Tag: Art
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Coincidence
Coincidence Two swimmers in Wellington Harbour. One in the water, the other on the wall of a gallery at the harbour front. One doing breaststroke, the other backstroke. Both rather clumsily. I remember when seeing the second swimmer I thought of the first whose picture I just had taken outside. It made me decide to…
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Dissected and compounded
Dissected and compounded A breast, a breast with arm, a head, a neck, black hairdo … the figure of a woman put together of its constituent parts. The artist has done a decent job, at least for the portion we see in the picture, which was the part of the sculpture most to my liking when I…
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Dryads
Dryads Are they wounded, these stately wood nymphs with their heavy breasts? The red-lined cuts over the full length of their bodies lead one to suspect this is the case. Maybe the god of thunder and lightning has violated them and left his marks. Many years ago, during a walk on the island of Corsica,…
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Encounter in the forest
Encounter in the forest Two weeks ago I showed you a photo of nature as art. Here we have a case of art in nature. Art and nature … they often go well together. Two ladies in the forest, facing each other. Their upright, elegant figures in wood with metal dress stand still like the trees.…
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Ruminating art
Ruminating art After having been exposed to a multitude of diverse works of modern art, as I was during my visit to the 2016 Kochi-Muziris Biennale, you need time to digest. Art makes you think. I have said that the beauty of a work of art may not be all-important for its appreciation and for…
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Ka’aba Love
Ka’aba Love Why do I consider Dana Awartani’s contribution one of the high points of the 2016 Kochi-Muziris Biennale? 1. I find it a beautiful work. It is hanging beautifully in space and dependent on the position of the viewer it reveals its different qualities. Being beautiful may not be a decisive criterion, but as…
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Cow dung art
Cow dung art At the 2016 Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Slovenian artist Aleš Šteger has built a pyramid covered with cow dung cakes. Going through the labyrinthine passageway inside, one hears a cacophony of soft voices reciting verses in the original language of the poets who have written them. They all speak of exile. Šteger has made…
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Coir in Pepper House
In the courtyard of Pepper House, one of the venues of the 2016 Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Indian artist Praneet Soi had put up a number of sculptures made of coir on wooden supports. Soi had chosen to work with coir especially for the Biennale since this material has been and still is so important for the…
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Fort Kochi
Fort Kochi And when you have got enough for a moment of the art in Aspinwall, you open the windows and doors and look outside. Aspinwall is the name of the old 19th century trading company whose compound with deserted office buildings and warehouses in Fort Kochi is the main venue of the Kochi-Muziris Art…
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Paper Bathroom
Paper Bathroom Bathroom Set (2016) is an art work by Dia Metha Bhupal that was shown at the recent Kochi-Muziris Biennale. It is life-size, and the urinals, toilet, wash basins, floor, walls, ceiling, everything is made of rolled and glued scraps of paper. Thousands and thousands of little paper rolls. They say it took her…
