Showing posts with label Arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arts. Show all posts

Sunday 5 January 2020

4th Schio Biennale of Papermade Art 2019-20

The 4th edition of the Schio Biennale focusing on Papermade exhibition is going on at Fogazzaro Palace in Schio. It is a biannual art exhibition on paper art.

This post is about my favourite 15 art works from the 2019-20 Papermade exhibition. 

The Theme of Papermade 2019-20

The theme of 4th edition of Papermade curated by Valeria Bertesina is "Beauty in the non-essential". Art and beauty may be seen as unnecessary, even superfluous, but I feel that art and beauty add life to our lives. Prehistoric humans understood it, when they made cave art, necklaces out of colourful beads and painted figures on earthenware.
Artwork by Joseph Rossi, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


This exhibition started in October 2019 and will finish on 9 February 2020 (Note: it has been extended till 13 April 2020). It includes two special events - (1) a series of "sculptures" by Joseph Rossi which re-interpret some iconic & provocative works of the well-known Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, and (2) a mini- exhibition of 15 artists from Finland. The image above presents "Him" by Joseph Rossi, which was a re-interpretation of the Maurizio Cattelan sculpture (2001) of a school boy with the face of Hitler kneeling in prayer.

Re-Interpreting Maurizio Cattelan

Joseph Rossi is a graphic artist based in the nearby Thiene. This edition of Papermade is hosting few of his installations, including some which are a homage to the iconic works of Maurizio Cattelan.

Cattelan, a famous artist based in Padova (Padua), has been in the news recently because of his provocative work of "art" which had a banana fixed to the wall with a duct-tape in the "Art Basel" exhibition in Miami Beach USA, which was sold to an unnamed French art collector for 120,000 dollars and eaten by the Georgian performance artist David Datuna. I think that such works are an example of performance art, which may even be seen as a criticism of the way "conceptual art" is dominating the various recent biennales.
Artwork by Joseph Rossi, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


The image above presents another of Joseph Rossi's re-interpretation of Cattelan's provocative works - of the 1999 wax sculpture called "Ninth Hour" which showed Pope John Paul II lying dead crushed by a meteorite.

Finnish Artists in Papermade

There are works of 15 well-known artists from Finland in this Papermade exhibition. They range from art-works with pastel and ink on different kinds of paper, to etching, mezzotint and digital prints. They also include 2 installations - (1) Trio Schio, a paper-meche work by Arja Jappinen; and (2) Beauty, an assemblage including cut paper and origami by Jouni Boucht (in the image below).
Artwork by Jouni Boucht, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


Among all the other Finnish artists, my favourite were the 'charcoal on paper' art works by Paula Suominen, presented in the image below.
Artwork by Paula Swominen, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


Another work which I liked very much was called "Land of the Free", made with ink and spray paint by Egs, a well-known graffiti artist from Finland. The image below shows part of this work.
Artwork by Egs, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak

Other Art-works at Papermade

An important presence at Papermade was of the Australian artist Giuseppe Romeo. His cockroach-like origami "sculptures" with a metallic finish, greeted visitors on the stairs and spread over the exhibition, on the floors and the walls, looking like an infestation.
Artwork by Giuseppe Romeo, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


I liked the colours and vivacity of the collages by the Italian artist Elsa Pietrelli.
Artwork by Elisa Pietrelli, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


I was touched by the digital print of a woman's face by the Vietnamese artist Quang Pham Khac, who explained that it was an image of his wife, which he has been making in different forms over the recent period to cope up with her death.
Artwork by Quang Pham Khac, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


I loved the colours and feelings evoked by the series of paintings/collages by Silvio Cattani inspired by the poetry of the famous Russian poet Sergej Yesenin.
Artwork by Silvio Cattani, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


The tropical foliage (below) and the human figures created by Canadian artist Zachari Logan in his "Eunuch Tapestrieses", with pastel art-work on black paper, were visually very striking because of their vivid colours and details.
Artwork by Zachari Logan, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


I am not a fan of the "conceptual art". Even in this exhibition, there were a couple of such installations, which I felt were unexciting and a kind of lazy art. However, I liked the idea behind Iginio Iurilli's simple installation called "Exploding tomato sauce can" (below).
Artwork by Iginio Iurili, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


I liked the prints from etchings/woodcut/Relief by Tribhuvan Kumar Dev from India, Haladaj Wieslaw from Poland, Linda Whitney from USA (presented in the image below), Marco Trentin & Leonardo Marenghi from Italy and Yuji Hiratsuka from Japan.
Artwork by Linda Whitney, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


Finally, I liked the tiny and exquisite water-colours of birds by Michela Moretto (below).
Artwork by Michela Moretto, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


For this post I have presented pictures of 15 art-works which I had liked. However, I am very much aware of my own fickle subjectivity - on another day, I would have chosen other art-works. If I ask you to choose your favourite art-works from this exhibition, surely your choice would be different from these 15 works!

