- VS Gaitonde
- Ram Kumar
- Akbar Padamsee
- Amrita Sher-Gil
- Vanita Gupta
- Smita Kinkale
- Ratnadeep Adivrekar
- Tathi Premchand
- Nilesh Kinkale
- Prabhakar Kolte
- Chintan Upadhyay
- Prabhakar Barwe
- Shankar Palsikar
- Yashwant Deshmukh
- Prabhakar Kolte
- Sanchita Sharma
- Prakash Waghmare
- Ranjit Hoskote
- Premjish Achari
- Pankaja JK
- Contact
Saturday, 15 August 2015
Tuesday, 11 August 2015
Go Astern!
• 1. Cicadas Whirlwinds
Imprints of this print smells the combustive illusionistic vibrations of skeletonish architectural structure drawing, seeming with body topology and convulsion of natural form- trunk of insect cicada. The oceanographic composional division with erosive rusting coastline and the living relation between land and water.
Imprints of this print smells the combustive illusionistic vibrations of skeletonish architectural structure drawing, seeming with body topology and convulsion of natural form- trunk of insect cicada. The oceanographic composional division with erosive rusting coastline and the living relation between land and water.
• 2. Autostereosopic Wavefronts The unearth intrinsic traces of vessels and the uploads of newer trajectory trails, ship goes –comes, the burials and cleavage remains, captured by curious cannon. The nerves of sea-body finds its way out,forming a white cap, foggy surf juxtaposed on autotrophic algae and the pictorial cosmos thus created by it.
• 3. Aerial Thermo sensitivity
The Energized visual engraves with rippling pyrotechnical essence merged in hydro moss. The manoeuvre of technical drawing emerges through topographical glimpse the leeway composition indicates to the projectile rowing motion.
• 4. Thermo sensitive Topography
Recent work by Shrinivas Mhatre |
• 3. Aerial Thermo sensitivity
The Energized visual engraves with rippling pyrotechnical essence merged in hydro moss. The manoeuvre of technical drawing emerges through topographical glimpse the leeway composition indicates to the projectile rowing motion.
• 4. Thermo sensitive Topography
Its parallax comes up with the twist and turns of ship’s trunk steering fierce of scarletish hues in cerulean blues of aqua and leafy outrigger. In such a surrounding there exists a wounded resolute structural body; the buoyancy of aqua keeps it in tension of surface...splashing magnitude waves.
• 5. The Reverberation of Gulf
• 5. The Reverberation of Gulf
The visual Sonic Reverberation between edges of gulf created by spontaneous strockes spinning out from a insectum manned solid. The path continues to be a hollow drill by rustic land on both sides which leeway’s the nuance of ultra waves.
• 6. Aerodynamic Geology of Marine
• 6. Aerodynamic Geology of Marine
Nostalgic glimpses of flight travel imprints in a dioramistic form. Then imitation of chopper view is pictorially assembled by the help of technical aesthetic and acoustics is thus created by topo- effect bringing up suitable lush green and aqua marine colours.
• 7. Microscopic Introspect
Recent work by Shrinivas Mhatre |
• 7. Microscopic Introspect
Out of the selective drawing study of warrior ship here the artist investigates one of the smallest part zoomed in, out of curiosity of its detailed design. Here smells the attrition of solid body and its archaic minute. This comes out, not to be recognised accurately but a support structure to animate inner emotions on surface.
• 8. Sedimentary Schooner
• 8. Sedimentary Schooner
Semi-hovering schooners, sedimenting on robust early stain, aroused in sea body, by whiplashing in tempest. The hide and seek play on an abandon curvature of ship yard, holding the memories of past.
• 9. Impulsive Radar
• 9. Impulsive Radar
Indication through waves direction the path of travel .This devise Radar used as a metaphor of ‘Life’ and ship as ‘Thoughts ‘ in a motion , that travels in ‘n’ numbers of directions and creating dimensions. That proliferates the journey.
