THE PAINTINGS OF M.F.HUSAIN

The exhibition Indian Modern: The Paintings of M. F. Husain has been in view at the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago since July 2017; and it will continue till March 2017. This is the first time these last works of Husain have been on view in the United States.

The exhibition presents eight large triptychs from the Indian's Civilization series, created by Husain. The work was commissioned in 2008 to celebrate the diverse and rich history of India. Husain intended to created 32 triptychs, but he only completed eight at the time of his death in 2011.

 The exhibit's catalogue informs us that M.F.Husain "was Indian's most important 20th century artist as well as an important figure in the development of modern Indian art".

He was caught between being faithful to traditional Indian art and moving into modern art. The use of strong, vibrant, and bold colors are a sign of modernism, and for that he was criticized.

The exhibit it worth to view. It will at the Museum till March 8th, 2018.

CAPTURING THE DEPRESSION ERA IN BLACK & WHITE

Transportation for Hepcats. 1940

Two of Unemployed Migrant Pickers' Children...1940

Look at this photos! This is the work of Marion Post Wolcott (1910-1990). She was a NorthAmerican photographer who worked for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression. She documented the poverty and deprivation people experienced during those days.

I guess to look at these photos help me to focus on the potential of human existence and the potential to overcome adversity.

In the current toxic and unprecedented social and political environment we live in, it is important to remember how resilient our human spirit is and how strong we, as a whole are, to bring positive change in the face of adversity.

Question to you: what keeps you going these days?....

Star Collision

I read this morning on CNN that two neutron stars "in a nearby galaxy have been observed engaging in a spiral death dance..." According to the video this is an "unprecedented discovery" that will take us into a "new era of astronomy" (http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/16/world/neutron-star-collision-gravitational-waves-light/index.html)

I don't know if I really grasp the idea of a "new era" in the astronomy field, but reading about it and seeing the image of these two stars' collision brought to mind a mandala drawing I made back in the early 90s, that I titled:
"Strong Energies Coming Together"

The similarities between the star collision and my mandala are in that, both are expression of intense, strong energies forming a mandala shape.

We have seen this circular shape (mandala) in art and religion since ancient times to the present. Mandala has been a symbol of wholeness, integration of energies, and meditation.
In Sanskrit, mandala means circle and center. Traditionally, the circle has been a symbol of the cosmos.

So, when reading about this collision of the stars, I do think of two strong energies becoming integrated into one and in doing so, it seems they create a new cosmos.

Isn't that what happens in our own process of growth, development, and self-knowledge?...

Indigenous Peoples' Day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=42&v=ETOhNzBsiKA