Conclusions

I think that this edition of Papermade has a lot to see, admire and think. Generally speaking, in an exhibition on paper art, I would like to see works which use paper in innovative ways and not just as a background to make prints or to paint with ink, pastels or water-colours. In that sense, there were not many new ideas in the exhibition. However, if you visit it with an expectation of seeing art which stimulates you and makes you reflect, you won't be disappointed.
Artwork by Susanna Doccioli, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


Let me conclude this post with two cut-paper origami inspired works - the delicate "Between you and I" by Susanna Doccioli (above), and the gossamer "Suspended Labyrinth" by Susy Manzo (below).
Artwork by Susy Manzo, Papermade 2019-20, Schio, Italy - Image by S. Deepak


The exhibition is open till 9 February 2020 (Note: it has been extended till 13 April 2020), so if you are visiting Schio, do not miss it. It is a 5 minutes walk from the railway station. 

*****

Wednesday 1 January 2020

Highlights from My Journeys in 2019

2019 was full of journeys for me, from Philippines in the east to Brazil in the west. This post is to remember the most significant moments of my travels. The first picture (below) is from a wonderful journey across Kerala and Karnataka in India - from the Chennakeshava temple in Belur.
Journeys 2019 - sculpture Belur temple, India - Image by S. Deepak


There was a time, when I did a lot of international travel. Then over the past decade, my travelling had gradually decreased, though I still continued to visit 3-4 countries every year. However, in 2019, a number of events came together, creating greater opportunities for my travel.

Travels in India

I started 2019 by travelling to Delhi in January. During this visit, I decided to explore the expanded network of the Delhi metro. For example, one day I went to search for the Dalit Pride Park in NOIDA. On my way back, I stopped in Jamia Milia and went to visit the tomb of Dr Zakir Hussain (in the image below), who was the President of India during 1967-69.
Tomb of Dr Zakir Hussein, India, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak


As a child, I had met Dr. Hussain and the well-known artist M.F. Hussain at Triveni Kala Sangam in Delhi and had vivid memories of that meeting. I was curious to visit his tomb.

In January, I also went to Kerala, where in Fort Kochi I visited the Kochi Art Biennale 2018-19. The image below presents an installation by Venu V. from the biennale.
Installation by Venu V., Kochi Biennale, India, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak


I travelled in trains and buses along the Kerala coast, going from Kochi to Mangalore and then to the town of Hassan in Karnataka. From Hassan, I visited the amazing temples of Halebidu and Belur. The first image at the top presents one of the amazing women sculptures from the Chennakeshava temple in Belur.

Back in Delhi in February, I visited the recently rennovated Sundar Gardens near Hamayun tomb. The image below shows Sundar burj from these beautiful gardens.
Sundar Garden, Delhi, India, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak


February was also an opportunity to visit the street art in Lodhi colony, about which I had heard a lot. It was the time when some artists were visiting the city to make new murals, so during my next visit to Delhi, I am planning to visit this area once more to see the new additions.
Street art, Lodhi colony, India, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak


In March, we had a family visit to the Kumbh mela in Prayagraj (Allahabad). My cousin sister had passed away suddenly and our visit included a ceremony for dispersing her ashes at Sangam, where river Ganges meets Yamuna. This visit was also an opportunity to visit and meet persons from our extended family and our old family home, before coming back to Delhi and concluding my India visit.
Night at Sangam, Prayagraj, UP, India, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak

Milan, Italy

Back in Italy, in early April, I was part of a conference in Milan. This was an opportunity to explore the Naviglio canal. I had been there many years ago and remembered it as an old and decaying area. With the cleaning of Naviglio, the whole place has changed completely. Now it is full of tourists visiting crowded restaurants and new glittering shops.
Naviglio Milan, Italy, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak


Liberia

In the last week of April, I was back in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. There is not much to see in Monrovia and security concerns make it difficult to go out. I also had to run a training course, so there was not much free time. However, one early morning, before the starting of the training, I did manage a walk along the seaside.
Seaside, Monrovia, Liberia, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak


I also travelled for a day to Ganta in Nimba county to meet some old friends. They are trying to build up a wild life sanctuary in Liberia. May be in future, one day there will be places to visit here.

