APRIL 2011 ISSUE 5
START magazine
“It can happen only if you click with heart Technology can make any frame look smart these days,
and soul and breathe life into a photograph. but that doesn't necessarily make a great picture.�
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One of the greatest things that I realized in the recent times is to never miss an opportunity that comes our way. We cannot guess the potential of an opportunity without experiencing it. May it be traveling, meeting new people or being a part of something new. This issue reflects on how these artists made use of the opportunities that came their way.
Understanding the art of other
With that note, I wish we make the best of the beautiful season that India artists can help us understand our own is witnessing right now. Flowering art better. That is possibly the best trees, mangoes, tea time rains, and result that can come out of START. mainly, the unbelievable energy that’s Reading more and more about other radiating from everywhere! people’s lives and their way of thinking Remember, Opportunities are never has helped me to put my thoughts into taken. They are always caught! perspective. I hope it has the same effect on you too. editor@startmagazine.in START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
Š Each piece belongs to the stated artist and the copyright laws must be respected.
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I honestly feel that each one of us are surrounded with beautiful things which inspire us in one way or the other. To me, the inspiration to “create� comes from trying to connect to something that I see or the urge to be a part of that frame.
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Sikkim I started photography as a part of my course back in second year (2008). I learnt on a manual SLR then. A year later, I switched to a semi SLR and finally to a digital SLR. I wish to get back to my manual SLR too sometime soon. In the process of putting together a portfolio, I discovered that most of my photos fit the portrait photography category, so that’s
where I found myself. I still take portrait shots; and with my love for faces, I will continue to do so. However, I’m trying to move away from being just a portrait photographer. I’m focusing more on conceptual images at the moment. I have a few projects in various stages of planning and shooting that are far different from what I have shot up until now. 9
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This is a photostory on Ahmedabad Textile mill workers. Ahmedabad has been one of the textile capitals of India, and has a rich history. It is truly said that Ahmedabad’s prosperity is well-knit with three threads- the silk, gold and cotton. This trade would have kept it in limelight even if it had not been the capital or the centre of art and architecture. It is the enterprising spirit of this land that
has created the Ahmedabad of today from the crisis of the past. Being asked for making a film on a subject that presents Ahmedabad at its best, I could not think of a subject any better than documenting textile mills. This photostory being a part of that documentary, I feel is very different than what I have been doing all this while i.e., capturing emotions on faces.
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Image processing has a very interesting history starting from the classic black and white films to the introduction of color film, and to the digitalization of taking pictures. There have been many discussions on this but I believe processing techniques always have been and are always going to be a very important part of the process of “making a picture” to an extent. At the end of it all I really believe what Arnold Newman says- “Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world.” Therefore, it is upto an individual to decide the extent to which he wishes to create his own illusion. START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
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I like what I am doing at the moment. I do not plan that far ahead, I am not even sure if I take it up as a profession or continue with designing. Five years ago if you told me I would be a photographer I might have laughed, but now I love it.
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I don’t remember not drawing, so I think I must have been quite young when it started. I have been drawing and looking at books about art and artists ever since with sustained interest. But I don’t think it has been the kind of motivation or compulsion that I could lose myself in, or spend many hours doing at a stretch. My grandfather was a painter and if I
asked he would sometimes guide me with some things. My parents are fond of looking at art, so there were a number of books and prints at home that I grew up looking at. I’ve always eagerly absorbed things from books and the people around me, and I remember hanging around a lot with the architecture students working in my father’s small office as a child, often asking for tips on drawing and learning by watching.
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Instinct. I don’t really know what it is that inspires me to draw or create; there are at different times different motivations. What I deeply enjoy is working with my hands: the raw, tactile aspect of the activity – whether in covering a book, sharpening a pencil with the blade, chopping wood, fastening something with string, modeling with clay, or drawing.
There is a connection with the material there which is not in the intellectual realm at all; it is what I feel in my fingers, on my skin. That is one aspect I love about drawing – when I draw from life, it is somewhat like sculpting on the paper, feeling the contours and texture of things what I am looking at, translating them through the pressure and movement of the hand.
