Journal of Creative Arts & Minds Vol.3, No.2, December 2017 An Original Publication of Jumbo Arts International Red Springs, North Carolina, USA
ISBN: 978-0-9965432-5-5 / ISSN: Pending Jumbo Arts International 2017
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Journal of Creative Arts and Minds Published by
Margie Labadie, President John Antoine Labadie, Senior Editor & Graphic Designer Larry Arnold, Board Member
Electronic Links https://www.facebook.com/JournalofCreativeArtsandMinds http://www.jumboartsinternational.org jcam.jal@gmail.com
Jumbo Arts International Contact Information 217 South Edinborough St. Red Springs, North Carolina 28377-1233 01.910.734.3223 Editorial – John Antoine Labadie & Margie Labadie Design – The JCAM Team of Jumbo Arts International
The Journal of Creative Arts and Minds is a publication of Jumbo Arts International. This electronic publication is free. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the publisher.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Jumbo Arts International President’s Message – 6 JCAM Editor’s Message – 8 VISUAL ARTIST PROFILES Anita Tiwary – 13 Antonio Ortega – 26 Ashok Kumar Gopalan – 36 Dadul Chaliha – 45 Dimple B. Shah – 59 Jay Salian – 74 Ørjan Moen – 89 Sergey Uvarov – 99 Shivani Soni – 112 Utsab Chatterjee – 122 CREATIVE WRITING PROFILES Yolanda (Yogii) Barnes – 138 FINAL WORD – 143 INFORMATION FOR SUBMITTERS – 144
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Publisher’s Message The purely visual nature of art can teach a child about love before she is old enough to speak, or silence even the most verbose old man. As colors virtually spill out from a canvas or computer screen, they flood the human eye with joy or sorrow, pain or passion. These emotional reactions are mostly internal and personal, made public only by a smile on the lips; a gasp of recognition; a tear drop on the floor. Art can be hard to take, or it can revitalize the spirit. Art must be held longer in our gaze than we currently care to consider. These days we are drowning in images, each intended to grab our attention. We find ourselves turning away from advertisements before the shock value assaults our senses. We seek beauty, yet are presented with flaws. But every once in a while, we see a glimmer of hope. We find something that makes sense; something that is honest. That is what I believe you will find in these pages. And not only Art in visual form, but in poetry as well. It is my belief that Art can save humankind, if we stop long enough to see it, read it, hear it. Welcome to the Journal of Creative Arts and Minds December 2017 issue. Sit and stay with us for awhile. Meet some wonderful people. Connect.
Margie Labadie JCAM Publisher & President, Jumbo Arts International
Red Springs, North Carolina, USA jumboartsinternational@gmail.com
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Margie Labadie “Corn Architecture” Digital Artwork 2017
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A Message from the Senior Editor It is December of 2017 and we are pleased to bring our readers Vol.3, No.2 of Jumbo Arts International’s “Journal of Creative Arts and Minds.” Now concluding our third year, we are pleased to deliver this sixth edition of our journal
The JCAM is an extension of our core mission to support the arts, culture and performance through mutual understanding of life ways. It is a virtual space to gather, listen, learn and share creative passions on an international level. The JCAM content for the 2018 issues has been developed almost entirely through social media. Our publication has grown though electronic messaging and emails. It is built through cloud storage, published online, and viewable without restrictions, for free as a web-hosted PDF. As with our previous JCAM publications, the highly creative visual artists whose works are included in the December 2018 issue of JCAM represent a number of countries, cultures, media, ages, and levels of experience. We value our relationship with each artist. As such, each artist’s submission is held as unique and is allowed to evolve relatively unhindered given the technical limitations of our current publishing format.
The JCAM receives questions about submissions process on an almost daily basis. Our interactions with the visual artists and/or writers expressing interest is based solely on a dialogue about each person’s work. All submissions are subjected to a standardized editorial and juried review process. It is only after the editors and/or a panel of reviewers have juried a submission that an offer for possible publication is extended to a submitter. It is only then that the editorial process is shifted into a higher gear. The December 2018 issue has brought editorial challenges that were educational for both submitters and staff. For example, as with other issues the editors received text
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submissions forwarded to us in languages other than English. Fortunately, the electronic tools to translate from one language, or alphabet, to another seem to improve almost daily. Using a variety of translation tools and engaging in a productive electronic conversation with non-English speaking submitters has allowed for the successful publication of “translated” articles that we might not have previously attempted. Articles submitted by Russian, Spanish, and German artists are examples of such collaborations. Jumbo Arts International’s JCAM publishing project is a well organized, highly collaborative, and time consuming endeavor. Our small Jumbo-JCAM staff continuously seeks to identify and publish original creative work from local, regional, national and international sources that are known to us. Our outreach in this regard has greatly expanded the Jumbo network since pre-planning efforts began for the JCAM in early 2014. It is our pledge to continue this evolutionary process in the issues to come. We appreciate your comments and conversations on social media and through email. We promise to respond to everything sent our way. In this issue we continue to offer reviews of creative projects with which we have had the good fortune to interact or be involved. It is hoped that readers will enjoy and be informed by this feature. As artists ourselves, members of the JCAM staff are happy to be able to share some of our successful creative connections with readers. Our readers are our best way to network out into creative communities. Do you know of a visual artist or creative writer JCAM should hear about? We will answer all emails received. We hope you enjoy our latest JCAM publication!
John Antoine Labadie Senior Editor & Graphic Designer Journal of Creative Arts & Minds jcam.jal@gmail.com
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John Antoine Labadie “The Ghost of William Morris #5” / Tradigital Image
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Anita Tiwary JCAM: What is your professional name? Where were you born and does that place still influence you? Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life? AT: My name is Anita Tiwary. I was born in New Delhi, India but brought up in Varanasi. These places still inspire me.
Today I live in New Delhi and my surroundings there inspire me as it is a cosmopolitan city with many artists working here. Living in such a large urban environment is certainly challenging, But this life brings energy to my work. I have family, friends and fellow artists who encourage me psychologically. Communicating with them strengthen my beliefs that art is the mirror of the society. JCAM: When and how did you start making art? Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? Why do you make art now? How has your work changed or developed over time? What are you trying to communicate with your art? Of the artworks published in this article, is there one of you are which most proud? If so, why? AT: My journey of creativity started due to my father who spotted my drawings when I was in 3rd standard. The very next day I saw an art tutor coming for me. By 8th standard I released that art is the goal of my life. My father encouraged my decision of taking admission in Fine Arts at Visual arts faculty Banaras Hindu University. My academic journey started with new insights of learning and approaching art through my mentors. I went to M.S. University Vadodara for 2 years to do my post-graduation. In 1983 I joined Garhi studios (LKA, New Delhi) to start my career as a freelance artist.
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In 1987 I received Garhi grant from Lalit Kala Academy (New Delhi). As I was brought up in the holy city Varanasi. Its spirituality inspires me till today. I remember for my art practices I used to visit Ghats of holy river Ganga. I used to spend hours there practicing landscapes, people, animals, noticing and listening to the holy rituals and chanting of the priest at the Ghats. All these things have given me spiritual bent of mind that my concepts are based on peace, harmony and love. My work has grown and developed overtime. My journey started a walk within, of knowing my own self. My search for the known, unknown and beyond for an eternity reflects in my Soulscapes, Abstract representations and Dream narratives. I wish to convey to mankind to achieve a peaceful existence as one has to overcome the three sources of universal sufferings –– Hate, Anger and Greed. Each work is a part of my journey and I am connected to it as a process of my growth. My works are threads of continuity which are intuitive and spontaneous, experimental and narrative weaving together. My personal insights and dreams communicate the tapestry of life. These strands are woven through one painting to another into a universe of my own with new mystery and wonder. JCAM: Do you have any creative patterns, routines or rituals associated with your art making? What element(s) of art making do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important artist tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished? What are the art making tools you use now? What new creative medium would you love to pursue? AT: My creative patterns revolve around my series of works: “Soulscapes”, “Abstract Representation” and also “Dream Narratives”. Soulscapes - Nature is a very vital point in my painting as one’s destiny is enhanced when one lives in harmony with nature thereby taking into its auspicious influence and vibrations. In Nature lies the essence of joy and peace with mysticism which I explore through my Soulscapes to achieve and give spiritual repose, stillness and peace as all things in this universe are seen as patterns of constant transformation working coherently and with endless individuality. To be in sync with nature I explored the mystical play of light coming out from the various sources of nature creating innumerable patterns. I am in pursuit of capturing such mysterious juxtapositions by creating and applying innovative textural layers of colors to my Soulscapes. Thus my Soulscapes are not a direct rendering of a place but a reaction and evocation of how I feel and relate to the surroundings. Abstraction Representation - I often read “Speaking Tree” columns and watch programs on spiritual discourses. Also due to my upbringing in Varanasi the holy city I created paintings based on concepts like Holy Bath, Empty your cups, Layer by Layer etc.
