ART FOUNDATION will select the artist for the Artist Residency Project.

Dr Nikhil Govind
HGAC MANIPAL

All applications to be directed to: raorekha460(at)gmail.com, rajanipras(at)yahoo.com
(Press release received from Rekha Rao)

11 Apr 2017

Art News: Google doodle celebrates Jamini Roy's birth anniversary


The Google doodle today, 11th Apr, 2017, celebrates the 130th birth anniversary of Jamini Roy, with an image inspired by his Black Horse painting


The Google doodle today, 11th Apr, 2017, celebrates the 130th birth anniversary of Jamini Roy, with an image inspired by his Black Horse painting. Art Scene India

Jamini Roy (1887–1972) was a graduate from the Government College of Art, Kolkata, who gained recognition for his stylized paintings rooted in folk art traditions. The 1920s were remarkable for the search for identity on the creative front, and artists experimented with various subjects, themes, techniques and medium to express their artistic vision. Amidst this, Jamini Roy was drawn to the folk arts of Bengal, and simplified forms, while adopting bold, flat colours, and painted stories of ordinary men and women from villages, and other popular images inspired from the patua style.

“The appropriation of folk idioms manifested in various ways. There was a phase in which he adopted the calligraphic brush lines of Kalighat Patuas to create sophisticated forms. The austerity of lines only serves to highlight Roy’s superb control over brush. The lines drown lyrically and sometimes even sensuously with lampblack over white or pale gray background show not only vigour, but also the poetry latent in the human form. The paintings Baul and Woman Seated are excellent example of this style.” (1)

Jamini Roy – Mother and Child, oil on canvas, mid 1920. National Gallery of Modern Art collection,The Google doodle today, 11th Apr, 2017, celebrates the 130th birth anniversary of Jamini Roy, with an image inspired by his Black Horse painting. Art Scene India
‘Ramayana’ considered to be his magnum opus is spread across 17 canvases and is created in the Kalighat pata style with natural colors, using earth, chalk powder and vegetable colors instead of dyes. The complete “Ramayana” is on display today at Sarada Charan Das' residence "Rossogolla Bhavan" in Kolkata along with 8 other large scale originals. The Das residence harbors the largest private collection of Jamini Roy paintings with 25 of the master’s originals. (2) Many of his other works can be viewed in the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.

Jamini Roy received many awards including the Padma Bhushan in 1955, he passed away in 1972.

Roy has played a huge role in popularizing Indian art among the masses and his works are recognised widely with ease. He is perhaps, one of the most copied Indian artists and for that reason, often it is difficult to assess the originality of his works.


(1) http://www.ngmaindia.gov.in/sh-jamini-roy.asp#

(2) http://www.kcdas.co.in/sarada.php

6 Apr 2017

Art News: Anita Dube declared curator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018

Anita Dube declared curator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018

Anita Dube declared curator of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018, Art News, Art Scene India
Kochi, March 29: Anita Dube, one of India’s most provocative and versatile contemporary artists, was announced here today as the curator for the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) beginning December 2018. The selection is in keeping with the Biennale’s long-standing tradition of being an artist-led exhibition. 
The reveal – made by Culture Minister Shri A.K. Balan during the KMB 2016 closing ceremony at Durbar Hall Wednesday evening – followed the unanimous decision made by a high-powered panel of renowned artists and prominent personalities to bring Dube’s unique artistic insights and sensibilities to the Biennale – the largest celebration of contemporary art in South Asia. 
“Through three editions, the KMB has gained a reputation for being one of the most important exhibitions of its kind around the world. It is an honour and a very big challenge to be declared curator of this wonderful platform. I am delighted that the jurors thought I can deliver. I accept the responsibility with excitement and humility. It is early days yet and my thoughts will no doubt undergo several changes going forward, but I view this as an opportunity to do something special,” said Dube, who was present at the function.

Dube takes over from Sudarshan Shetty, whose vision for the third edition of India’s only Biennale saw 97 artists from 31 countries showcase their production – across a variety of forms, styles and disciplines – over a 108-day period starting 12/12/16. Spread out across 12 venues, KMB 2016 received more than six lakh visitors.

Based out of the National Capital Region, Dube is renowned for her conceptually rich, politically charged works. An art historian and critic by training and a visual artist in practice, she has been widely exhibited across the Americas, Europe and Asia, including at the first edition of the KMB in 2012. Dube’s practice uses found objects and industrial materials, photography and ‘word architecture’ to critique contemporary socio-political realities.

Her aesthetic idiom, in many ways, reflects her background as a member of the Indian Radical Painters and Sculptors Association – a short-lived but hugely influential collection of artists and art students who rebelled against what they perceived to be the commodification of art in India.

