Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I am Back .. I hope :)

Its been a pretty long time since I posted ,it makes me really guilty.. cause I have a feeling that small as my readership might be they are very important to me for they give me importance by just coming down here to read what I have to say , paint , read , write :).
I have read some really interesting books in the past 2 months - being -
  1. The Good Thief - HannahTinti
  2. Water
  3. Luka and the fire- Salman Rushdie
  4. Anne Frank - Diary of a young girl
  5. Reading - Man and his symbols by Dr.Carl G. Jung
All are good books . While two of them are pretty popular , 2 others are masterpieces and well 1 of them - i just have to find out more about it .
I hope to post their book reviews soon .
But right now i would like to post a painting i just made . The temples of Vrindavan and Mathura inspired me to make it , but there is a  lot more to it than the inspiration for work on it has been on for about 4 months , I mean I didnt  paint it continuosly for 4 months , what I mean is that it has been done in parts , depending on my moods , tell me about it , what you feel , your interpretation .. everything . I love to hear from you lot . .:)


9 comments:

Spectator said...

Yeah we do hope you are back.
I was wondering the other day that there has not been any new post from that guy who used to review books and paint.
And well im no connosieur at art, but these women seem to be waiting for something in their lives even as their life is flowing like the river beside which they sit.

Karan Leo Vohra said...

That was a beautiful interpretation .. I am glad someone wants me to continue :)))..
But I guess there are a lot of elements in the painting you havent considered yet.. I have a feeling that u are a student too .. so i can understand u dont have the time .. but if u do .. try reconsidering , :))) >. and ya!! open the painting in another window.. its kinda obstructed in the main site.. :)

Incognita said...

I could write a whole book on this painting. I need to spend time just having it on the screen even as I do other things. Just allow it to speak to my subconscious.

Karan Leo Vohra said...

I would love to hear what you have to say .And maybe let you publish that book if I have a share in the royalties ;P .
On a serious note , there is a lot to it , and even i havent given my strokes as much thought as I should have . I would love to hear your interpretations :)

Kim said...

This is a marvelous painting, full of symbolic meaning! I can see how Jung's book Man and His Symbols could be a great resource for you. The water trickling down the steps and the flowing river at these women's feet point to the power of the unconscious, which they seem to be tapping; and there are many things of symbolic value around them. Thanks for sharing this!

Incognita said...

Ok here is my initial response to the painting.

The first thing I notice are feet. Feet pointing towards the water and not quite touching it. I catch their reflection on the wet, paved stone embankment. The river runs indoors and is almost like an underground stream evoking a well. I’ll use two Hindu symbols to describe it – “tirtha” and “kunda.”
These are four women of different sizes and shapes – different stages of communication with the divine or maybe different stages of self awareness?
I see representations of four portals like temple archways drawn on four panes behind the women. A closed window leading to a vast field maybe? A window that can be opened by each of them through a different portal? Each of those motifs suggest a unique password for each of the women to access this space. The windows panes ironically, look opaque
Are they seated on a stone bench? The solid bench is tilted, seemingly weighed down by the weakest woman at the left. The largest woman on the extreme right seems the most privileged while the one in green is the stronger one, more ready to take a risk. They have their feet on a common platform like a large stepping stone from a solid zone into a fluid one. The woman in green who looks most urban and sophisticated is testing the water with her feet. Will she take the risk and step in? The second woman from the left is looking away from the river and the most closed and passive one on the extreme left seems withdrawn into herself.
What do these women have in common? Are they connected in someway or just fellow travellers. They have interesting Grecian noses. Any particular woman inspiring this painting for you?
The woman in green sits like I do, kind of twisted up and hanging on to her bag. She too is not looking directly at the river but is connecting through her feet.
There are reflections everywhere – not in bright, clear mirrors but thrown up unexpectedly by deep-tinted glassy-wet surfaces. The apparently solid but perhaps crumbling walls seem to melt down into the stream..
The steps on the left tell their own stories. I will come to them. I’m sure even this is more than you wanted to hear.

Karan Leo Vohra said...

wow!..
ok I really want all your interpretations and so I am gonna give you a brief insight into my inspiration .
The place was Vrindavan/Mathura
and the woman are My mother , Grandmother( maternal) , and two sisters ( cousins ) . Their nature's are pretty similar to what you said.
Also I believe in the unison of religions and consider symbols to be a way with which we try to speak with God , rather than the other way round ( as most extremists think )

Incognita said...

Very interesting about the four women. I wonder what Kim will have to say on their symbolic identities in terms of the Jungian archetypes.
They all look of similar age, or rather ageless and timeless, so you have to tell me which is which.

And I have to talk about the steps. I'm not sure from where these steps come and whether that is in fact water flowing down or a stream of light. It reminded me again of Shiva - and Vrindavan is a Vaishnava Sthala - and I thought to myself of Ganga descending via Shiva's locks while this was the Yamuna flowing below. A sangam of holy water?

Incognita said...

The sapphire steps, looking as if they will melt into the eternal waters, are what attracted me most.