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For me executing such paintings is as if taking a holy dip to achieve peaceful existence. It is to turn towards the inner light and music that one has received from God. Dream Narratives - Figurative art is also a wonderful art of humanity. I was already working with figures which has evolved gradually in dream narratives. Earlier my paintings were based on “Talks to Heaven” with limited figures but my current series has multiplied the number of characters. We relate to each other through body language more so than speech. Therefore each hand and body gesture tells its own story. In these works I dream of one world, one family intermingling with each other in harmony. My dreams are like the little dramas in my mind transcending everyday world and social reality. My narratives are inspired by my surroundings and traveling. I experiment with space by using layered forms, figures and multiple irregular perspectives. The textural lines are spontaneous, experimental and chance happening to guide the work. The dream world gives an unimaginable cosmos with added benefit of inner voyage which thrills our soul. The free flowing lines represent universal balance as we are all connected emotionally to what is around us. Thus in me arises three fold world of expressions through Soulscape, Abstract Representation and Dream Narratives. In creating these works I enjoy working with all kinds of brushes as it gives me the desired results. I communicate with my works and gradually come to know when I am at the finishing point. In future I would love to do sculptures based on these themes. JCAM: What's the first artwork you ever sold? Do you make a living from your art? AT: During my college days I sold my first artworks. Later as freelance artist I sell my works in India and abroad but I don’t earn a living from my artwork otherwise I will start producing the artwork that will earn me a living. My aim is to become an art historical significance. JCAM: What are your goals for the future, for both work and life? What interesting project are you working on at the moment? AT: My goal for the future for work and life is to grow and expand in order to contract, so that these contractions may lead to new beginnings to loose myself in these colors, spaces and forms and yet find myself in them. Presently I am working on dream narratives experimenting with new techniques and textures, between colors and forms. I work in acrylic, mix media and water colors. JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite – or influential – living artist? What work of art do you wish you owned and why? When addressing a particular work to be published in this interview: Can you explain what inspired this particular piece or idea? AT: My world around me inspires me which revolves around nature, social reality and everyday life. My favorite artist are Van Gogh, Tyeb Mehta and Tony Cragg. I wish to
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own their works because they are beautifully distorted with delightful color combinations and distinctive style as it melts into your consciousness. My works are threads of continuity so all are part of the process of growing up. JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative? AT: For me every new adventure is about communicating emotion through paintings. Creativity is a state of mind which brings out your imagination. My mentor’s advice about creativity is to keep the door open to anything that can come in as inspiration.
“Soulscapes - Pleasant Encounter” / Watercolor on Paper
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Anita Tiwary “Things Are Not Always Black and White” / Acrylic on canvas
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Anita Tiwary “Empty Your Cups” / Acrylic on canvas
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Anita Tiwary “Holy Bath” / Acrylic on canvas
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Anita Tiwary “Layer by Layer” / Acrylic on canvas
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Anita Tiwary “Soulscapes - Out In The Open” / Acrylic on canvas
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Anita Tiwary “Threads Of Continuity” / Acrylic on canvas
“Mysteries of Nature” / Acrylic on canvas
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Anita Tiwary “Dreamscape - Dream Narratives” / Acrylic on canvas
“Dream Narratives - In Communion 2” / Acrylic on canvas
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Anita Tiwary “Soulscapes - Souls Hanged Out” / Acrylic on canvas
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Anita Tiwary “ Soulscapes - Inner scape” / Acrylic on canvas
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Antonio Ortega JCAM: What is your professional name? Where were you born and does that place still influence you? Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life?
AO: My professional name is Antonio Ortega, although floor sign my works as “Ortega". I was born in Cieza, a beautiful city of Southeastern Spain which is about a one hour drive from the amazing Mediterranean Sea, and about three hours from Madrid. I am married and I have two Children. I am currently continued living in this same city. I like it very much because it is quiet and the weather is very mild. Here I can live well and work around my family and friends. And, yes … of course the weather, light and landscape have greatly influence in my work. However, when a when the source of inspiration for a painting is the suffering or pain that kind of idea drives my work much more than the natural environment. JCAM: When and how did you start making art? Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? Why do you make art now? How has your work changed or developed over time? What are you trying to communicate with your art? Of the artworks published in this article, is there one of you are which most proud? If so, why? AO: I started drawing with barely 8 years old and I developed and perfected this quality in the local academy of Mr. Juan Solano, a prestigious Spanish painter and sculptor who died a few years ago.
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After several years In this school I learned to handle oil paints very well. Evidently I have evolved and gone through several eras and styles. I am still doing this. Master Solano had the quality of teaching without influencing the style of the student. I think this something really difficult when you try to transmit your knowledge in this discipline. In some of the subjects of my painting I feel very responsible to deal with painful issues, or I try, through my art to denounce attitudes or facts against humanity especially those whose victims are children. However, we all need to relax from time to time and it is impossible to keep this type of painting going for long periods without it also affecting you. The exercise of investigating, of simply looking for inspiring images, can be a painful and exhausting job. That is why I insert more innocuous work as landscapes or simple scenes and without that burden of suffering, that is when the absence of responsibility lets the colors and forms flow with more freedom. JCAM: Do you have any creative patterns, routines or rituals associated with your art making? What element(s) of art making do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important artist tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished? What are the art making tools you use now? What new creative medium would you love to pursue? AO: I need peace to paint, I do not mean just the tranquility of the place or the moment, I mean peace of mind, absence of problems that limit my concentration. This is the most difficult part. For me it is not a problem to find a place to paint, I have my studio over the house in a quiet and quiet area, however the most difficult thing for me is to disconnect from the rest of the world. Without this disconnection, it is very difficult to start a new work or solve it fluently.
 The painting starts sometimes weeks or months before you pick up the pencil or the brush. Sometimes the idea comes to the head but it does not materialize immediately, little by little it takes its form. That is when I look for the models or images that most closely approach the idea. This process is usually longer and more laborious than the execution of the painting itself: the motive, the composition, the sketches, the selection of the support, the dimensions, etc. Using oil paint is usually the technique that I use the most up to this time. I have tried with acrylics and other techniques but nothing has seemed more versatile or decisive than oil. The medium used does make a difference between one finish and another. Turpentine, Linseed, dammar, in their proper proportions always determine effects and results.

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Of course I think I'm not the only one who has problems when it comes to knowing when a work is finished. This is not easy because when it is technically correct it is possible that the painting is not complete, it may lack expression or feeling. Sometimes with a few strokes we have managed to express what we were looking for and it is better not to continue. It is convenient not to obsess over a technically correct finish, but it is one thing to say it and another to do it. Recognizing when it is convenient to stop is the most difficult for an artist. I would like to explore larger formats and also much larger support dimensions. However, this is complicated by the needs of space in the execution and later in the exhibition and final location of the work. Much larger pieces will have to wait for a while. JCAM: What's the first artwork you ever sold? Do you make a living from your art? AO: Living from art is really difficult, I'm not discovering anything. However, it should be tried whenever you have this vocation. You can regret not having tried, but never having tried. Every person should try to live doing what they have qualities for and make them happy. I must admit that I have not yet managed to live this vocation and I am forced to alternate painting with more profitable works, however I receive more satisfaction from the time I dedicate to painting. Everything will come.
JCAM: What are your goals for the future, for both work and life? What interesting project are you working on at the moment? AO: I will never stop trying to live exclusively from painting, I think I'm on the way. Therefore, all my projects and future plans are directed towards this goal. Currently I prepare two exhibitions committed for the end of 2017 and the middle of 2018.
JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite – or influential – living artist? What work of art do you wish you owned and why? When addressing a particular work to be published in this interview: Can you explain what inspired this particular piece or idea? AO: Now I paint on a problem that affects Europe directly: The reception of refugees fleeing the war in Syria. I am particularly interested in the way in which these conflicts affect children. Children have no homeland, no nationality, no ideology, no religion. They are just children. However, they are the first victims of any confrontation because they are more vulnerable. They flee to Europe with their parents from the horror of war and find themselves with barbed wire fences specially made to contain them. They stumble over muddy fields and are forced to sleep on the wet ground in the open
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for weeks or months while poorly attended. It is true that they are better than in war zones, but that is no excuse for the advanced, democratic and educated Europe. A painter cannot provide solutions, nor is it his role, but he has the obligation to express it and denounce it if the images really remove his conscience. You cannot paint simply still life while these kinds of things happen around you.
Antonio Ortega in his studio working the painting “For Fuelwood” My first real inspiration was teachers like Velásquez or Sorolla, however I admire contemporary teachers like David Manzur, or Odd Nerdrum. I would have liked to have Velázquez's "La Venus del Espejo", unfortunately I have to settle for a copy. JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative? As every artist knows, finding inspiration or motives to paint is a difficult part of the creative process. AO: I am currently immersed in a new project thanks to the generous authorization of the photographer Manu Brabo to reproduce his photographs on the armed conflicts in which he has been present. This Spanish photojournalist was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Photojournalism 2013, among other awards and recognitions. His photographs are very powerful and reflect a hard and current reality. Captured scenes that cannot be forgotten and that remain in the retina even when we no longer look. I choose scenes with absence of politics or ideology in which civilians almost always appear in situations of suffering. The photographs of Manu Brabo are like that, they pick up the moment for others to think.
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Antonio Ortega working in his studio
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Antonio Ortega “War 1” / Oil on wood
“A Syrian man cries while holding the body of his son ….” / Oil on Wood
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Antonio Ortega “Aleppo’s ruins” / Oil on wood
“Feel” / Oil on Wood
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Antonio Ortega “Syrian doctors try to save the life of a boy ….” / Oil on wood
The artist in his studio working on the painting shown above.
