tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76929627091986598442013-03-07T23:34:11.073-08:00ART,a simple 3 letter word but for me it is the one & only way to express myself. Its a peek into my inner world..a world that appreciates & is filled with anything creative. I believe that everything we do is an extension of our inner self & giving it a unique touch is being able to adapt & express it in our own way...this is ART & as such cannot be defined by boundaries!! I hope it catches your imagination the way it has caught mine!!!Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-73471177621503188692010-06-18T06:44:00.000-07:002010-06-18T06:44:26.252-07:002010-06-18T06:44:26.252-07:00

Most of us born in the '70's & '80's have grown up listening to songs like 'Tragedy'...'Stayin alive'... 'How deep is your love'....They were sung by the Bee Gees, a musical group that was so very distinct, that even on trying hard, none of us could imitate the way they sung!!!! The group comprised of 3 brothers, Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb who together sang three part harmonies which covered

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-59531014573235496082010-06-14T07:46:00.000-07:002010-06-16T09:01:03.699-07:002010-06-16T09:01:03.699-07:00

The common match-stick figure drawings that most of us have come across in craft exhibitions can be traced directly to the Indigenous people of Maharashtra, India, a fact that took me by surprise, since I thought it was a craft brought to the country from outside!!!! Called as Warli art where the word 'Warli' means 'piece of land', these drawings are created by the varlis, a scheduled tribe

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-44194981666309966132010-06-09T09:09:00.000-07:002010-06-09T09:09:22.760-07:002010-06-09T09:09:22.760-07:00

An instrument that was predominantly Indian, but gained huge popularity in the West due to the Beatles & Pandit Ravi Shankar, is the Sitar....George Harrison infact used it for the first time in pop music in the song, "Norwegian Wood (This Bird has flown) " on the LP Rubber Soul in 1965. Used mostly in Indian classical music, its versatility has been known to encompass any & every musical genre

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-21125767497740107122010-06-08T00:58:00.000-07:002010-06-08T00:58:07.292-07:002010-06-08T00:58:07.292-07:00

Something that this author would never have thought of, is that so many years after his death, his name would be associated with one of the greatest movies of all times..... If you are wondering whom I am talking about, it is the author, J.R.R Tolkien, a man whom I have come to admire & respect, not only for just giving us the story of  'Lord of the Rings' but for the detailing & vision so deep

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-81109131098577226642010-05-28T04:11:00.000-07:002010-05-28T04:13:48.482-07:002010-05-28T04:13:48.482-07:00

In keeping with today’s topic which I seem to be very taken up with, I came across some more installation works online by contemporary artists, who stretch the boundaries of their creativity. One such artist, is the Indiana based Japanese artist Sayaka Ganz, a young girl who creates sculptures & artworks using discarded & used materials like plastic, metals & utensils like spoons & forks. These

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-89243434409143243812010-05-28T02:15:00.000-07:002010-05-28T02:15:23.393-07:002010-05-28T02:15:23.393-07:00

This is one artist I don’t think many of us have heard of, but take a look at the kind of art he created!!! Called as ‘The Fountain’, this piece of installation art was created by the artist Marcel Duchamp in the year 1917. He called it as ‘readymades’ or found art since he made use of an already exisiting object & affixed his signature to it, giving it credibility in the name of art. To

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-38531399632690328162010-05-26T03:34:00.000-07:002010-05-26T03:47:41.958-07:002010-05-26T03:47:41.958-07:00

There was a time when cartooning never used to be considered an art but just a way of doodling, a hobby. All this has changed now since cartoons, through their way of expression are being considered as part of the creative process!!! A man, who has contributed the most towards this form in India, is the famous cartoonist & illustrator R K Laxman (B: 1924) His interpretation of 'the common man'

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-62566481933565634592010-05-24T01:03:00.000-07:002010-05-24T01:08:54.095-07:002010-05-24T01:08:54.095-07:00

The painting, ‘ Lady with the lamp’ is one that has been seen & reproduced innumerable times. It can be found in many homes, places & stores all over India & the haunting nature of the painting brings into sharp focus the mastery & genius of the painter, Raja Ravi Verma who is an inspiration for a whole generation of Indian artists. It feels proud to note that the artist, Ravi Verma (1848 – 1906

