The Eye, issue 4
description
Transcript of The Eye, issue 4
1 | The Eye
2 | The Eye
3 | The Eye
4 | The Eye
6. Up Close and Peronal: Nandita Das
8. A Run Through Folk Art Lane
10. Whats the deal with game designing?
18. Interviewing Indian contemporary
artists Reena Kallat
14. The Story of Rock ‘n Roll Through A 70mm Lens
A Note From The Editor
Its been 2 months and 4 issues and boy has it been fast!
Visual Art is the most dynamic and versatile of arts. It encompasses years
of human aesthetic evolution and packages it into something relatable,
something we can see. Everything is about images. Either the images in
front of us or those in our head. With Facebook buying Instagram its all
the more obvious how our interactions are becoming increasingly visual.
This makes it crucial to understand this world because it is slowly tran-
scending the strict sense or art galleries and entering our everyday life.
So this issue, we look into visual art that we have seen not as connoisseur
of art but as people who interact with on a more mundane basis. We get
up close and personal with Nandita Das (who we may remember from
Deepa Nair's Water), we explore the field of game designing, a run
through folk art we see on a daily basis but fail to recognize. All this and
more on this issue of The Eye!
The Eye
6 | The Eye
You come from a literary background, bagging masters in
Social work. How did acting happen?
I started like everybody else does in Delhi, theater. I at-
tended a lot of rallies, got down on the road protesting. I
never expected to make it so big, but yeah always had a
dream. I was sure that I didn’t want to do a certain kinds
of roles, and then I auditioned for Deepa’s Fire. And the
rest is history.
Your activism is evident in your film career as well – Fire,
Earth, water, Bawandar. Are you too good for plain old fun
cinema?
Of course not! Some of the art films are boring and preten-
tious and I don't want to do them as much as I don't want
to do a superficial mindless one the running around the
trees kind." While not a prolific actor by Bollywood stan-
dards ("I don't consider acting as a career, just an inter-
est."), Nandita has to her credit a few good trendy films as
well, such as Aks, Supari, and Bus Yun Hi.
When it comes to originality, creativity and a broad spec-
trum of themes, Hollywood seems to be lights years
ahead of Indian cinema. Does the industry really think
that the Indian masses cannot appreciate good cinema?
Absolutely not! I think that there are two parts to this ques-
tion. First, I disagree that Hollywood is light years ahead of
Indian cinema. Yes, there is a lot of space for independent
films here, but some of the Hollywood flicks are as trashy
and formulistic, even the big ones such as Mr. and Mrs.
Smith? it is so farfetched. What I would like to compare Bol-
lywood is with world cinema. Even smaller countries like
Poland and Iran, where there is a lot of suppression, even
they come out with great films. Their sensitivity, their cin-
ematic language [is superior]. Whereas we have so much
of literature, we have so much sensitivity. Technically also
in terms of cinematography we are very good. Then, what
is it that is going wrong? I have spoken to many of my film-
makers about this. I have also often asked myself, and to
be honest I haven't come up with any clear-cut answers.
Recently you became the chairperson of CFSI, what do
you think of the current state of children films in India?
I was so surprised to find out that not one film of the 250
that CFSI made has been commercially released so far. I do
hope that films like ‘I Am Kalam’, ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ and
‘Chillar Party’ start a trend and are not just films that come
and go by. This genre is more of an ignored one. We are
not saying we are fighting big films. All we are saying is that
there is a space for these kinds of films too and there is a
need for them. Children do need films, which are fun and
convey messages in a subtle way. It’s about creating space
for these kinds of films. Only big starrers don’t have to be
promoted all the time. People want to see other stories as
well.
Being the chairperson for Children Film Society, what do
you think is the most critical issue for a child to be sensi-
tized about?
The mandate of Children’s Film Society, India is to produce
good children’s films that are both entertaining as well as
educative, and reach out to as many children as we can.
While we are operating in a fairly narrow space, we know
that films do impact on people’s mind and attitudes, espe-
cially that of children who are now growing up unfortu-
nately on regular mainstream films, or reality shows, or
often violent series that are aired on television. We have
no control on those influences, but we need to create an
alternative, an appetite for better and more appropriate
films. But, the most important thing for a child is to go to
school. This is the first step towards empowering children.
School is not only meant for studies. It has much to do with
childhood itself, to be able to grow with other children,
question, play, and blossom into adulthood.
What prompted your husband and you to launch your
own theatre production company?
We both enjoy experimentation and we do not fear failure.