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Antonio Ortega “Rada Hallabi age 4” / Oil on wood
“The hands of the grandfather”/ Oil on wood
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Antonio Ortega “Pomegranates” / Oil on wood
“Self portrait”/ Oil on wood
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Ashok Kumar Gopalan JCAM: The Indian artist Ashok Kumar Gopalan was the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award in 2008, and a Kerala Lalithakala Akademi award winner in 2007. Mr. Gopolan earned an M.F.A in Graphic Art from Kala-Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal in 2001. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Painting, in Govt. R RCFA, Mavelikara, Kerala in 1998. Ashok Kumar Gopalan has numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout India and participated in nearly a dozen art camps in the past decade. For this article JCAM staff asked Mr. Gopolan to describe his background and artistic practice. Below is his response in its entirety.
AKG: “Born in a rural hamlet of Kerala, the southern most Indian state, I have been pursuing art professionally for the past 18 years. Over these years, I have been trying to fine-tune my modes of expression through experience, observation and execution. The landscapes of the mind with its essential reflections of the outside world have carved out a new idiom in the totality of my artistic oeuvre, throwing up fresh challenges and avenues to explore their alternatives vis-a-vis modernity. The pursuit of the global subject from the local platform has been a defining characteristic trait of my professional profile which involves continuous dialogue between the contesting spaces of the past and the present; the interface of which has invariably lent refreshingly new and high quality perspectives to my art. As an artist, l draw my energy from my specific locale. The spectrum of social ambience, flora and fauna, local philosophy, rustic wisdom, cuisine, social criticism bordering on a strident sarcasm. Kerala's regionalism, dialects, extinct species, geographical peculiarities, profound anxieties and deep sighs, all these determine the trajectory of my work. A complex linear interplay of this phantasmagoria provide the ideal sounding board for
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my art to take off in its projection and journey towards globalization. Voyeurism is the leitmotif here, as I visualize the images through multiple angles that constitute the very essence of my visual academics. l currently practice art in a rural hamlet of northern Kerala. All tensions and dissonances characteristic of the city find their resonance in rural spaces as well through mute wars and a suppressed violence.
To be frank and humble I am aware that the crass hypocrisy of the modern individual or subject with all its attendant paraphernalia has been the leitmotif of my creative process. Towards realizing this, I have resorted to the universal decorative motifs to give shape and credo to this ‘self-deception’ which is pervasive in its reach and whose cumulative effect does impact our socio-political structures in a big way. The contemporary mainstream is subjected to a consistent interrogation towards constructing new paradigms in order to produce alternative, parallel discourses.
My staple objective has always been to expand the boundaries of expression, in the process to explore new heights of the medium, thereby setting new standards in terms of form and content. This endeavor is at once a challenge and an opportunity as it stimulates quite a few possibilities for the artist to embrace or repudiate, whose omissions and commissions leave a profound impact on her/his trajectory. The plethora of images culled from both the print and the visual media lend themselves in an incessant fashion toward the manipulation of frames which go a long way in a symbiotic fusion of the inner and outer domains of my creative journey. Throughout my artistic odyssey, I have tried to explore the nuances of voyeurism and narcissism. I have always endeavored to see through the motifs which in my view have lent an X-ray effect to my work. The space configuration is made complex for the sake of visual effect enhancement. The surrealist imagery in my work can be traced back to their roots in the Indian and Oriental mythologies. I have attempted to juxtapose it with a parallel movement through the explosion of images which is a characteristic trait of modern times. In fact they render my work a unique dimension supplementing each other. The result is a new visual idiom which is at once local and global. I am tempted to say such an idiom makes my work both traditional and contemporary. The past finds its echoes in the present whilst the present is amplified and reinforced by the past. They are no longer dichotomies that cancel each other, instead coexist in a mutually complementing fashion thereby deconstructing the conventional binaries.” Ashok Kumar Gopalan Mobile. +918281249001 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashokkumar.gopalan.9?ref=br_rs
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Ashok Kumar Gopalan “Couple” / Acrylic on canvas
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Ashok Kumar Gopalan “Untitled” / Color lithograph on paper
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Ashok Kumar Gopalan “Grey Dress” / Acrylic on canvas
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Ashok Kumar Gopalan “Single Woman” / Acrylic on canvas
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Ashok Kumar Gopalan “Dream” / Lithograph on paper
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Ashok Kumar Gopalan “The Patient” / Lithograph on paper
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Ashok Kumar Gopalan “Gathering of Victims” / Lithograph on paper
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Dadul Chaliha JCAM: Dadul Chaliha resides in Guwahati, Assam, India. Chaliha earned a B.F.A.in Painting (1st class) from the Government College of Art & Crafts at Guwahati University. Mr. Chaliha has been in dozens of solo and group exhibitions in India and Germany, and has participated in numerous workshops and art camps throughout India. For this article JCAM staff asked Dadul Chaliha to describe his background and artistic practice. Below is his response in its entirety.
DC: “Art involves mere replication of the “real” and is to me a craft rather than a unique act of creation. Surely it is not the material things which I represent, but rather the “ideas”, the “Imaginations” with which it is merged in such significant form, which indeed is the idea about the very essence of life. I would like to stress the message conveyed in this quotation by Albert Einstein, "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." In fact, “The Power of Imagination” is what my work represents. The importance and influence of imagination on the creation and the artist varies between and within various artistic perspectives. Sometimes seen as an aberrant function of the mind, imagination was subservient to the powers of reason and order. It is true, because the most beautiful things in this world are those things which we imagine for which we don’t need to see through our eyes, it is simply our beautiful imagination and the feelings which comes across. Like, when we kiss our lover with our eyes closed it is simply our beautiful imagination by which we create a beautiful aura. I as an artist follow a few steps to bring my imaginary world to reality on a canvas: firstly, by exploring the visual language, secondly by the processes I apply to guide the making of my paintings and finally the wider chronological framework from which I both produce my works and which I think will occupy a significant place. Human imagination has been linked to the power and value of art. The ascendancy and, in some eras even superiority, of imagination as a potent mental faculty gave birth to
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new critical enterprises bent on articulating the manner, motivation, and merit embedded in art and the artistic process. My painting speaks and leads me to a better understanding of how the ideas and attitudes about imagination of different aspects of the atmosphere which envelopes me. I try to use my painting as a vehicle of educational and influential dialogue with the viewers. Imagination is a natural structure of the mind which must be trained or attuned to appreciate the greatness of art, to develop a meaningful standard of taste and I try to do so through my piece of creation. According to Albert Einstein who discovered that all things in their purest and most basic form are comprised of energy, (E = mc 2) imagination is the most powerful and creative force in the Universe. But how can we measure it, and by what means can we measure the speed of thought and imagination? Based on the above mentioned question, in my creations or mimesis of my imaginations I strive to portray this magnificent quality through artistic idiom. A medley of dots fills the space of my work of art which symbolically represents not merely the heavenly bodies and mankind, but is the guiding will of the Creator. ‘His’ power in a way ensures the movement and development toward perfection, and ‘His’ comprehensive and farreaching wisdom, bestow the great miracle of life and also our thoughts, ideas, dreams and circumstances as well. It is clear in philosophy that the world that we 'see' around us is not the real world (Kant's thing in itself) but our mind's representation of our senses or what we imagine. The sky is not blue; this is something that our minds create. Now this opens up interesting possibilities to explore the path of imagination and produce it in the form of my creation. As our mind represents reality, likewise my works are predominantly created by representation. My artwork has the potential to correct the errors of our mind's representation of reality, by a further representation of my work that overcomes these naive real illusions to 'see' things as they truly are. My paintings, present metaphysical foundations such as space and time which I explain by the use of elements. I have tried to display the interactions caused by this metaphorical attraction through different unknown geometric forms, lyrical lines and uncountable dots in my canvas, because it is true that there is the cosmic gravitational force, which manifests itself in multiple ways during the eternal drama of creation and destruction. On our mental plane too, this law creates new ideas through the combined strength of thought and imagination, as we create and recreate what we soak in from nature and imagination. These symbols unify the conceptual diversity of symbols and language and give a totality to my paintings by juxtaposing the visual with the tactile language. I wander into an imaginary space discovering spiritual connections with the symbols, some of which
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strain into conscious thought and become the subject of these works. In addition, most significantly, the energy of light envelops the overarching aspect of my works. Light, which we visualizes as a bright white ‘Devine’ hue and the energy of the cosmos since the beginning of time, is what makes stars, galaxies and galaxy clusters visible. In my works of art too, I have used the power of white against the white surface to recreate the sheer brilliance and intensity of this energy and the role it plays in the cosmos. Therefore, it is not difficult to find languages of symbols and images free floating in the infinite space in my painted canvas. I would like to mention that I do not use those symbols such as the dots and geometrical forms only for design purpose or to fill in the space of the canvas but use them to represent a visual language. Therefore, visual language and imagination blend together in my creation to represent the “life world” that I am enclosed within.” Dadul Chaliha Freelance Artist Guwahati, Assam Contact Address: Dadul Chaliha ℅ - Prakash Talukdar Sankar Madhab Path, Durgasarobar Kamakhyagate, Guwahati-781009 Assam / India Dadulchaliha15@yahoo.com
“Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dadul Chaliha “Untitled” / Acrylic on canvas
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Dimple B. Shah JCAM is glad to present the work of Dimple B. Shah from India. Ms. Shah is a professional artist specializing in printmaking, painting, live performance and installations.
JCAM: Please tell us about yourself and your artistic practice. DBS: “I am a multidisciplinary artist from Bangalore. I studied in Maharaja Shayajirao University of Baroda. I am currently practicing in Vadodara, Gujarat.
My work has developed in a number of ways over the years yet from the very beginning of my art practice, I have worked in painting, printmaking, installation, video art and performance art. My intention is to blend these mediums into an interdisciplinary language.”
