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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Around the world in ten stories: My Facebook Friends


Trans-media artist, Kavita Singh Kale, successfully launched her new book, My Facebook Friends, at the first edition of the United Art Fair, Delhi, this September. The book has an imaginative take on the Facebook profile and the virtual phenomenon of social networking, but departs from it in interesting ways. 

This book includes a young monk who likes playing football, a professor who has been studying earthworms for 40 years, a designer with a passion for tap dancing and many more interesting friends! My Facebook Friends goes around the world in ten stories and has captured in the interest of the young and the young at heart!

We've read about Kavita's friends, now let's read about Kavita herself and get to know her more! Contemporary Delhi based artist Nidhi Khurana, who was also present at the launch, conducted this interview with Kavita. Here it is:

Why do you call yourself a trans-media artist?

I do self exploration through video art, painting, sculpture and photography that gets extended to prospective commercial projects in the area of Broadcast Design, Music Videos, Television Commercials, Short Films, Illustrations and Graphic Design. As a filmmaker, illustrator, author and a visual artist, I am constantly learning and experimenting- creating links with ideation and technique in conjunction with science and technology that has led me to become a trans-media artist.

You have been making paintings about people. How did this translate into "My Facebook Friends"?

The current ‘People Series’ that I am working on, is about  India as a developing country, juxtaposition of contrast, strong diverse cultural heritage, energy of cities and people. The series has a sarcastic narrative hidden in each frame with colours playing integral part, based on the situation. In a playful manner, I like to capture human behavior. One of the painting from the ‘People Series’ titled ‘Facebook‘ was a rendition of a tiny sketchbook that was filled with drawings of her friends during her stay in Mumbai, 2004. Each page was dedicated to one individual that captured their characteristics in-conjunction with the field of studies or things that they really enjoyed doing in their lives. The idea of making a book for children emerged when she started compiling all the details of her friends, who were from diverse background doing very interesting things.

The book is almost like a comic book/graphic novel. How did you decide on such a format?

“My Facebook Friends” is about 10 people and for the book I had collected lot of information and an ideal approach was to put all this interesting stories in a concise manner and present them in the form of a graphic novel.   

Kavita(right) and Nidhi(left) at the United Art Fair

Did these friends actively participate in the creation of the book? How?

Yes, they all contributed to my research. As soon as the list of ten people and the look and feel of graphic novel was finalized, I made a questionnaire that was sent across to selected friends from around the world with varied occupations and backgrounds.  Basic questionnaire prepared included name, age, hometown, occupation, their interest and what they were looking forward to do in the future. Along with this, they were also asked to elaborate their daily activities from morning to night- with details of the kind of music, food, places and clothes they like. All these questions were to be answered keeping the children's point of view in mind.
 
You always like to carry a small sketch book. Did you make initial sketches while travelling? Was it helpful in the creation of this book? How?

Yes, I like to travel and sketch in my sketchbooks.. I have lots of documented drawings of various places and people. It gives me lot of joy and inspiration to do books, films and paintings.

Why did you decide to use pen and water colour as a medium for this book?

 
The representation of the book is simplified to accommodate the format of a graphic novel, where numerous coloured illustrations have to be made and I was comfortable with water colour treatment.

A page from the book

My Facebook Friends in many ways, seems to suggest that there are many ways of connecting with people. Is this something that you actively thought about while working on the book?

I am not sure if I thought about it while making the book, but yes, I like the fact that there are so many different kinds of people doing interesting things and you
often bump into someone like that anywhere.. anytime!

You have illustrated a lot of books for children. Could you tell us about your journey as a children's book illustrator? Being a visual story teller, where do you draw your inspiration from?

Illustrating for children is like trying to see things from their point of imagination and their interpretation of  a story. I started my journey in 2006 with my first book “Avneet Aunty’s Moblie Phone” which is written and illustrated by me. So far, I have worked on eleven books by different publishers. Constantly learning and adapting to the changing trends is something that keeps me evolving as a person. The ultimate inspiration for me is by travelling to different places, meeting different people and understanding different cultures while enjoying the local food. Travelling is an addiction!