Apart from that, I have always enjoyed acting on stage and
the live audience reaction. But contrary to popular belief
that I have done a lot of theatre, I have only been part of
two professional plays so far - THE SPIRIT OF ANNE FRANK
with Zohra Sehgal and Shabana Azmi and HEADS YA TAILS
with Sushant Singh. I did street plays for four years with
Safdar Hashmi, but the reasons were less for acting and
more for the issues his plays raised. Those plays in some
way were triggers for me to pursue my Masters in Social
Work.
Why did you opt to write the play in English? Doesn't that
limit your reach in India somewhat?
BETWEEN THE LINES is about urban, educated profession-
als who speak in English. Our play is for this audience, so it
had to be in English. It has to sound real to be communi-
cated; the language is just a tool. I wrote my directorial
debut film, Firaaq in four languages as the script demanded
it. So the language is true to its context.
What else is happening on the work front?
I have just finished a ten-minute experimental film Fleeting
Beauty in New Zealand. It depicts a relationship between
a white man and an Asian woman. Then I have a Tamil film
opposite Mammootty. And I am reading a few Hindi scripts.
Up, close and personal: Nandita Das Tanvi Hegde
7 | The Eye
“Acting is not about wearing
skimpy clothes”
8 | The Eye
Folk artists of India beautify the
objects of use and the sur-
roundings of their dwellings
like floor, wall, courtyard, Clothes,
etc. There are many kinds of folk
arts in India, like painting, sculpture,
toy, costume, utensils, furniture,
weaving etc. Almost every village of
India has its own style of folk arts.
Among these, some are very popu-
lar and well known, for example,
Kalamkari, Kolam, Madhubani, Ka-
lighat, Phulkari, Kantha and many
more. Kolam is floor decoration
while Phulkari and Kantha are em-
broidery on cloth. The artists use
the same motifs and designs gener-
ation after generation. The Phulkari
artists use geometrical design. The
Kolam painters prefer different ob-
jects from nature and Bengali
women like to use human and ani-
mal figures as motif on Kantha. .
These innovations are to be found in
the motif of Kantha design.
Bengal has a delightful folk tradition
of embroidery and quilting known
as Kantha. The Kanthas are made of
discarded sarees and dhoties. These
are sewn together to make it thick.
Kanthas are generally made by the
women of all classes in Bengal, par-
ticularly the old women. They use
their spare time to sew these Kan-
thas by coloured threads from the
border of old sarees and are
stitched along the border line and
the surface is filled with various de-
signs. Quilts, wedding mats, bags
and wraps for mirror and jewellery
were all quilted and embroidered.
Motifs and designs are taken from
rural landscapes, ritualistic activi-
ties/purposes (mandala), objects
from everyday life, rural festivals,
circus entertainers and even histor-
ical figures such as Queen Victoria
to Lenin. The motifs on these Kan-
thas make it clear that the folk
women were mostly illiterate but
had keen power of observation for
day-to-day happenings around
them. The enlisted Kantha is a saree
which is stitched in a typical tradi-
tional style and technique. The mo-
tifs are stylized forms of animals and
human figures. The base pink colour
of the saree is done in chain stitch
with various coloured threads like
white, green, purple, red, brown,
yellow, grey and black. A king like
figure is sitting on the horse with an
umbrella in his hand. Some stylized
forms of birds and bees are used as
motifs. The influence of Kalighat
Pata Chitra is very clear on these
motifs. The art has now become
very popular. A complete show was
dedicated on this work in Lakme
Fashion Week spring summer 2008.
Phulkari actually means “flowered
work”. This term is used for a type
of embroidery practiced by folk
women in Punjab. These are done
on both small and large cloth pieces
and these are used for different pur-
poses like veils to cover heads, gar-
ment pieces, chadar and
bedspreads or bed covers. The em-
broidery is worked in floss-silk upon
the coarse cotton cloth in darning
stitch over counted threads being
worked from the back of the fabric.
Basic motifs of Phulkari designs are
geometric. Squares and triangles
are composed all over the space,
which are covered with mainly
warm colours. There are simple de-
signs and large sized elaborate ones.
Squares, dashes, triangles and
straight lines and zig-zag lines from
endless innovative variation. The
predominant colour is the gold of
the ripening wheat harvest in Pun-
jab. The women will first pick up the
outline of each section with a nee-
dle before it is worked in a direction
that contrasts with the section adja-
cent to it. The combination of con-
trasting vertical and horizontal
stitches results in a beautiful pat-
tern. The enlisted work of Phulkari
is designed with traditional geomet-
rical shapes. Star forms are stitched
with golden yellow and silvery white
thread on red cloth. The basic motif
is consisted of a large star sur-
rounded with small stars to create a
diamond shaped space on the de-
sign. The silken shine of the thread
creates bright relief on the warmth
of the red surface of the cloth. Now
this art is again trying to grip its root
and the medium through which it
plans to do so is films. Recent movie
TERI MERI KAHANI of KUNAL KOHLI
has made Priyanka Chopra expose
this work. There is a era in the
movie in which you see her wearing
a fusion of Phulkari work.