Performance Title: “From Here to There” “Live Action 11” on 8 September 2017 Bältesspännarparken.,Goteborg, Sweden “This performance was performed at canal side where boats come in, although this canal is used as tourist spot, in the past I think it would have been used as entry point at Lejontrappan Goteborg, Sweden. I chose this spot deliberately. It acts as a place for my audiences to see the performance. It also acts conceptually as an entry point for refugees who arrive in boats with life jackets; refugees who have lost their homes; left their country and survived to reach one of these European countries. This performance was a subtle act about concern related to migrations. I wanted to see the receptivity and acceptability of refugees by a local population. I could see in their eyes when they thought I was a migratory refugee asking for help, that they started ignoring my work and me. My performance started on other side of the road where lot of pigeons come for
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food and where they had left a lot of feathers. As I was mentally preparing for my performance, I collected many feathers from the spot and after some time, I moved to the other side, toward the river, where boats come in.
I started building a small dream home which was tied to my head. First I used feathers as base and then on top I pasted plastic toy homes which are colorful. I moved nearer to where people were lining up for entry onto a boat. I could see the reaction from the people. They did not want to make eye contact; I felt some doubt in their eyes. I was also wearing a belt which looked like a refugee or police suit. Moving slowly back into position, I made a chalk piece which looked like a destroyed home from Syria. I tried to give away cards which had images of this broken home and a destroyed city. People from the general public who were lining up were avoiding me. But then a few came to ask what I was doing. When I tried to give them a card with the images of the dilapidated buildings and home they did not want to accept them. I was trying to read their minds. Maybe they don’t like refugees coming. Or perhaps they do not want to give up their own space. It was becoming clear that they were not happy about a lot of people migrating to their country. Their level of acceptability is not so easy. They feel a lot of insecurity about migrating people coming to their city. Then my act unfolded. I floated the feathers and dream homes in the water in hope that people in a far off land might see them and give some space for migrating populations who have lost their homes in their country.�
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Performance Title: “Mapping Sacred Spaces” “Live Action 11” on 8 September 2016 Bältesspännarparken.,Goteborg, Sweden “This performance was about marking the sacred space of the earth as well as the land that is becoming non-livable, uninhabitable space, stained by bloodshed with the blood of innocent and common people. The whole world is slowly becoming a war zone which is divided into sacred and non sacred spaces. Every moment we are seeing this global phenomenon happening. People are losing their homes, their cities and their countries. They are migrating to unknown and different lands, finally ending up as refugees or losing their lives in the process. The whole world smells the blood, blood of innocent men women and children. Slowly the world is becoming like hell where there is no space for humanity, love and compassion. It is a war for power, money and politics. Through this performance I attempted to create a sense of the psychological state of people who are refugees in some other land. I want to bring attention to their struggle, their tension and their striving for existence. Through this performance I highlighted concerns relating to the human psycho-sociological condition, the hope of life, and the ability to dream and breath freely. My performance was to bring this unknown struggle through action and mark human territories in sacred and non sacred space.
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The ritualistic act of carrying the turmeric root in my mouth all through the performance was metaphorical for the psychosocial tensions as seen through the act of body tension. I emphasized the struggle to maintain faith in sacredness, humanity and the need to make sacred space for living. The slow act of showering turmeric powder on the floor, mapping and marking the space into sacred space was a long performance. Through this act, which took about an hour, I tried to build faith in humanity and the sacred pure and healing space. This is because turmeric acts as a healing agent and also a transforming agent in the performance. But later in the performance the whole creation of sacred space is turned into nonsacred space when the act changed. I entered into second layer of tension where the weight of homelessness, the refugee, and migration came into view metaphorically through a balancing act. I tied salt and knife on one end of a wooden stick and on the other end I tied a bag of belongings, memories of homeland. The weight of the belongings was heavy to carry and hard to balance. I tried to show the pain by pouring on lime water, changing the yellow turmeric to blood red, thus changing my sacred space into non-sacred space. It represented stains of blood of innocent men, women, and children from war zone, stains of broken dreams, stains of broken homes. This was the final act and represented facts that cannot be hidden or erased. In the act, I tried to heal myself by pouring more turmeric on my body so the whole act was a mix of healing and pain. But the stain remained, saying, now it is up to the people how it can be solved and turned back into sacred space again.” Performance Monday, March 16, 2015 Title: “Bring Me the Smell of Earth and I will Bring You the Taste of Love” Location: Borella Bus Stop, Colombo, Srilanka for The First International Performance Festival “MAN is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself as the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they." Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “The Social Contract” (1762) “When we go to a new place, usually we try to connect and understand people through their culture, customs, habits and also behavior and we try to mingle with them to become one among them. Constant thinking is needed to become part of that land and be accepted or not, with all the barriers of racism, ethnic issues, religious and political aspect involved. Working from this thought, I did this interactive performance where the audience was requested to give me small piece of earth in a sack bag or to apply clay on my body. Thus, symbolically giving a small piece of earth and as a welcome gesture for me in the country.
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This performance brought out concerns in a larger context. It raised questions on various issues related to collective identity, the construction of urban spaces which are the result of rapid development of larger cities and reducing rural space. The urban cities lead to building our identity in a more multicultural platform, and it leads to hybridization and the mixing of different cultures.
Overall when we talk about the identity of an individual in a larger context it becomes complex and stays as a collective identity from these various sources. The identity is formed by adding all these collective memories and becoming one complex format of collective identities of individuals. The views are also drawn from the vantage point of the cultural landscape one comes from. So, for me this performance will mark an important platform for a cultural dialogue and also understanding and making space for different cultures in international platform. In this performance I have tried to blend various elements of both cultures. Using the essence of the place I come from and also adapting Sinhala Culture, and by incorporating voice modulation of Sinhala language and collaborating with students to
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use their voice in their local language, I combine them all in my work to create a blending of cultures in totality.” _______________________________________________________
JCAM Artist Note #1. Readers can follow the work of Dimple B. Shah on her blog here: http://dimplebshah.blogspot.in/2017/04/mapping-sacred-spaces.html … and also see more of her work in preparation for a performance on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=25s&v=BA2YpIxknf8&app=desktop JCAM Artist Note #2. On the following “images pages” we have placed a number of “stills” from performances by Dimple B. Shah. These stills are presented without commentary, and are made available primarily to provide the reader with a sense of the wide range of Ms. Shah’s performance works. All photos were provided by Ms. Shah.
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Dimple B. Shah: Stills from Live Performances
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Dimple B. Shah: Stills from Live Performance
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Jay Salian JCAM: What is your professional name? Where were you born and does that place still influence you? JS: My professional name is Jay Salian. My birth place is Bhandup, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. This place always influences me as the name emerged from one of the names of Lord Shiva – “Bhandupeshwar”. JCAM: Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life? JS: Presently, I am residing in Dombivali as it is a place of Indian culture and tradition. I live with my parents and my wife and because of their support I have achieved many things in my life as well as in my work and hope to achieve many more, in future. I do have few artist friends and students whose supports encourages me to achieve my goals. JCAM: When and how did you start making art? Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? Why do you make art now? How has your work changed or developed over time? What are you trying to communicate with your art? JS: When I was studying in Grade 8, I won first prize in State Art Competition held in 1989 at Jawahar Bal Bhavan, Mumbai and received prize from Shri. K.K. Hebbar (who was one of the celebrated artists known for his India themed artworks). From that day, I started doodling & won several prizes. I worked as a signboard artist, illustrator, cartoonist and newspaper layout artist. After some years, I joined Art College for academic knowledge and completed the ATD (Art Teacher Diploma) & BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from Thane School of Art, Dip.A.Ed (Diploma in Art Education) from Sir J. J. School of Art, MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from Sri Allamaprabhu Lalithakala Academy, Mysore.
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In India, visual artists are called as ‘Chitrakar’ ("Chitr" in Sanskrit means an image, and "akar" the maker) which means ‘A person who draws’ and the word Chitrakar has complete meaning, within itself. I started practicing regularly and because of which I developed a hatching technique. I made more than 2000 rapid sketches by this method. I am trying to communicate with my art in a way that should create, a ‘rasa’ (Sanskrit word — the aesthetic flavor of any visual, literary or musical work, that evokes an emotion or feeling in the reader or audience, but that cannot be described.) http://jaysalian.wikifoundry.com/photos/album/207485/Rapid+Sketches JCAM: Do you have any creative patterns, routines or rituals associated with your art making? What element(s) of art making do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important artist tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished? What are the art making tools you use now? What new creative medium would you love to pursue? JS: Yes, I do follow ‘Hatching’ method for my art making. Line & Texture are the two important elements which I enjoy the most. I have made thesis on it. I am using many tools like brush, marker, pencil, pen, brush pen, water color, etc. I like to use water proof gel pen for sketching purpose. I am a regular sketch artist, so I am experimenting with composition, so these experiments and experiences, suggest my mind that the work is completed. Presently I am using color pencils, gel pens and water color. Further, I would love to make life size traditional paintings with hatching. JCAM: What is the first artwork you ever sold? Do you make a living from your art? What strategies will you share with other artists on how to become successful professionally? JS: My first art work was the life size Portrait Painting of ‘Gulwani Maharaj’, which was sold to ashram people. Yes, I do make my living from my art work. I would suggest, to be a successful professional artist, one has to learn, study the history of art and then only can one create history in art. If one understands the ‘Beauty’ then presenting the same on canvas won’t be a difficult job. Self-satisfaction is more important than Money making. JCAM: What are your goals for the future, for both work and life? What interesting project are you working on at the moment? JS: I want to make portraits of famous personalities and landscapes of well-known spots in my style. I am working on concept art, story boards, animatics and animation for my 2D animation film. JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite – or influential – living artist? What work of art do you wish you owned and why? JS: I am fond of Georges-Pierre Seurat, the pioneer of the Neo-Impressionist technique commonly known as Divisionism, or Pointillism. During my college days, I made many full imperial landscapes in pointillism. I like the work of Sri Ravi
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Paranjape. His ever evolving artistic style made an impression in the world of communication arts in India and abroad. JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative? JS: I am follower of traditional Indian art and artists and their creation gives me ideas. “Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being”. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy. In Visual art regular practice and observation is only the basic advice.