• 10. Reverberating Resonance
• 10. Reverberating Resonance
Sporadic out bust of Ultra-Sonic visual vibes spreading triangular palpitations, its resonance which infinitely reverberates from spin of apt (the back part of ship).The apt here is imaginarily overlapped by ship trunk’s imprints which centrally divides the composition into symmetry releasing propulsive energy forces in all directions.
• 11. Propulsion
Kinematic propulsion generated by syntactic structure in a space. Where the form or object amalgamates its features with terrestrial where as aquatic, manned as well as natured forms like bird-insect -aeroplane, fish-ship.The space, in which they dwell, the motion created by them, is researchably observant.They share common features like horizontal caudal keel which helps them in motion. Here an object (a form) is in a space which is likely to be similar with aerodynamic propulsion which is against gravity, or a motion of fish in water, or the ripplesion created when ship body movin in water.
• 12. Emergence of Submergence
• 11. Propulsion
Kinematic propulsion generated by syntactic structure in a space. Where the form or object amalgamates its features with terrestrial where as aquatic, manned as well as natured forms like bird-insect -aeroplane, fish-ship.The space, in which they dwell, the motion created by them, is researchably observant.They share common features like horizontal caudal keel which helps them in motion. Here an object (a form) is in a space which is likely to be similar with aerodynamic propulsion which is against gravity, or a motion of fish in water, or the ripplesion created when ship body movin in water.
• 12. Emergence of Submergence
Buoyancy that resists the floating to sink scattered that becomes ship wreck, a motion that has left its breadth on bay converting it to foliage. The aftermath of seismic wave’s collusion leaves it in a constant dance of sub-merge-emerge.
Go Astern!
reckons up in trajectory of Shrinivas Mhatre’s journey of projecting as an artist.Being the resident of ‘Mumbai’-India, which has a nourished surrounding of hydra-coast, the artist smells the city in different essences, adding his own intuitive sensations through Print Making’s ‘Viscosity’ process.Occasions like art camps, awards and art exhibitors made him travel through air; these newer cannon registered an unforgettable memory in artist life.An Aerodynamic, dioramatic perspective of imagining things from bird’s eye view was then implied in his prints and forms of ship entered in his expressions.The drawings which help marine architects and mechanic where taken as reference point ,and the glimpses of scenes from various movies relating to sea and ship comes in pictorial representation of his artwork. In this various moods of the cosmos and different physicality of sea and air body is carved. Observing every detailed texture, colour, forms; composing them and giving it an autosterioscopic glance. Shades of lush green emerging by rolling yellow-blue in particular colour density and time span, this is an advantage of viscosity’s achieved experimental effects; on which try to similaiarate with form of an outriggering aqua algae. Interesting part of forms which are used in are- the animation of it which generates the visual vibes seeming with the motion of cicada, damselflies, dragonflies,of insects family. Topographical view is key interest of his work, intersecting the blending of common mechanism of aquatics well as aerial manned and god gifted; imprinting this in one geological space compounds an art work.
- by Harshda Nirgun.
- by Harshda Nirgun.
Friday, 31 July 2015
Hrishikesh Mukherjee: A Counselor in disguise of a Director.
Art is reflection of
society. I have been writing about various genres of art and find that every
genre is interrelated. Visual 2D can be animated in motion media in 3D form.
The society that reflects in cinema can be captured on canvas or paper by a painter.
Dance can project a whole life of a particular character.
Songs emote various emotions and feelings and so on.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee |
Today the movies of
Hrishikesh Mukherjee kindled me to write about his non glamourized directorial
brilliance. Hrishi-da, as he was lovingly called in Bollywood is a well-known
and one of the most loved directors. He is a common man’s director. Though he
is dead I still feel his presence through his cinema. And it is also a
well-known fact that an artist never dies, he lives in his art, so do Hrishi-da.
The magical effect continues to linger over our minds through his awesome
movies like, Chupke Chpuke, Bawarchi, Khubsoorat, Satykam, Aashirwad, Guddi,
Mili, Anurdha, Abhimaan and others. These films are amazing and mind blowing
even though non-glamorous. These films bind us with warmth and simplicity.
