Saturday, January 03, 2009

Art and I

So here I was, a couch potato half asleep watching TV on a Saturday morning. I zeroed in on HBO and started seeing a documentary Art-ish film 'My Kid Could Paint That' primarily since no other channels had any meaningful movies going on. The initial part of the film was about a 4 year old girl 'artist' whose paintings won much acclaim and sold for large sums of money. About the later part.. I didnt know anything about.Why so ? Read on...

The first few parts consisted of interviews of Marla's (the child artist) parents and other people closely associated with her. The really good part was the footage of Marla painting. The scene was very natural and sort of pure: a little girl sitting on a sheet of canvas, taking out colors of various hues in oodles from toothpaste-like tubes and spreading it on, using her paint brush, hands, feet and what not to make cute patterns on the paper. The documentary nature and background chat with her parents made you feel like you're sitting there in Marla's living room, watching her and her kid brother play with colors. I felt just like a child, I could almost smell the paint on my own hands, and I felt a little jealous: grown ups really suck at having fun..

So I decided to be proactive. I decided to paint. What the hell, if a 4 year old can do it so can I.. I stopped the movie in the middle, went to the nearest stationary shop and brought some white chart-paper and Oil Paints, and sat down for some serious arting. And by mid-afternoon I had 3 masterpieces ready !!



This one is pretty amateurish I agree.... Depending on your mood you may think of it as
1) green and blue grass on an alien planet
2) a group of teenage snakes at the disco
3) how Bangalore buildings would look like in 5 years time
4) a traffic jam nightmares are made of...
Any other suggestions?



This one may appear ugly to the untrained eye. But don't be fooled, as you are well aware all art especially modern art needs a fine asthetic sense to be appreciated. Only a trained eye (like mine, probably the only one) can percieve the fine melange of colors, the sensuous brushstrokes and abrupt and dramatic use of fingers in the art form to evoke a sense of helplessness as one tries to grapple with the inherent meaninglessness of the picture. Some of you people may even be sorely tempted to tear your hair out in frustration. Therein lies the difference. You think I created the sense of meaninglessness by mistake. I know I created it on purpose. A true abstract artist am I eh?



Aaaaand finally the Picasso! The jewel in the crown !! I present to you ..this! Well dont ask me what it is-I dont know myself , but it sure is hot property. I am willing to part with it though, for any sum above Rs 500..

By the way, see 'My Kid Could Paint That' if possible. And let me know how the second part goes.





9 comments:

  1. Like the impulsiveness that you could channel into masterpieces !

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  2. :D Awesome! I like the first one best, just in case u wonder :)

    only u could come up with this stuff :)

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  3. @Vinay,
    Thanks ;) yes yes the masterpieces were indeed an impulse response...

    @Rach,
    Really, you give me too much credit!
    If you still really do want to give me credit,
    you can write out a cheque of Rs 500 and have the painting all for yourself!

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  4. dude ... whats wrong with you man ... painting and all .. anyway, the first one is really good ... third one sucks badly ... i am still thinking about the second ...

    PS: Pardon me for being brutally frank ...

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  5. @Punith
    Hmm... Interesting, the third one took the most time! So how much for the first one man.. give your bid..

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  6. I dunno .. maybe its worth a ticket to a Himesh Reshammiya concert ... :) Get it ???

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  7. Lol.. Go Nikhil! Thank God its only four year olds that inspire you. I cannot imagine what could have happened to you after watching one half of Steve Irwin's show! :P

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  8. What a "stroke" of inspiration that!
    The teenage snakes are the most enchanting...
    could also pass for the Taj next to ITPL, after a terror attack :P

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  9. @Ranju
    Yes, I think i'll stay clear of Steve irwin and the like...

    @CD
    Yes the Taj next to ITPL is a good one too..

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