Stoker's Dracula vs Rowling's Harry Potter books

Has anyone considered the interesting parallels between Stoker's "Dracula" and J.k.Rowling's Harry Potter books?

Common themes- Evil vs Good
- The red scar( Mina Harker and Harry Potter)
- Reading the mind of their evil counterparts
( Mina under hypnosis and Harry Potter feeling and
reading Voldmort's emotions and thoughts)
- Spilling of blood in every form
- Destroying the remnants of evil in coffins, bodies etc
vs the Horcruxes
- Fear in various forms- description of nature,
moods of the muggles and the Wizarding world
- Werewolves, wolves

I wonder if Rowling was heavily influenced by Stoker's book?...Something to ponder on!

A few days ago, a man was killed in the hit and run accident and later I heard from two people about this man, who was a dear friend of theirs. Condolences and prayer meetings were held;tears shed and hearts heavy as they remembered the man who had touched their lives. What struck me most was not the number of qualifications he held or the profession he was in(he was a lawyer from an influential family) but how they would miss his sense of humor and his attitude towards life. The memories of him were so endearing that I wished I had also known him too.

It was an important lesson I learnt about life. It is unpredictable and short but because of its transitory nature, we need to savour the moments and treasure the relationships we have for these memories will soon be precious and beautiful. Indeed, diplomas, degrees, superlative achievements do not matter. It is about that person who touched your life and how your world was so meaningful and pure because of that gesture, a sweet word or the stories they told. Indeed, there is no place for anger or negativity to make their presence. We do not need their company, at least in this short life of ours.

May that gentleman rest in peace and as for the rest of us, hope that we learn to love our life and our beloved ones more.

Beautiful thoughts from another blog

"Everything can serve as inspiration. Colours seen in film (think: the beauty of the limited palette of an Aki Kaurismäki film with its saturated blues and greens with accents of red and yellow), in nature, on the scarf of the person who passes you on the street. Ideas could come from dance, from music, from a line of text read, from a splinter of a conversation overheard. Ideas can woo from the sidelines whilst you wash the dishes, or in the haze of morning before you are fully awake. Where you get your inspiration from can be anywhere. It can be direct or indirect. Given that where you find it can be so varied, it is what you then do with the idea that interests us. The act of seizing upon an idea and trying to execute it is our interest. Iris Murdoch spoke of every novel being the wreck of a perfect idea, and this is something that governs us as we work."

(http://gracialouise.typepad.com/elsewhere/2013/06/for-chloe.html)

Thoughts by a worried individual

By now, the news about what a US student had written about her experiences in India would have come on every news channel and several social networking sites. Ok, what the girl went through was an unfortunate experience and I hope it never happens to anyone ever again. But what I don't quite understand is the amount of apologies and vitriolic comments people have written about India and how ashamed they feel to be an Indian.How come they have not done the same for our own people? Why did they not apologize to our Indian girls whose lives have been marred with acid attacks, eve teasing, rape, humiliation, gender bias and human trafficking? Is it because its so routine that no one bothers any more? The truth is "YES" and its " boring" to see these news all the time.

Has anyone considered what happens in the US and other countries- race issues, the deadly laws about abortion, the right to have OCP pills..? These things should not be happening and we should be ashamed that even in the 21st century, forced marriages, race, caste still prevail. 

No, we should apologize for the loss of humanity. I am sorry for that.

Should artists write about their work?

Today,at a panel discussion " Words and Art", one of the questions raised was about artists writing about their work and why that category was still a rare breed. Instead, there are curators and art historians writing about them.

An interesting question- why do we as artists hesitate to write about our own work? Is the artist statement not enough? Or is there a fear that we may not find our work interesting or that if we demystify our processes completely, will that joy and passion disappear or dissipate? 

Its a valid issue. I remember a similar heated debate was going around about authors writing glowing reviews about their recently published novels. After all, in this age of social media, twitter, people have to compete to make sure that their works are visible as well. But it also involves the questions of ethics here. To write or not to write is a raging question. Yet,is that one reason why artists are hesitant to write about their work? Then what about artist statements? Is that also a compromise as well? Is there a need for the artist to explain the work? Today's audience is an intelligent and receptive one. They appreciate art better than they used to. Its because awareness has been been created; there are lectures and new research on them every other day. And who is doing all this work- the writers! 

Hence, in a way, the artist is not belittling himself by writing about the work as it helps the viewers to understand the thought processes better. Perhaps that day will come soon...

So many questions...few answers...I would love to know what others think about it...

