Wirey Circus

"My fan mail is enormous. Everyone is under six."                                                        

  Alexander Calder

“Our generation is very smart”. My daughters have told me n number of times whenever I admire their skills and awareness. I do agree with them and the process of evolution of human mind.

But what happens when something goes wrong?

“You know it’s the fault of our genes” comes the reply with lightening speed.

Why are they not ready to credit their genes for their better skills?

A generation gap has to be maintained for the sake of argument.

But I am sure Alexander Sandy Calder must have thanked his grandfather and father for providing him with the genome of a super talented artist. What if he tried to deviate from the family occupation? In fact, his deviation brought another dimension to his artistic skills: application of physics in his abstract kinetic sculptures with moving parts. According to Calder, who was a qualified engineer, to an engineer good enough means perfect. With an artist there is no such thing as perfect.

Mobile, circus, wire, jewelry and physics associated with an artist! Amazing effects! That’s how we can describe Alexander Calder, who changed the course of modern art. Calder tried to bring art in common man’s life by making jewelry with wires. Maybe he had this futuristic idea of high gold price and popularity of funky and chunky jewelry among young generation!

But his real magic was a circus in a suitcase, which was inspired by a real circus. I love the drawings of his circus characters he made before giving them 3d shape with wire, rubber, cork, buttons, bottle caps, wood and other objects he found close by.

Acrobat

Sword swallower

Dancer on stilts

Ring master

These drawings prints are gift from some one very dear to me. Everytime I look at these posters, they bring a smile on my face. As if the acrobat is going to lead all the other characters in performing the task their creator had assigned them in his circus. The two dimensional sketches have a magical effect on everybody who takes a look at them.

Maybe it was a child inside Alexander, which inspired him to make his “Cirque Calder”.

The reluctance to put away childish things may be a requirement of genius- Rebecca Pepper Sinkler.

Alexander Calder a true genius who inculcated art in every part of life, a toy, pot, tapestry, jewelry, painting, installations stabile or a mobile.

Kolorful Kilims

Should craftsmen be considered artists? When cooking or making people laugh or cry can be an art then why is there a distinction between a craftsman and an artist?

Perhaps because they are always considered lesser children of the art world? For me every person is an artist in some way or another and anything, which is, hand made shows human creativity and imagination.

I always consider colorful kilims as beautiful artwork of artists from Afghanistan. I don’t know and do not want to know the detailed quality check and classification of these colorful rugs. For me each one is an art piece in itself.

The rustic look of kilim as compared to carpet has always been an attraction for me. The geometrical designs, which are not up to perfection, like those in carpets, add another dimension to the artistic effect of the creation. 

The colorful designs show the zest for life in deserted hills, snow clad mountains and not so desirable war beaten living conditions. I always wonder which factor motivates these artists/craftsmen to use such vibrant colors? Just a look at their work big or small makes one lively and cheerful and believe more in the possibilities and hopes of life.

And as I end this post, my daughter walks in reading her favorite quote from the Dune, “Hope clouds observation”.

Do Monkeys Have Taste Buds?

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Finally! I have taken a much needed break from my hectic professional life which involved preparing and serving food to corporate clients while using application of science behind the age old practice of kitchen craft. My years of higher education in science were finally of some use. The chemical reactions came rushing back to my brain as I struggled to get the perfect combination of the ingredients in my pantry. Chemistry was able to explain simple theories involved in making food but the bigger question is, did my clients have even the slightest idea of the science involved? Or were they only interested in the tastes?

Despite numerous efforts, my mind refuses to change its old habit of unearthening the science behind any and everything, even the most mundane activities. It might seem like a funny topic to start a blog with, but the left lobe of my brain is pressing hard on this question.

Do monkeys have taste buds? Is that too weird of a question? I am curious to know. And I’ll tell you why. Yesterday, my balcony was hijacked by a big fat monkey who ate away all my green, raw organic tomatoes and eggplants that I had grown with great effort and a very expensive gardener, in my little terrace kitchen garden. I don’t know whether this vicious creature liked those juicy vegetables or not, but it sure wasted them all. And now I’m worried that if that fat monkey liked the taste of tomatoes, it will be back for more. Thank god I grow ginger in the adjoining pots!!! Or should I say, thank science!

Now what is the relation between monkeys and ginger’s pungent taste? And do monkeys know this relation and behave accordingly? That is again a question to ponder on.