Jay Salien “Untitled” / Colored Pencil
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / Colored pencil drawing
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / Colored pencil drawing
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Jay Salien “PALETHADI” / Colored pencil drawing
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / Colored pencil
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Jay Salien “JUSTICE” / Colored pencil
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Jay Salien “Dr. G.N. Upadhya” / Drawing
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / 6B pencil
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / Drawing
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / Drawing
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / Drawing
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / Drawing
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Jay Salien “Untitled” / Drawing
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Ørjan Anmo Moen JCAM: What is your professional name? OM: Ørjan Anmo Moen Where were you born and does that place still influence you? I was born in a small, poor industrial town in the north of Norway but grew up in Oslo, and yes, both have had a huge impact and influence in my life and work. North of Norway is known for its harshness both in weather, nature and to some extent people. And although the people of northern Norway are known for their humor and hospitality, they have a very close relationship to the brutality of nature and the extreme effort it takes to conquer it. JCAM: Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? OM: I recently moved back to Oslo after a 10 year period in the south of Norway. As an opposite to northern Norway’s roughness, southern Norway is often known as being soft spoken and overly diplomatic, and where northerners can be direct and often painfully blunt, southerners live by the motto ”I was so angry, I almost told him”. After moving back home to Oslo, I find myself more at a balance point both in work and in my personal life, in understanding this duality of where I have been and who I am. It has also been essential to reunite with my brothers and friends from growing up. Because Oslo is the biggest city in Norway, it is also the natural meeting point of likeminded artists, and there are always things happening within the art world. There is a higher pulse and urgency in getting things done here, in challenging yourself and working hard to achieve your goal.
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JCAM: Do you have friends, family or fellow artist who support your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life? OM: Yes, I have many people around who want the best for me, both in my life and art metamorphose is making, and in that I feel very privileged. But when it comes to influential difference in my work I have been very lucky to have collaborated with different artists and in many genres of art. Pushing me to my limits, moving my boundaries of understanding, challenging me to find new techniques and to always work harder even when it hurts. JCAM: When and how did you start making art? OM: It´s hard to define a specific point of time as I believe there is a progression from a early age doodle stage to today. However I do have times in my life where the circumstances made a natural leap. One of the most influential leaps was at the age of 19, sitting in my studio apartment, broke and far away from friends with nothing but some paper and a felt pen. I think this must have been the first time I made a consistent body of work. A definite feeling of purpose. JCAM: Can you describe the time you first realized that creating was something you absolutely had to do? OM: I’ve always had an urge to create in some way, shape or form. Creating has been a progression throughout my life, and it has taken up more and more time in my life. But at a point I went through a process of great change where constant creativity became my life and purpose, and I took ownership of my destiny. JCAM: Why do you make art now? OM: Because I have to. JCAM: How has your work changed or developed over time? OM: In my early years I had a wanting to experience and understand more, and experimenting became a very important tool for that. But I was afraid of settlement and standing still, and in my first art there was a definite unbalance in rushed will versus honest hard work. Experimenting became both a tool to hide my shortcomings as an artist but also the way to find experience and my technique. At a point in my life I took to experimenting to an extreme, both in art and my life, in an effort to rearrange everything. But in the end of it I understood that it was the settlement in to hard work I had to commit to. I took to studying art through books, exhibitions, and movies to find reference points to my own art and artistry. At the same time I worked hard in learning classic techniques and developing my art. I now have more figurative elements and a more conscious use of them, a broader use of colors and formats and a higher confidence in my own pencil strokes because of it.
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JCAM: What are you trying to communicate with your art? OM: The balance in a fragmented everything. JCAM: Do you have any creative patterns, routines or rituals associated with your art making? OM: Work every day, work with several works, processes and techniques and routinely taking short breaks. These are all very important routines in my work so that I can stay effective, imaginative and creative. JCAM: What element of art making do you enjoy the most and why? OM: I enjoy the whole process from the blank canvas and fresh paint, the endless possibilities and unpredictable roads some elements of the picture will take, the almost religious repetitive processes and the continuous dialogue between me and it. JCAM: What is your most important artist tool and why? OM: Felt pen, coal and blender because the felt pen represent form and the coal and blender represent the depth. All together they make the fundament to my art. JCAM: How do you know when an artwork is finished? OM: I´m in a constant dialogue with my art, but there is a point when I have to let it go, where my time with it is over. That point can feel natural but sometimes also forced. As I get older, develop deeper into my art I might see my older works in a new light and wanting to do changes. But at that time someone might have bought the picture and given it their own understanding and life, so I have to accept that new dialogue. I believe an artwork is done when no one is willing to keep it alive. JCAM: What are the art tools you use now? OM: I use all the normal tools within painting and drawing. But in combinations I have developed through experimenting. That experience and use is what I would consider my most important tool. JCAM: What new creative tool would you love to pursue? OM: Nothing at the moment, but at some point I would love to create a visual expression in combination with photography and film. JCAM: What is the first artwork you sold? OM: ”The art of dying” a drawing I had worked on for 6 months in my early twenties. Felt pen, coal and blender and soy sauce on paper. JCAM: Do you make a living from your art?
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OM: At an extreme minimum, I live a very simple life to achieve it. But at times I’ve taken on work in theaters and for movies painting backdrops. JCAM: What strategies would you share with other artists on how to become successful professionally? OM: I will say as I have been told for many years and in many settings, always keep working. JCAM: What are your goals for the future for both work and life? OM: At the end, I want to look back and be fulfilled and secure in the knowledge that I pursued and endured. JCAM: What interesting project are you working on? OM: Life and the continuous development of creative processes. Finding new ways of expressing what I see. JCAM: What or who inspires you? OM: This is a big question with a lot of answers, if I could just pick out some, I would say: A good conversation, a fresh combination of thoughts, patterns in cityscape, nature and life. JCAM: Do you have a favorite – or influential – living artist? OM: Gregory Crewdson, photography. The reason is his aesthetic using colors, composition and motif to describe a full story that has happened or is about to happen in a single shot.
Ørjan Moen “Untitled” Mixed Media
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Ørjan Moen “Untitled” / Mixed media drawing
Ørjan Moen “Untitled” / Mixed media drawing
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Ørjan Moen “Untitled” / Mixed media drawing
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Ørjan Moen “Untitled” / Mixed media drawing
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Ørjan Moen “Untitled” / Mixed media drawing
Ørjan Moen “Untitled” / Mixed media drawing
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Ørjan Moen “Untitled” / Mixed media drawing
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Sergey Uvarov JCAM: Artist Sergey Uvarov lives in Kharkov, Ukraine. JCAM asked Sergey one question: “Could you please tell us about yourself and your artistic practice?” Here is his reply to our inquiry. SU: I have been practicing various forms of creative art since about 1982. I have participated in numerous local exhibitions, and was awarded the USSR VDNKh medal for participation in the 1987 exhibition. My works are in the Kharkov Art Museum, the King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustav, and in personal collections around the world. In art, I am engaged in different directions, from carving on bones and precious stones, to wood carvings, sculptures from different materials and painting. Almost all my work can be seen in the albums on my page. I am already 62 and began around the early 1980s to participate in various exhibitions. I like to do sculpture, painting, carving a wide variety of materials, photography, design, and more. Born in Kharkov, in 1954. I have lived almost always in the city of Kharkov, the former Russian city, which, after the October Bolshevik coup in 1917, went to the Ukraine. I began to study art from the beginning of the 1980s. I like the art of the last century from its very beginning. Such artists and sculptors as Picasso, Dali, Miro, Rauschenberg, Moore, and Pollock, I always admired. I think that the main task of art is to tear out the viewer even for a moment from a meaningless race for a material emptiness, in which there is no point. It is an illusion. Therefore, against fascism, communism, capitalism and all other possible lies and pharisaism, in which, despite slogans, people remain helpless slaves manipulated by moneylenders and political swindlers.