I do not wish to analyse his
movies into comedy and serious dramas, instead I am presenting the common
thread that runs through these films.
The most common factor is
his association with common man’s life and that makes us relate to his films.
Why do I call him counselor? Because, I had read somewhere that Hrishi-da had said that he would
better have been doctor than a film-maker.
I think he was not less
than practicing doctor. He touched human mind and psyche. He understood human
nature better than any film maker. His observation and analysis is closer to
that of psychologist. His every film touches upon both these aspects and a
viewer tends to learn or take a healing dose from it. To start with, the best
example is ‘Anand’ where he subtly suggests to live every moment happily even
if under distress, here critical ill Anand (played by Rajesh Khanna) shows the
spirit of living. It is like practicing happiness, or controlling your own
happiness in transitory feelings and circumstances.
No one is perfect. The
imperfection of human nature is perfectly projected in his film ‘Anuradha’, a
story of an idealistic doctor who neglects his wife or Ashok Kumar in Satyakam
who has treasure of religious and philosophical knowledge but fails in practical
life to accept his own grandchild due to wrong notion.
The characters of all his
films seem real. Many of the characters are the reel presentations of real
life. According to his daughter-in-law Swati loves western music. Hrishida
asked her about Ustad Zakhir Hussain, she showed her ignorance of Indian
Classical music and told him that Ustad was very famous and very handsome.
Hrishida was shocked at her knowledge of Indian music. He himself was very
finely tuned in Indian classical music, the songs from his films are hummed
till date. But who can ever forget the first Indian Rap song by Ashok Kumar, ‘Rail
gadi, rail gadi…bich wale station bole ruk ruk ruk ruk…’?
His films have
protagonists who are staked by circumstances, but as human nature every person tries to win over negativities by hook or crook.
Two realities of life are
the recurring themes of Hrishi-da’s movies; Happiness and Death. According to
him, all the attempt of humans is to make life happy and secondly, death is
inevitable. Humour is followed by pathos and also there is a silver lining to
every cloud. Unlike, main stream cinema which gives us larger than life picture
and many a times unrealistic modus operandi, Hrishida lets us confront reality
and accept the facts of life.
Hrishi-da was a simple man
in real life just like his simple films. He believed that artist reflects
himself in his art. He followed his instinct to project common man, his
feelings, deeds, follies and foibles and all the virtues that makes up his
life. Simplicity has influenced almost more than three generations and even
today’s techno generation is awed watching his movies.
I think the mantra behind
his dedication lies in his reflective thought: Your own glory is better than
reflected glory. (As told by Swati Mukherjee, his daughter-in-law).
- Pankaja JK
ALL pictures are for illustrative purpose
Sunday, 19 July 2015
Art Gate Gallery
Art Blogazine - Upcoming Event
To Say Something According To My Conscience- by Premjish Achari
The fifth voyage of Sinbad the Sailor
is important for us. It is in the fifth voyage that he encounters the wicked
‘Old Man of the Sea’. The rest as we know is a tale of Sinbad bearing the
burden of the physicality of viciousness. But finally he tricks the old man to
drink and kills him in an inebriated state; not only to escape but also to end
that burden forever. This tale from Arabian Nights was narrated here to
illustrate two points – one is to highlight the incidents which follow after
Sinbad listens to his conscience and second to point out the structural
similarity in the way Sinbad carries the old man and K.S. Radhakrishnan’s Musui
carries Maiya in his latest works. Sinbad follows his conscience and rescues
the old man but later on the old man sitting on his shoulders become his
conscience. He controls Sinbad but the execution of the old man redeems Sinbad
from that perpetual agony; hence this struggle of Sinbad is symbolic of the
tussles to overcome external influences and set norms of the society. Visible
here is an inherent tension between control and autonomy. The comparison drawn
here, as I mentioned earlier, was done for structural similarities because
Maiya sitting on the shoulders of Musui is not conceived as a burden. She
rather impersonates his conscience to guide him. He is seduced by her,
influenced and moved by her.
