“ HORN OK PLEASE”/MUMBAI MUMBAI MUMBAI

                

       

Am I the only one who see’s an installation in everything. Just a week before I was driving down from Pune and what caught my attention were the trucks , not just the sound of the horn and smoke but the colors used to paint the thing. Whoa!! Bright florescent pink truck just passed me, gosh I really envy some people. I can never have the courage to paint my car pink or some florescent shade though I’d like to. So I got back home and wrote this blog, and got some pictures of the trucks and how they are painted. Funny how we notice things everyday but don’t consider it art, maybe I am an eccentric and crazy artist but am always fascinated by such things. Of late I have started making self-portraits will post pictures latter once they are done,  every artist I guess does have phases in their lives and currently I move around the city with my camera trying to get pictures and situations that actually fascinate me.

Mumbai to me is what New York is too Woody Allen..I am posting something now which Woody Allen said about his city, just change the New York to Mumbai and you will know how I feel about my city..

WOODY ALLEN ABOUT NEW YORK,  ROUBLE NAGI ABOUT MUMBAI.. CAN’T SAY IT BETTER THAN THIS...

Chapter 1.
He adored New York City  (MUMBAI). He idolized it all out of proportion...no, make that: he - he romanticized it all out of proportion. Yes. To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin.'
Er, tsch, no, missed out something.

Chapter 1.
He was too romantic about Manhattan, (MUMBAI) as he was about everything else. He thrived on the hustle bustle of the crowds and the traffic. To him, New York  (MUMBAI)meant beautiful women and street-smart guys who seemed to know all the angles...'. No, no, corny, too corny for a man of my taste. Can we ... can we try and make it more profound?

Chapter 1.
He adored New York City(MUMBAI), To him, it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture. The same lack of individual integrity that caused so many people to take the easy way out was rapidly turning the town of his dreams in ...'
No, that's a little bit too preachy. I mean, you know, let's face it, I want to sell some books here.

Chapter 1.
He adored New York City,(MUMBAI) although to him it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture. How hard it was to exist in a society desensitized by drugs, loud music, television, crime, garbage...'
Too angry, I don't want to be angry.

Chapter 1.
He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled power of a jungle cat.'
I love this.
New York  (MUMBAI) was his town, and it always would be...”

 Woody Allen, Manhattan                                                                                      Rouble Nagi, Mumbai

Delhi Events: "Strokes of strength" an exhibition of paintings by Rouble Nagi at Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road 5th-8th February 2013

Delhi Events: "Strokes of strength" an exhibition of paintings by Rouble Nagi at Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre (IHC), Lodhi Road 5th-8th February 2013

GROWING UP WITH THE MASTERS

Legend 

My father who was a avid reader, had a reading room filled with books. Most of my childhood as I can remember, used to be spent trying to climb the book shelves. What interested me most were the covers, I used to love those hardbound covers, colorful and full of such beautiful pictures. As years went by my discussions with my father grew more intestate  we spoke about history, people and events. Occasionally when time permitted he took me to the museum  which I loved, libraries where he spent his time and so did I. He had or still has the most amazing collection of Biographies a person can read in his entire life span. 

Words make it happen

By the time I was in the 8th grade it almost felt like I knew  Hemingway and Elliot , poetry did fascinate me a lot. But what excited me the most were artists and how fascinating they lives were. Van Gough, Picasso, Rembrandt lived such exciting lives. Story of struggle  passion, self exploration I could just go on and on all day about this. 

Inspiration

Throughout my childhood I felt like an artist, I painted almost everyday since I can remember, even if it just meant scribbling in my sketchbook. Fortunately my father has preserved more than 150 sketch books, that I drew in. Today I use these books to show my students how to self explore, and just express yourself by painting what you feel. However this wasn't the same feeling I had when I went to art school what had until then been a spontaneous, creative and hopeful activity in which I could lose myself for hours now took place in an environment filled with anxiety, insecurity and competitiveness. All that I had read in my fathers library, about Picasso and other geniuses creating and inventing something new, which had inspired me to take up art as a profession was being challenged. I thought to myself even Picasso left the Madrid academy because he was not satisfied with the training. However I completed my Diploma as my father was financing my education, and realize now that it was the right thing to do. 

Once upon a time (student life)

Group Discussion in the classroom

I have always idolized Pablo Ruiz , known as Pablo Picasso which was his mothers maiden name and wanted to be like him, I mean his contributing to the history of art  like pioneering the       art movement called Cubism, inventing collage as an artistic technique  and developing assemblage (construction of various materials) in sculpture which even I do till date. Even when I meet fellow artists today, I rather learn from their experiences rather than compete to be famous. Art is very individual , what works for me might not be right for you, best bet is to be yourself.


-Rouble Nagi

ART CAMPS by RNAF

RNAF (ROUBLE NAGI ART FOUNDATION)  ART CAMPS SUPPORTED BY NGO PRATHAM.

