These not-so-kosher Fashion Illustrations from Swedish born Sarah Singh are beautiful and a little cheeky. Even if the sub text goes over your head, you can't miss the brilliant illustration style. More at her website.
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Reem Khurshid
Reem Khurshid is waiting in the wings. This 22 year old shows the sort of potential that makes her artistic evolution exciting to watch. Her unconventionality is her main draw. As a college drop out from Karachi , she possesses none of the abrasiveness that you expect of a young rebel. Instead, she has her head firmly placed on her shoulders and a shocking clarity that belies her age. This budding entrepreneur is not just a visual artist but also co-owns an independent record label , Mooshy Moo. She is charmingly modest, endearingly polite and unarguably talented.
When did you first start to paint? Do you dabble in any other creative work?
I've been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory of childhood disobedience is ignoring my kindergarten teacher while the rest of the class was lined up to leave for break; I was engrossed in colouring a drawing of a chicken. When I moved to Karachi (at the age of eleven) I went to a proper art supply store out of pure boredom and that's when I started taking things "seriously", because I was so mesmerised by all these materials that felt so sophisticated compared to the student's watercolour set I'd been issued at school. I was always a loner, painting is what saved me from being a sad loner.
All my creative work is visual. Apart from painting I do illustrations and one-off customisations (eg, shoes, bags, clothes, etc). I'm quite useless at everything else.
Tell us a little abt what story you wish to tell.
It's not just what I like to paint, but why I like to paint it. Even though there's an overlap of basic themes, I've come to distinguish my work in two separate categories. One is my illustrative work, often exploring childhood nostalgia, the fear/myth of growing up (Peter Pan syndrome) and the ambiguity of innocence. It germinated out of my own need for escapism (mostly when I should have been spending my time working on art school assignments), and has come to embody that for me.
The more painterly direction I'm currently heading in is almost anthropological, with particular emphasis on sprawling urban squalor, finding the margins and contradictions in the ideals and cultural values that are espoused. I can't do patronising paintings of the underclass, I try to find the common ground between themselves and me and paint that - what I call the Contemporary Anybody, icons or avatars of the modern age. It's a way of exorcising the demons of the angry young person in me - living in a city that has for a long time been perceived as a tinderbox, always being told that the only place I'm safe is within my own four walls, cloistered from any real sense of community behind alarms, padlocks and a massive gate. In an odd way, I suppose it's a homage to Karachi, or Karachi-like cities everywhere in the world.
Does your Pakistani identity translate to your work ?
I'm somewhat rootless, and I think to a large extent I'm still trying to figure out what a Pakistani identity is. The general characteristics I find could more reasonably be attributed to a Subcontinental identity rather than a Pakistani one. Our society is so hierarchical, entrenched in divisions and influenced by Anglicism (more recently, laissez-faire capitalism) and radicalism (so many isms!) that it's sometimes hard to find the common thread that connects us all. I think ideals have largely given way to day-to-day crisis management, for most people.
Whether being Pakistani translates in my work is up to other people to decide, the fact that I am makes it Pakistani art. I don't know if it means anything to me beyond the mild amusement I feel when someone who's seen my work is taken aback to discover that I'm from Pakistan.
What do you think of the Pakistani Art scene?
There are so many radically different Pakistani artists emerging (partly to do with the media boom at the start of this decade), making it quite apparent that the Pakistani voice isn't singular. However, I find the commercial art scene (ie, graphic design, music videos, animation), and to an extent the fine art scene, to be mostly complacent and derivative. I think it's a general failing amongst art institutions in Pakistan that they seem to be churning out graduates in order to cater to the market, not to define it. Creative and critical independence is some what stifled. There are talented and vibrant individuals striving to raise the bar in the art scene here, but more often than not they happen in spite of our current cliques, education and industry infrastructure, not because of it. We have a long way to go.
What is your daily schedule like? What would an ideal day in the life of Reem Kurshid be like?