K.S. Radhakrishnan |
Like the benevolent Happy Prince of
Oscar Wilde who gives away the golden leaves that cover him to end the misery
of many and finally sacrificing his eyes made of precious stones; like the
mythical Arjuna from Mahabharata halt himself in the moments of self-doubt and
guilt, only to be enlightened by the reception of a new philosophy from his
friend and charioteer the Lord Krishna; like the turbulent Hamlet who ponders
painfully about the options between death and vengeance, the human mind
perpetually is motivated by the principles, is guided by the conscience, and at
times is also in a battle with the conscience to do what he wants to do.
K.S. Radhakrishnan’s latest works are
an example of his intellectual versatility, dynamic imagination and also a
willingness to experiment with newer themes without compromising on his craft.
In one of his latest exhibition Radhakrishnan has presented us with the idea of
‘Terrafly’. These are air bound sculptures first exhibited in Shantiniketan
presents us with philosophical thesis executed in sculptures on the themes of
conscience, control and actions. Terrafly is the guiding light, like a
lighthouse standing atop a tall pillar Radhakrishnan’s ‘Terrafly’ stands on a
pillar made of tiny figures crawling on them. Musui and Maiya are the Terrafly
above us. They are watching us and are a figure that have an aerial view on our
lives. Way back in 2008 Radhakrishnan executed a sculpture with the similar
theme titled ‘Terrafly on the Human Square’ which was displayed in Lalit Kala
Akademi, depicted the ‘Terrafly’ in its full glory. He was placed above a
pillar and there were many figures on the square platform moving towards and
away from the pillar. The sculpture resembles the Biblical Sermon on the Mount.
With a prophetic demeanour Terrafly encounters the multitude holding the pillar
like an acrobat displaying his physical flexibility. Terrafly reminded me of
Jesus Christ as if he is in an act of delivering a sermon, narrating a parable
or inviting children towards him. Like all prophet’s he too gets the attention
of some and faces the ignoring of others. The ‘Terrafly’ is imagined both as
Maiya and Musui. These live size sculptures signify the larger than life
presence of Terrafly in our lives. His style is lucidly classical. These
sculptures characterise Radhakrishnan’s ability in showing how one can make
profound philosophical statements while executing a sculpture. What remains
central to his repertoire is the way he has used a host of ideas to convert
into sculptures. He invites us to congregate in the presence of this shamanic
figure. The invitation is for a mysterious ritual to witness the power of this
figure. Hence, the Terrafly is also a totem. The experience is spiritual. As
Freud had observed:
K.S. Radhakrishnan’s latest works |
“In
the first place, the totem is the common ancestor of the clan; at the same time
it is their guardian spirit and helper, which sends them oracles and, if
dangerous to others, recognises and spares its own children.” (Totem and Taboo).
Therefore it is this
figure’s extreme excess and its gratuity that make it totemic. Its physical
manifestation does not disturb us. They exist as an emblem which has symbolic
value in them. Terrafly is the tower of power. It is not a Foucauldian
panopticon which is there to torment the soul and monitor the prisoners. It is
not the technology of surveillance. Terrafly is the centre of power rooted to
its ground. In a way Terrafly is Radhakrishnan’s own idealistic conception
about power where we a guiding light is needed but it should stand for the
people. It should be accountable to its citizens. It is the vision for a
foreseeable future of a utopian democratic global state without a hegemonic
institution to control all of us.
The exquisitely smooth
yet somewhat porous surfaces of Radhakrishnan’s sculptures exudes a sensuous
pleasure and are telling imitations of extra-ordinary bodily shapes. These
monumental figures are often complicated by a sequential movement, a
strategically placed arm or leg or twisted body movements. In Radhakrishnan’s
imagination his Musui and Maiya floats above this world; watching it all and
experiencing it all.
Radhakrishnan’s works
speaks loudly and persuasively about the redemptive qualities of sculpting. He
is an influential sculptor and, at the same time, an influential analyst of
sculpting. Few sculptors are as willing to adopt the role of commentator of
their craft. He has done his best to dismantle the conventions by which the art
world has lived for many years. Terrafly stands for the entire humanity. It
shines atop and watches over the individual to society.