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I hide in my art from the world around me, which views are deeply alien and which, in turn, rejects me and my art. As an artist I'm not adhering to any one direction and technique. I'm an experimenter and multi-instrumentalist. Now, for example, I started experimenting with plastic bottles from under the water. Which I cut into narrow strips and wrap them around the wire frame, leaving each layer with hot air from the dryer. In this way, you can create large objects - constructs, which can then be interconnected, each in a "lego" constructor, while creating very large structures. These elements will be sprinkled with luminous paints, of different colors, so that they glow in the dark. This direction in sculpture, no one is engaged, but unfortunately I do not have free money for the implementation of such a project and there is no place where I could put it for spectators. I like to cut out of the bone, most often I use the mammoth tusk, and crystals of precious stones. I really want to do this especially by combining the reliefs carved from precious stones with a fantasy cut, but this requires so much time and effort, and most importantly good vision, which I, alas, lost. In addition, I adore creating wax models, for the subsequent casting of bronze sculptures. I invented my technique and it seems to me that it looks like no other. First I melt the wax. I pour it on a flat surface of rubber with bumps, and when the wax starts to harden, but still plastic, I cut various parts from it and twist them into different textures. Then I combine these details in a wax model and it turns out very complicated and delicate. Not every foundry man can cast a bronze sculpture on this model, but if this happens, the sculpture turns out to be very interesting. In painting, I most often use acrylic paints on fabric, but I write them on rough fabrics, such as tarpaulins, which I etch out with a composition for bleaching fabrics. Sometimes you have to repeatedly etch, wash, then paint and re-etch to achieve the desired effects and textures. In this technique I create abstract compositions, and figurative more often in the style of primitive surrealism. Breakthroughs in my creative work is something I’ve experienced after visiting cultural centers associated with famous names and world history. Especially the dream was able to jump over several steps in my work, after visiting Paris, where I stood next to one of the workshops of Pablo Picasso, in Montmartre. These impressions have sufficed me for the rest of my life and I can close my eyes to scroll this amazing film in my memory and hide in it. Now my life is coming to an end, I live now in a small house that needs repairing, 20 km from Kharkov, with a sick kidney stone disease, a cat who needs to give tablets every day to support the kidneys. I dream to create one work at the level of "Guernica" Picasso, but it would be a miracle and I almost do not hope. I need to make a series of bronze sculptures, if there were money, I would make sculptures of gold with precious stones, but alas ... Now I'm trying to enter into a
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creative rhythm and start doing several different works in completely different techniques. Unfortunately, I cannot make large art objects and produce large-scale experiments and research under my conditions. Art should surprise and make the viewer see this world from the other side, so that people cease to crawl and grovel and go beyond the material world. I dream, if I can make money and sell a house, I'll go to Cambodia to die there, away from Ukraine. In Cambodia, many Russians live, especially in the city of Sihanoukville. Again, thank you for your interest in my work Sergey Uvarov E-mail: x1954x@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/Sergey-Uvarov-485323201513454/
“My Painting 8� Mixed media
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Sergey Uvarov “My Painting #3” / Water color
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Sergey Uvarov “Cast Medallions” / Metal: bronze & melchior
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Sergey Uvarov “My Painting #9” / Mixed media
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Sergey Uvarov “Untitled” / Painted wood carving
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Sergey Uvarov “Untitled” / Jewelry with purple stone
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Sergey Uvarov “Untitled” / Jewelry with red stone
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Sergey Uvarov “Untitled” / Mixed media sculpture
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Sergey Uvarov “Untitled” / Mixed media painting
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Sergey Uvarov “Untitled” / Mixed media sculpture
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Sergey Uvarov “Untitled” / Mixed media sculpture
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Shivani Soni JCAM: Our staff was able to interview artist Shivani Soni via email. For this article JCAM staff asked Shivani Soni to describe her background and artistic practice. Below is her response in its entirety. SS: My name is Shivani Soni. I was born in Dewas M.P. India. Dewas is a small city with a peaceful atmosphere. For my graduation and post graduation I went to Pune Maharashtra, India. there I spent almost ten years including freelance work. My father, Mr. Ramesh Anand, is an artist. I got great help from him. He taught me composition which is one of great expertise of mine. After completing my M.F.A. in painting I started working with many NGOs and art organizations to promote other art also I conceptualized events and public display to earn money. To be in art this is my plan to earn by art and practicing more of my art works. From this type of work I became nearer to understanding the real value of art in all aspects. I am making paintings more than 15 years. Before my education I was doing this because I have a family involved in art. Because of my father. I have been watching other artists and their work from my childhood. I visited many places in India and met lots of artists but I taught myself by surroundings, by moments. I learned basics from my education but no one support me. Only my father supported me in composition sense. I have a lot of support from my family to live life. I paint figurative art; mostly women. Although I had been painting since my childhood, my painting got serious when I joined college. I took it even more seriously after college when I realized that only my painting gives me happiness. It is not about the money. It is more important than money. From this way of thinking, I can explore and define myself. 

I respect Nature as I am a female so I am closer to women. That’s why I paint women.
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The social issues of women appear in my paintings because I worked with NGOs that focused on child labor. I saw the actual needs of human beings, especially the lives of women. All these things made me stronger to make statements through my painting and and with my subjects. I think when your mind matures then you can paint more confidently and subjectively. I think if someone will buy my art, from this they will get a positive vibe. The messages are very indirect which will never disturb to viewer they can make their own story in painting and they can enjoy. My subjects are as simple as our day to day life. When we see a painting hat gives us satisfaction than life is beautiful. I use tools other than paint brushes in making my art. For example, I use carry bags of plastic some time to give texture. I also used tradition wood blocks stamps. I love oil color most, but for short drying time processes I do paint in acrylic color also. In my color palette there are vibrant colors with some pastel shades mixed with black or white or a mixture of 3 to 4 colors. These colors make viewers calm and relaxed. For my drawings I use pastels and pen on paper. I first sketch then play with color and create a composition. This process make take more than an hour or a day. I make final finishing and my heart say yes, now it is final. Then the work is completed. I prefer to give more time to painting. If I will be rich I will experiment with sculpture in fiberglass. I would make figures and paint on them. I would also like to make murals from scrap but I need more time to achieve this. I would love life working as an artist. In my student time I sold my paintings I also got contacted by some online galleries. After my education I am doing art for myself in between. I got a sponsor show at Madhya Pradesh, Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal India. But I have yet to earn a good amount from my art. To become established as an artist it takes a time. You have to keep working. Daily work is important. In my life I would be happy if I can help other artists but for this I have to be established first as an artist myself and an art promoter /consultant. I am working with many corporate and builders for landscaping projects and decor in India. In the future I will do it globally. My goal is to raise awareness of art and culture and support the needy people of society though art. The lives of women inspire me. The good projects of fashion, architecture, interior design, old photography, traditional Indian culture inspire me. All these things I use in my painting. I like many artist but don’t want to be so influenced that it changes my own way of working. I appreciate other’s paintings but I depict only my world in which I am facing everybody, and always facing them from different angles of life. If I were rich I would make a museum or a creativity center for all good artists and start to publish their lives to get others inspired. It’s my dream. I would like to save Indian old culture I would like to understand the cultures of other countries.
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I see things in magazines, sometimes photography, sometimes I find inspiration just roaming in a market palace. Suddenly I get ideas from such activities. Being creative is something like explaining ourselves through the things we do. And if there is some message then it will be better for viewers. Creativity, I think, always gives happiness. When you give time to you and your work it comes automatically, like believing in god. It is the same thing in painting. Awareness is important. If we become more aware then we can see all things, and show things creatively. This is visual art. Love the things outside of you. Respect your own and others’ thoughts – this will help you to be more open and to be more creative.
“Inside of Women” / Painting
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Shivani Soni “Life Mashups 5” / Mixed Media
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Shivani Soni “Save Nature” / Painting
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Shivani Soni “Searching of Heart” / Painting
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Shivani Soni “With Bird” / Painting
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Shivani Soni “Life Mashups 1” / Painting
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Shivani Soni “Life Mashups 4” / Painting
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Shivani Soni “Life Mashups 13” / Painting
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Utsab Chatterjee JCAM: What is your professional name? Where were you born and does that place still influence you? Where do you live now and how does that place influence you? Do you have family, friends, or fellow artists who support you in your work, life and art making and how do they make a difference in your life? UC: My professional name is Utsab Chatterjee. I am from Kolkata, India and yes my hometown influenced me since the beginning of my sense of maturity. Kolkata is rich for its historical backgrounds as it has faced many sociopolitical shifts throughout the history. My family was the victim of migration and they all came to India during the volatile period of partition of India and Bangladesh. My grandfather was a painter, graduated from Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata in the ‘50s and my mother graduated in painting from Oriental College of Art, Kolkata in late 70’s but unfortunately I’ve lost my grandfather in the age of adolescence and my mother had to take a leave from art college due to family issues. I had no knowledge back then about art. But as I grew up my only friend Raktim taught me the truth of life, my father helped me to be a good human being rather than a good artist, my only art teacher helped me to build my confidence level, my mother helped me to understand the meaning of that phrase ‘never give up hope’. I never dreamed of becoming an artist but to be the human who wants to portray the true meaning of life and thus the phrase born from that period ART FOR LIFE’S SAKE. JCAM: When and how did you start making art? Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating art was something you absolutely had to do? Why do you make art now? How has your work changed or developed over time? What are you trying to communicate with your art?