A Run Through Folk Art LaneVaidehi Tendulkar
9 | The Eye
The reason to involve kolam is its on
the same line of Phulkari. Both have
set of geometrical designing en-
hancing the beauty of the art.
KOLAM Floor decoration is one of
the most popular forms of art in any
culture all over the world. This is
also to be found in every part of
India in different medium like Al-
pana, Rangoli, Kolam, Sanjhi etc.
Kolam is the most important part in
the cultural and religious festivals of
South India. During Pongal and
other festivals, this decorative art
work is done on the floor in front of
the house and on the space before
the alter of the deity. Kolam, like
other floor decorative arts of India,
is a symbol of fortune. Designs and
motifs are tradional in nature and
these are both floral and geometri-
cal forms. The floor should be wet
or moist by sprinkling water on it.
The dry coarse ground rice flour is
held between the thumb and fore-
fingers. The hands keep on moving
while the rice powder is rubbed to
release on the floor along the pre-
determined design. It is very impor-
tant to continue the drawing as long
as possible without any pause. This
fluency of line is achieved by the
artist only from experience. Young
girls learn this from their mother
and grandmother. Besides the sym-
bolic value of these motifs, it ex-
presses a very interesting meaning
of life also. Rice powder is readily
available. It seems to feed ants to
show one must take care of other
forms of life too. This Kolam is being
painted by a house wife. It shows
the freehand drawing skill of the
artist. There are different symbolic
forms like pitchers, lamps and co-
conut trees. All these are integral
parts of Indian rural life. These de-
signs are basically in geometrical
format and with very bright colours
like Red, Orange, Blue, Yellow and
Pink. India has inherited a pre-
Aryan culture which is reflected in
the folk art. Different religions, sects
and beliefs have co-existed through-
out Indian traditional life. Cults like
Tantra Shakti, Vaishnav, Buddhist
are very important in the life of folk
artists. The rural society’s needs for
art and craft objects are supplied by
the local artists and craftsmen who
are mainly of three types viz ritual-
istic, utilitarian and individualistic.
There are many kinds of ritualistic
folk art like Patachitra, Pichuai, Al-
pana, Kolam etc. Decorative wood
carving, embroidery, basket work,
earthen ware etc. are among the
typical utilitarian folk art. These are
made by rural artists without any
formal training, and most of these
designs are repeated by generation
after generation. For example, there
are hardly any changes in the motif
of terracotta toys. Those were also
made in Harappa five thousand
years before. Some folk artists at-
tempt to experiment with new
forms from time to time and create
an individualistic type of folk art.
These artists develop a new style
within the old format.
10 | The Eye
Please shed some light upon what game designing in-
volves and what the job of a game designer is.
Game designing is mainly related to designing the concept.
We design the rules and regulations of the game. Most
people confuse it with animation, but animation is another
section altogether. In game designing we do the abstract.
We are the brain and the animators function as the eyes.
We decide upon the story, universe, and key features in a
game. It also includes level designing. Being a level designer
is a job in itself. The level designers have to make sure that
all the levels are balanced. Recently I played Guild wars 2.
The story and graphics are brilliant; however, the game gets
repetitive, and therefore boring. This is where the job of a
level designer comes into play. You make the game pre-
dictable, the gamer’s reaction would become predictable
as well.
Understanding the psychology of the player is very impor-
tant for a game designer. A player earns an achievement
by doing a certain task in a game. This achievement keeps
him going. We have to be certain that the game doesn’t
turn boring at any point. Every time before deciding upon
the game mechanics, we must keep in mind the core target.
Mechanics and concept may vary according to the target
audience. E.g., Athletes prefer sports games; hardcore
gamers prefer games, which need a lot of time and atten-
tion. They play games which are challenging and hard to
crack. Casual gamers, on the other hand, are into simpler
games which only are played for some light fun. For some,
games are for momentary satisfaction, for a few others
they are stress busters and for a many others they are war!
Could you tell us a little about the institute that you are
studying from?
I am pursuing my Bachelor’s degree from DSK Supin-
fogame, Pune. It is a French institute collaborated with DSK.