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I love drawing from life, especially people and animals. When I draw for myself, that is, not for an assignment, I generally make quick drawings from life in my sketchbook. This happens most often when I am out of the house, travelling or in a new place. I don’t go back to the drawings or use them as reference for larger works. Partly because I often draw on the move, I prefer using very simple tools like a pen or pencil rather than paints or other colours. I also love the challenge of conveying something quickly and minimally, and am playing with that quite a lot these days.
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Currently, I help run and teach at a small school in Bangalore called Shibumi (www.shibumi.org.in), whose intent and functioning stem from our (the group of teachers who run the school) interest in exploring the teachings of J Krishnamurti in our own lives.
I have been increasingly involved in the school since we started three years ago. I teach art (as far as it is possible to “teach� it to children!) and English here, among other things. I enjoy teaching very much.
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Kansara Pol 24 START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
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I did a two-year Foundation Course at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology. At the end of that, I felt I didn’t want to take up a formal specialization at that point. I left college with the intention of giving myself the time and space to explore drawing in greater depth
than I had done before, without too much of a structure being imposed from the outside. I drew and painted, travelled, sought out people who could critique my work, worked on a picture book project with my friend, and also spent time doing other things like working at an organic farm for a while.
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While I did learn many things at college, I think this stint after leaving was quite an important period in that it helped me to begin seeing my own learning and working rhythms. My interest in being part of Shibumi was growing over this period too and quite seamlessly I moved into that. That is a full-time job at the moment and my own art practice is mostly limited to my sketchbook and the occasional freelance project, though I continue to be deeply interested in art – not Art as a well-defined field or a profession, but as an inquiry into truth and living, and the engagement with a craft. 27 START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
(Done with the guidance of Anuben, a friend and an artist, in her studio.)
Monoprints, also called Monotypes, are made by transferring an image painted on a metal plate, onto damp paper. The paper you want to print on is soaked for a while (the time depending on the kind of paper it is). Using wateror poster-colours you paint on an aluminium plate first coated with a thin layer of glue (after the glue dries). With a roller, the image is then manually transferred onto the paper.
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You can also stick bits of stuff onto the plate that will transfer an impression of its texture onto the paper, as I’ve tried in a few of these. Usually you can only take one good print from a painted plate (though the plate can be washed and re-used) – therefore ‘monoprint’. Quite simple compared to most other printmaking techniques, and full of surprises and the sense of play. Incidentally, I have read that Degas used and developed this technique, often making prints which he would then paint on.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/draconianrain/
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Yashica FX-3 How and when did you get into photography? I got interested in photography because of a friend in my first year of Architecture college. She did a course in professional photography and I happened to see her portfolio. I had a lot of questions and she was very patient with me. So I got to learn a lot from her.
What inspires you? What inspires me most is the fact that we take too many things for granted. There are so many things we say daily but don't observe. I think its the whole idea of making a visual statement with some thing that's very mundane and a part of your daily life and turning it into something else that I love. 31
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What are your favourite subjects to shoot? I love shooting trees which look like dinosaurs They add that drama to shots. Apart from that I like shooting scooters because they are just so photogenic and rustic, bicycles because I love them and the moon because its one of the most wondrous things you see in the night sky.
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Yashica GSN rangefinder
Which has been your best work so far? What is the story behind it? If I were to chose one photo, this would be it . It was shot while climbing a small hill in the middle of Pune – The Law college tekdi. The whole atmosphere is not exactly how a hill is supposed to be. The trees are planted by the forest department. All regimental and orderly, the ground cover is burned towards the end of winter and the original indigenous tree is cut and used as firewood. Theres just a lot of things that are too disturbing in this one image. Like what's wrong with our environment right now. 36 START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
Pushkar
How did you get into experimenting with homemade lenses and cameras?! I enjoy trying out little things. There is one particular lens that I'm proud of. Its the homemade lensbaby. You can find it here http://vividvibes.blogspot.com/20 08/01/home-made-holga-esqfixed-lens-for-my.html This lens can just transform the whole experience of clicking pictures and well as viewing the end product. The lens itself is not very great to look at and I've got some funny reactions to it, but in the end, the lens works well, and that's what matters the most.
How does art influence your daily life? I think Daily life is the fodder for art. What you see around, is represented in your art which is so personal and subjective. But sometimes, art influences daily life in many little ways. Its like the way you decorate your sandwich with cheese and ketchup, the way you talk on the phone in a sort of melodious way. The way you move your hands animating your conversations as if you were on stage. The way you walk rhythmically listening to a song... Art is all around and unconsciously, we are absorbing it all.