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UC: I have seen many deaths to my close ones from my childhood and from my infancy I was a voracious reader of every possible source and this combination forced me to decode the norms of existence. I hated the term ‘art’ and I still do because to me art is nothing but the most approachable tool to communicate. Art was never to me any romantic idea. I wanted to be a writer but somehow I denied that part of journey. I denied it by the reason that every path has its own manifesto and I thought painting can be my path, my journey, my solo counterpart of myself, my most intimate agonized partner to communicate to others. It was not in my mind at all to be an artist but I found peace. This is a cacophonic peace and it’s become kind of a healing method to be in the cacophony as there is no peace out there in the world of disharmony, the inorganic growth within me. I am so restless and workaholic. The world is so fast that I’ve to cope up with it unless the process will stop. Whenever I’m not into painting, I do drawings, doodles with immense level of self cultivating and rigorous process to counter the change, the anomaly of procreation. People have to understand that art isn’t entertainment. It is not to be performed to ‘attract’ the audience; which is why I never did fantasized versions of emotions. The audience cannot disturb the loneliness of an artiste and that’s the sole reason to portray the inner crisis. I make art to make people understand the reasons of living. The cause and the effect is the duo which gives clarity to purpose. My works have been changed through time. In the beginning I tried to create to make people understand what I am doing but my time my space the world outside the daily newspaper the deaths of children the death of philosophy the morbidity of life force me to document the situation around me and I believe this is honesty. I am true to my time, even being inactive sometimes. JCAM: Do you have any creative patterns, routines or rituals associated with your art making? What element(s) of art making do you enjoy the most and why? What is your most important artist tool(s) and why? How do you know when a work is finished? What are the art making tools you use now? What new creative medium would you love to pursue? UC: Patterns, routines or rituals are boring ideas though hypothetically in cosmos every tiny atom has a specific pattern. Still I negate to put my process into any kind of preconceived notions of order. I don’t even do any layouts. I don’t even write any script for any of my video arts or short films. Sometimes I do document through video for my painting projects, sometimes I write poems, sometimes I write some gibberish ideas and I believe in cerebral process and I
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foresee the ultimatum of any of my execution before starting but this ultimatum helps me to modify my process during the time of executing. I believe the brain is the most important tool to be in the process of making any dialogue. Tools wise, in general, it may be my camera, my papers, my sketchbooks, my room, YouTube … it can be many things but the most important I believe, it should be my brain, without it I am numb. I give a value to this factor because I’ve faced the creative block. The situation around me, the political megalomania, the immense diversion from the belief system which had grown within me throughout the time of my childhood, the extremity of being social, to believe the fact that everything is on tube and everyone is watching you and you have to prove something to others…it broke me. I have made my own belief system to counter the blockage. Now, I have nothing to lose, nothing to gain but I will create and I have to create the most honest works beyond any fundamentally skilled format. If I have to jump into every aspect of creation and win it, I have to do it and this is my motto. It is a gibberish counter attack from my point of view to keep me floating. My art practice is an alter ego of mine. I talk to them, create discussion sessions with them, they tell me where to finish even where to start. It’s the war between notion and belief, paradox and reality. I want to depict the existence of mankind through my work and then there should be no barrier to execute it tools wise; it can be a video art, an illustration, a doodle, a painting, a poem, a bunch of sketchbooks, a performance, an installation, a sound project, a documentary film making…there’s no boundary at all. We are living in the juncture of digital era and the reminiscence of the past. So, my motto is to know the digital media as well the traditional mediums to know the future and I would love to pursue performance art beyond the notions of any body image issue or fear. JCAM: What's the first artwork you ever sold? Do you make a living from your art? What strategies with you share with other artists on how to become successful professionally? UC: My first painting, which was sold, named “Don’t Fuck Me like a Foreign Film” was very personal to me. In my every work I want to convey the reality of existence. There’s no place for fantasy, romanticism, career oriented hypocrisy in the process of making art. But at the same time you have to be gentle to connect with the real people to understand the suffocation of survival and the reality. There’s no god, there’s no spiritual healing method, there is no leader, and there is no government to console you in the valley of death. Art to me is not a profession, it is a
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manifesto to me. So, I can’t share any kind of strategy to become successful as an artist because I don’t have faith in such method of thinking. The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, and to elevate the mind.
One must believe their own heart and soul. He/she will have to see beyond the border of mediocrity, he/she should be aware of the situation and time around them. They should have the knowledge for pursuing art because this is one way route and you can’t back out. If you’re after seeking truth, you’ve to be sure on that matter that you can’t be a product. But yes, there’s only one option to protect art’s virginity (!) by applying for awards and scholarships for survival. This is respectful than becoming a broker. You know, art is very emotional business. But mostly it becomes not emotional, in the fabric of commodity. It becomes business. It becomes so many different things because we forgot there was an emotion involved. JCAM: What are your goals for the future, for both work and life? What interesting project are you working on at the moment? UC: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” My goal for the future is to remain an artist, for both life and work; a true one. Recently I’m on a project, documenting the psychoanalytical journey of an artist, who has schizophrenia (as a fictional independent film). JCAM: What or who inspires you? Do you have a favorite – or influential – living artist? What work of art do you wish you owned and why? UC: Art is a non–infinite infinity that attracts the sense of human sensibility and it would be impossible to account the journey of human race without art because it has created the bridge between sanity and insanity; a personification of very existence through modifications of paradoxical world into a relative reality makes the art valuable and this inspires me. I value process and I think Kim Jung Gi is the best one to describe it better. It’s beyond of a question that why rest of the world calls him a master not the owner of a mind palace. He sets the parameter and at the same time he dismantles the path of memory or the behavioral pattern which seemed classic truth before admiring him. He pressured on the point of rigorous failure and achieving the desired destiny towards success and this success is beyond of the allurement of self loathing.
I’m not really inspired by his subjects or patterns or his visual sensibility or even the monstrous drawings he made; I am inspired by his Everest level of patience to indulge the failure as the pillars of success, not the frustration or nail biting trauma.
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I wish I could live in the era of Dadaism. I’m not at all in a romantic mood to convey such statements but I miss the cabaret Voltaire sessions during that time. Such a bunch of antistructuralists, anticonventionalists, antiart artists, poets, musicians, performance artists, artists from every spectrum under one roof makes me emotional sometimes; a single idea with multi dimensions to evoke the resonance the sense of creation or creativity. Though Art is like the unwanted pubic hair in the society’s body; it doesn’t have the urge to shave or to possess at the same time but art always proved itself as a slap on society’s conservatism, stagnancy and the nonsense hypocrisy.
I wish if I could own the Dadaist Mona Lisa (L.H.O.O.Q), it would be the greatest inspiration for me. I think it was one of the biggest slaps by Marcel Duchamp on bourgeois art patronage. The creation of L.H.O.O.Q. profoundly transformed the perception of La Joconde (what the French call the painting, in contrast with the Americans and Germans, who call it the Mona Lisa).
In 1919 the cult of Jocondisme was practically a secular religion of the French bourgeoisie and an important part of their self image as patrons of the arts. They regarded the painting with reverence, and Duchamp's salacious comment and defacement was a major stroke of epater le bourgeois ("freaking out" or substantially offending the bourgeois). JCAM: Where do you find ideas for your creative work? What does “being creative” mean to you? What is the best advice you ever had about how to be more creative? UC: I think humans have great tools to gain knowledge and these are body, mind and soul. If anyone wants to gain something truthful, it is not possible to not to gain. You have to open your mindscape to know the reason behind every phenomenon and it is a developmental experience as we are actually living in a million parallel realities every single minute. To record the changes of the dimensions and meanings of life is “being creative” to me. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem; do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something. If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud. And I think the inertia, the force to being a creative and impulsiveness creates hunger for being creative even in the most volatile situations.
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Utsab Chatterjee “Subversion” / Mixed media
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Utsab Chatterjee “Burning Agents” / Mixed media
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Utsab Chatterjee “Ceremony of Chaos” / Mixed media
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Utsab Chatterjee “I Think I Am A Hypocrite” / Mixed media
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Utsab Chatterjee “Make it feel that I belong” / Mixed media
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Utsab Chatterjee “Metadata” / Mixed media
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Utsab Chatterjee “Children out Of Nothing” / Mixed media
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Utsab Chatterjee “Portrait of A Poet” / Mixed media
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Utsab Chatterjee “Inertia” / Mixed media
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Yolanda “Yogii” Barnes
JCAM: The JCAM is proud to be able to publish this interview and poetry by North Carolina creative writer Yolanda “Yogii” Barnes. We asked Ms. Barnes to talk about her life and her way of working. Below please find her responses: YYB: “My name is Yolanda Barnes, but everyone calls me Yogii with 2 i’s. I was born at Womack Hospital on Fort Bragg, but I call the world my home. I currently live in Hope Mills, NC and it has currently been a source of great inspiration. I am inspired by everything, and I know that may sound cliché, but it is true. I can be found sitting looking at bark on tree, or a car lot or a parent with child and I begin to write.