Mongolia

I visited Mongolia twice in 2019. The first time at the end of June when I stayed in Ulaanbaatar and did not travel to other places. However, I did go out for different walks to discover the city, such as a walk to look at the sculptures of a camel caravan.

During the second visit, in October, we visited some provinces around Ulaanbaatar. One of the visits was to Arkhangai and on the way, we stopped to see the Buddhist monastery at Korakorum, the old capital of Mongolia during the times of Gengiz Khan (in the image below). It was a place that I had dreamt of visiting one day and the visit was really great.
Buddhist monatery, Korakorum, Mongolia, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak


Brazil - Campo Grande and Niteroi

In August I was in Brazil for a couple of weeks, first in Campo Grande and then in Niteroi, near Rio de Janeiro. In between my work commitments, I had plenty of time to go around for walks in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, a short ferry ride away from Nietroi, I went to different museums but my most precious experience was visiting an Ai Wei Wei art exhibition.

Niteroi is a wonderful place to stay with some of the most beautiful views of the Bay of Guanabara and the amazing skyline of Rio de Janeiro (in the image below).
Brazilian friends and Rio de Janeiro skyline, Brazil, Journeys 2019 - Image by Sunil Deepak


Manila, Philippines

Back from Brazil and with a short break of a few days, I had to go Manila for a conference. The 12 hours time difference from Brazil, made this visit very difficult for me. I tried everyday to walk and discover parts of Manila that I had not seen earlier. Thus, I joined the visit organized by our conference hosts to visit Intramuros, the Spanish part of Manila (Fort Santiago in the image below).
Fort Santiago, Manila, Philippines, Journeys 2019 - Image by S. Deepak


Istanbul, Turkey

In October, on my way back from Mongolia, I stayed overnight in Istanbul. I have passed through Istanbul airport many times, but had never stopped there and was hoping to visit the city. However, during my one day of stay, it was raining most of the time and thus, I was forced to stay in my hotel room. The image below was clicked from the bus going back to the airport. I hope to have another opportunity to visit Turkey in the new year.
Istambul, Turkey, Journeys 2019 - Image by S. Deepak

Geneva, Switzerland

Between August to October, I had travelled so much that I became unwell and had to cancel a visit to Spain. I had also made plans for a family gathering in the USA, but I was so tired of travelling that I cancelled it.

The only journey outside Italy I made was to Geneva for a meeting at the World Health Organisation in mid-November. Even during the brief stay, I found some time to go for a walk along the left bank of the Leman lake, which I like very much (image below). Unfortunately, there was not enough free time to visit the botanical gardens, another of my favourite places in Geneva.
Lakeside, Geneva, Switzerland, Journeys 2019 - Image by S. Deepak

Italy - Padova, Treviso & Venice

Veneto region of Italy, where I live, is full of beautiful little medieval towns. This year, I visited some of them such as Castelfranco Veneto, Padova, Treviso, Thiene and Vicenza (below an image from the Padova Pride parade).
Padova Pride Parade, Italy, Journeys 2019 - Image by S. Deepak

In November, I also managed to visit the Venice Art Biennale before it ended. It had a couple of installations that I had seen in Kochi art biennale in the beginning of the year. The image below shows the visually striking giant installation by Lorenzo Quinn from this Biennale.
Lorenzo Quinn installation, Venice Biennale, Italy, Journeys 2019 - Image by S. Deepak

Conclusions

I am glad that I could visit so many countries during 2019, though I overdid it! My new year resolution is to have fewer work commitments in other countries in 2020, so that I can enjoy my travels more.

