Free Expression in the world of Art

Introduction

‘The power of the pen is greater than that of the sword’ a common expression to illustrate how writing can be used as a weapon for inspiring people,  to communicate and engage with them and eventually win them over. Philosophers like Bertrand Russell wrote on ‘Power’ and biographers portray the lives of leaders and friends in books so that their lives will remain in words forever. We would not have heard about the humanitarian  Albert Schweitzer if not for biographers and historians. ‘All men are brothers’ spells out the humanism in him and the sacrifices he and his wife made beyond colour and creed..

Art has always been a means to express oneself. Political leaders like Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler were known to paint art pieces apart from being politicians. They were orators and also keen writers. When I was 'googling' for Ten Great Artists of the world, Western painters like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo appeared. A common theme in all these painters is the impact Christianity had on their works.

Caravaggio (1571-1610) used the candle or light in his paintings often closely adhering to realism. Even details of ‘dirty feet’ were  included.  The inclusion of male figures (Calling of Mathew) is an illustration of religiosity that appealed to the people then. But each artist had his style. Caravaggio’s works were said to be ‘quirky’ with his subjects being ‘androgynous and erotic’.

Titian (1480s) often showed his strength in his paintings with  strong colour. One great work of his ‘Venus of Urbino’ coveys ‘delight in erotic pleasure, often deriving his inspiration from mythological characters. There often appears an intertwining of myths, religion and illusion in many paintings of that period.

Ruben (1577-1640) dramatised the events using figures which were complex and caught between ‘heaven and earth’. ‘The Descent from the Cross’ clearly draws his imagination from religious teachings.

Sketching is a form of art and I have often tried to keep boredom away by sketching. At times there is no firm plan in such activities and it all depends on the moment, hence , any space on the pages (hard copies) of the minutes of meetings are not spared. Sketch on them, was my philosphy. Many call this ‘doodling’.

Is it Art of Doodling?

The following sketches have no themes, but are just free drawing on whatever came  to my mind. People seated next to me  were often the inspiration to practice drawing profiles. I wanted the face profiles to be facing left (as most times I found it easier to keep the faces the right!). There you have (left ), all the profiles facing left!

Kept the left hand hidden

Profiling to the Left

As you keep going on this hobby . At  other  times, many  thoughts come to my mind and all the elements that I did not know about the great painters appear to become operational. There is a great deal of dynamism in the process. For instance,  I always felt it was very difficult to place more than two figures together as I could not get the proportions correct. Should I try and get over that, hence the following was drawn (at home, drawn from  some newspaper articles).

Well, then I thought that it is worth including some thoughts people express in the illustrations (Idea from Mera Pind), ‘can we have culture ,when things go away, we can create a little space for ideals and ideas!.

After that came a series of fervent attempts to do some profiling and including words of ‘wisdom’ lest they be lost forever appeared .

Recalling History

I was not sure if the three illustrations above are recognizable as our forefathers of Malaysia. A young colleague working in the computer division in my university could recognise them as our former Prime Ministers but she could not name them (the generation gap). Tengku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Hussein Onn did not evoke that much controversy (at least that I can remember) as I was growing up. But I can now see how geopolitical changes have rapidly enveloped us in more negativism than positives. All three PMs had to contend with communism as a threat and the community leaders were relevant in putting this country together to live harmoniously although there were firebrands in the Parliament then in people like Tan Chee Koon, the Seenevasagam brothers (from Ipoh), Lee Kuan Yew (when Singapore was part of Malaysia).

Well Known Artists and Pretenders

Picasso (1881-1973) was said to have produced some of the best works when he was younger but his style, when he started to promote CUBISM gave meaning to new perspectives in art. When he drew ‘Guernice” there was distortion and torture with decomposition and lack of form in humans and animals. I thought this was an exercise in non-conformism. It releases the artist from insisting on realism and character, perhaps it is an illustration of boredom or arrogance in art.

