(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.

ARADHANA - Monsoon Cultural Festival - classical dance

ARADHANA - Unique blend of choreographic compositionsin Odissi and Bharatnatyam classical dance styles byeminent dancers Madhumita Raut,Santnu Chakraborty &their disciples.

ARADHANA is a repertoire specially choreographed forthe Monsoon Cultural Festival organised in the capitalby the Govt. of West Bengal.The compositions based ondifferent ragas are dedicated to Durga and Shiva.Special dance pieces have been created with afusion of Odissi and Bharatnatyam dance styles.

The dancers,Madhumita Raut( Odissi) and SantnuChakraborty(Bharatnatyam) are very popular amongst theDelhi audience and are well known for their innovativeand highly artistic dance compositions.They will be accompanied by their senior disciples.

JALEBEE CARTEL LIVE @ Laidback Waters

JALEBEE CARTEL LIVE @ Laidback Waters

August 09th 2007 – (Delhi) The definition of a band generally invokes the stereotypical image of a couple of people blaring out redundant rhythms and the ubiquitous love ballad. But sometimes all that’s needed is a few good men to spin a traditional concept into something refreshingly new. It’s the incessant bass, screaming arpeggios and piercing percussions that truly define the Cartel. Their sound is all about paying homage to their first love, music, and particularly about an explosive electronic experience. Perhaps IDM or just “electronica” could define the resulting product---but then, it isn’t about neat packaging. It’s about pushing the envelope and fusing influences to create a distinctive brand of urban Indian dance music.

Laidback Waters,New Delhi is going to be slammed one last time by the Cartel.

Members

Ashvin Mani Sharma
After graduating from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Ashvin Mani Sharma started Djing at private parties in Mumbai and from there moved on to a nightclub in Russia. He was the resident DJ for six months at the Tequila Sunrise, the most popular club in Almaty, Kazakhstan.On returning from Russia he moved to Delhi and started DJ ing at private parties and then started doing Club theme parties with International Trance DJs like Psycho Micro, Dark Soho and many more. In August 2000 he released a Trance Album with French rock artist J.P. Dangmann under the name of "Vimana" titled "From The Darkness Into The Light". The Album was sold on the Internet and was the first trance album released by an Indian and in India. He continued to make a name for himself as one of the best trance dj’s in the country and started producing music for ad spots and jingles. Some of the campaigns like the Motorola and "India Shining" campaign were widely appreciated. He also has produced music for countless fashion shows for top designers like Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar and nearly every one else you can think of. Moving on to the next stage of Film and Television, he has successfully made the transition. Already having done the complete background score of BBC World’s "Haath Se Haath Milaa" and Lakme Fashion House for FBC media he is steadily carving a niche for himself. As far as Bollywood goes he has already taken his first step with a song on the "Let’s Enjoy" soundtrack in collaboration with Rabbi.

Arjun Vagale
For Arjun Vagale, DJing has never been about just mixing a few choice tunes: it’s about understanding the needs of people and taking them to that special place through sound. Through his unique track selection and skilful mixing ability, he has constantly raised the bar as a DJ. With his phat baselines, piercing arps and use of the groundbreaking Ableton Live software with various controllers, he has set new standards within the electronic music circuit in India. At the age of 16, he founded DJ FAC 3, a trio that played for many parties in Bangalore while India was evolving to the global house sound. As a result, he earned his first residency at Zebra Crossing in Bangalore. In 1998 he moved to New Delhi and became resident at the legendary club Someplace Else at The Park. The following year, he won the DMC World DJ Championship, Delhi, and was offered residency at Float, the best club in town at that time. In 2000, he visited Calcutta, where he eventually took up residency at one of the city’s oldest clubs, Anticlock, which had a large and faithful following. He headlined many events there, playing alongside Asian Underground hero State of Bengal. Later that year he joined Golden Park Hotel’s London Pub, which he helped establish and promote. This club asserted itself as a popular venue to promote underground house. After doing a yearlong program at SAE, Singapore, he returned to Delhi in 2002 and was offered residency at the Fashion Bistro at 1 MG Road and later at Djinns, Hyatt Regency. Following this was a two-year residency at one of the biggest venues in Delhi, Q’ba, which received much acclaim for its ambience and unique music policy. From playing with legends like Judge Jules and Brandon Block to Blue Amazon and DJ Quicksilver, Arjun is on the forefront of the electronic music movement in India. He is one of the only DJs from India to have been featured on Proton Radio, Pulse Radio, Frisky Radio, Ministry of Sound Radio and BBC Radio. He uses the platform provided by mega events such as the Bacardi Blast/Smirnoff Experience and signature underground nights to push the progressive scene onto a larger audience.

Ash Roy
Picture a four year old clad in the Superman blue and red with a toy guitar around his neck singing for his folks. Ash decided to dream BIG at that early age! His musical journey began at the age of seven, learning the tabla and singing for the school choir before graduating to the next level – a deck spinner coupled with his weapons of choice, the tablas and the microphone! Ash has an explosive DJing past that spans over a decade. After he started DJing in Anticlock (Calcutta), he moved to Mumbai where he formed a fusion electronic act – “Deep Pranaya” which earned some rave reviews. With DJing still being his first love, Ash moved back to Calcutta to rev up the records at Anticlock. He quickly moved up the rungs to win the 1999 DMC World DJ Regional Finals. This proved to be the turning point in his career as this led him residency at the gulf’s biggest club, The Diamond Club Dubai, where he played along with some of the world’s biggest names – Boy George, Brandon Block, Greame Park, Enzo (Bedrock) among others. Ash moved to Delhi in 2004 and collaborated with Arjun and Ashvin to form LOOP. Together they released “Chalte Chalte – Haveli Mix”. He continuously worked with Arjun and Ashvin on different projects and together they conceived the Jalebee Cartel, an offshoot of the existing Jalebee Productions. With the Cartel, Ash sets the stage ablaze with his unique vocal style, tablas and other percussions apart from spinning the decks. His style of music is a variety ranging from funky to progressive house. He currently works with Red FM 93.5 heading the production department.