In fact, Dube’s selection comes nearly three decades after she wrote the manifesto of the group’s seminal exhibition ‘Questions and Dialogue’ held in 1987 in the western state of Gujarat – that called for an explicitly radical, socially and politically conscious approach to art making. The group focused on inexpensive materials and found objects to produce works that resisted commercialisation and connected with working-class audiences.

Describing Dube as a ‘thinking artist’, KMB co-founder Bose Krishnamachari said, “Anita’s sensitivity towards materials, incorporating everyday objects derived from informal, craft and industrial sources and spaces, is profound. As is her wordplay and use of mediums, gestures and imageries – all of which will make for varied experiences and resonances in a space as adaptive and accommodating as the Biennale. Her oeuvre features both knowledgeable consideration and skillful melding of the sensibilities and styles of abstractions with real, contemporary concerns. This will doubtless be reflected in her curatorial vision.”

Krishnamachari, who is also President of the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF) – the organisers of India’s only Biennale, was part of the ‘Artistic Advisory Committee’ that selected Dube as curator. The other panelists were KBF Secretary Riyas Komu, Velu Vishwanadhan, Sarat Maharaj, Ravi Agarwal, Dayanita Singh, Sadanand Menon, Kavita Singh and V. Sunil.

“Anita’s selection not only reinforces our commitment to having artists at the helm, but also our mission to address contemporary social-political-cultural concerns. Anita is a strong proponent of making art accessible to the public through effective political and social engagement. This is precisely what the Biennale tries to do,” Komu said.

Dube is also a board member at KHOJ, an international artists’ association she co-founded in 1997 in New Delhi. Over two decades, the initiative that began as a modest annual workshop has become one of the most important platforms shining a global spotlight on South Asian art, organising and hosting international ‘itinerant’ workshops, residencies and exhibitions.

Besides KMB 2012, she has been represented in various national and international biennales and festivals such as ‘Biennale Jogja XI’ (Indonesia, 2011), ‘Against Exclusion’ 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (2009), ‘iCon: India Contemporary’, Venice Biennale (Collateral event, 2005), ‘Yokohama Triennale’ (Japan, 2001) and the ‘7th Havana Biennial’ (Cuba, 2000).

Dube was also a participant in the groundbreaking 2009 exhibition, ‘Indian Highway’, an itinerant collective show curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton-Jones and Gunnar B. Kvaran, which represented the growing importance of the sub-continent’s creative panorama – especially the vibrancy of its contemporary art scene – and the economic, social and cultural developments in the region over the past 20 years.

14 Dec 2016

Interior Decor: Express Painting for Your Home

The BergerXP Indiblogger meet organized recently in Bangalore was an interesting experience that offered an opportunity to interact with other bloggers and to better understand the dynamics of house painting from market experts.

BergerXP, as the second largest paint company offers a wide range of products and services, along with a range of tools that automate the process of painting making it far more efficient and economical. Their tag line - faster, cleaner, better sounds promising to consumers like me who quake at the thought of having their home painted! Just imagine how nerve wracking it can be to visualise the furniture shifting, all that dust everywhere (during the sanding process when the existing layer of paint is scraped off), and finally having the coat of paint done on your walls. To put aside that amount of time and to have to live alongside the mess is a daunting thought!
BergerXP Indiblogger meet Bangalore, Interior decorating for your some, selecting paint, art consultant
Therefore, when Berger express painting explained that due to automated tools there is a 40-50% reduction in the time taken to paint a home and at comparative costs; it does appear to be an attractive proposition. The other advantage which stands out is the utilization of the sanding appliance which vacuums off the dust into a bag thereby cutting down on the amount of dust flying around. This, in fact, can be a boon to allergy sufferers and the elderly or those with immune compromised systems as the dust not only creates a mess, but can also trigger off asthma and allergic conditions.
BergerXP Indiblogger meet Bangalore, Interior decorating for your some, selecting paint, art consultant
The meet was also filled with activities offering hands on experience with sanding uneven surfaces to make them smooth as a preparatory stage prior to painting. Another activity involved composing an image around specific environmental themes and then painting with the BergerXP stainers and mixers. This was incredibly fun, but not easy, given that this had to be completed within twenty minutes, and involved mixing paints, and working with four other people simultaneously on the same piece of paper!
BergerXP Indiblogger meet Bangalore, Interior decorating for your some, selecting paint, art consultant
However, doing this made me realise how much I miss the entire process of painting and how therapeutic it can be, and perhaps this will motivate me to get back to my paints and brushes – not to have an art exhibition, but as a de-stressing activity. I will keep you posted on that :)

To know more about BergerXP, you can get detailed information here and you can also SMS them on the numbers listed on their website, so that their consultants can approach you about your painting requirements.

And I, meanwhile, hope to have at least one Textured 'Illusion' Wall’ done in my home and will let you know how that turns out!

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