Most people who know me would laugh at the assumption that I have a schedule, so I'll explain my process, which can take anywhere between a couple of hours to several weeks depending on what I'm working on. The first step is doing research for my work, basically absorbing things by reading, media watching and endless Google searches. I've stopped working from direct visual references, preferring to first etch out a concept, then refine it with quick studies and sketches, references of references. I find that starting this way makes painting far less rigid and predefined. I have more words and phrases jotted down in my sketchbooks than sketches. I love reading, so it's easy to procrastinate for the sake of "research" and I do that a lot too. Eventually I get off my lazy bum and paint. And then it's rinse and repeat. I do freelance work in teacher training workshops and on the days/weeks that I'm booked for that, I get up at a respectable hour and work till midday, and on my personal work in the evenings. Usually though, I just like being left alone to do my work. I have no social life.
An ideal day would be the same thing, including long walks and taking the time to cook a nice meal to share with someone. Long walks are impossible for me in Karachi. I'm a cynical city kid with a country bumpkin heart.
Are you working on anything currently ?
I'm working on some paintings, tentatively titled the Necropolis series, of which I vaguely spoke of earlier.I'm also working on a commissioned painting, which is my largest to date, at 6'4"x3'4". It's a huge challenge, I've always painted on a very small scale until recently. It's called Jenericho, and is an offshoot of the same themes I'm exploring in the Necropolis series. I guess both paintings are of a city under siege.
Another commission (that I've only done sketches for so far) is a custom bookplate, for a fellow book lover who's always losing hers to people who've lent them from her.
What do you do for fun?
I'm living the Peter Pan life, I paint because it's fun... and I somehow manage to scrape by making money, because I don't care (as much as I probably should) about making it. Otherwise I make a big pot of green tea (or, if it's one of those days, a bottle of red wine), grab a cat from the garden and mellow out, watch good movies and listen to music with my partner, Sheryar Hyatt. A recent addiction of mine is doing big, thousand piece jigsaw puzzles. I never did one as a kid, so I'm compensating now.
If you could live in any other part of the world right now , where would that be?
Hunza, because it's far away from everywhere else. It seems like a place with a genuine sense of community and connectedness with the environment, which appeals to me.
What mediums do you love working with?
It's a love/hate relationship with all mediums, but I mostly work with acrylics these days. I collect a lot of junk and scraps so I use all sorts of things when appropriate. The only medium I don't use is oils, despite its amazing properties I can't get past the asphyxiating smell. One day, when my studio doesn't also happen to be my bedroom, I'll give it a shot. I'm more interested in exploring different supports these days, I've dabbled with painting on wood panels (that weren't properly cured and so promptly munched on by termites) and I want to do some work on plexiglass, for its transparency and endless possibilities for layering.
Who are your fav artists?
Klimt, Bosch and Goya. My favourite contemporary artists include William Kentridge and Phil Hale. I'm also rather taken with the work of David Choong Lee (a Korean based in the US) and Ala Ebtekar (born in the US, of Iranian descent). As far as local artists are concerned, I love A.R. Chughtai's work (I have a book of Ghalib poems illustrated by him from 1928 which is one of my prized possessions), and it's hard not to find Shazia Sikander's work impressive. I also love the work of Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry and the Brothers Quay.
Tell us a little about Mooshy Moo & how you are involved
Sheryar and I started Mooshy Moo because we were sick of whining about how our work didn't seem to fit anywhere, or the fact that we weren't comfortable with the system that our work did not fit into. So we just made up our own, very simple, no nonsense approach : put work out there. Both of us owe a lot of our learning and progression to the Internet, this was a way of giving back. I do all the artwork for the site and we try to offer young people another perspective on what it means to be a 'success', something that isn't entirely measured by the amount of dog and pony shows you're involved in just to be seen and known.
Having said that, we're still just at phase one of what we hope to do, at the moment we have neither the time nor the means to fully exploit the Mooshy Moo ethos. But we've got encouraging coverage both locally and internationally and I'm very proud to be a part of it, even if it is in stasis at the moment.
What are your plans for the future?