Already my bags are packed and I am preparing to go back to India. I want to conclude this post with an image from the street theatre perforamnce by students of Aurobindo college in Delhi, which I had seen during my last visit to Delhi - the play was about the vanishing languages of India and was called "Zubaan sambhal ke". I like street theatre plays very much and am hoping to catch some of them during my visit.
Street Theatre, Delhi, India, Journeys 2019 - Image by S. Deepak


One new development in 2019 was my increasing use of phone-cameras, instead of my usual Canon DSLR. This explains the different sizes and qualities of the pictures used for this post. Carrying a mobile to click pictures is so convenient and I think that in 2020, I will use it even more.

*****

Wednesday 6 November 2019

Ai Wei Wei - Later Works in Brazil

The first part of this post was about the earlier works of celebrated Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei presented in an exhibition called Raiz (Roots) held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2019. This second part of the post focuses on his works created between 2015 and 2018, and presented in this exhibition.

Forever Bicycles - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


The works of the artist from this period show a transformation - from his criticisms of the regime in China in his earlier works, he moved on to other themes afflicting humanity, from wars and refugee crisis to climate change. His latest works from his period in Brazil are even more personal, looking at sexuality and cultures.

Expressing Dissidence

The first works of Wei Wei after his release from the house-arrest in Beijing were understandably about the period of that arrest, though they continued to be ironic and symbolic, like the installation called Forever Bicycles presented in the image above. This installation was made from one thousand stainless steel bicycles. These represented personal freedom and its title, "Forever", referred to a brand of bicycles common in China when Wei Wei was growing up with his father in the exile.

His next work from 2015 was Blossom, a carpet made from hundreds of porcelain flowers made by joining 16 panels. This installation also referred to the period of his house arrest, when as a way of protest, he had decided to put every morning some flowers in the basket of a bicycle parked in front of his home. Thus, Blossom represents the flowers of his protest.

Blossoms - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


War and Refugees

After his release from house arrest in China, in 2015 Wei Wei had relocated to Berlin in Germany. That brought him in contact with the refugees who were pouring into Europe from the war-torn middle-east and whom the European countries were refusing to accept. Wei Wei felt the cries for help of the refugees, probably because he was also a refugee, though a fortunate one, since he had been accepted in Europe because of his celebrity status and because of being a known Chinese dissident.

In 2015 itself, Wei Wei visited the island of Lesbos in Greece and saw the shoreline littered with life-jackets and buoys of Syrian refugees trying to enter Europe. His 2016 marble sculpture Tyre is a "monument to the lost" remembering those who risked everything to seek a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

Tyre, Monument to the lost - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


During 2016-17, Wei Wei travelled to 23 countries and 40 refugee camps. Out of these visits came his film "The Human Flow". In the same period, he also produced different other art works on this theme.

His next work on the theme of refugees is titled Odyssey and is a wallpaper which traces the stories of human migrations from the time of the Old Testament, through the pictorial techniques of antique Greek and Egyptian carvings and panels. The image below presents a detail from it.

Odyssey - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


There was another work on the theme of refugees in this exhibition titled "Refugee motif pillar of vases". It has 6 Qinghua blue and white vases, crafted in Jiangxi province of China in the antique Ming style. Like the wallpaper, the vases touch on 6 themes - war, ruins, journey, crossing the sea, refugee camps and demonstrations.

Refugee motif, Pillar of vases - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


Brazilian Works

In 2017, Wei Wei visited South America many times to plan some of his exhibitions. In Brazil, he became interested in forests and specifically in a tree species called Pequi. He decided to make a mould of a 1200 years old, 31 metres high Pequi tree in a forest reserve in Bahia state. From his stay in Brazil and the enormous work related to the Pequi tree, a series of other art works have been produced, starting with the works called Raiz (Roots) which had given the title of this Brazilian exhibition and were presented in part one of this post.

The next image shows the roots part of another art work on Pequi tree, with a human figure, which gives an idea of the height of this tree.

Roots of Pequi tree - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


The next image shows traditional votive wood sculptures (2018) made by artisans of Juazeiro do Norte in Brazil inspired by Wei Wei's art work.

Brazilian wood carvings inspired by Wei Wei's art - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


The next image has Taifeng, a mythical creature from the old Chinese tales of Shanhaijing (the Classic of Mountains and Seas). It is made from Bamboo and silk and is inspired by the traditional Chinese kite-making traditions.