THE ART CAMPS WE ORGANIZE EVERY YEAR HAS BEEN GROWING STEADILY AND EFFECTIVELY. WE ORGANIZE THESE CAMPS FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN AND CHILDREN FROM GOOD PRIVATE SCHOOLS TO PARTICIPATE IN THESE CAMPS WHICH HELPS THEM INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER SHARE VIEWS AND LEARN FUNDAMENTALS OF ART. WE ARE SUPPORTED BY PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE SUCH AS TEACHERS, EDUCATIONISTS, IDEALISTIC VOLUNTEERS, CELEBRITIES, AND SOCIALITES ETC.

I BEGAN THESE CAMPS WITH THE HELP OF PRATHAM AROUND SIX YEARS AGO, HOLDING CAMPS FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN DELHI AND MUMBAI. WE SHORTLIST PAINTINGS AND HOLD AUCTIONS AND HAVE ART SHOWS WITH THE PAINTINGS CREATED IN THESE CAMPS RAISING FUNDS FOR EDUCATION AND MORE CAMPS.

MY ART CAMPS ARE BASICALLY A PLATFORM FOR INTERACTION OF THE NOT SO FORTUNATE WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE. ART I BELIEVE IS ONE OF THE BEST WAYS OF EXPRESSING YOURSELF, AND IS A GREAT FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT.

A SHORT WHILE AGO MY FRIEND MR MADHAV CHAVAN (FOUNDER OF PRATHAM) INFORMED ME THAT ONE OF MY STUDENTS, MAYUR WHO LEARNT ART DURING MY ART CAMPS AS A CHILD HAS NOW TAKEN ART AS HIS CAREER AND IS STUDYING ART AT REHAJA ART COLLAGE IN MUMBAI, HEARING THIS I FELT OVERJOYED AND AM MORE DETERMIND TO ATTRACT OUR YOUTH TO HOLD CAMPS NOT ONLY ART BUT SOCAIL INTERACTION CAMPS AS WELL. GIVING THESE CHILDREN AN AVENUE AND SHOWING THEM POSSEBILITIES ON HOW TO MAKE AN HONTEST LIVING.

ROUBLE NAGI ART FOUNDATION IS YOUNG AND ACTIVE A FEW YEARS BACK WE SUPPORTED A HANDICAPPED ARTIST SHEILA FROM LUCKNOW, TO HOLD HER FIRST FINE ART EXHIBITION IN MUMBAI. THE SHOW WAS CURATED BY ME AND WE RAISED FUNDS FOR HER AND GAVE HER A PLATFORM TO EARN HER LIVING WITH WHAT SHE KNOWS BEST, PAINTING. INCIDENTALLY SHE HAS NO HAND AND PAINTS WITH HER FEET. I WAS OVERWHELMED BY THE RESPONSE I GOT FROM PEOPLE, AND A VERY SUCCESSFUL SHOW.

MY FOCUS NOW ARE SMALL TOWNS IN INDIA AND WILL BE TRAVELLING TO KHAJURAO, AURANGABAD, GOA,   ETC BUILDING AWARENESS, HOLDING ART CAMPS AND SOCIAL INTERACTION CAMPS IN THESE CITIES.  INDIA IS YOUNG OUR YOUTH MAKES AROUND 41% OF OUR TOTAL POPULATION  I LIKE MANY OTHERS SEE THIS AS AN ADVANTAGE AND WANT SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE FROM ALL FIELDS TO INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

AS AN ACCLAIMED MURAL ARTIST, “WE SUPPORT AND FUND EDUCATION,SPONSOR SHOWS FOR FRESH ARTISTS WHO DON’T HAVE THE MONEY TO EXHIBIT, AS AN ARTIST I CAN UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFICULT IT IS FOR ARTISTS TO HAVE A SHOW.” EVERY YEAR WE HAVE SO MANY YOUNG ARTISTS WHO GRADUATE FROM OUR COLLEGES AND WAIT FOR YEARS BEFORE HAVING A SHOW DUE TO FINANCIAL RESTRICTIONS WE AT RNAF ALWAYS SUPPORT YOUNG ARTISTS.

MY ART CAMP THIS YEAR WILL START ON THE 24^TH OF FEBRUARY 2013 AT THE CAR FREE DAY AND CYCLETHON, HELD IN BANDRA CARTER ROAD THERE ON WILL TRAVEL TO 12 CITIES IN INDIA. AND FINALLY WILL HOLD AN ART EVENING AND EXHIBITION TO SHOWCASE THE BEST WORKS CREATED. ALL THE PAINTINGS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON LINE AS WELL. LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE AT THE ART CAMP.

ROUBLE NAGI

VANDALISM OF ART

 As a student I worked to restore some artworks that were so beautiful and often wondered who would do such a thing, Oil paintings with chewing gum stuck on them , watercolours with lipstick marks, sculpture’s with broken parts and scratched with knives I have seen it all.

During the restoration process I used to truly feel sad seeing the kind of damage some people do. Later I read that this is a mental disorder many people suffer from , it’s tragic that vandals exist here in our city Mumbai.