I'd really love to do video art - traditional and stop motion animation, so I need to get over my fear of technology and learn to do that. Becoming financially self sufficient, exhibiting often, being more productive and not prone to ennui, tending a garden, finding like minded people to work with are also on the list. I'd also like to figure out a way of making the popping sensation in my spine go away.
---
Check our Reem's Page for more.
I've been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. My earliest memory of childhood disobedience is ignoring my kindergarten teacher while the rest of the class was lined up to leave for break; I was engrossed in colouring a drawing of a chicken. When I moved to Karachi (at the age of eleven) I went to a proper art supply store out of pure boredom and that's when I started taking things "seriously", because I was so mesmerised by all these materials that felt so sophisticated compared to the student's watercolour set I'd been issued at school. I was always a loner, painting is what saved me from being a sad loner.
All my creative work is visual. Apart from painting I do illustrations and one-off customisations (eg, shoes, bags, clothes, etc). I'm quite useless at everything else.
Tell us a little abt what story you wish to tell.
It's not just what I like to paint, but why I like to paint it. Even though there's an overlap of basic themes, I've come to distinguish my work in two separate categories. One is my illustrative work, often exploring childhood nostalgia, the fear/myth of growing up (Peter Pan syndrome) and the ambiguity of innocence. It germinated out of my own need for escapism (mostly when I should have been spending my time working on art school assignments), and has come to embody that for me.
The more painterly direction I'm currently heading in is almost anthropological, with particular emphasis on sprawling urban squalor, finding the margins and contradictions in the ideals and cultural values that are espoused. I can't do patronising paintings of the underclass, I try to find the common ground between themselves and me and paint that - what I call the Contemporary Anybody, icons or avatars of the modern age. It's a way of exorcising the demons of the angry young person in me - living in a city that has for a long time been perceived as a tinderbox, always being told that the only place I'm safe is within my own four walls, cloistered from any real sense of community behind alarms, padlocks and a massive gate. In an odd way, I suppose it's a homage to Karachi, or Karachi-like cities everywhere in the world.
Does your Pakistani identity translate to your work ?
I'm somewhat rootless, and I think to a large extent I'm still trying to figure out what a Pakistani identity is. The general characteristics I find could more reasonably be attributed to a Subcontinental identity rather than a Pakistani one. Our society is so hierarchical, entrenched in divisions and influenced by Anglicism (more recently, laissez-faire capitalism) and radicalism (so many isms!) that it's sometimes hard to find the common thread that connects us all. I think ideals have largely given way to day-to-day crisis management, for most people.
Whether being Pakistani translates in my work is up to other people to decide, the fact that I am makes it Pakistani art. I don't know if it means anything to me beyond the mild amusement I feel when someone who's seen my work is taken aback to discover that I'm from Pakistan.
What do you think of the Pakistani Art scene?
There are so many radically different Pakistani artists emerging (partly to do with the media boom at the start of this decade), making it quite apparent that the Pakistani voice isn't singular. However, I find the commercial art scene (ie, graphic design, music videos, animation), and to an extent the fine art scene, to be mostly complacent and derivative. I think it's a general failing amongst art institutions in Pakistan that they seem to be churning out graduates in order to cater to the market, not to define it. Creative and critical independence is some what stifled. There are talented and vibrant individuals striving to raise the bar in the art scene here, but more often than not they happen in spite of our current cliques, education and industry infrastructure, not because of it. We have a long way to go.
What is your daily schedule like? What would an ideal day in the life of Reem Kurshid be like?
Most people who know me would laugh at the assumption that I have a schedule, so I'll explain my process, which can take anywhere between a couple of hours to several weeks depending on what I'm working on. The first step is doing research for my work, basically absorbing things by reading, media watching and endless Google searches. I've stopped working from direct visual references, preferring to first etch out a concept, then refine it with quick studies and sketches, references of references. I find that starting this way makes painting far less rigid and predefined. I have more words and phrases jotted down in my sketchbooks than sketches. I love reading, so it's easy to procrastinate for the sake of "research" and I do that a lot too. Eventually I get off my lazy bum and paint. And then it's rinse and repeat. I do freelance work in teacher training workshops and on the days/weeks that I'm booked for that, I get up at a respectable hour and work till midday, and on my personal work in the evenings. Usually though, I just like being left alone to do my work. I have no social life.