Taifeng - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


The next installation has Two Figures (2018) in white plaster - the male figure is moulded on Wei Wei himself, while the female figure is moulded on a model. Close to the head of male figure, there is a heap of Armosia seeds, which reminded Wei Wei of seeds he had seen in Gobi desert as a child. Through this sculpture, Wei Wei touched on the ostensible sexuality in Brazilian culture and to his own intense dreams during his stay in Brazil.

Two figures - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


Conclusions

The Raiz (Roots) exhibition in Rio de Janeiro was a great opportunity to see different art works of Ai Wei Wei and thus get a more holistic idea of his art-world and artistic journey. Reading about his provocative exploits (for example, about the breaking ancient urn or covering antique vases with paint), gives a certain idea about the person. His constant rebellion against the Chinese government, but at the same time, finding a gentle and ironic way of rebelling, shows a maturing of the person. His works on climate-change and refugees, shows a widening of views where his personal journey is placed in the context of similar journeys of millions of other human beings. Finally, over the past couple of years, his exploration of his sexuality adds a personal dimension to his artistic journey.

To conclude this post, I want to present another of his personal art - a poster called Mutuophagia or the reciprocal eating, which has strong elements of the sensory and sexual world through the blood red water melons, the strategically placed bananas and the female figure on the extreme left. He is also talking about the importance of inter-mixing of cultures and learning from different cultures, which is his criticism of the current politically correct mode of looking down at "cultural appropriations".

Muturophagia - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei - Brazil, Image by Sunil Deepak


For me, coming across the Wei Wei exhibition in Rio de Janeiro was a case of serendipity. I had no idea that it was there and I saw it just by chance. I would count it among my most wonderful art-experiences.

If you haven't already seen the first part of this post, you can check it now.

*****
#artinstallations #aiweiwei #brazilianexhibition #artofaiweiwei

Sunday 3 November 2019

Dissident Art of Ai Wei Wei

Ai Wei Wei from China is one of the most famous contemporary artists. His name had become known because of a couple of controversial art installations. Through his art he has brought the spot-light on the absurdities of unequal power balances in the modern world, pointing fingers at both the totalitarian regimes as well as, the so-called civilized countries. I love the art of Ai Wei Wei.

Roots - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei, Brazil - Image by Sunil Deepak


The image above shows the entrance to the Wei Wei exhibition in the CCBB atrium in Rio de Janeiro, with a couple of "Roots" sculptures which gave the title Raiz (Roots) to this exhibition. During 2017-18, Wei Wei visited Brazil, where he came across these roots of the massive Pequi Vinegreiro trees, which were once common here and which now risk extinction - this art installation of Wei Wei referred to that experience.

In August, while in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), by chance I came across this exhibition. Visiting this exhibition of Ai Wei Wei's works was one of the highlights of my Brazil visit.

It was organized in 2 locations. However, due to my work commitments, I was only able to visit one of the locations, the Cultural Centre of the Banco do Brasil (CCBB), which had his works from the period 2009 to 2018. This is the first part of a post describing those works, covering the period 2009 to a part of 2015. The second part of this post covers his works from 2015 to 2018, including some art installations he has created in Brazil.

Ai Wei Wei's Background

Wei Wei was born in Beijing in 1957. His father Ai Qing (Jiang Haicheng) was a well known poet who was a communist party member and who had been in jail during 1930s for opposing Kuomintang. When Chairman Mao's cultural revolution started, there was a deep distrust of poets, intellectuals and thinkers and thus Ai Qing was forced to shift to a small rural comune, where his job was to clean the toilets. Wei Wei accompanied his father during 5 years of their stay in this comune.

There is a story about Ai Qing, afraid of being labelled "elite", one night burned his poetry and other books, with his son's help. This left a deep impression on Wei Wei's psyche, who was around 9 years old at that time.

Ai Qing was finally rehabilitated in the communist party in 1979. In 1981, Wei Wei went to live in New York, where he lived for 12 years and became an artist. Back in China in 1993, two years later he sparked wide outrage and became famous for his artwork called "Dropping a Hun Dynasty Urn". For making this art installation, Wei Wei dropped and broke into pieces a 2000 years old urn and the whole scene was documented in a series of 3 photographs. Through this installation, Wei Wei denounced the destruction of hundreds of old Chinese temples and buildings along with their ancient treasures during the years of Mao's communist revolution.

In 2006, another art installation of Wei Wei called "Coloured Vases" made news all over the world, when he took 39 Neolithic vases and covered them in industrial paint. With this installation, he wanted to denounce the destruction of world's habitat along with old cultures due to non-stop onslaught of humanity and commercial interests.

