I came across this fantastic piece of art and could not resist sharing it on Cult. This piece has been designed by artist Micah Lexier and poet Christian Bok.
Brilliant, isn’t it?
Let me know what you think of this article. Drop in your comments below.
One of my personal favourites from all other art movements would have to be the 1950’s Pop Art era. A phase where regular products were considered as the muse. Artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Peter Philips popularised outcastes such as street culture, graffiti, consumerism and comic in the sphere of serious art.
Perhaps this was the reason I was more than thrilled to come across a present day Indian artist who brings back dusty pop-art back with his own unique twist. Jayesh Sachdev is the man of the hour. The artist has bagged several awards for his innovative work including a place in the Limca Book of World Records! His works have been showcased at New York, Singapore, Goa, Mumbai and many more cities. He has founded his own art and design studio under the name of Emblem Studios.
From the ‘Tyre Art’ series – created using impressions of a Fiat 500:
Work for Ketan Mehta’s film release at the Cannes Film Festival:
How does one make all this happen? Hear it from the man himself –
Cult Affair: How would you describe your personal journey as an artist?
Jayesh Sachdev: I went to art school to study Communication Design. But soon fell in love with Fine Art. It was been an oscillation of emotions. There has been plenty of chaos in my order. It has been exciting. Uphill and Rewarding.
It is perhaps only the beginning.
CA: When did you realise that ‘art’ was what you needed to do for a living?
JS: I don’t do art for a living. I do it for a passion. The realisation that I need to do art for a living hasn’t dawned in yet.
From the collection-‘Four Skin’:
CA: How and when did Emblem Studios happen?
JS: I graduated with a Degree in Communication Design and worked with an advertising agency in Singapore. I was probably 5 when I knew I was going to do my own thing. I did exactly that. I quit my job and moved back to set up Emblem. The Emblem Art Gallery and Emblem Couture followed. Quirk Box, my new lifestyle and fashion label launches next month.
CA: Most of your commercial work exhibits a strong influence of Pop Art. Why is that?
JS: We live in a populist society. We are consumed by mass culture. I conform to Andy Warhol’s non elitist Art principles. I have been a great admirer of him. I was naturally attracted to that genre of art and it reflected in my works.
Digital Works on classic film posters:
For Big Cinemas Worldwide, a Bollywood inspired art piece:
CA: Who would you consider as your icon or source of inspiration?
JS: My mother.
CA: Which three words would best describe you?
JS: Creative. Passionate. Enterprising.
‘The Tempest’ – Work on Canvas:
CA: If it wasn’t art or design, which field would you have been in today?
JS: A poet or a writer. Maybe a Tennis player.
CA: Which is your favourite piece from all your creations?
JS: Wow. Thats a toughie. One of my Untitled Works from the No Where To Hide series. Black and White Nudes.
CA: What would be your advice to young emerging artists in India?
JS: Persevere. Persevere. Persevere.
If you want to know more about the artist, do visit his official website.
Tête-à-Tête on Cult this time brings to you a celebrity of sorts. Happily Unmarried is an extremely popular brand which offers a variety of your ordinary household goods, but with a squeeze of lemon and dash of creative tadka.
Here is an exclusive interview one of the founders – Rajat Tuli!
The Happily Unmarried key chain:
CA: How and when was Happily Unmarried conceived?
RT: Happily Unmarried started as a one-stop shop for young people living on their own. Based on our personal experiences we discovered that in this family oriented country of ours no one is targeting the young. We wanted to provide everything from basic services like property to fun gifts. Of course, we had no money, no clue on how to go about it and it was the time of the dot com burst.
The ‘dil ki chabi’ key holder:
Genius of the likes of Picasso, Shakespeare – we have heard of. How many are acquainted with a simple name like Dashranth Patel? Trust me, he is worth knowing of.
This man is almost a talent thesaurus. Painter, potter, industrial designer, photographer, philosopher, teacher, multimedia artist, and I still think I may have slipped out a few of his attributes. He co-founded India’s premier design institute – National Institute of Design. He has a museum dedicated to his honor- Dashrath Patel Museum in Alibaug, a small town in Maharashtra. (Hopefully I will plan a visit there sometime, and update you with photos from there itself.)
He keeps up with the education of the ‘famous’, being a school dropout. What really draws me towards him is the raw ethic in his work. Its unique and natural. Probably the way man was supposed to be.
Here is a snapshot of his work:
Credit: Dashrath Patel Museum
I am in awe of this man but must admit I am a tad bit envious. Its not his talent which bothers me but the freedom which he had or rather built for himself. I came across how he encountered with photography-while amidst an exhibition in Paris in 1952, he met a man who volunteered to teach him how to use the camera. That was it.
Why did I choose to share this particular man’s story as compared to someone more contemporary? This is how : I woke up this morning thinking about this new blog – then thought about how our world functions. Got thinking about how ‘specializations’ function – A designer must be able to pin point whether it is graphics or product or abstract. A person good with words should clearly be able to differentiate between fiction, taglines, lyrics, poetry or blogs. My point being that there is such a high degree specialization garnished with more streamlining, it makes me wonder – what if there are more people like Patel, people who want more, who are searching for more than what can be put within one box – is there a place today for us?