An ideal day would be the same thing, including long walks and taking the time to cook a nice meal to share with someone. Long walks are impossible for me in Karachi. I'm a cynical city kid with a country bumpkin heart.
Are you working on anything currently ?
I'm working on some paintings, tentatively titled the Necropolis series, of which I vaguely spoke of earlier.I'm also working on a commissioned painting, which is my largest to date, at 6'4"x3'4". It's a huge challenge, I've always painted on a very small scale until recently. It's called Jenericho, and is an offshoot of the same themes I'm exploring in the Necropolis series. I guess both paintings are of a city under siege.
Another commission (that I've only done sketches for so far) is a custom bookplate, for a fellow book lover who's always losing hers to people who've lent them from her.
What do you do for fun?
I'm living the Peter Pan life, I paint because it's fun... and I somehow manage to scrape by making money, because I don't care (as much as I probably should) about making it. Otherwise I make a big pot of green tea (or, if it's one of those days, a bottle of red wine), grab a cat from the garden and mellow out, watch good movies and listen to music with my partner, Sheryar Hyatt. A recent addiction of mine is doing big, thousand piece jigsaw puzzles. I never did one as a kid, so I'm compensating now.
If you could live in any other part of the world right now , where would that be?
Hunza, because it's far away from everywhere else. It seems like a place with a genuine sense of community and connectedness with the environment, which appeals to me.
What mediums do you love working with?
It's a love/hate relationship with all mediums, but I mostly work with acrylics these days. I collect a lot of junk and scraps so I use all sorts of things when appropriate. The only medium I don't use is oils, despite its amazing properties I can't get past the asphyxiating smell. One day, when my studio doesn't also happen to be my bedroom, I'll give it a shot. I'm more interested in exploring different supports these days, I've dabbled with painting on wood panels (that weren't properly cured and so promptly munched on by termites) and I want to do some work on plexiglass, for its transparency and endless possibilities for layering.
Who are your fav artists?
Klimt, Bosch and Goya. My favourite contemporary artists include William Kentridge and Phil Hale. I'm also rather taken with the work of David Choong Lee (a Korean based in the US) and Ala Ebtekar (born in the US, of Iranian descent). As far as local artists are concerned, I love A.R. Chughtai's work (I have a book of Ghalib poems illustrated by him from 1928 which is one of my prized possessions), and it's hard not to find Shazia Sikander's work impressive. I also love the work of Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry and the Brothers Quay.
Tell us a little about Mooshy Moo & how you are involved
Sheryar and I started Mooshy Moo because we were sick of whining about how our work didn't seem to fit anywhere, or the fact that we weren't comfortable with the system that our work did not fit into. So we just made up our own, very simple, no nonsense approach : put work out there. Both of us owe a lot of our learning and progression to the Internet, this was a way of giving back. I do all the artwork for the site and we try to offer young people another perspective on what it means to be a 'success', something that isn't entirely measured by the amount of dog and pony shows you're involved in just to be seen and known.
Having said that, we're still just at phase one of what we hope to do, at the moment we have neither the time nor the means to fully exploit the Mooshy Moo ethos. But we've got encouraging coverage both locally and internationally and I'm very proud to be a part of it, even if it is in stasis at the moment.
What are your plans for the future?
I'd really love to do video art - traditional and stop motion animation, so I need to get over my fear of technology and learn to do that. Becoming financially self sufficient, exhibiting often, being more productive and not prone to ennui, tending a garden, finding like minded people to work with are also on the list. I'd also like to figure out a way of making the popping sensation in my spine go away.