I was scanning a Sunday magazine two years ago in Edinburgh when a thought came to me that I should try to draw some of the illustrations in that magazine. But I had forgotten to bring along my paper and pencil. I expressed my frustration to my daughter who did not tell me she had slipped out to the nearby shops to get just those paraphernalia (at a cost of 7 sterling pounds!).

Not to disappoint her I sat down to try to draw the following but Picasso’s original were too painstaking to detail that I added my own to complete the task.

Vincent von Gorg (1881-1890) was a Dutch painter who led a depressed life not being able to sell his paintings as they did not fall in line with the themes of that era. His brother was his agent. His religious background and his own personality contributed to his lack of purpose in his life. He drifted from place to place drawing on his inspirations from the common folks and life in the village. Many of his drawings and paintings were dull and depressing until he experimented with brightness and colour though they had a naivety in them. As I was glancing through a book of his paintings I thought I could sketch to determine if an onlooker could recognise them without knowing they were drawn from von Gorg’s work.

I found it difficult to put his paintings (in colour) on paper using a pencil. The fields in front and the dull overcast and depressed winter do not come out well.

This illustration of ‘another depression’ of von Gorg was an attempt to try to get the proportions correct. I often had a problem drawing the hands and the feet and hence I have pushed myself at various attempts to get this aspect correct, most times, it fails, as is shown below.

Get at the difficult task

The teenager hugher up  had both her hands out but it became too frustrating to get the fingers of her left hand, so I conveniently parked it behind her!

As I tried to launch myself to more sketches, I also thought some words would add to the meaning of the sketch, hence started to pen some of my thoughts in the process.

‘The feet were not getting out of me’, I thought, and hence sat down to draw just that, without losing myself in the rest of the body and environment. Keeping the tress empty was most apt as it cut down my duration to complete the picture and by making the tree ‘shed its leaves’!

Von Gorg is said to evoke emotional and intellectual resonance, but the poor artist would not have committed suicide if due recognition was given early in his life  and he had the drugs and treatment we have today. While the 1400s drew their inspiration from Christian theology many of the Asian artists played to the political events of the day, the success work of others who appealed to collectors and impression lists.

Conclusion

Art in the form of paintings, sculptures and handiwork will be part of the human culture. They evoke meaning to life and have been affected by moments of the day. It was not easy for Claude Monet to get his ‘Impressionist School’ in Givery as heintroduced realism in art. It looks so simple; give life to the flowers and the house and the village by way of painting. Art appears to be an experiment on paperand canvas , based on the working of the mind. Some may be symbolic while others have hidden expressions that need Freudian analysis. Just try reading my mind when I drew the following!

Sivalingam

2 Feb 2012

 

Resolutions for the NEW YEAR

New Year Resolutions repeatedly appear before the  close of the year and continue to be published year in year out in media. I tend to be envious of the opportunities granted to the few invited columnists who tend to share their thoughts with readers. Many now see these comments has parochial, redundant and with little effect on the lives of many. Two articles appear in the NST ( Jan 14, 2012) and are  worthy of comment.

Haris Hussein eloquently traces his thoughts back to his youth and resents making resolutions as they get broken within ‘15 seconds of being made’. Emma Reynolds, yet another columnist extends the period of breaking their New Year resolutions ‘nine days after they are made’. She goes on to explain that many resolutions are often for the betterment of physical and emotional well being.

Just as we want to be better persons and live in peace resolutions are reflective in nature and makes one realize the need to review, repent and pave the way to better living. But is it appropriate to make resolutions based on one  calendar year? Perhaps we need to look long term as behavioral changes do not occur overnight!

Even if one believes that resolutions are integral to life, it appears  futile that in our  earnest desire to set new goals to improve ourselves and the lives of others, we don’t sustain them, as commented by both the above columnists. It is then fundmanetal that we set should goals for life rather than for each calendar year. There needs to be a purpose in life and setting goals paves the path to a direction.