Just yesterday while passing my site in Worli,Mumbai I stopped to see my installation which is Titled “ POP GARDEN” , I was shocked to see my installation had be broken and a sculpture stolen. I am sure most of us want to live in a society that has respect for public property.  For the last two years I have been trying to beautify the city have completed 4 installation works along with beautifying existing promenade and creating new spaces in the city. It feels really bad to see something that one has taken pain to create destroyed so brutally. As a society I feel it is us who have to stand up and protect what is rightfully ours, public art is a part of where we live improving the aesthetics in our surroundings making it a more pleasurable sight. I have been actively involved in my NGO, providing funds for children education through my projects and conducting art camps for underprivileged children. I have repaired my Worli installation piece by piece at my own cost. You may say I am anti vandalism.  My passion for arts knows no bound.. No matter what I shall keep doing the art work for public spaces , my effort for beautifying our city will go on no matter what.

Strokes of strength

Strokes of strength
By Jamal Shaikh

A landscape, a view, a pretty picture
What the mind sees may be laced with tincture…

Tell us truly; when appreciating art, are you ever supremely confident that your interpretation of a painting is the same as the artist who made it? If you’ve got a way with words, you could possibly hold a discussion on how the two views align, and discover common ground in conversation. But many connoisseurs are but mute spectators who react not with a point of view, but to a connection they feel. It could be a tinge in the heart, a sweet flashback, an instant brightness of being.

Rouble Nagi’s newest series of landscapes evoke such emotion. The mood is bold, the message pungent. Picturesque beauty is apparent, but also seen is the juxtaposition of individual thought. Grass green and blue sky, you see at one point; blood red that invigorates, but doesn’t threaten in another. There’s sunshine in a shade that overpowers all else, yet the charcoal grey is brighter with character.

Impasto strokes may be likened to calligraphy, and their beauty compared to the Chinese alphabet, where the reader knows where the author began the composition of his stroke, and where he intended it to go. It’s not reading between the lines, it is understanding every move. Nagi’s audaciousness on canvas absorbs you, valiantly leading from the front. You’re never quite left to fend for yourself.

What makes the artist so confident about her view of nature? The answer lies in a heartening find: Rouble Nagi is a strong Indian woman of today, not one with passive desires or unfulfilled emotions, but with a view grounded in reality. She’s modern and urbane, as are her complexities. Love, heartbreak, duty, responsibility, ambition and desire all find a place in her world. She confesses to creating these pieces at a time when she was expecting her first child; a self-encompassing frame of mind no male can even claim to understand.

Go on; take in each frame with the contagious sense of strength it proffers. In all its simplicity, this is art that won’t just brighten up the wall, it’ll colour your day!




:Jamal Shaikh is the Editorial Director of the Indian editions of Robb Report and Men’s Health

STROKES OF STRENGTH

I have always cared about expressing my emotions and feelings rather than only making a picture look real. My style of painting a canvas still remains the same, I like to be a part of every canvas I paint. This series I painted while I was on the move in Europe and the middle east.  Every landscape is so different than the other, as I painted and ventured into the abstract realm once again.  The paintings I have created this time have a lot of texture, and getting an impasto effect using very thick paint so that the brush and knife work, my strokes are clearly visible. The paintings have been created on locations. Being a mural artist I always pay attention to the environment around me  while creating an installation, in the same way while painting these canvases  on site I observed the subtle differences  and shifts in color value and shape. It helped me personally to orchestrate my paintings to achieve the truth of the scene.

Every artist has his own perception, my perception has always been based on knowledge and awareness it is this attentiveness that helps me create. If you observe carefully nothing in my painting is still, forms seem to hover up, around and collide as they fall creating new shapes altogether. You may notice a startling contrast between thin transparent paint, and thick textured impasto used to create my subject.  No two compositions are alike  , if in a canvas I have used vivid colors with abstract composition to catch your eye the other may have completely saturated tones. Some of them are a sophisticated mix of warm and cool colors mostly low intensity with a punch or two of intense color just to break the monotony. Like I mentioned earlier my canvases are not still, they have rhythmic energy, so do my strokes when I paint. My strokes and use of colors which has to look visually very interesting to me, I am able to achieve this because I just let go and feel the juice, the energy , the vibe of the painting. Just one simple formula works every time no boundaries and limitations my canvas allows me total freedom.

I enjoyed growing up a part of my life in Kashmir. We had the mountains and the meadows, beautiful landscape. We were outdoors all the time and we played outside. This journey was full of memories from my childhood, kept having a ton of Déjà vu. It worked positively for me, as I believe that everything you need for life is provided at birth and your life’s path is already somewhat chosen for you. Would conclude by saying that I painted my last canvas of this series a month before I created my masterpiece, my son on. 14.02.2012. Hope to see everyone at the exhibition.

 

“Any landscape is a condition of the spirit.” Henri Frederic Amie