There are so many stories-told, and untold out there, that when I am inspired, I feel like there is a story that needs to be told. I have a great support system, for an just being a author, but any creative outlet. They may not understand it, but they see my passion. I have a family that watched me pour into my first book, saw me struggle to express my creativity, and not wanting me hurt, asked me was I sure this is what I wanted…and with every “YES” from me they knew I was serious. I can say that now, they know that I jump, and they are always there to catch me. I laugh when I think about younger me, I used to write a newsletter, raps, and love letters for the boys (didn’t even get paid to do it, I just knew I could.) I could be found with a big red notebook full of verses and hooks…in the lunch room with my crew (you don’t have the notebook without the crew.) We would beat box and bang out beats on the table…I never knew what I was doing, what I was writing, I just, did it. One day, when I was 13, I sat down to write a rap, and I couldn’t make it flow like a rap…it didn’t feel like a rap, it felt different. I showed it to my friend and she said “It’s poetry, and you should never stop writing it.” I will never forget that, because that moment changed my life. I write now, to remind people of the simple things, the things we get too busy to remember matter, the small voice is there for a reason, and mostly because if I can get a reader to listen, it may just change a life. I am proud of all of them, they each were born out of some need and in
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the years they have been performed, they have changed lives, inspired, opened eyes and ears. If my poetry does nothing else, it has done enough. I will say that my voice has changed after being a mother. I not only hear a difference in what I write, but also how I speak when performing. I love that you ask about the creative process, because most think they don’t have one, but I have several. I start with a concept, a basic idea, something that is unique, usually something often forgotten. I like to twist and turn the idea, research the topic, take a poll, hear what other people have to say about the topic. I gather all information until I begin to cook the idea, being a busy mother, I don’t have long periods of time to write like I used to, so a lot of times, these ideas stay in my head and burst out when I’m driving, or at the store, I write on receipts, scrap paper, I write in pen, pencil, crayon and chalk…whatever it takes to get the idea out … I have even written with pens that have run out of ink, only to transcribe the impression. Sometimes while half sleep with an idea I have written with my eyes closed…only to decipher it like hieroglyphics. Most people wouldn’t be honest like that in a journal article, but I need for people to know that when it need to come out, it is truly by any means necessary. I know that a piece is finished when I feel like I can share it, I don’t like sharing unfinished pieces, because then there is pressure for you to finish…I don’t like to rush the feeling. If you know anything about me, you know I live my life JUMPING. My first ever published works were in “The Broncos’ Voice” (the student newspaper) on the campus of Fayetteville State University. I published my first book of poetry called “Y aren’t you listening?” and it was an amazing experience. I learned the process of how to publish. As the graphic designer, photographer, and the author it gave me a unique perspective on how to go about the process. I have since helped others create their books. Many people don’t realize, that once you are a writer, you can pen anything. You will have your areas of expertise, but you can make money from all of those people who “don’t know how to say it”. I have been blessed to write wedding ceremonies, vows, magazine articles, newspaper articles, blog post, scripts, and songs. There is no limit on what can be done once you put your mind to it. I think the biggest part about working as a writer is knowing who you are, and knowing your style…and being able to market that. I was never trained from the English Department. I never took a poetry class until my senior year. I know I may not pen everything correctly, but it is written from a place in my heart that it can be understood by the masses. I think one of the biggest surprises about being an author is that you NEVER KNOW, who is going to like your writing. I had male and female, all races, ages, even economic backgrounds buy and read the book. I got feedback from moms to soldiers and to say that “we are more alike then we are different” will always ring true thru my writings. I write on purpose from a place beyond skin color, beyond even sometimes gender, to the soul of the story…the essence of what is going on beyond what can limit us from finding common ground.
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JCAM asked the question, “Do I make a living from my writing?” Answer: not yet, but I am working on it becoming the only thing I have to do in a day. As I write this, I am in the mist of transitions. I have discovered the world of online workshops and have been developing several online programs to teach not only poets how to be better in business, but to help people that want to write poetry have a place to start. The future to me looks like producing and promoting workshops online, while promoting current books, events and live workshops for a profit. It hasn’t been done before, and I plan on jumping. I will be back in the studio to finish another Poetry CD and complete the long awaited follow up to “Y aren’t you listening? Part2” and along the way I will be introducing chapbooks and poetry videos for those that follow my YouTube channel. Inspiration: I am so blessed to be inspired by everyone and everything around me. I look and see Dasan Ahanu, Ed Mabrey, Megan Rickman-Blackwood, and so many others that are not only amazing writers, but move in business. I don’t think there is one author I would like to speak to because I get to speak to so many on a regular basis. I think for me getting to see their thought process, getting to understand what makes them write helps me. There is an idea in everything, if you really look. I find it in the simplest things, and decode the most confusing things with simple observations. The best advice I ever got about being creative is “Do You” by Ms. Val Jones. She constantly reminds me to not hold anything back and to give them all of my art…not some, not a small piece, not only what I think they can handle…but ALL OF IT…to do me. There are so many poems and pieces I have written that no one has heard because I am unsure of the their reaction. Her words ring in my ears…and I push forward.” “Lay with me” I should have laid there, should of used my fingers to twirl round your curly hair I should have laid there, in the comfort of the arms that held me...creating a space for my head to lay on chest, I should of laid there ... blowing kisses a communication made thru souls education was being dispensed until the air got tense when and the alarm went off so worried about the outside world'z conformity to time, I ran off with a peck before I jumped to the everyday jokes coming from the direction of the bed while I washed my face
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laughter, and giggles contemplating, another round at that DENIED, an I love you, but no time for that... a little love tap on the ass as pants flow into place then another kiss, a plan made for dinner with some friends but I should of stayed, laid in the comfort of his arms but in such a hurry, the sound of alarms did startle me...drifted off in to a day dream, texting, and planning then they, hit me...but I should of laid there, in the comfort of his arms, too many alarms, and a phone call on I.C.E. to him of the emergency but there was not enough time he never made it to me, as I drifted off in to God's forever dream and when he finally made it to me he cried while he laid with me. “Poet post partum” I can hardly see past tears as I write this, sad and joy, the perfect storm mix this, has to have been, the... hardest thing, I've ever had to do and besides as a poet post partum is how I'm coming to you... single hand to sky, praying for God to pardon, all the imperfections and feelings of a life in ruin...thanking him for the actualization of, the manifested example of the life that was movin, inside me... but I be...all over the map with emotions leaving me motionless in tears..drowning in fears, and knee deep in this sh*t right here.. cause drama is the name of the game as the devil adds heavy weight to an already heavy load Please...JUST LEAVE ME ALONE...and stress caused
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sadness pumped milk every two hours...but I do because sweetie tears won't nourish you, and his love won't either boo...step into the light and realize the light has been shined on YOU, now what you gonna do when one has turned to two...and one plus one...has a varied shade of blue what are you gonna do... for a true time out..before seconds of depression set in... soaked in sadness half hidden from those who can't see anything but the baby, neglecting to see the attack of the enemy...breathe... I've been blessed to speak about it poetically... not that this is me...but it could be...if I didn't breathe. “True Colors” On a night when navy blue skies and the white strikes of glowing lightening...meet purple passion was released in the form of red blood on hands, stained, by passion drenched in rain, covered in pain... because truth had my as green ... as the eyes of the lover I caught cheating in a pitch black room where the yellow spot light help to catch you creeping...and deep within the folds of fist lay thorns into torn skin...red stains on the brain and redemption... redemption is only a song that played in the background that I took no heed to no need to...you are as ivory as I coast without your knowledge of my existence in your presence... and the present I had for you lay on the floor, like supervisors paid to do the job, they get someone else to do... but here is a pink slip for you, as I place hands on his shoulder to let him know ... I SEE THE TRUE COLORS OF YOU ...
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Vol.3, No.2, December 2017 “The Final Word” As we work on the final editing of this December 2017 issue of the JCAM it seems difficult to comprehend that we began planning for our first issue of this journal more than 4 years ago. First, in terms of coverage, with this issue JCAM publications now exceed 1300 total pages. We have also introduced more than 80 visual arts and creative writers in those pages. These “creatives” have come from 27 countries and span a wide range of life experience, education and talent. Next, as the JCAM is an online publication that uses a professional service to publish our journal (issuu.com) we are able to track how readers interact with our journal. At this time, just prior to the publication of our 6th edition of the JCAM – the December 2017, Vol.3, No.2 issue – we have records of nearly 200,000 “reads” that indicate interactions of individuals with our online content. With the December 2017 issue we expect to reach 250,000!
Additionally, as we move into the 2018 publishing year we are making some significant editorial and publishing changes. We will move to 4 issues per year in 2018. This will allow us to be more nimble in our editorial process and also reduce the page count from 200+ per issue to around 100+ per issue. This will also allow for a more timely publication of materials submitted to the JCAM Last, as we close in on the second decade of the 21st century it is obvious that we as a society have become more interconnected than ever before in human history. The JCAM celebrates these possibilities. Please join us in conversation on the “Journal of Creative Arts & Minds” Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/JournalofCreativeArtsandMinds/ Email us your thoughts and ideas, or submit your creative works for consideration. jcam.jal@gmail.com Thanks to everyone for your support. Wishing you all happiness in 2018 – and beyond!
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Information for Submitters: January, April, July & October 2018 Issues JCAM is a unique project of Jumbo Arts International which holds all rights exclusively. JCAM is a juried publication. All submissions are reviewed by a panel of experts assembled by the JCAM editors. JCAM publications focus is on artistic creativity. We publish original visual artworks, articles on the visual arts, crafts, creative writing, poetry, performing arts, interviews, reviews, and columns on subjects appropriate to the focus of the journal. JCAM submissions: All email requests should be sent to jcam.jal@gmail.com. Upon request, interested parties will be sent the information and documents required for the formal submission of work to JCAM editors. JCAM publishes in English. Are non-English submissions possible? Yes, in certain cases JCAM editors will work with artists to translate into English text documents that are directly related to visuals that have already been accepted for publication. JCAM publication schedule: Beginning in January 2018 our publication will change from 2 issues per year to 4 issues per year. In 2018 the publication schedule will be: January, April, July & October. Submitters should contact the JCAM editorial team well in advance of these publication dates for information and guidance. Current JCAM information is available on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JournalofCreativeArtsandMinds Previously published issues of the JCAM are available online: https://issuu.com/jumboartsinternational Information about the JCAM publisher Jumbo Arts International is available online: http://jumboartsinternational.org/ All questions regarding the JCAM should be sent to: jcam.jal@gmail.com
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