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-52391831284927116122010-05-21T04:53:00.000-07:002010-05-21T04:53:33.702-07:002010-05-21T04:53:33.702-07:00

Most of us, me included might never have heard of 'Hawa Mahal', a beautiful & delicate architectural wonder situated in Jaipur, India. I came across it while searching for some other information & the detailing of the building just caught my eye!!! Also called as the 'Wind Palace', because of its numerous windows which allows wind (hawa) to pass through, it was constructed under the reign of

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-49255005128901243372010-04-29T00:34:00.000-07:002010-04-29T02:56:03.420-07:002010-04-29T02:56:03.420-07:00

One of India's most famous paintings & which has created records not as much for the acclaimed work than for its sale, is the painting 'Mahishasura' by the artist Tyeb Mehta (25/7/'25 - 2/7/'09) According to Hindu mythology, Mahishasura was a demon who was granted the power of invincibility by God Brahma but then became so powerful that he had to be killed by the Goddess Durga. Tyeb Mehta, a

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-25519044893158032432010-04-24T04:07:00.000-07:002010-04-24T04:07:01.431-07:002010-04-24T04:07:01.431-07:00

A very notable point of interest that has always intrigued me is the fact that there seems to be a lot of knowledge & data everwhere of the western school of art, which deserves a rightful place as a precursor to the mordern art movement. But what also cannot be ignored, especially in India is that there were & are art movements that have tried & succeeded in building their own path &

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-44793013869248609812010-04-15T06:44:00.000-07:002010-04-15T06:44:38.237-07:002010-04-15T06:44:38.237-07:00

An art movement that originated in the 19th century, Impressionism derives its name from a work by the artist Claude Monet called 'Impression, soleil levant' which provoked the art critic Louis Leroy to coin the term as a satirical review since according to him, it resembled an unfinished piece of work!!! The art movement comprised of Parisian artists whose works were characterised by visible

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-19581490011872416582010-04-14T06:50:00.000-07:002010-04-14T23:06:30.445-07:002010-04-14T23:06:30.445-07:00

An art revolution that is pretty new & innovative is one which is happening on the streets of San Francisco done by a group of local artists who aim to contribute their bit to the environment. Called as 'reverse graffiti', the project uses guerrilla tactics of street-art on public walls, thus reversing the effects of pollution & actually turning the definition of graffiti on its head to produce

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-85976389386224144572010-04-14T01:04:00.000-07:002010-04-14T01:04:35.174-07:002010-04-14T01:04:35.174-07:00

Chikan cloth is something most of us women folk, have either bought or have lusted after at some point of time or the other. While wondering why such material is so exorbiantly priced, I just spoke to some of the people who actually work on it & the embroidery process they described truly amazed me. Chikankari work is a fine & intricate kind of mesh embroidery that originated & is traditionally

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-16882246241509106182010-04-10T06:09:00.000-07:002010-04-10T06:11:27.337-07:002010-04-10T06:11:27.337-07:00

Not many of us know about Jazz & its origins. That such a beautiful musical genre was actually born out of rebellion did take me by surprise. As I began to read about it, I realised that it had a very long history. This intrigued me enough to write a bit about where & what might have prompted its conception. Jazz is actually a music genre that originated in the US as a form of confrontation by

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-22780862672974898102010-04-08T06:14:00.000-07:002010-04-10T04:19:01.534-07:002010-04-10T04:19:01.534-07:00

If one just attempts to use his imagination, anything can be made possible!!!! This is amply demonstrated in the ANDREA Air Filter which is not only an amazing design concept but is also eco-friendly.... The ANDREA Air Filter which is currently sold in the US, uses household plants as natural indoor air cleaners thus ridding air of toxins & pollutants. It was invented by the French designer,

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-11711393308006807912010-04-08T05:36:00.000-07:002010-04-10T04:18:34.239-07:002010-04-10T04:18:34.239-07:00