Have you had opportunities to engage with children? If yes, how have they responded to your work? Any interesting anecdotes from workshops or interactions that you can remember?

I have conducted couple of workshops for children and the kids responded enthusiastically. I made them write their own stories and told them to do drawings of it. The sessions were very spontaneous and interactive. I love the kind of imaginative stories that come out of them. It is quite refreshing to see the children being so honest and innovative.



Monday, October 1, 2012

Folk Art and Craft in Tulika's Picture Books


Pictures have been integral to storytelling in many oral traditions of India. Phad or patachitra scrolls unroll as the story unfolds, just like pages in a picture book. 

Tulika has explored this natural connection between folk art and stories almost from the very beginning – from AndLand Was Born and the Under theBanyan series way back in 1997-8 to the recent Where’s the Sun? and It’s All the Same

The use of folk art in books has become increasingly common. But how can we make folk art meaningful in books for children, not merely exotic pictures that decorate pages? This can happen when the creative process becomes intensely collaborative – between the artist, the writer, the designer and the editorial vision of the publisher. It happens when art and story adapt to each other with an integral purpose, and come together to create a distinct cultural identity, even a contemporary one.

The understanding and insights we have gained from our own explorations of using folk art in picture books is summed in this presentation by Radhika Menon, while the list below does a quick recap of the range of styles we’ve used so far.


Eyes on the Peacock’sTail
(Under the Banyan, 1997) – A folktale from Rajasthan illustrated by Mugdha Shah in the Rajasthani phad style.


Magic Vessels (Under the Banyan series, 1997) – A folktale from Tamilnadu illustrated by Mugdha Shah adapting the local Ayyanar sculpture form.

A Curly Tale (Under the Banyan series, 1997) – A folktale from Bihar illustrated by Mugdha Shah in the style of Mithila (Madhubani) paintings of Bihar.


Hiss, Don’t Bite! (Under the Banyan series, 1997) – A Bengali folktale illustrated by Mugdha Shah adapting the Kalighat paintings of Bengal.

And Land Was Born (1998) – Illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy. It is based on a film that shows Guna Baba, a Bhilala tribal from Central India, painting on the walls of his hut while telling this creation story.

All Free (Under the Banyan series, 2002) – A Gujarati folktale with pictures by Srividya Natarajan based on the painted paper scrolls used by Garoda storytellers in Gujarat.

Mazzoo Mazzoo (Under the Banyan series, 2002) – A Kashmiri folktale with illustrations by Srividya Natarajan that use traditional motifs from Kashmiri embroidery to give ambience.


Sweet and Salty (Under the Banyan series, 2002) – A folktale from Andhra Pradesh, in which pictures by Srividya Natarajan derive from the form and colours used for making wooden Kondapalli toys in the region. 

Wrestling Mania (Under the Banyan series, 2002) – A Punjabi folktale with pictures by Srividya Natarajan that have phulkari embroidery elements to capture the flavour of Punjab.

It’s Only A Story (2006) – Uma Krishnaswamy’s illustrations follow the chain form of Warli art to visually depict the sense of continuity in this traditional chain story.

Dancing on Walls (2007) – A fantasy story of how Warli art may have been born illustrated, naturally, in the Warli style by Uma Krishnaswamy. Warli paintings typically depict daily activities such as cleaning, pounding, grazing, ploughing, singing and dancing, many of which little Shirvi does in the story.

 
Mukand and Riaz (2007) – Nina Sabnani transforms her film into a book, with visuals that are in keeping with the memoir-story of Partition and also reflect her passion for collaborative work. The pictures are collages of appliqué embroidery, practised by women on both sides of the border, while the use of textile itself is a tribute to her father whose story this is and who worked in a textile factory. Nina interacted intensively with the embroiderers, giving them the outlines which they cut out and embellished.
Watch the film here.

Hanuman’s Ramayan (Our Myths series, 2009) – Nancy Raj adapts the style of Mithila paintings with quirky humour, reinforcing that the energy of traditional folk art comes from evolution and perspective just as in the tradition of oral telling of myths.