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Yashica FX-3 Have fun. Click what you like. Don't keep thinking of what others might think of your photos. Document as much as possible through pictures. Get your friends to model for you. Don't be afraid to experiment with the equipment. Its after all just a gadget. No matter how well or how rough you use it, it'll still not last forever.
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3d chalk drawing. My first try with 3d drawings :) Didn’t get sidewalk chalks so used the 1 buck chalk!
I feel, I am my art. I take a lot of self portraits making myself a part of my art.
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I started to draw and sketch from a very young age, but had to stop for academic reasons (was not very good at studying :O). When I was in 11’th grade, I started drawing again to escape studying. Later, I joined architecture as I didn’t want to do engineering. By this time, I took up art seriously and started liking it. I had an awesome artist - V. Hariram – to guide me. I owe my artistic skills to him. Taking up architecture helped me in design. 42 START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
I ‘create’ because it feels good! Once you do something on your own, you have a great sense of satisfaction whatever your creation may be. 43 START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
This is one photograph of a series that I made. I worked with a French photographer in Auroville, who was just amazing! He’s in his 70's and we got the idea of movement photography or capturing a series of actions in a single photo, like ‘capturing time’. We worked on it for about 4 days to get these results. These are direct from the camera (no photoshop or computer manipulation).
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Intensity. This is just how I feel about ‘existence’. Painting is my favourite form of art. It is like the base from which I do everything else. I loose the sense of time when I am working on any art.
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I just do what I feel like doing. It keeps me happy :)
Rise of Evil. 47 START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
DE ONE STUDIOS
Pencil box, paint brush box (acrylic), paintbrush box (water colour), brush holder, etc.
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I don’t listen to any of the lectures in class. To keep myself engaged, I sleep or doodle fonts. It just happened that I always doodled ‘deone’ in various fonts. That is how DeOne was born. I did a bamboo structure on my terrace which was pretty much a failure (parents felt really bad for wasting their money) so I tried doing something out of the leftover bamboo. I started making stuff for myself (like pencil cases, clocks, paint brush cases, etc). As people started liking it, I kept making more and put them under this brand.
In the future too, I’ll keep doing random things related to art and design which keeps me going. And I'll be grateful to the people who like my work :)
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I started painting from a very early age, from when I was around 8 years old. I used to colour cartoons and random sketches in the newspaper generally. My mom saw these and encouraged me by sending me to painting classes. I love the power colours have to influence your mood and their immense ability to depict emotions, capture feelings and also the huge variety. It is this entire fascination with colours and their existence everywhere that inspires me to paint. Also the immense potential that a painting has to portray a feeling or a character excites me to paint. Emotions and creatures feel closer when you spend time and effort over creating them in your paintings. 52 START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
Steffi
Jai 53 START MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2011 ISSUE 5
I am also inspired by the works of famous artists. Monet, Wassily Kandinsky, Pierre Renoir, Joan Miro, Anjolie Ela Menon being my favourite artists. In general my family is my biggest motivation to do anything. My mother’s critical analysis of all my paintings helps me improve.
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Freedom I feel the two paintings on freedom are the best that I have created so far because they were the most apt expression of my feelings after having finished class 12, all the entrance exams for engineering, board exams etc. I was painting after a gap of more than a year. In the first paintings, the white colour, lots of birds flying show a woman who is totally in peace with her freedom and finds a calmness in it. Whereas in the second painting colours are more harsh and it is more of a figurative painting, the bird is just being left from a cage so it shows unsettling freedom.
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Freedom
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BITS Clock Tower
Art plays a very important role in my life as it helps me de-stress and is a major outlet for all the extra energy that strong emotions and experiences generate. Though I don’t paint everyday and sometimes not for weeks too, it remains an important activity in my life. I am also fan of art for social purposes. I had sold my paintings in an exhibition once and with the money I conducted free art classes for under-privileged children.
Though I don’t see myself going into the art field full time, it will continue to be one of the important things in my life. . I am the co founder of a non-profit called Parivartan Foundation (www.parivartanfoundation.org), though right now we are not running any project related to art, in the future I hope to start a project to teach the under-privileged and children with difficult circumstances art, to empower them with colours.
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Cover image by Meghana Kulkarni