arts circle

Had a wonderful conversation about art over ginger tea with a colleague at New Straits Times Bangsar head office, yesterday afternoon.
Murali a graphic artist at NST gave me a wonderful opportunity to talk about my favourite subject - art. Been a long time since I last had such an opportunity. I spoke with Murali for close to an hour and am glad that my subconscious mind exhibited itself to allow me to present in a nutshell what art means to mankind and my deep involvement in it.
I was glad that Murali was wholly receptive to what I said. If I had given him an answer to what he was seeking from me, it will make my day.
I think at the end of the conversation we decided that there is a need for a genuine art circle where artists can turn to, to feed their artistic instincts, find themselves and their roles in society and hence safeguard their sanity.

 A couple of works as a result of my first art circle at home in Cheras 2 1/2 mls Kuala Lumpur City Council workers' Quarters. A portrait of me done by my brother Jeganathan Ramachandram and him by me.

art is religion

The true religion of the world is the pursue of truth and this endeavour we know as the artistic quest of mankind. So is it wrong to say that art is religion?
An artist's endeavour is to show the truth from every perspective for all to see and relish.
Indeed for an artist who seeks to explore the depth of his quest for truth, the destination he arrives at is the sanctity of the Absolute. Even in the case of an artist untrained in the techniques of art but is spiritually inclined, he is able to create fine works of art by virtue of his knowledge of the Absolute Truth. In fact it is the artist who is not learned in the techniques of art that should be accorded premier status as a true artist for his endeavour is borne of his personal search for the Absolute Truth. For it is he/she who will be able to display originality in his works as seen in the excellence of the works by the Naive art movement.
Is it also any wonder that all the great medievel and prehistoric artists chose to depict religious movements, God, angels and apostles as their main subject. Of course with the modernist art movements, secularism is the order of the day. But here too we can recognise that the denial of God or The Absolute Truth is merely a different approach taken by the artistic soul to dissect atheism and find the Absolute within it.
In fact the Vaishnavas of India have used art as an attempt to come as close as possible to describing the beauty and omnipotence of the Absolute Reality. As a Vaishnava guru pointed out, the paintings produced by Vaishnava artists are the window to the spiritual world.

life is art

Living through a life is an art. From the time of our birth, the nurturing we received, the way we responded to those caring for us and thoughts that formed in our minds based on our perception of the world, our reactions to these and subsequent stand we take in deciding what type of character we want to adopt - all these are art because the artist, the soul has deliberately made its mark on one's life.
How do we showcase these artform that is our life? How do we display this art product so that it serves as a reminder to another person?

Iskandar Malaysia Contemporary Art Show (IMCAS)

The three month Iskandar Malaysia Contemporary Art Show (IMCAS) which started in Johor Bahru on March 14, is the biggest exhibition of Malaysian contemporary artists in the country todate.
Visiting the exhibition held on the 4th level of the newly opened Danga City Mall, enlightened me about the true extant of contemporary art in the country. Previously not having seen all the works at one venue, I had been rather confused as to what Malaysian artists were doing these days.
What I saw at IMCAS was an eye-opener for me and my confidence in Malaysian art grew tremendously seeing the exciting way our artists from Yusof Ghani, Hamir Soib, husband and wife artists Choy Chun Wei and Yau Bee Ling, Bayu Utomo and Jeganathan Ramachandram are moving.
Those wishing to become art collectors should check out the special booths set up at the Art Fair for budding Malaysian artists. They can pick out good quality original works for as low as a couple of hundred ringgit.
In conjunction with IMCAS, an open category Art Competition will be held to unearth new talents.
A residency programme for about 12 young artists will be held throughout the duration of the exhibition with a road show to popularise their works.

art - the cream of civilisation.

The modern civilisation that started in the 19th Century is a pseudo civilisation as it has produced no great art. What we revere as art in this age is the rantings and ravings of persecuted artists. Instead of rising to spiritual heights on reaching the climax of their work, serious modern artists mostly end up ruining their lives, both physically and mentally. Of course the not serious pretenders survive and flourish in wealth and fame, adding to the chaos of the age.
At the very beginning of this civilisation, there were the dying breed of artists who managed to leave behind some great works like the Renaissance artists and the overshadowed spiritualists of the great traditions such as Indian, Mayan, Egyptian and African, Chinese, Indo-Chinese and every other pre-modern civilisation of the world.
The growth of industries spurred by the spread of European colonial rule categorically destroyed every existing genuine civilisation of the world. The overwhelming greed and lust of the sensual and passionate European and later American populations and their leaders unleashed a populist wave of materialism throughout the world whitewashing the human psyche and standardising human art and culture.
This is the colourless world that we have now inherited.

artistic soul

Can art reach the spirit soul? It certainly would, good art that is. What is art after all if not a spiritual expression especially considering that the essence of the spirit is absolute truth. Is not art concerned solely with absolute truth. Besides the fact that the expression of art is the language of the subtle mind or subconscious which is the vehicle of the soul.

Thus we can say that artists are pure spirit souls, unattached to the material world. We can go one step further and categorise them as transcendentalists who according to the 18th CenturyTamil poet, Subramani Bharathiar (Bharathiar or persona of Mother India) observed that while Subramani was a poor man, Bharatiar was beyond the human condition being seated on a pedestal and watching over the world. It was also Bharatiar who referred to himself as being an immortal.

think art

the rat race has deprived us of the capacity to enjoy the beauty of nature and the artistry of human life. Why can't we spare a few minutes to stop our racing thoughts of our work schedule and life's competition and admire the beauty of a tree that stands silently beside our house.
The tree is the first and foremost of nature's creation and can never fail to intrigue man.
I cannot understand the rationale of this shopkeeper in Jalan Tebrau in the Johor Baru city centre who took the law into his own hands to trim clean several trees facing his shop that were planted and maintained by the city council. The shopkeeper's reasoning was that the trees were blocking the Feng Shui from his shop.
Although there is the danger of trees being uprooted during thunderstorms and falling on trees or other property even that is not reason enough to do away with trees.
I think everyone should start thinking of all the reasons why they should preserve a tree.