Some of us resort to mentors, gurus and teachers who would facilitate achieving the goals we set. Motivational speakers are  aplenty and continue to attract huge audiences wanting to listen to their clouded comments and pragmatic solutions using analogies that appeal to logic. They captivate many. However, how much they impact on the lives varies a great deal. When the discourse invites a fee, often I fail to see the honest intention!

Exposure to the media permits us a window to the world. Newspapers tend to sensationalise the plight of a few and report events that often relate to catastrophes and bad intentions of humans. The message is clear that many humans are in need of food, money, education and medications. Transport and poor infrastructure and illiteracy are the cause of lack of access for healthcare and education.  Lack of political committment and abuse of power by leaders for personal gain contributes to the plight of the world’s citizens. The few NGOs and well wishers continue to uphold that principle of sharing and wanting to give to those in plight.

Many want to give but can’t or don’t know how to. ‘Teach them how to fish, don’t give them fish’ a common saying that promotes the idea of facilitating the under privileged to learn new methods to fend for themselves is such a noble notion. Could we organise a voluntary group to salvage the old bicycles and furniture that many discard , to be repaired and refurbished, to be sent to those in need. Several projects of this nature have contributed to the improvement of many who find transport and access to schools near to be impossible.

Deepak Chopra, a well known inspirational and motivational speaker and author of numerous books on similar topics prides in his interpretation of life and organization of the world through his views, which I think has a strong basis on the philosophy of life derived from ancient India. He speaks with little uncertainty  that the world economic crisis is due to cronyism, corruption and power mongering of the ‘bankster’, gangsters in the financial industry. A subject well articulated in the NST (Jan 14, 2012) entitled “The Soul of Consciousness’’ explores Deepak’s deep thoughts on a variety of topics relevant to the social and economic climate today. He says that it is not acceptable that 50% of the population live on less than $1/= US a day and 20%, on less than $2/= a day. There is a Jain saying that there is ‘there should be  doubt in any certainties’.

Those who mean well are not comfortable with the leaders of the world who bleed their citizens under the pretext of governing. Henry D Thoreau, the moral philosopher, said that ‘the government is best that which governs least!’ Will this argument find responsive ears? He first promoted the term ‘civil disobedience’ which became the hallmark of the black movement of US under Martin Luther King who drew meaning from a freedom fighter, Gandhi. Mahatma (the Great SOUL) Gandhi  fought for independence in India largely based on non-violence and civil disobedience. He writesthat his earliest period of his life was one of ‘storm and stress’ just like what many adolescents go through, as he was experimenting with life. When he was studying at the Inns in London he was a ‘volatary of violence’ and often repeats for  the need to practice the ‘silence of a monastery’ when there is a clash between violence and forgiveness, seeking out the latter most times. Even when one does not agree with another Gandhi professed that one should focus the anger on the ‘arrogance rather than the person’.

The world has reached the ultimate and the balance is tipping to further erosion of values and destruction of the environment.  Deepak Chopra calls for collective conversation to meet the economic disparities and gross social injustice, call off terrorism and stop the devastative acts that is destroying the eco-system.

He is averse to positive thinking, a term that often appears to melt down argument. The world class tennis player, Nadal, recently commented that being the ‘nice kid in the block’ is not the way to make change as he laments about the punishing tennis playing circuit that would lead to early self destruction because of ‘self injury’. We have to speak out; he says and cannot keep quiet when we can’t cope!

Deepak Chopra feels talking positive in the midst of all circumstances stifles creative thinking. His comments that positive thinking are worthy of repetition. Quoting J. Krishnamurthy, he says that the highest form of intelligence is the ability to observe  without judging yourself. When you are a silent witness to your own thoughts, emotions and feelings, your own behaviour and your own speech, there is a subtle but definite transformation that leads to higher consciousness. Instead of having a positive mind, how about having a quiet mind?’

The last statement clearly points to the teachings of the Bhagavad-Gita and the guidance given by the many gurus, the need to move one stratum higher in self realization. The governing principles of achieving peace and wellness now appear to transcend to personal transformation and impacting this goodness to the environment. So are the annual resolutions necessary?

Sivalingam

15^th Jan 2012