|
Optical
Collusion
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| Victor
Vasarely: Image Blazer in his own right. |
The
artist:
He may not be as well known as Picasso (or as pricey) but he's an image
blazer in his own right. Victor Vasarely (1908-1997), the greatest crusader
of the mid-20th century Op (or Optical) Art movement, was born in Hungary
and, of all things was studying medicine, before art got the better of
him. He moved permanently to Paris in 1930.
The
show: At Delhi's Aifacs Gallery and organised by the Hungarian
Cultural Centre and Alliance Francaise.
The
collector: Hungarian Tibor Csepei, who has made it his mission
to popularise Vasarely's work around the globe (Vasarely himself proclaimed
Csepei as his exclusive outstation emissary). He's collected about 800
of his works and is right now on a capital cantering trip (coming from
Tehran and going to Bangkok) with a part of his collection.
Worth
of the entire collection: About $6 million.
The
works: Don't be surprised to see bubbles burgeon like blisters
on the canvas or zebras jumbled together in a striped orgy of b/w. Vasarely's
works attempt to create optical illusions, manipulating geometric form
and contrasting colour.
Where
Vasarely found some of the biggest fans: In the Arab world, where
Csepei has been showing for the past 21 years.
Where
the collection hasn't yet been exhibited: In Australia ... and
(the catalogue says) Antarctica.
The
upshot: A rare treat because international shows are few.
-Anshul
Avijit
Point
Of Return
 |
| Crossroads,
Mumbai's fanciest shopping mall |
Last week,
after considerable soul searching, Crossroads, Mumbai's fanciest shopping
mall, decided to introduce a brazenly draconian policy: a notice at the
entrance politely informed visitors that only those with a mobile phone
or credit card would be allowed in. Others would have to shell out Rs
60 per head as admission fee.
Predictably,
the move was greeted with indignant squawks of public outrage. "But
frankly, we did not have a choice," says Crossroads Managing Director
Jaydev Mody. "Practically inundated by 10,000 visitors every weekend,
the mall's infrastructure was being over stretched." The idea, says
the management, is to discourage the "timepass types", and provide
"serious shoppers" with some "elbow room" while carrying
on the serious business of uh, shopping. Of course, with little thought
for those being elbowed out.
-Farah
Baria
Cause
for Concern
It
was an art integration show called Samhita put up by Chennai's Ability
Foundation to drum up funds for the disabled at the Taj Coromandel, mixing
some of the best disabled and non-disabled artists from across India.
Thota Tharani swiftly painted a Ganesha during the half-hour violin recital
by Ganesh-Kumaresh while Lucknow artist Sheela Point, who lost both her
arms to an accident, matched up by doing a landscape with her toe. But
the auction that followed went bust as the remaining guests were not in
a charitable mood. Jatin Das, whose Rs 75,000 works had no takers, rued,
"There is no true love for art these days." Who said noble causes
always get a rousing response?
-Methil
Renuka
|
Is
the market right in backing cartelisation by cement companies, asks India
Today Associate Editor V. Shankar Aiyar in Au ContrAiyar 