Stephen Bowers's Fantasy World

Yesterday, I visited Stephen Bowers's show at the Jam Factory. It was part of the SALA festival organized in Adelaide. Bowens was an alumnus of Jam Factory and I was delighted to have a peek into his whole range of work from gigantic vases to ceramic plates and finally the small mugs with his beautiful illustrations and decorations. His common themes involved " Alice in Wonderland", Kangaroos and the Australian birds. Further, he was influenced by Japanese art, especially the famous Willow plates with the blue line as the main feature in the drawings of foliage, birds and architecture. Looking at them, it took me back to the past where I used those willow plates for parties at our house during my childhood. My grandmother had handed down those ancient dear plates with quaint beautiful designs on them to us. And today, I was standing in front of those very plates but larger, innovative and meshed with fantasy and modern elements which I loved. I have a strong feeling that I may go back and revisit them once more!

Here are a few images from the show-:

Reading Simon Schama's " Power of Art"

It was nostalgic and great to breeze through Schama's chapter on VanGogh- the one whom I met in my teens and for several hours and days, I had pored over his paintings and dissected them again and again for the brushstrokes, the vivid colour palette and the frenzied emotions running through these works. VanGogh truly lived life through his art and felt emotions to the extremes which was to be his death sentence during his final years before his death.
Surprisingly,I prefer his later works now such as "Tree Roots and Trunks" which urged us to feel the moment intensely and forget the loneliness of modern life that assails us now...

On a different scale, Caravaggio made works of huge psychological impact and this was important as the paintings had to move the Church goers and make them think of God and hell. His forte was mainly the Biblical themes where he changed the interpretation of the stories completely. His strengths lay in how he manipulated the dark and light in his works; how they enhanced the intensity of the central figures or atmosphere. Indeed, Caravaggio experimented with costumes, figures and the lighting to get that particular depth or emotion which he wanted. Also, they were physical and tangible.

My favourites so far- The Card Sharps(1596), The Head of Medusa(1598-9), The Crucifixion of  St Peter (1600), Doubting St Thomas( 1602-3), David with the Head of Goliath(1605-6). The last one was considered his attempt to redemption and ask for forgiveness.

Finally, Bernini shared certain similarities with Caravaggio – the sculptures were physical and writhing with emotion and deep psychology. He was careful in how each detail in the sculpture revealed an impending doom or some psychological state. Like Caravaggio, he practiced his expressions in the mirror and observed how they looked. He used these experiences in stone. In addition, he made sure that his figures were lifelike and not idealized. They were rooted in nature and not like the lifeless Roman nude casts.

His famous one is the "Ecstasy of St Theresa" but perhaps my favourite is "The Damned Soul"!

First thoughts-Painting after a long break

Today,I lovingly took two of my blank canvases to the garage and placed them on the ground with great care. I then uttered a small prayer and bent down to pick the brush with trembling hands. You see, I was on a long long break post my BFA studies. I felt it was time to attack the canvases with brush and paints.

Ah, the feel of the gesso brush against the cloth surface and the waiting times while the dear canvases took their time slow and steady to dry before I could apply the next coat of paint on the rough texture...I was reminded of the days in the studio at SAIC where we used to bring our materials and canvases to the classes and how we would start at 9 and finish by 4 or 7(especially me since I took a longer time to clean all my brushes  after the class !). I could almost hear the faint voices of students chitchatting to each other or the instructors advising us nearby. I smiled to myself as the memories danced and sang to each other. True, I missed college, my friends and the instructors. ..

Yet today I was glad that college was over and the hassles of completing credits and homework were long past. Now I had the time to think and ruminate over what I wanted to paint and on what subjects would interest me. Interestingly, I found myself veering towards the world of story telling and abandoning the accepted world of abstraction. I introduced my strange characters to each other. Indeed, they are like the characters in the novel. They scream and yell out to us-" Me!" "Me!" " Take me too". Entranced,I listened to them, dreamt about them and eventually decided to select the lucky winners for my first painting.

The underpainting has begun and more work needs to be done by the end of this week....Welcome, O'Art! 

Prints- 1st February 2013 _ Found Objects

Hi there...I have posted a couple of new prints which I have been working on during the past the few days. It is a great feeling to be back in my small studio and make work. I have been focussing on the idea of found objects and what stories they reveal to the world. Its an ongoing process and it may even get more wild as I explore and discover gold mines.
Do feel free to leave a comment or suggestions. I will be happy to know what your thoughts are on them.