They have 3 Schools – animation, game designing and in-
dustrial designing. Once I pass out I will get a Bachelor’s
Degree in Game Designing and Production Management.
The institute is extremely student oriented and they help
you enter the best places in gaming industry. I really enjoy
the subjects they offer. I am learning game designing, pro-
duction management programming and 2D and 3D Art.
They train us with recently updated and most used soft-
wares like Unity, Unreal Development Kit (UDK) 3DS Max
and Adobe Creative Suit. UDK is wonderful for level design-
ing and setting the environment of the game while Unity
works very well for programming. For easy programming
Construct 2 is one of the best used softwares.
What genre of video games do you think are most appeal-
ing to the youth these days? Do you think that hardcore
gamers play only violent games?
Platformer games with unique concept and good music at-
tracts and lot of gamers. Hardcore gamers, as I mention be-
fore, like games which trigger their senses. Most
challenging games are violent, but I have seen may hard-
core gamers play puzzle games or strategy games which
need a lot of logic and thinking. They even indulge in play-
ing horror games like Amnesia, Slender. In both these
games, there is no killing or bashing up. What they take is
a lot of sharp memory and complex logic. The challenge is
to advance the levels while not getting afraid of the horror
that strikes in the way. I couldn’t continue playing that
game for long and the reason I will leave for you to guess.
Which is your dream company to work with and why?
I would rather go Indie rather than working for any com-
pany. Indie developers mean Individual development com-
panies where 2-10 people come together and establish a
company of their own. It risky but you don’t have to work
under any company nor do you need to follow their boring
rules and schedules. You can develop any game you want.
Big companies develop games for mass audiences, hence
there I not much creativity involved. If your game becomes
successful then you are rich, and ultimately that’s where
everyone wants to get.
How much scope do you think you have to form an Indie
company in India?
Gaming industry is developing rapidly in India. But you
need to have something different. And you should be pre-
pared to invest a lot of time and money. You also need to
have a good team, a good concept, mechanics and a dash-
ing way to present it. It involves the same risks like any
other business.
Tejaswini Jogelkar shares with Mohita Namjoshi what game desgining is all about, where one may learn it
and what one can do after.
Whats the deal with Game Designing?
11 | The Eye
14 | The Eye
15 | The Eye
16 | The Eye
17 | The Eye
18 | The Eye
Interviewing Indian contemporary artists Reena Kallat Ojasvi Mishra
What have been major influences in your life and
art?
There are several artists whose works have impacted
my Art and my sensibilities towards art making at dif-
ferent stages that include Frida Kahlo, Rachel
Whiteread, Jenny Holzer, Mona Hatoum, Christian
Boltanski, while closer home in India the practices of
artists such as Nalini Malani, Vivan Sundaram, Arpita
Singh, interested me and informed my early years.
What achievement in your art career are you .most
proud of?
Although there is a lot to be achieved I’m not some-
one who’s easily satisfied, given the expectations I
have from myself. But to be a catalyst in realizing cer-
tain key works that have taken me a period of time to
develop, such as the series of “Synonyms” made using
rubberstamps, “Walls of the Womb” a series of tie and
dye silks or the sculptural installation titled “Saline”
made in bonded marble amongst others, has been ful-
filling.
Could you please tell the story of how your Synonym
(2007) came about? Why did you create it? How was
it made?
My interest in using rubberstamps as a medium grew
out of its use within official purposes and it’s associa-
tions with bureaucracy. I first started using them in
2003. I think of each name on the rubberstamp as
being representative of an individual amidst hundreds
of faceless people in this vast ocean of humanity. The
sources of reference for the names often provide
meaning or give context to the different bodies of
works made.
In case of the Synonyms I chanced upon the list of
names, out of official police records of those who’ve
gone missing in India, through a friend who was look-
ing for someone missing. The work stands like a screen
holding up portraits formed by several hundred names
of people rendered in scripts of over 14 Indian lan-
guages. From a distance they come together as por-
traits, but up-close they almost seem like a
circuit-board of rubberstamps. These are people who
seem to have slipped out of the radar of human com-
munication, thrown off the social safety net.
Making these works is a slow process but one that
throws up sometimes unexpected and startling re-
sults. I first draw out the silhouette of the portrait on
plywood, then arrange the wooden pieces that com-
prise the rubberstamps. After painting the portrait on
the uneven surface of the rubberstamps, the names
are pasted and inked. These pieces are then trans-
ferred onto the Plexiglas where some additions and
omissions lend the portrait its final character.
19 | The Eye