Even when not making international news, Wei Wei was continuously challenging the Chinese Government by criticising it through his art. In 2009 he was placed under house arrest and in 2010-11, his new art studio was bull-dozed. Some of his most subversive and dissident art came during these years. Finally in 2015, his first solo exhibition was held at Galleria Continua & Tang Art Centre in Beijing and in July 2015, his passport was given back to him. After his release, he relocated to Berlin (Germany).

Wei Wei's Works from 2009

The Raiz exhibition had two of his works from 2009, before he was placed under the house arrest.

The first one is called Porcelain Cube. It has a cube outline made from 1 metre long porcelain cylindrical tubes made according to the traditional Qinghua technique, known for their blue coloured designs. Thus, the cube itself is a negative space.

The Porcelain Cube - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei, Brazil - Image by Sunil Deepak


The second one is called "The Hanging Man", which has the profile of the American artist Duchamp made from a porcelain hanger. During his years in New York, Wei Wei had been greately influenced by Duchamp's works. It is a small work and you can see it below on the wall-paper art from 2015 called "The animal that looks like a Llama but is really an Alpaca" (Last image at the bottom).

Wei Wei's Art Works from 2010-2015

These are his works from the years when he was under house arrest and immediately after it.

The first one is called the "Sun Flower Seeds" & is from 2010. For this installation, Wei Wei had made millions of porcelain sunflower seeds. Each seed was crafted individually in northern Jiangxi province, an area known for its kilns where they made imperial porcelains. Initially authorities could not understand the meaning of this installation. It was recalling the hero-worship cult of Chairman Mao, who was called the Sun and people were supposed to follow their leader like sunflowers.

Sun-flower Seeds - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei, Brazil - Image by Sunil Deepak


The sun-flower seeds also reminded about the days of political rallies called by the supreme leader (Mao), where people went with sunflower seeds in their pockets so that they could eat something when they became hungry. This kind of subtle irony and hidden criticism of the communist regime became Wie Wie's approach, which was difficult to control by the authorities.

The second one is called He Xie or the river crabs and is also from 2010. These represent the destruction of his art studio in Shanghai. When Wie Wie was told that bull-dozers will raze his studio to ground, he organized a He Xie party for his friends for an ironical celebration. The authorities were confused that he was celebrating the imminent destruction. Finally, they decided to place him under house arrest.

He Xie (River crabs) - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei, Brazil - Image by Sunil Deepak


The installation is composed of 1000 river crabs in porcelain, each made individually. Ai explained, "In different dynasties, people used to make these crabs from jade, bamboo or onyx. In 1976, when the gang of 4 was arrested, to celebrate it many artists had made the sculptures of these river crabs." There was another subtle message in the crabs - its Chinese name, He Xie, sounds like the Chinese word for harmony. Thus, it alludes to the struggle between the authorities and the society in the name of maintaining "a harmonious society".

The third one is called "The hanger" (2011) and has cloth-hangers in different materials - steel, wood and crystal. During the house arrest he was allowed to keep only a few things, which included some hangers. These sculptures are a reference to his house arrest and thus represent an oppressive regime. These also recall similar works by some American artists like Marcel Duchamp on concept art.

The Hangers - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei, Brazil - Image by Sunil Deepak


The 4th is called the Mask and is from 2013. It has a mask in marble, placed on a tomb stone. Carved from a single piece of marble, this mask represented the smog covering Bejing, due to unregulated industrialization which did not respect the environment. It can also be seen as a symbol of un-breathable air across different cities of the world due to pollution, as is affecting Delhi during these
days.

The Mask - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei, Brazil - Image by Sunil Deepak


The fifth art installation is called "Grapes" and is made of 32 antique Chinese wooden stools from the Qing dynasty and is from 2014. The stools have been joined together, using the traditional wood-working techniques. Like the more controversial destruction of the antique urn mentioned earlier, this was a criticism of the destruction of ancient art, culture, heritage and religion during the cultural revolution.

The Grapes - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei, Brazil - Image by Sunil Deepak

Conclusions

To the see the pictures of Wei Wei's controversial installations "Destroying a Hun dynasty urn" and "Coloured vases" is a deeply disturbing experience. Try searching for these 2 installations on internet. The destruction of antique vases which go back to thousands of years is like a wound in the soul, because that loss can never be repaired.