---
Check our Reem's Page for more.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Waswo X. Waswo
Photographer Waswo X. Waswo (whose name I find so pleasing in it's symetry) was born Richard Waswo in Wisconson in 1953 . After traveling the world extensively , he decided to settle down in India in the early 90s. He is known for his exquisite yet humorous sepia toned images of India. These hand coloured b&w photographs are from his latest series titled , A Studio in Rajastan . More here.
Mekhala Bahl
One of my favourite Indian contemporary artists , Mekhala Bahl who was featured here & here is back with a solo exhibition at Gallery Espace in Delhi from 22nd Jan - 28th Feb.
This is what Sunil Mehra has to say about her latest series titled The Error of Geometry , "Every deemed error seems premeditated. Every random line seems to make manifest the uneven geography of the mind. And through it all runs an in-seam of the geometry, the cohesive logic of this cosmos."
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Dezer, Migwel & Keflione
Three Graffiti artists from France were witness to the 60 hour siege in Mumbai and wanted to pay homage to the soldiers who lost their lives. They re-scheduled their plans and ended up in Delhi, where they were 'donated' a wall by the Religare Arts Initiative. The artists waited to have their spray cans flown in from Paris before they began rendering this historic piece of work. Image credit: Sahar Zaman. More here.
Kye
LOVE these hand painted , hand embroidered , hand made cushions from Kalyani Ganapathy's Kye. I've always had a soft corner for paper boats on rainy days. They are limited edition pieces , so grab them quick from People Tree, Delhi.
Gayatri
Kerela based artist Gayatri leads a truly enigmatic existense. He lives & works from small town Guruvayur , has designed houses as a freelance architect for more than a 100 people who couldn't afford his services & has lived and studied the lifestyles of 'untouchables'. Now he paints stunning portraits bordering on photorealism , a big trend with artists from Kerala.
Manjunath Kamath
The latest of painterly offerings from Delhi based artist Manjunath Kamath , from here.
Sigh. Wealth is wasted on the rich?
Thursday, 15 January 2009
Himanshu Verma
Every so often , I receive email invites from Himanshu Verma announcing his latest curatorial extravaganzas. And every so often , I am left wondering how this man single handedly pulls off such well rounded , multidisciplinary exhibitions with such frequency & cohesion. His shows are always socially and culturally relevant, marrying the nouvea and the archaic, the visual with the auditory and cinematic , theater & street plays . His curatorial juxtaposing is never discordant and always correlated. I wonder , what makes Himanshu Verma tick
Stephan Weitzel ; Metrospective
When and how did you get into the wonderful world of Indian contemporary art?
In 2005, when I curated an exhibition, 'Metrospective: Visual Representations of Metrosexuality' in Bombay. It was mostly an accident, I was working on a project on masculinity, which was academically oriented, but then I said, "Hey, it will be fun if some contemporary art blokes were teased with the idea of representing the new masculinity!" and then came an exhibition, and a festival. And I decided it's time to forget academics and enjoy art! No looking back since then, only forward.
In 2005, when I curated an exhibition, 'Metrospective: Visual Representations of Metrosexuality' in Bombay. It was mostly an accident, I was working on a project on masculinity, which was academically oriented, but then I said, "Hey, it will be fun if some contemporary art blokes were teased with the idea of representing the new masculinity!" and then came an exhibition, and a festival. And I decided it's time to forget academics and enjoy art! No looking back since then, only forward.
Where/what are your roots?
Delhi, total Delhi boy, I love Delhi. I am a graduate in English literature, and that's all I can boast
of formal education!
Delhi, total Delhi boy, I love Delhi. I am a graduate in English literature, and that's all I can boast
of formal education!
Clanvironment ; Monsoon Festival
Tell us a little about Redearth.
Redearth is an arts organisation that celebrates arts of all kinds sans frontiers. From visual art to festivals to music, and a range of other art forms! I curate a range of exhibitions / events, that celebrate traditional Indian festivals with contemporary art to ones that explore themes like masculinity, photography, and now calendar art.
Redearth is an arts organisation that celebrates arts of all kinds sans frontiers. From visual art to festivals to music, and a range of other art forms! I curate a range of exhibitions / events, that celebrate traditional Indian festivals with contemporary art to ones that explore themes like masculinity, photography, and now calendar art.
