The Bridge, Day 5, afternoon: "Creative progress" – Presentations & Panel
Creativity that transcends boundaries to give expression to our highest aspirations.
Make of beauty your constant ideal. Beauty of soul, beauty of thought, beauty of feelings, beauty of action, beauty in work. The Mother
Day of art and culture
The first presentation of the afternoon was given Desmond, who worked extensively as a painter in Rajasthan. He talked about the relevance of tradition for art. In his experience, tradition keeps on calling even if its not certain of being heard. Every time it calls and in these calls the word beauty stays embedded. The question is: how one moves from tradition to a contemporary practice? The answer, I believe, is methods and materials. Desmond explained in great detail his research of the processes of color production. Highlighting the importance of connection between the hand, the head and the heart in his continuous artistic research, Desmond shared his most recent works with us.
The second talk was given by Jacques Blanc, a theatre director and dancer, who worked in Africa, with local communities. He is interested in the emergence of new dance in the United States, France and Africa, a style that he defines as new hip-hop and which is growing and becoming international. At the same time he acknowledges the massive migration process that is currently happening in Africa and the challenges of working is such difficult environments in which people would constantly like to leave and imitate the western way of dancing.
Goutam Das, a Professor of fine arts at Santiniketan, in the third presentation, talked about tradition and continuity at his institute of higher education and research. As a ceramist and painter he shares the visual experience of Santiniketan, and its relation to nature. He emphasizes the importance of nature as part of Santiniketans heritage and expands on the relationship between nature and art, as well as life and education.
Finally, Kirti Chandak, from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, talked about the three roles of art: The Aesthetic, The Educational and The Spiritual. According to her, balance between all the parts that make up an individual being or even a culture or civilization is the key to personal happiness and harmonious order. The three roles of art and their establishment are supposed to contribute to that harmony and greatness. From this premise, Kirti elaborates on these aspects and illustrates them with examples from her education, life and artistic practice.
Presentations by visiting researchers:
– Desmond Lazaro: Tradition methods,Contemporary Practice
– Jacques Blanc: Why is there art instead of nothing?
– Goutam Das: Santiniketan – Heritage and Continuity
– Kirti Chandak: The three roles of art: aesthetic, educational, spiritual
Panel discussion on Unending Education with:
Aurelio Hammer – Desmond Lazaro – Goutam Das – Jacques Blanc – Kirti Chandak – Peter – Priya Sundaravalli – Supriya Menon Meneghetti – Facilitated by Marco Feira
00:00:00 – Ann introduction
00:01:05 – Begin of Desmond Lazaros talk
00:30:35 – Introduction of Jacques Blanc
00:31:20 – Jacques Blancs talk
00:57:45 – Introduction of Goutam Das
00:58:10 – Goutam Das talk
01:12:14 – Introduction to Kirti Chandak
01:12:33 – Kirti Chandaks talk
01:33:45 – Introduction to the panel
01:34:20 – Beginning of the panel
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Pdfs:
1) Desmond Lazaros presentation pdf (coming soon)
2) Jacques Blanc presentation pdf}
3) Goutam Das presentation pdf (coming soon)
4) {Kirti Chandaks presentation pdf