Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Regarding the Cone & Yashwant deshmukh



Regarding the Cone was a one person show by my friend Yashwant Deshmukh at Janhagir Art Gallery, Mumbai in November 2008. I wanted to do a video based on the show. but when proposed to yashwant to make a small digital film to preserve the memories of the show- he agreed. I am always interested in the words people speak about visuals. (can You watch a silent film on TV?) though my friends always tell me that there is too much spoken words in my films.
when i imagine a film on art- i am always interested in the questions- why it is so important? what the artists are seeing which a common person like us go on missing?
thus the need to talk arises. so , if you can see and understand- then there is no need of a verbal explanation. but - how many people are really visually literate? (that including me too).
so, the film i was trying to make needed people who can talk about Yashwant's work.
Yashwant suggested Nitin Arun Kulkarni. He is an artist, poet and a critique of art.
But he is also a teacher at NIFT, Mumbai. it was difficult to get a whole day to interview him- which happened at his residence in Panvel.
The other person is my friend Abhijeet Tamhane. Abhijeet had an accident and broke his leg. when i called him to meet- he was a handicap. I still remember him coming out of a auto-rickshaw near thane station. we had several cups of teas in a small shop at the bus stop. discussing the idea of the film.
I waited for his recovery - and i am happy that e could manage to record his interview.
The film was ready.
Yashwant came home and watched the film on my mac and approved.
I felt - we need a small intro in beginning of the film. That was one more reason in the delay of the film.
and one day my Mac computer crashed.
thank GOD- the film was safe in my external hard drive.
but then - I needed help of some one to work on his mac.
then my friend Brajesh came into the picture.
He has a mac. His brother Bibhash is an editor. so i can use his machine to finalize the film.
but then- they went for a month long vacation to their MULUK.
on 26 of October-2009
I went to Brajesh's home.
Brajesh nad Bibhash- both saw the film.
Bibhash was excited to see the film and wanted to rework on certain places.
I was delighted to get some pro-help for the film.
we started working on the film.
and thanks to the editing skill of Bibhash- the film got this look.
I uploaded the film on YOUTUBE.
I strongly feel that the time is to use the technology and reach out to the world.

It Takes time.
and it took almost ONE YEAR to complete this small film.
This film is copyright free.
so if you want to download and show it in any art school or gallery- you do not need any permission. and need not carry any guilt. enjoy and share!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Hobby Center of N M College Juhu Mumbai














Bharti Jain, a painter and teacher invited us to do a photography workshop at Hobby Center of N M College Juhu. I went with Anuja Gupta to do the basic teaching. then a photo compition was organized by the hobby center. theam was family and friends. Arun K the noted painter came along with us to judge. I was surprised to see the effort of Chandani and Shivani. here are some memories of the event dated 18sep. 2009 at Juhu Jagriti hall Juhu, Mumbai India.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Sudharak Helena at Cymroza art gallery



yesterday was a big day for the 17 women who are taking up Photography classes with sudharak olwe and me. the ninth day of the workshop was held at cymroza art gallery, mumbai India, where
sudharak and helena is holding their two person show of photography exchange.
well this does not seem to be an official reporting of the art event or show.
i have been always conected with this workshop as part of the learning and teaching and it always gives me a great pleasure to be in a workshop as life is a workshop.
here the pictures are of the gallery.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

roti kapda makan aur condom













Me painting on the great wall of Mumbai.....

thank you Times of India
thank you Deepak Mer, Vijay Lakshmi, chinti
and
thank you Priyanka Borpujari
and

here is the news in Times of India



Tulsi turns over a new leaf

The Great Wall of Mumbai from Mahim to Dadar now sports everything from Warli to Wacko and social messages sprayed with humour: roti kapda makan aur condom

