Uncomfortably Numb : Investigating the Uncanny in Contemporary Times
(Work by Shilpa Gupta)
Uncomfortably Numb, a group show of Raqs Media Collective, Prajakta Potnis and Shilpa Gupta opened at Lakeeren Gallery, Mumbai on 2nd May 2013.
The exhibition Uncomfortably Numb is a
reflection on our lives, in which disorientation and anxiety are part of our
everyday existence. Sigmund Freud has articulated this feeling as the
“unheimlich,” or the “uncanny” in which the familiar somehow appears estranged
or foreign. We live in uncertain times of catastrophe, war, and violence.
Technology and media connect us to the world, but they simultaneously also
intensify our feeling of alienation. Uncomfortably Numb contends this
“unhomely” experience, questioning if what we consider the “uncanny” has now
replaced the familiar. The show serves as a cautionary warning of the fate that
awaits us…
(from TAD desk)
A Boy and his Atom - a teeny-tiny film
( a still from the tiniest movie by IBM Research Centre)
As technology advances,
science finds new unexplored methods of blending into other non-scientific
fields. Such is the beauty and precision of the world’s tiniest stop-motion
film, made by IBM Research technologies, New York. Now we have scientists who have
taken the idea of ‘short’ films very seriously and produced a film at molecular
levels!
The unique one minute
movie titled ‘ A Boy and his Atom’ is a one of its kind venture where art,
films and technology blend to produce something never seen before, literally.
The movie is made in a
sequence of 242 still images bound together, with 45 by 25 nanometers frames
(25 million nanometers is one inch), magnified 100 million times to maneuver
and control the movement of the carbon monoxide
and oxygen molecules at 268 degrees Celsius below zero.
The movie is captured
using a two ton scanning tunneling microscope.
The film is reminiscent
of early video games especially when the boy bounces the ball off the side of
the frame according to the music. One may be optimistic about technology and
its strong lending hand in the receptive world of visual art soon.
The movie could be watched here in this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSCX78-8-q0
(report by Sushma Sabnis)
Art by the Sea -
Le Sutra Festival, Mumbai
(Le Sutra Art Hotel, Mumbai)
Le Sutra Gallery, Bandra, Mumbai, hosts a three day
festival titled, ‘Art by the Sea’, displaying compelling artworks by ten
renowned Indian artists. There will be also present artisans from all over the
country crafting and painting their own artworks based on the themes of the
Three Gunas, The Kundalini and the influences in the Making of the Le Sutra
Hotel.
‘Art By the Sea’ is presented at the Carter Road
promenade and Amphitheatre which includes works of artists such as Nilesh Vede,
Ranjit Khurmi, Vijay Belgave, Ramesh Pachpande, Prashant Salvi, Manjiri Varde,
Ratnakar Ojha and Amol Pawar. The
artwork swill be on sale and the public can directly interact with the artist
during the festival.
The festival commences with the curtain raiser where
a sculpture by Dr Art & Design will be installed at the promenade and will
be kept on display along with music programs.
A performance art in the form of Karna as a
charioteer with a horse chariot will also anchor the enthusiasm of any art
lover and general public alike during the duration of the festival.
The festival and show is on view form the 9th of May
2013 to the 11th of May 2013, 5pm - 9 pm.
(report by Sushma Sabnis)
FEATURE
Ageless Artist with an Ageless Medium
Meet Usha
Ramachandran, a Trivandrum based artist. In her sixties she found out that
she could do sculptures. An artist with no formal training in art, Usha is an inspiring
for many who feel down in the dumps during the days of economic recession
(artist Usha Ramachandran with her works)
Little does this artist reveal about her
life when she speaks to reporters and interviewers. But her silence is
compensated by the eloquence of small little sculptures done by her. Her name
is Usha Ramachandran and she lives in Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala.
An artist in her early sixties however exudes the kind of enthusiasm that is
seen rare these days even amongst the artists in their twenties. Usha has been
painting from life; her immediate surroundings, the people known to her, the
incidents that she remembers and the beauty of nature. But it was the medium of
sculpture got her due recognition as an artist.
(work by Usha Ramachandran)
A few years back, Usha happened to meet a
sculptor, V.Satheesan who taught her the basics of making sculptures. With no
formal artistic training to flaunt, Usha imbibed the lessons imparted to her by
the young artist. Life has been different for her ever since. Her small
sculptures, most of them size up not more than a foot, could be seen as the
product of sheer joy that the artist feels in her and generally about the life
around. If you ask her why the subjects of her works are ordinary people and
insignificant incidents from mundane life she would say that she sees the
fullness of life in the most mundane of things. Hence, in her sculptures we see
a girl flying kite or running behind a butterfly or someone holding a banana
leaf over her head to save herself from getting drenching by rain.