In another group of
sculptures we see Maiya in various positions above the head of Musui. They are
again live size sculptures. The movement of Maiya is varied. She is sitting,
standing, and sometimes seen in acrobatic actions. I would like to bring in Freud again on the
issues of conscience. The visual similarity between the Sinbad story and these
sculptures is remarkable but the conceptual contrast is also magnificent. Here
Musui is not burdened by the presence of Maiya. He is calm and serene. There is
stillness in his face acknowledging his surrender to his conscience. The lure of
its charm is erotic. But it is not tense. It is tranquil.
K.S. Radhakrishnan’s latest works |
Again I would like to
begin with some strong Freudian ideas to ruminate on the psychological dealings
of the conscience. According to him ‘conscience is closely associated with a
sense of guilt, in that we feel guilty if we go against our conscience. This
was of particular interest to Freud, who sought to give a psychological
explanation for it. He argued that, through our early upbringing, we learn
values that continue to influence our moral awareness and our conscience later
in life. He distinguished between three elements in the mind - the ego, the id
and the super-ego. At its simplest level, the ego is the rational self, the id
is the self at the level of its physical and emotional needs, and the super-ego
is the controlling, restraining self. Clearly, conscience is an aspect of the
operation of the super-ego. For our purposes, the importance of this view is
that it challenges the role of the conscience, and also raises questions about
our freedom.’ (Mel Thompson)
Here Radhakrishnan
tries to represent this dilemma which Freud is also baffling with. Is
conscience innate or acquired? Though we cannot dismiss the role of the social
in our lives but we also have to assume that we have a mental faculty which
allows deducing and processing our actions. It is always alert. How much
socially constructed it is and guided by the principles of society it also
allows the individual to overcome it. If Acquinas argues for the functionality
of conscience as an agent to decide between right and wrong, Joseph Butler
ascribes conscience, superiority in hierarchy which could over-rule the
impulses. Maiya here represents this hierarchy in their relationship. Radhakrishnan
has been successful in burrowing after the deeper emotional realities in their
relationship. He tries to break a Kafkaesque aphorism, “The inner world can
only be lived, not described.” Radhakrishnan’s works abound in these narratives
where imagination will not be denied. He executes the portrait of their world
by portraying the interiority of human mind itself. One must not forget the
value of thinking as observed by the Jewish scholar Hannah Arendt, “The sad truth is that most evil
is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” The
movement of Maiya is the movement of the conscience and the stillness of Musui
is the stillness of introspection like Oscar Wilde has observed, “He who stands
most remote from his age is he who mirrors it best."
Apart from these works there are five seated figures with
tilted movements. They have the facial expression as if they are punished or
questioned by their own conscience. The tilted position is the final surrender
before the conscience. They are Durga like images conceived to project this superiority
of conscience over us. Its superiority, the god like nature, the totemic
relevance and the mythic connotations are projected in them.
‘Terrafly’ is Radhakrishnan’s most intellectually ambitious
endeavour where he explores the role of conscience in human life through the
language of sculpture. It has admirably, resulted in works of unique brilliance
and beauty. Sensuously rendered this exhibition is a significant achievement by
one of the greatest sculptors of our time. While engaging with philosophy, he
decorated his propositions as sculptures which are strenuous and
unconventional.
Premjish Achari |
by Premjish Achari is an independent curator, writer ad translator based in Delhi. Previously he has been a Contributing Editor for Art and Deal magazine. He has written extensively on modern and contemporary art for Art and Deal, Art Etc., Lalit Kala Akademi, etc. His catalogue essays on Akbar Padamsee, KS Radhakrishnan, Vanita Gupta, Devraj Dhakoji, etc. has featured in the exhibitions of Art Heritage Gallery and Akar Prakar.
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Artist Manish Nai, Gallerist Dadiba Pundole, Professor of Architecture, Mustansir Dalvi and Cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote
Friday, 19 June 2015
join us for the screening at the Visitor's Centre, CSMVS, on the 23rd of June 2015, at 5.30 pm. Tea will be served at 5 pm.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)