Home (2009) – Kaavadiyas of Rajasthan open panels one by one of their wooden kaavads to tell stories. Nina Sabnani uses the same form and technique to take the idea further in this brilliant stand-up book that is perfect as a storytelling tool and holds as many stories as you can tell – around the concept of homes and families and identities.Watch a video on the making of Home here


Panchatantra stories (2010) – Just as the familiar and age-old fables themselves have been retold by different writers in different voices, the pictures have different styles of folk art that illustrators modified in their own way. So we have patachitra from Orissa, patachitra from Bengal, Gond and Pithora tribal styles from Central India, kalamkari from Andhra and the Chennapatna style of toys from Karnataka. The success of these books has shown how old stories can engage in a new manner.

Patachitra from Orissa
Patachitra from Bengal
Gond from Central India
Pithora from Central India
Chennapatna toys from Karnataka
Kalamkari from Andhra Pradesh
   
Stitching Stories (Looking at Art series, 2011) – Based on another film by Nina Sabnani, Tanko Bole Chhe, this again uses Kutch embroidery, was created through collaborative work, and dramatically tells another story of exile and rehabilitation. Tracing the personal journeys of the embroiderers, the book works at many layers – one of which is to draw close attention to the craft of embroidery as an art.


Where’s the Sun? (2012) – Artist, designer and publisher came together in this unique project that was inspired by the range of detail on a Warli canvas. In an unusual chain of production, Warli artist Janu Bhiva Ravate made a huge painting to encompass a story that came out of his earlier paintings seen online. Parts of this canvas were then extracted to create the book. A reduced size print of the entire painting comes with the book to give children a sense of the original.

It’s All The Same! (Our Myths series, 2012) – Working with kaavad artist Satyanarayan Suthaar, Nina Sabnani focuses on a different aspect of the kaavad tradition – mythological stories. Based on yet another film, Baat Wahi Hai, she comments on the nature of myths and their telling – how there is no one story about anything, and it doesn’t matter, it’s all the same!Watch a video on the making of It’s all the same! here.

Spinning wheels and freewheels

Tulika titles Beyond the Blue River by B. Vinayan and Mayil Will Not Be Quiet! by Sowmya Rajendran and Niveditha Subramaniam are among two of the five titles shortlisted Crossword’s Honorary Children’s Shortlist for 2012. 

Reviews for Beyond the Blue River


“The original and engaging ideas of the ‘language of the spheres’ which allows  everyone to understand everyone, the possibilities of transformation of selves, and  travel between  worlds, sets Vinayan apart from other writers," says widely published writer Mariam Karim Ahlawat.


"From the wind walls to the Tweedledum-Tweedledee figures of the Itsians to the etceteras ("extremely tiny creatures"), the quirky inhabitants of this world seem set against the cosmology of our own. It all somehow finds expression through the imaginings and longings, and eventual awakening, of a small and lovable machine," says well known writer Uma Krishnaswamy.


“...for a child, the book provides enough amusement, gold-dust, shape-shifting, music and gentle plot-twists... For an adult, it is an interesting exercise in pushing the boundaries of children’s fiction," says writer and critic Pavithra Srinivasan.

"...not everyday do you come across an Auto that can bend its handles, talk to the wind and even turn into a subatomic particle!...The book comes out among other things as a novel attempt to introduce the quantum physics at a very early age," says reviewer Vishesh Unni.

Reviews for Mayil Will Not Be Quiet


Developmental psychologist Prathama Raghavan says, Most things I wish every adolescent knew are in this book. I laughed aloud several times while reading the book and sometimes even went into fits of laughter. Every child I know is getting a copy of this book at some point in their life and every parent I know will hear me talk about it.” 

"Comfortingly real as it delicately brings out the problems and hopes of a pre-teen," says Anusha Parthsarathy of The Hindu.

"I loved the way the book has been written – the language is so charming and credible...I loved the sensitive way difficult topics like transgenders, attraction, sex-ed and gender discrimination have been addressed in the book. It is such a beautiful way of introducing such complex topics to a teenager!" says blogger The Girl Next Door.

Tulika's range of fiction spans adventure, history, fantasy and reality. You can view other paperback titles for older readers here.