Rajendra Kapse; Monsoon Festival
What do you foresee for the future of Indian Contemporary Art(ICA)? Do you think we are missing the point by over hyping & commercializing it?
Yes, so far, it's been about the commercial hype. Creative infrastructure has been missing, a big lacunae. There are signs of amending this, but it will be a while before we get there. It's a pity we do not know how to crack this, because India has stunning talent in the arts, but lacks people who can bring it all together to make magic!
Yes, so far, it's been about the commercial hype. Creative infrastructure has been missing, a big lacunae. There are signs of amending this, but it will be a while before we get there. It's a pity we do not know how to crack this, because India has stunning talent in the arts, but lacks people who can bring it all together to make magic!
Biplap Muzibar Rahman ; The Dark Room
What was is like breaking into the art scene, with a completely unique concept? Did you have a lot of friends and contacts in the industry?
It was very easy, since people related to the concept (fortunately). I didn’t know anyone, but was lucky enough to be supported by artists, and for my work to be recognised by the people who mattered.
It was very easy, since people related to the concept (fortunately). I didn’t know anyone, but was lucky enough to be supported by artists, and for my work to be recognised by the people who mattered.
Who are your fav artists ?
Hmm, Andy Warhol, N. Pushpamala, Biplab Muzibar Rahman, Rajendra Kapse.
Pranay Lal ; The Dark Room
Khoya Khoya Chand, vintage, tragic & romantic.
---
Red Earth and Apparao Galleries present an exhibition featuring artworks by contemporary artists on the theme of Calendar Art. The ubiquitous and eclectic genre of Indian calendar art has formed the mainstay of popular visual culture in India. It covers a range of themes, notably, Religious Calendars, Patriotic Calendars, Filmic Calendars, and Landscapes / Decorative calendars.
Venue: Apparao Galleries, Triveni Garden Theatre, 205 Tansen Marg, Mandi House, Near Bengali Market, New Delhi 110001; from 19 Jan -30 Jan 2009 ;11 am to 7 pm
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Ashwiny Iyer
Here's an absolute treat for the colourholics ! I suppose I am lucky that Ashwiny reads MASALA CHAI or I'd have never been a nosey parker and stumbled onto her blog. I found pictures of what had then been a work in progress. Ashwiny , a Creative Director at Leo Burnett, Mumbai ; claims she is an artist at heart. She gave her old apartment a space lift with bright , lively colours and a quirky selection of knick-knacks that add character and transform the space.
The Hall & Dining space is reminscent of Exotic India Ad campaigns , with the bright orange and shocking pink.There are a number of little racks , fashioned out of boxes and handpainted with interesting calligraphy by Ashwiny. Apart from the regular wall styling of paintings and indigenous masks, the movie buff couple have an ever changing cluster of movie posters adorning their walls.
The study is Ashwiny's little creative corner. Iyer handmade everything in the room , including some of the furniture. The chocolate brown walls provide the perfect canvas for a room that holds little shocks of colour in every crevice. The interchangeable blue & red boxes provide temporary shelter to their inexhaustible DVD & book collection.
The imposing old Almirah was made over to reflect the psychadelic palette while complimenting the Taj Mahal Bag (a Goa flea market find) beautifuly . This works as a great and yet groovy (could not resist) storage space. Don't miss the tiffinbox lamp!
Since the study doubles up as a guest room , Ashwiny decided to go functional with a moody cerulean futon. The smallish centre table was handmade and embellished with Moorish tiles , adding to the hippie , flea market feel. The curio rack is a display spot for sundry knick-knacks , from miniature wooden dolls to antique pieces to Mr.J.D sprouting the ubiquitous money plant.
The Bedroom is drenched in inky blues and royal purples strewn with rice paper lamps and sentimental stuffed toys. The simple floor seating is flanked by gorgeous hand painted Mandala motif cushions picked up from Banares. More colour at her fab blog , here.
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