Jyotsna Bhatt: High priestess of fire and clay passes away

by | Jul 13, 2020 | Uncategorized

via THE HINDU:

“Simplicity and vividness were the best attributes to describe her art and ceramics. Simplicity, for her, meant silent sophistication. Nature was her leitmotif. She framed forms through her own understanding of nature and human experience.

A ceramic cat or owl was more than just an artwork for her. She glazed her ceramics in such an inimitable way, giving them evocative rugged and rough surfaces.

Jyotsna behen, as she was popularly called, considered Ira Chaudhri as the Guru of the Indian ceramic movement. In India where a lot of ceramic work has echoes of borrowing/imitation, Jyotsna behen’s intrinsic understanding of the relationship between form and the ferment became her signature.

Her sculpted entities around nature, the spontaneity of clay and the marvels of expression speaking through her plant forms, owls and smiling cats.

Born Jyotsna Shroff in 1940 at Mandvi in Kutch, she lost her father early but her uncle saw her aptitude in fine arts and encouraged her to pursue it.

Her journey at the wheel began in the 1960s in Vadodara. A high priestess of the world of minerals and fire and clay, she looked around her garden at Vadodara for stimulus and inspiration.

Married to celebrated artist and Padma Shri, Jyoti Bhatt, she always maintained that her husband was very supportive and her family played an important part in her achievements.

She studied sculpture under Prof. Sankho Chaudhuri at the famed M.S. University at Baroda and later ceramics at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in the U.S. Returning to India she taught at, and later headed the Department of Ceramics at her alma mater until her retirement in 2002.

Her sensitivity and her distinct sensibility was born of a deep understanding of the arts and crafts heritage of Gujarat. Her journey saw the genesis of a silent yet robust modernist potter, who was at home in the contemporary world and comfortable in her own skin, sharing secrets as she went along.”

Read the full article on her life and work HERE.

movie day: Jaipur | Indian Ceramics Triennale | Jawahar Kala Kendra | Auroville |OutreachMedia

by | Dec 12, 2018 | Uncategorized

These days, the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK), Jaipur, has become a laboratory of sorts for ceramic artists. A ten-feet-long mud house to be built and fired on-site, a collaborative project involving sound, a performance-based work, objects embedded with QR codes–these are just some of the contemporary works that will nudge you into engaging with ceramics differently. As the JKK in collaboration with the Contemporary Clay Foundation gets set to present the first ever Indian Ceramics Triennale—Breaking Ground—featuring 35 Indian and 12 international artist projects, 10 collaborations, 12 speakers, a symposium, film screenings and workshops, one wonders if this event signifies a major shift in the field—one which allows ceramics to be appreciated as an art form in its own right, as opposed to being viewed solely as an artisanal craft.

indianceramicstriennale.com

movie day: A love of Mud ~ Kolkata and the Durga Puja

by | Feb 15, 2017 | call for entry, emerging artist, job posting, monday morning eye candy, movie day, residency opportunity, technical tuesday


A love of Mud ~ Kolkata and the Durga Puja from the source project on Vimeo.
 
The following words by The Source Project: 
“This
is just the beginning, the build up to the Durga Puja in Kolkata. Every
year, for for months throughout the rainy season, artists, workers and
families prepare for the largest event of the year. By using local
materials, clay from the river and straw from the rural communities,
some of the most talented artists create some of the largest and most
beautiful idols. Communities and families then purchase, worship then
submerge them in the Hooghly River. This is just the first part of this
devotional wonder…

Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil
buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomises the
victory of Good over Evil.

Durga Puja is widely celebrated in the Indian states of Assam, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Orissa, Tripura and West Bengal, where it is a five-day
annual holiday. In West Bengal and Tripura, which has majority of
Bengali Hindus it is the biggest festival of the year. Not only is it
the biggest Hindu festival celebrated throughout the State, but it is
also the most significant socio-cultural event in Bengali society. Apart
from eastern India, Durga Puja is also celebrated in Delhi, Uttar
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Kerala. Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival
in Nepal and in Bangladesh where 10% population are Hindu. Nowadays,
many diaspora Bengali cultural organizations arrange for Durgotsab in
countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia,
Germany, France, The Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among others. In
2006, a grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the
British Museum.

The prominence of Durga Puja increased gradually during the British Raj
in Bengal. After the Hindu reformists identified Durga with India, she
became an icon for the Indian independence movement. In the first
quarter of the 20th century, the tradition of Baroyari or Community Puja
was popularised due to this. After independence, Durga Puja became one
of the largest celebrated festivals in the whole world.

Durga Puja also includes the worship of Shiva, who is Durga’s consort
(Durga is an aspect of Goddess Parvati), in addition to Lakshmi,
Saraswati with Ganesha and Kartikeya, who are considered to be Durga’s
children. Worship of mother nature is also done, through nine types of
plant (called “Kala Bou”), including a plantain (banana) tree, which
represent nine divine forms of Goddess Durga. Modern traditions have
come to include the display of decorated pandals and artistically
depicted idols (murti) of Durga, exchange of Vijaya greetings and
publication of Puja Annuals.”
~ VIA Vimeo