Mahafreed Irani I TNN



One of the city’s longest walls running down the length of Tulsi Pipe Road was splashed with colour and humour on Independence Day. From the early hours of the morning, over 50 Mumbaikars armed with spray cans, chalk sticks, roller brushes and witty slogans turned into muralists.
Initiated and organised by the BMC and The Wall Project, a group of Mumbai graffiti artists, the idea was to allow the public to beautify and bring to life an inviting but drab 2.7-kmlong surface along the railway tracks that is now being hailed as The Great Wall of Mumbai. The painting session will continue on Sunday, with a new bunch of painters being mobilised through Facebook and Orkut to leave their writing on the wall. The BMC is providing all the gear—paint, spray paint, buckets, mugs, stools, chalk, brushes, thinner and gloves. Drinking water and chemical toilets are also at hand.
In her pink track suit and baby-pink crocs was four-yearold Kaira Arya, who woke up early and drove in from Juhu with her parents just so that she could paint 25 sunshine yellow smileys. By noon, the wall from Mahim to Matunga was a rainbow of diverse art ranging from Warli figures to free-flowing designs and pixel art to typography and geometric logos. Street children, doodlers, calligraphists, office-goers, tourists, expats, college students and people from the neighbouring buildings showed up to slap on some paint.
Among them was additional municipal commissioner R A Rajeev with his children, Amartya, 8, and Arundhati, 3, both of whom doodled away assiduously. “This project is an extension of the BMC’s Clean Up movement,’’ says Rajeev, who thinks this is the “least cost alternative’’ to beautify the city. It was he who approached The Wall Project when he read about how they had turned the compound walls of a few Bandra cottages into murals. He hopes the graffiti bug will spread to the city’s subways too (so much better than paan stains!). Walls along Mahim’s Kataria Marg and the southern end of Lower Parel’s Senapati Bapat Marg could be next in line for brush hour.
Walking up and down were Wall Project’s Nisha Jacob and Nitya Amarnath to make sure the rules were being followed. “No adverts, religious writings, political slogans or foul language,’’ they warned. ‘I love Mumbai’ and ‘Swine Flu go back’ messages were clear favourites. Suzanne Percy and family drew a stick figure of a boy carrying bricks with the effective message, ‘This is how Raju uses his head. Each one, teach one.’
Undecided and looking for a theme to paint, Hemal Gala looked in his pocket for inspiration and found a sticker of Michael Jackson. “I’m a big fan,’’ he said, pointing to his sketch of a moonwalking Jackson. Helping Gala were British tourists Nick Wade and Natalie Hough. They talked about the hugely famous and best-selling London graffiti artist Banksy, who has to use guerilla tactics to dodge the law. “Banksy is not allowed to do what he does,’’ says Wade. “It’s great to see the civic administration give sanction for such art here.’’
The Tulsi mural joins the Mumbai marathon in being a secular community initiative that brings all kinds of Mumbaikars together. The contrasts were stark. On the one hand were street and slum children drawing rangoli designs, on the other were youngsters and advertising types in funky jeans and chattai chappals piling out of cars with loud music. Many Sir JJ School of Art and Sophia College fine art students were among them. Happiest of all was Rishad Ali who is sick of parking his towing truck against a wall where people either spit or urinate. “Now my area will look good,’’ he said in a satisfied voice, and sprayed on a fluorescent red heart on the wall.
(Painting will go on from 9.00 am to 8.00 pm on Sunday)



URBAN LEGENDS Priyanka Borpujari and Ravi Shekhar tweak the title of a Big B starrer; Hemal Gala pays tribute to the King of Pop


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

who is an Artist ?



artist is the person who takes the risk of living life according to his/her own understanding.
he is coureagious person, who is ready to make mistakes. and life blesses him on a very different level.
the most important change is- he / she does not have fear.
and enjoys every mystries.
in the process of living his/her life- whatsoever he/she does is art.

that may not be a painting or a song.
in fact art happens within you.
but then no one can market it.
search is the art which can be bought and sold.

so the problem is with the people who market art.
not with the artist.
artist can be happy creating and sharing it on the net.
see
people create wonderful forwards these days
is it not creative?
are they not artist?

corporate world want the icon to sell.
the real art survives the test of time.

Mahabharat have survived the thousands of years.
the greatest story!

which writer can stand with that kind of monumental work.
here people are trying to convince and educate others- what is art- and who is artist....

nobody knows
the name of artist
who painted Ajanta
carved Ellora..
or
wrote Upnishad....

urge to create
makes you the creator
the artist!

Ravi Shekhar' s Drawings

'carry bag with a lock'
pen & ink drawing on archival paper
based on my own photograph.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

this friday

mumbai is witnessing the highest tide in the history.
while, i am witnessing the lowest in finencial front.

but life is flux, busy and full of surprises.

i went to dahanu with nachiketa radhi and other friends, not knowing that this may start a new chapter in life.
there i met Hemant Babu and Michellel Chawala of Nomad India.
they are into community radios.
and soon i will be able to explore my hidden talent broadcasting too.

hemant is in the business of setting up low cost transmiters in the different part of the country.
and he felt i will be of some help in trainging people fir creating there own programs.
( he saw two short films on the sunaday evening)
and here i am...
thinking about my early pre-telivison days, when i had a great romance with the radio.
i was a hard core AMEEN SAYANI fan and got selected as a drama artist for ALL INDIA RADIO varanasi, after failing the test twice.

along with SUDHARAK OLWE and PRIYANKA BORPUJARI, i am the part of training 17 women ( i do not want to write that they are muslim and atleast married once, as priyanka wrote in her report. )
we had three sessions so far. and yesterday , they had their first experience of shooting pictures with holding Nikon D3, the most reputed and expensive digital camera of the time.
i will write more about my experiences of these workshops with images.
I promice to myself !