Through these installations, Wei Wei hits us with a killer punch forcing us to think not only of the years of destruction during the cultural revolution in China. It also forces us to think of millions of persons killed in the Holocaust by the Nazi regime or by ideologues running totalitarian regimes in China and Cambodia. It is a reminder of the destruction done by radical Islamists and by the so-called "forces of Liberty" - the Bamayan Buddha statue, and ancient ruins in cities like Mosul, Nimrud and Palmyra in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya.

I am concluding this post with an art work of Wei Wei from 2015 - it is a wallpaper called "The animal that looks like a Llama but is really an Alpaca". The title of this artwork refers to the optical illusion. On a first glance, the wallpaper looks composed of geometric designs. A closer look shows you that it is made of elements like surveillance cameras, handcuffs, twitter birds and alpacas, each a representation of his struggles with the Chinese authorities and symbols of the Chinese society. Hanging on the wall, you can also see this 2009 work called the Hanging Man.

Animal that looks like a Llama & The Hanging Man - Artworks of Ai Wei Wei, Brazil - Image by Sunil Deepak


The second part of this post will focus on his remaining works from 2015 and later, that were presented in the Raiz exhibition.

*****
#aiweiwei #artofaiweiwei #artinstallations 

Sunday 13 October 2019

Long-Necked Women in Sculpture and Art

After months of travelling from one continent to another, I am finally back home in Schio, just in time for different art and culture initiatives. Last night I went to an art exhibition of local artists at Toaldi Capra palace. There were some nice works by artists like Alida Bertoldi, Galileo Gonzo and Livio Comparin, but what caught my attention (and inspired this post) were some sculptures by the sculptor Antonio Capovilla.

Slim long-necked women in Art -  Images by Sunil Deepak - Antonio Capovilla's art


Capovilla's sculptures are all about tall slim women with long necks. This post is about my fascination with long-necked women in art and sculpture.

B. Prabha's Women

As a child during the 1960s in India, I loved painting. It was in those days that I had discovered the art of B. Prabha, which frequently appeared in the Hindi magazine "Dharamyug". She painted mostly women, often fisher-women holding or sitting around baskets of fish or rural women with birds. Dark and big eyed, often draped in half-saris which were made fashionable by the actress Saira Banu in the 1967 film Shagird, they were all tall slim women with long arms and long necks. For many years, I drew and painted women inspired by her art. Those women influenced my adolescence fantasies. Perhaps, that is the reason, why even today, I love tall, slim, long-necked women in art and sculpture.

Slim long-necked women in Art -  Images by Sunil Deepak - B. Prabha's art

Amedeo Modigliani's Women

Some decades later, in Italy, I saw the paintings of Amedeo Modigliani. His women, with their elongated faces and long necks, immediately reminded me of B. Prabha's women. I think that B. Prabha was inspired by his works, though she made it her own by locating it in the Indian rural milieu, while Modigliani's women were mostly half-body portraits of European urban women.

Slim long-necked women in Art -  Images by Sunil Deepak - Modigliani's art


Long-necked Slim Women in Sculptures

The early artists of renaissance, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo brought realism and perspective to art. In 16-17th centuries, first Italian and later, European artists went beyond realism and naturalism and adopted elongated bodies and this was known as Manierism style of painting, which was adapted and perhaps exagerated by Modigliani.

Over the past decades, many sculptors have been consciously or unconsciously inspired by Manierism and Modigliani's style and make sculptures of long-necked slim women. Here are 3 examples of such sculptures - the first 2 of these are by Mirella Guasti and the third one is by some unknown artists.

Slim long-necked women in Art -  Images by Sunil Deepak - Mirella Guasti's art

Slim long-necked women in Art -  Images by Sunil Deepak - Mirella Guasti's art

Slim long-necked women in Art -  Images by Sunil Deepak


To conclude this post, here is another sculpture of two women by Antonio Capovilla, which had provoked this nostalgia trip about my memories of B. Prabha.

Slim long-necked women in Art -  Images by Sunil Deepak - Antonio Capovilla's art


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#longneckedwomen #sculptures #paintings #art #bprabha #antoniocapovilla #mirellaguasti #modigliani #amadeomodigliani

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