Arts Illustrated

March 20, 2022

CLAYCARROTS- The Modernist Vanguard : Curator’s Note

Witness the magnificent group show of sculptures and murals by some of the best and most renowned artists from across the country. The sculpture show will be on display till March 26th, 2022. Artist-Curator Khanjan Dalal has chosen the best artworks by the best artists in the country.

Columbus, a foreigner, follows Queen Isabella for an eternity without giving up hope.

In what characteristic postures?

Proud yet supplicant, the head held high but the knee bent. Fawning yet fearless; possessed of a certain saucy vulgarity, he gets away with it by virtue of his confidence-man’s charm. However, as time passes, the ingratiating aspects of his stance are emphasized; the sea-dog raffishness wears a little thin. As do his shoes.

His hope. It is of what?

Obvious answers first. He hopes for preferment. He wants to tie the Queen’s favor to his helmet, like a knight in a romance. (He owns no helmet.) He has hope of cash, and of three tall ships, Nina Pinta Santa Maria; of, in fourteen hundred and ninety-two, sailing across the ocean blue. But, on his first arrival at court, when the Queen asked him what he desired, he bowed over her olive hand and, with his lips a breath away from the great ring of power, murmured a single dangerous word. ‘Consummation.’ 

East, West- Salman Rushdie

Later in 1927, Dr.Ivanov made one more attempt to impregnate a female chimp with human sperm, but this third try proved no more successful than the first two. He knew from his work with livestock that five or six inseminations per animal provided the optimal chance of success, but social conditions at the research facility didn’t allow him that luxury. None of the chimps ever showed signs of pregnancy. 

Faced with failure, Ivanov turned to Plan B- impregnate human women with ape sperm. He made inquiries at a Congo hospital about the possibility of insemination female patients He suggested it would be prudent to do so without the women’s knowledge. His request would be denied. Disheartened, and complaining about Africa’s “backward” culture, he returned to the Soviet Union, where he hoped to continue his experiments. 

He brought back a male orangutan named Tarzan to serve as the sperm donor. He revised his plan, deciding to seek out female volunteers. Remarkably, he got a few. One woman cheerily wrote to him that she was willing to surrender her body to science because “I don’t see any sense in my further existence.” Once again, though, Fortune did not favor Ivanov. Tarzan died of a brain hemorrhage in 1929 before the experiment could start, leaving Ivanov apeless. …..

…..Ivanov’s experiments mark a low point in the history of biological research. But they raise an interesting question. Could he have succeeded? Is a human-ape hybrid possible? 

Humans are very closely related to other primate species, chimpanzees in particular. We share 99.4 percent of our DNA with them. The phrase “human-ape hybrid” is itself misleading, since humans are, in fact, a species of African ape. A May 2006 study published in Nature speculated that after humans split from chimps between five and seven million years ago, continued interbreeding with chimpanzees may have influenced human evolution. Many biologists see no reason why a human-chimp match would not still be possible, though the topic remains controversial. 

Elephants On Acid and other bizarre experiments – Alex Boese

 

Nakata methodically enjoyed each and every noodle. “This udon is delicious,” he said.

“Glad you like it,” Hoshino said. “So, what do you think? Is this spot OK?” 

“Yes, Nakata thinks it will do.” 

“So we got the right spot picked out. Now what are you going to do?” 

“I’ve got to find the entrance stone.”

“Entrance stone?” 

“That’s right.”

“Hmm,” Hoshimo said. “I bet there’s a long story behind that.” 

Nakata tilted his bowl and drained the last drop of soup. “Yes, it is a long story. But it’s so long I don’t understand it myself. Once we get there, though, Nakata hopes we’ll understand,”

“As usual, you have to be there to get it?” 

“Yes, that’s right.” 

“Until we go there I won’t understand it.” 

“Yes. Until we go there I won’t understand it either.” 

“That’s enough. I don’t like long stories. Anyway, I guess we need to find this entrance stone thing.”

“That is correct,” Nakata said.

“So where is it?” 

“Nakata has no idea.”

“Like I had to ask,” Hoshino said, shaking his head.

Kafka on the shore – Haruki Murakami

 

In the hive, I have aspirations, 

my desires, your wishes, our expectations,

her ambition, his aim, 

our hankering, 

your cravings and his plans

A toolbox, my anticipation, 

her longing, 

In our dreams

lays our hopes…

The show is an attempt to look at varied individual practices of 6 contemporary ceramic artists youngest being in the early 40s to the oldest being in 80s. The exhibition binds them together with an ever-youthful juicy carrot that every person on this planet carries in their brain basket called HOPE. While each one is preoccupied with ideas and issues that concern them deeply through producing works, one needs to observe their unique methods and contents and gain deeper insights and meanings into how they are pushing the boundaries in their practices and most importantly what keeps them going.

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