I Heart Pop Art

With no respect for the ideology behind the Pop movement, here is the first in a series of images I created, labelled 'art' for lack of a worse word.

Generic Text 01, 2010

The emphasis was on using only the gradient and text tools of Adobe Photoshop. Yup. That's about it. You can see more at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=317717&id=550646418&l=31b5f888a6 (EDIT: This link is dead, so don't bother).

My only requirement for considering something Art is the presence of a driving Concept behind it. While the initial concept was to add to the amount of useless junk on facebook.com's servers, it expanded as I grew more familiar with the medium. The possibility of conveying an Idea led to a semblance of Meaning, but the moment you explain your Art, it's value becomes half, so I'll leave the Experential Phenomenon to its own devices.

Aren't those 'intellectual' capitalizations of words irritating? No. They are Not.

P.S. Before praising, notice that I label these as 'My Ugly Art' on the link.

Amritsar After Touring Cheap In I'mRicher

Just before I left New Delhi for the winter break, you could raise warm vapours off the urinal by pissing on it. But we stubbornly took a night train to Amritsar earlier this week to do some sightseeing, even though its a coupla notches higher in latitude. I expected to visit the Durgiana Mandir, the famous Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple, the infamous Jallianwala Bagh, and the popular Beating the Retreat parade at Wagah Border. All this happened (in order!).

Balcony seats don't have the same meaning at Wagah

But it's the things off the checklist that enrich the experience - walking through the old city instead of sight-hopping in a rickshaw; spending more time at the temples than I usually would have because my companions were immersed in prayer; cheering with gusto at the parade on the orders of a BSF officer, while the girls danced to patriotic Bollywood tracks; dining for free in the community kitchen or Guru ka Langar at the Golden Temple, and repaying the favour by folding cloth for the next day's rituals. In piss-vapourising temperatures (4°C). At night (2200-2300hrs). In the open (Golden Temple marble walkway). To a warmth-inducing chant (Satnam Waheguru).

I'm folding somewhere there ---->

By the way, why is the Golden temple oriented northeast-southwest? (CORRECTION 22/12/2010: southeast-northwest; doesn't affect the point of the question) 25 points for the correct answer...

UB40 - Promises And Lies (1993) - 07 - Can't Help Falling In Love

I recently completed a project to design a District Centre in Rajendra Place in New Delhi. We were told that there was a lake in the area that could be exploited for public activities, with a commercial district to the north that could be linked to the main road to the south. That's all very well, I said to myself, but I couldn't see how this related to turban design, which I presumed was to provide fashion alternatives to the Sikh community predominant in the area.

Our guide in this project seemed equally unhappy with our work, and we could never get on the same track as him - his sketches seemed to suggest an unravelling turban, which was definitely something no self respecting Sardarji would like. Somewhere near the final presentation in front of a jury of distinguished architects, we realised that it was Urban Design they were talking about all along - can you believe that? (Cue groans from the ones with a 'superior' sense of humour, I really love those guys)

Well, with good old fashioned Indian ingenuity, we slapped together a scheme faster than you can say 'chand' (Just who is 'chand'? The mystery goes on...) and the presentation went surprisingly well. Meanwhile, the turban designs have been stockpiled for a rainy day (or a very sunny one).

UD10 - Can't Help Urban Design