(ART) A U T H E N T I C @ Gadfly Gallery

Meet the artist this Friday night, 12 October from 6 till 8 at the opening of
A U T H E N T I C

Stunning new paintings in oils, 18ct gold dust, silver leaf and Damion's signature hand-pressed pigments from WA wildflowers by West Australian painter DAMION BLUNDELL

In AUTHENTIC, Perth Artist DAMION BLUNDELL discovers his 'authentic self.' Being surrounded by the grandeur of the New Zealand landscape of his childhood, Perth artist Damion Blundell’s work has become , as he says, ‘more noticed’. “Returning to New Zealand really made me look harder” says the 32 year old , whose romantic, floral imagery has won him many art collectors in WA since he first started exhibiting six years ago. Three months of incessant painting and travelling in NZ has produced a new body of work which he describes as “more grounded”. Blundell has shrugged off the flippancy and the quirky, anecdotal references that characterised his Perth-based works. These new, large canvases are sophisticated world-views, slathered with sheets of precious gold leaf and richly-glazed oils; darkly reflective and surprisingly seductive. The wildness of the flower forms which have largely contributed to his local success has not been lost. Instead, it’s been consolidated and reduced to its essentials, to become compositional, rather than the subject itself. These changes can only occur after “lots of looking, lots of noticing”. Blundell now approaches his work with a sensitivity which was before, intuitive, and is now known and understood – something he can consciously call upon as an artist to create what he wants, not merely what he sees. Blundell’s palette has always harked back, albeit unconsciously, to the New Zealand light – to his birthplace. “Only since returning as an adult – as a painter –have I realised what my real influences have been” , he says. “that southerly light is more dusky, more powedery around the edges than the sharp, brittle light we experience here”. These last few months ‘back home’ have reaffirmed Blundell’s innate view of himself as an artist. Quoting the great British Classical landscape artist William Turner he says “the greatest thing an artist can do is return to the landscape”, and in so doing Blundell has experienced a kind of personal epiphany. “I know I’ve got the goods for it “, says this extraordinary young man whose life has already encompassed more experiences and ordeals than many fit into a lifetime. Authentic is an exhibition of beautiful, grand, modern masters which Blundell’s fans will recognise as an artist of great talent coming of age

Ad Singh @ The Lakme Fashion Week

They used my pictures for publicity without my knowledge giving credit to neeta lulla for it - AD Singh

Designer A D Singh sues organisers of Lakme Fashion Week for using
one of his last year’s designs in this year’s publicity material without
informing him or giving him credit for it

Well if this all was for publcity I dont think anyone got much of nor did Neeta Lulla, nor AD Singh neither Gitanjali
We dont really know in what deal was set and what actually was the story behind all 3 sides.

For sure this is the one which Ad Singh tells us. "they used my pictures for publicity without my knoweledge giving credit to neeta lulla for it"

For sure there has been much of such instances where we have had such moments where one of the other wanted to come in the limelight and bring in some cracker to bust in the publicity gmmick.

Mid Day report
Instead of the celebrities, it was a bunch of cops that had heads turning at the Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) yesterday. They were brought there by fashion designer A D Singh to arrest Sanjeev Sharma of the Gitanjali Group. Singh has alleged that one of his bridal wear designs from last year, has been used in this year’s LFW hoardings and posters, without his permission and designer Neeta Lulla has been credited for his design. “Sanjeev was keen to sponsor my show and promised participation of A-list stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. I sent him my design photographs and asked him to settle the deal with my business manager. That never happened. And the next thing I see is my design plastered on billboards.” Singh claims when he called Sharma for an explanation, he said, “Dekhenge, kya karta hai!” Singh arrived at the LFW venue — NCPA, Nariman Point - late afternoon, and was asked to wait in a room on the third floor to avoid media attention. “They hoped to cool me down with a cup of coffee. I told them ‘I don’t want coffee, I want Sanjeev’.” Singh was told Sharma was not around, which is when he had to leave with the police. An onlooker said he overheard a police officer reprimanding Singh for wasting his time. Lulla said she hasn’t taken credit for the design and has asked Sharma to settle the issue with Singh. A representative of the Gitanjali Group refused to comment, saying, “Ask Singh to take up the case legally. We will react then.”