These sand casted bronze sculptures
emblematize the joy of life; the blessing called life. There could be hundred
and one problems in the society. But the artist feels that she at her age is
not capable enough to eradicate those problems through rhetoric or social
works. There are so many things that could make people happy and happiness does
not often lie in the magnificent things, Usha believes. Through her sculptures
she recaptures the moments from her childhood and makes them souvenirs of a
life that has been spent fruitfully. Usha has traveled widely and painting used
to be her refuge. The day she found out her modeling abilities in clay a new
door was opened to her. Usha has a few solo shows to her credit. Also she has
participated in some group shows. With less ambition to become a ‘national’
sculptor and more enthusiasm to work, Usha continues her creative journey like
a river. And she feels that age is not detrimental for an artist in doing creative works. Mind is the strongest tool of an artist. If
the mind is young rest will fall in place, Usha says.
( by JohnyML)
PROFILE
Norman Tagore, Goa based Artist
Love, as Norman sees
it
(self portrait by Norman Tagore)
Taking off his rose tinted glasses, Goa based artist
Norman Tagore, takes a good look at what we perceive as ‘ love’ in today’s
world of fast living and speed dating. His work involves imagery in a
figurative, pop art style collages, also ink on paper and his intent is to
unravel a fresh perspective of the basic human emotion, love.
After eons of being bombarded with love as an answer to
heal all wounds and the philosophy that love conquers all, Norman’s works
address the fact that love has been turned into a commodity to be used and
misused. At first glance Norman’s work displays cliched imagery which has been
used before in the most sensual and appealing way, but on further observation,
one would be able to see the distinct irony depicted in the visual.
(painting by Norman Tagore)
Not just greeting card companies or music companies but
advertising, film industry, religion and mythology, all harbour the subtle or
offensively direct messages of how love as an emotion plays a pivotal role
in the very existence of an individual.
Norman’s work puts together these often, in-your-face and cliched nuances that
have been shaping society for eons and continue to do so even today and coerces
the viewer to try and look from a detached perspective.
He sees it as a commercialization of a very gentle and
subtle emotion. In some of his works, one can see the imagery of Hollywood
actress, Elizabeth Taylor, who is considered the epitome of beauty, grace and
love, a real life Venus, and how such symbolism and idolization, may mislead a
lay person into weaving his own dreams and fantasies. The imagery in his work
is varied, from pop art close ups of celebrities to sensual comic book strips
which form the backgrounds of the works, where the central image seems to be
melting into distortion, like the often mangled misinterpretations of the word
‘love’.
(Painting by Norman Tagore)
The romance of this kind of symbolism, about love, about
living one's dream, about how emotions can set things straight irrespective of
reality and rationality, and the complete dichotomy and duality of existence
faced by today’s human being is what Norman’s work attempts to bring to the
fore.
(by Sushma Sabnis)
ArtCheckin- A New Portal for Online Art Buyers
ArtCheckin is a socially-curated art platform for browsing,
discovering and buying authenticated artwork from online galleries.
Our goal is to change the way people discover, experience and
consume art by making the discovery more social, experience more engaging and
buying more transparent and convenient. By using technology as an enabler, we
are building tools that would empower the artist by providing a simple to use
platform with tools that actually solve problem. Above all, ArtCheckin is
working with art curators from around the world to promote social curating as a
new way to engage today’s internet-savvy generation.
Why do we need this?
Have you ever looked at an artwork and not be sure about what
you were looking at? Have you wondered about the artworks theme or its high
price? Or, just wished to learn more.
Most people do not visit an art gallery or buy artwork due to lack of knowledge or fear of uncertainty. We at ArtCheckin strongly believe that art is an important building block of our society and our goal is to make art more social and accessible.
In order to achieve our goal, we are building a social marketplace that revolves around user-curated galleries that forms the central-point for all art and art related sales. This approach would be highly engaging and interactive, have wider reach and add a personal touch.
Most people do not visit an art gallery or buy artwork due to lack of knowledge or fear of uncertainty. We at ArtCheckin strongly believe that art is an important building block of our society and our goal is to make art more social and accessible.
In order to achieve our goal, we are building a social marketplace that revolves around user-curated galleries that forms the central-point for all art and art related sales. This approach would be highly engaging and interactive, have wider reach and add a personal touch.
How we plan to make it
happen?
We believe that the art world could use some technology to
communicate with today’s generation. So we are building tools that would make
art more accessible.
1.Socially Curated Platform – Curated online exhibition with multiple themes, ideas and medium; all at one place and accessible with a click.
2.Smart Recommendation - Use social metric and viewer preferences to understand their art taste and make better recommendations.
3.Virtual Experience–An engaging and interactive art experience from the convenience of ones living room.
4.Secure Buying – A channel for secure and reliable buying and selling for global art sellers and buyers.
When are we going to make it happen?
ArtCheckin is currently doing
a limited signup to allow artists to come and try our system. If you would like
an early preview, you can signup now by going to Artcheckin.com.
Instead of being a closed
platform, we have a “No Artist left behind
and no wall left naked” policy. Lets want to make art social and accessible to
all.
(report by Atul Todi)
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