URA Bench Art Competition

All first year foundation students were introduced to a competition organised by the urban redevelopment association where in NAFA students had to submit two designs each for benches outside a art gallery in Bugis. The top ten designs would be selected and the winners would have to paint their respective designs on the benches in that area.

At first I did not give much importance to the competition but after seeing everyone take the competition lightly our lecturer made us realize the importance of this competition. This gave me a push to put in more effort for the competition. The theme of the design was ‘ bold and beautiful’.

A few days after submitting our designs the winners were announced and I wasn’t one of them. It did not really disappoint me because I hadn’t expected my design to get selected at all.

Later that day I got a call from my lecturer saying he would like to meet me immediately. I wondered what it was about. I went to him and saw he was with nine other students and their bench art designs. At that point I had a hundered questions running in my mind. He then broke the news to me. He said my design has been shortlisted and my design was in the top ten as well. I was trilled to hear it and at the same time not able to digest it.

This was the first time I had ever won a competition on this scale. This competition taught me a lot of lessons. It taught me to always give in your best for everything you do, big or small and ever underestimate yourself.

Winning this competition gave a lot of confidence.

The whole experience was a really great one especially because of what it taught me.

Seeing faces in things around us !

'Pareidolia was once thought of as a symptom of psychosis, but is now recognized as a normal, human tendency. Carl Sagan theorized that hyper facial perception stems from an evolutionary need to recognize -- often quickly -- faces. He wrote in his 1995 book, The Demon-Haunted World, "As soon as the infant can see, it recognizes faces, and we now know that this skill is hardwired in our brains. Those infants who a million years ago were unable to recognize a face smiled back less, were less likely to win the hearts of their parents, and less likely to prosper." ’

In our daily lives we just happen to see faces in things around us  unintentionally. I too have come across many such instances and not only do we see a face but also an expression or emotion on that face.

Fig.1 - shows a smiley face.

Fig.2 - shows a grumpy face

Fig.3 - shows a nervous or scared face

 Fig.4 - shows a upset face

Fig. 5 - shows a surprised face

Acting as a form of art....

The profession of acting has often been criticized. What many people fail to see is that acting in any form is a discipline, which requires dedication, focus and passion. Acting is a specialized type of performing arts, and it generally requires a great amount of skill. It takes formal training to get the most out the talent stored in the actors. 

Acting is influenced by a person’s culture, values and outlook on the world around him. The study of theatre offers many intellectual challenges. It is so much more than simply memorizing lines, putting on a costume, and then stepping into a scene. Perhaps one of the most thought of questions that goes through ones head in a lifetime may be what drives a person to become an actor. Well, it could be imagination, a love, or just desire to stand out. When one desires to stand out they usually want to be in the light, and the stage is a great place to start. Becoming a character is tough, except for those with excellent imaginations. Once in a theatre, imaginers, if you will, are character in actors shoes, instead of actors in characters shoes. They have high concentration that is not easy to break.

In fact, most usually become their character a week or so before a play. Acting is full of creativity and the desire to break boundaries. The constant innovation and thought process that goes behind coming up with something new all the time astonishes me. Acting is not only about the glamor world. It is about real emotions, feelings and a genuine desire to change the world in whatever possible way it can.

Art and Ethics

Art is a form of expression that plays an important role in the way we interpret our world. The question that arises here is whether artists have an ethical responsibility? ‘The Glore Psychiatric Museum, contains an art gallery with patient art ranging from full-size replicas of some of the most horrific psychiatric practices to a mosaic constructed from the stomach contents of a woman suffering from compulsive swallowing.’ 

Some people might say displaying such explicit form art can affect people on emotional as well as psychological levels. But I don’t think it is important for the artist to see whether a particular method of creating art is ethical or not as that sets limitations and boundaries to the expression that is being portrayed by the artist. This form of art was implemented to benefit the inmates of the asylum, and thus I strongly believe that such an exercise cannot be considered totally unmoral. People say this activity loses its purpose in entirely, as the artwork might just put the inmates through a series of emotions ranging from trivial mental disturbance to extreme torture.

I believe art cannot be judged on its ability to please or shock. 

Art is the reflection of an artist’s mind and therefore cannot be termed as right or wrong. It is an expression or application of human skills and imagination, which is usually in a visual form and creates works which are mainly meant to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power and not be to judged. Therefore I believe that although artist must not be judged on their artwork.

Dance- not just a performing art

‘Lets change the world one dance at a time’. Dance is not just another performing art; it is a mode of communication interspersed with emotions, culture, individuality and passion. Dance is an interaction between the audience and the performer, forming a bond so strong that it touches the heart. Dance is not just another form of exercise; it is a language that is universal. Dance brings every individual of this world together, breaking the barriers set by society. Dance can change the world. Each dance is a form of expression. It tells a story through various motions and gestures. Dance allows one to lose themselves and also find themselves at the same time. It is nothing less than an art of living. 

Although I am not a professional dancer, I enjoy dancing. The feeling of letting go is soulful. Words are not always important to convey a message and dance does just that. Dance is an ever-evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance.
The sound of music sets your feet into a motion irrespective of you being a dancer or no. That is the power of dance. It makes each individual the power to break free from the judgments of the world they live in. “It is true that one has to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.”

Culinary ART

Since art has no limitations or boundaries it can be implemented in everything around us or everything we do. Even dance , acting, singing cooking etc is a art and involves art. Iam a big foodie and I happened to come across something known as culinary art.

Culinary means food and culinary art is the art of preparing or presenting food and the people who do it are called chefs or culinary artists. Culinary art is not only about the food pleasing the eye but also please the palate. Food culinary involves colors, textures, placing when it comes to presentation and food science, nutrition diet as part of presentation.

Cooking would seem really monotonous but culinary art makes it interesting. While following a recipe or a cookbook not much variation can be brought but with culinary art each individual can bring their own kind or variation to it with a lot of possibilities.

Now a days culinary arts has become a specialized course apart from becoming a chef. People are hired for their skill in culinary art in restaurants and hotels. For an artist a canvas does not only have to be sheet of paper. Just like a stage is the canvas for a dancer, singer, actor, a plate of food is the canvas for a culinary artist.