Madhav Shorey
Madhav realized his connection with music much earlier than most others and is the youngest member of the Jalebee Cartel. It didn’t take much for him to realize that music was his true calling, and so without wasting time he moved on to music professionally. While still in his single digits he was exploring different kinds of music, from electronica to heavy metal and by the age of 13 he was already dj'ing at local parties and Jam Sessions, and playing the drums and the synths for his school band. He is referred to as a future hero. He's one of the few Dj's to have played a wide array of electronic dance music ranging from drum'n'bass and trip hop in his earlier days to house / breaks and now progressive and trance. He has performed as a drummer for various bands between 2001 to 2004 and also gave a guest performance at the 2004 "War of The Dj's" Delhi Chapter, while still underage to qualify for participation. Currently, he is working towards promoting his sound, as both, a freelance Dj and a music producer. As part of Jalebee Productions, he has been producing various styles of music, ranging from tracks for TV sitcoms and jingles for advertisements, to remixes and original sounds for the LIFW (India Fashion Week) shows of some of India’s most renowned designers. He also completed a Krishna Consciousness album for the Iskon temple religious movement and does various commercial productions. He now plays the electronic drums and tribal percussions (Djembe / Nagada's etc.) contributing to the constantly evolving sound of the Cartel and also contributes with his independant dj'ing skills.

G Arjun
Though he comes from a family of renowned classical and ghazal singers, Arjun grew up on a rich dose of thrash metal, grunge and the local Pune rock scene. Influenced heavily by the likes of Cliff Burton and Geezer Butler, being the bassist of his own rock band was always a dream! The dream became reality when Arjun was gifted his first bass guitar while pursuing a career in electronic engineering. Within hours of getting the guitar he jammed with a few buddies and together they composed their first of many originals. After graduating he juggled between work and a thrash metal outfit he formed - HASH. They played extensively in western India with a brilliant performance at IIT Bombay being the highlight. The band's first single "Close Your Eyes" became a rage in the Pune rock circles. To pursue a career in music and audio technology Arjun quit his job and moved to Chennai in 2004. While in Chennai, Arjun conceptualized "The Electric Sunshine Project (ESP)" – a progressive heavy metal concept. During his stint in Chennai, Arjun was a session's bassist and recorded with many artists and composers, including highly acclaimed carnatic classical singers, Swati & Revathi. In early 2005 Arjun collaborated with Ash Roy to produce a few high quality tracks. That's when the electronic music bug bit him. By late 2005, Arjun became a part of the Jalebee Cartel handling Guitar/Bass/Vocals. He works with RED FM 93.5 (Delhi), managing music and handling audio production, and continues to work on the Electric Sunshine Project.

The Monsoon Festival 2 - Monsoon Fashion

Monsoon Fashion, a special exhibition on fashion and couture inspired by the Indian Monsoon, featuring some of the country's leading and young designers and artists.

The show will open on the 10th August, 2007 at the Queen’s Gallery, British Council, New Delhi at 6:30 pm as a Curtain Raiser to The Monsoon Festival 2. The festival is conceived, curated and presented by Red Earth; in association with Youthreach, Max Mueller Bhavan, British Council, First City, Baci, and Cards4U.

Monsoon Fashion - Curated by Himanshu Verma & Mayank Mansingh Kaul

Featuring : 500 B.C by Anandita Shah, Anju Modi, Hemant J. Khendilwal, Malini Ramani, Mayank Mansingh Kaul, Mukesh, Sagarika Sundaram, Shaila Nambiar, Shruti Phagre Mahajan,Sidharth Tytler, Small Shop (Jason & Anshu), Tarun Tahiliani, Varun Bahl & Weaver’s Studio

Fashion - much like art – can be a potent way of responding to and engaging in the landscapes around. While traditionally, Indian textiles and clothing traditions were heavily informed with the motives of nature - often celebrating seasons; bursts of wild expression in more recent Indian fashion represent that need for the individual to imagine without inhibitions, making possible the impossible. This exhibition, part of a larger festival which brings together diverse art mediums enables fashion in contextualising itself as a valid medium in the Visual Art stream - something that is only beginning to happen in India recently.

Festival Profile
Monsoon holds a special place in the Indian heart, offering a range of sensual, visual and aesthetic experiences. The Monsoon Festival presents varied interpretations and narratives of the monsoon from classical to contemporary, in a of variety of art forms: visual art, design, fashion, music, films, theatre, dance, poetry and more. For details see www.redearthindia.com

We look forward to seeing you for the opening of the show, for which we are sending you an e-invite. We do hope that you will be able to join us in whackiest Monsoon avatar, with greens, blues, grays and purples…!

Also enclosed pictured from the Monsoon Light, Monsoon Paintings etc.