Amrita Shergill (01/'13 - 12/'41), a woman whose works are considered as among the most expensive in India, was an eminent painter whose legacy & works can be compared to those of the Masters of Bengali art. Known as India's 'Frida Kahlo', she managed to carve a niche for herself in Indian art thus becoming one of the Nine great Masters whose works were declared as national treasures by the

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-12753925380634090512010-04-08T01:57:00.000-07:002010-04-08T01:57:04.146-07:002010-04-08T01:57:04.146-07:00

As children, we often heard songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" & "We Are the Champions" sung by the band Queen. Infact, I also knew a bit about the lead singer, Freddie Mercury. Later though, my interest in him was piqued when I came to know that he was an Indian, a Gujarati Parsi whose original name was 'Farrokh Balsara'.  This was definitely something to be proud

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-34015733655254984112010-04-05T06:30:00.000-07:002010-04-05T06:30:36.521-07:002010-04-05T06:30:36.521-07:00

In sewing, the first thing that we learn from our elders, is the 'running stitch' used when we have to darn or mend clothes. It is a common form of embroidery in Bangladesh & India in every household. Although I have been using this stitch for years to sew clothes, I was'nt aware that the very plain & insipid running stitch could be used to create such beautiful patterns, called as Kantha

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-90478043810511184362010-04-03T05:28:00.000-07:002010-04-05T02:46:26.236-07:002010-04-05T02:46:26.236-07:00

A must see traditional art form in every Indian home especially at the time of festivals, is the Rangoli which is a form of sandpainting i.e decoration done on the ground or walls using finely ground white & coloured powders or even flowers. Also called the painted prayers, the term rangoli is derived from the words rang (colour) and aavalli ('coloured creepers'). It is known with different names

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-51029930816928790432010-03-27T01:19:00.000-07:002010-03-27T01:19:31.729-07:002010-03-27T01:19:31.729-07:00

I really never thought that the age old practice of knitting can be applied so ingeniously to create innovative & beautiful design furniture. I really found this chair so intriguing that I decided to feature it here, for me this represents 'new art'!!! The wooden chair seen here is a furniture made by knitting pieces of wood together using yarn. It was a brainchild of Designer Emiliano Godoy who

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-66300077177693029132010-03-26T05:58:00.000-07:002010-03-26T05:58:01.883-07:002010-03-26T05:58:01.883-07:00

If you have seen a Patta chitra work, you will realise how miniature & artistic the work is but only if you look at it closely. This is exactly what happened while visiting a fair in the city recently, where I spent a considerable amount of time viewing the work & got talking with the artist. Although at first glance, they seem quite ordinary, the intricacy of the work can only be noticed on

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-88236360734743464962010-03-24T05:32:00.000-07:002010-03-25T06:04:39.450-07:002010-03-25T06:04:39.450-07:00

More than knowing Dali as an artist, I was fascinated with his name from a very young age & being very inquisitive, I have tried to find out everything about the man & his body of work. Impressive is the only word that comes to mind!!!! Salvador Dali (11/05/1904- 23/01/1989), was a famous Spanish painter whose surrealist works were known for their striking & bizarre images, mostly influenced by

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-85117601057348315152010-03-23T05:28:00.000-07:002010-03-23T05:32:05.880-07:002010-03-23T05:32:05.880-07:00

As the name suggests, these houses inspired by the art of origami are created from bamboo & are intended to be used as a temporary shelter in the aftermath of an earthquake. They are elegant & beautiful & are the brainchild of Ming Tang, an architectural designer who has designed them making use of renewable materials. Ming Tang came up with this idea after a magnitude of 7.9 earthquake struck

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7692962709198659844.post-68642066499921643652010-03-23T00:52:00.000-07:002010-03-23T03:29:02.423-07:002010-03-23T03:29:02.423-07:00

One of the oldest classical dance forms in India originating in Tamil Nadu, Bharatnatyam is a dance form accompanied by classical music consisting of various poses filled with grace, purity & tenderness. Its name is derived from a combination of BHA- Bhava (Expression), RA- Raga (Music) and TA- Tala (Rhythm). This traditional Indian dance form was first inspired from the sculptures of the

Charmaine D'souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13571780176291692061noreply@blogger.com0