Mumbai Mirror report
The latest from the currently on Lakme Fashion Week is that designer A D Singh has sent a legal notice to the organisers for using one of his bridal wear designs from last year in this year’s publicity materials including posters, print ads, billboards, etc. The costume worn by model Sayali Bhagat in all the publicity material was designed by A D Singh. The organisers went ahead and used his design without taking the designer’s permission or even informing him about it. Also, they haven’t given any credit to Singh in the publicity material. An angry Singh says, “This is completely unethical on the part of the organisers to use my design without my permission. I don’t understand why they have used a picture of Sayali wearing a costume from my last year’s bridal collection to promote this year’s fashion week.” Also, all the publicity material says that the opening show is by Neeta Lulla, making it seem that the costume has been designed by Neeta and not A D Singh.Singh adds, “I called up the organisers and they accepted their mistake and they said that they will get back to me. But, no one has done so yet. I spoke to Rohit Sabiki, who is one of the organisers, and he said that he had some personal problem. He asked someone from their end to speak to me and the gentleman promised that he will call me back in an hour and do the needful. But he didn’t call me and they haven’t been taking my calls. When I call the landline numbers, they do not come on the line.”

Commenting on his next step, Singh says, “I met up with my lawyers and have sued them. They will get the legal documents and I have also sent notices to everyone connected to the event including the sponsors as they too are responsible for putting up the hoardings. I will see to it that they never do this to any designer ever again.”And what does Neeta Lulla have to say about this issue? She says, “I haven’t even seen that advertisement. I think it’s a hoarding near Kirti College. I heard about it today, when someone at the Lakme Fashion Week venue asked me about it. I didn’t even know about it - I have no idea about the dress the model is wearing. I haven’t designed that dress, nor am I even claiming to have designed it. So please tell Mr A D Singh that! I haven’t even chosen the jewellery in the hoarding. I don’t know why my name was even there - it could perhaps be to announce the inaugural show of LFW. I have nothing to do with that advertisement as it has been put up by the main sponsor.”

Ths information was used ,as provided to us by AD Singh himself,with photographs, web links to news coverage.

Mahindra IAAC Film Festival

November 7-11, 2007

The festival begins November 7th, with the Opening Night Screening of Saawariya at the Loews Times Square. Directed by the acclaimed Sanjay Leela Bhansali based on Dostoevsky’s “White Nights" Saawariya tells the story of a chance encounter that quickly leads to much more. The screening is followed by a spectacular Gala Dinner at Madame Tussauds.The excitement continues over the next four days, with a diverse range of features, docs and post-screening discussions with actors and filmmakers.

Some of the highlights include: Valley of Flowers, Missed Call, Via Darjeeling, Grahanam, and AIDS JaaGo. For the first time, the festival-goers can watch our lineup at two convenient locations – Loews 19th and Broadway in New York City and the Newport Center Mall in Jersey City.

The festival comes to a magnificent end with the Closing Night Screening of The Last Lear on November 11th at Asia Society. The evening features Indian film legend Amitabh Bachchan as a veteran Shakespearean actor tackling his most difficult role yet. An awards ceremony recognizing outstanding filmmakers and actors closes out the festival.

Workshop on “Lighting Design and Choreographing Light"

National Institute of Design is pleased to announce a Workshop on “Lighting Design and Choreographing Light”, to be held from 17 – 19 October, 2007 at NID campus, Ahmedabad.

The workshop will try to improve the aesthetic and market appeal – the experience - of any interface through which a business interacts with the customers - set up, product, ad, brand, etc., real or virtual, an event, retail or otherwise, by enhancing the ambience and the overall experience using multi-sensory stimulants like lighting, sound, smells and other sensory stimulants to affect. The idea is to create experiences that surprise, emotionalise, sensualise, romanticize, intimatise, humanize, mystify…-in short delight and to help businesses develop products, spaces, services that are never before types, thus bringing them the blue ocean competitive advantage. The workshop will be taken by the experienced faculty/ ies and other distinguished design professionals.

All in all, this workshop will establish a design link between experience and consumers besides the use of design as a strategic tool for staying ahead in a fiercely competitive market scenario.

This tailor made programme is aimed at Retail Businesses, Light Engineers, Marketing Professionals, Architects, Interior Designers, Exhibitors, Landscape Designers, Facade Designers, Set /Stage /Entertainment Designers, Advertising, Retailers, Visual Merchandisers, Choreographers, Event Managers, Event Visualisers, Art Directors, Service Providers, Professionals connected with hotels, restaurants and amusement parks. We are sure that these programmes would be a source of immense value addition.

Enclosed please find the details along with the registration form. Please contact us for any further inquiries to industryprogrammes@nid.edu. We shall be obliged if you put this up on your notice board and also circulate among the ones interested.