Friday 23 September 2011

art college in Bhutan

















*I have decided to write and it's very scary*
For the past few days, I've been trying (in vain) to clarify ideas for my dissertation, which is about craft. Since I'm not getting anywhere with that, I thought I'd post some photos of craft workshops I saw in Bhutan.
The first 5 photos are from the art school in the capital. They have departments for sculpture in clay and in wood, thangka (religious) painting, mask-making, weaving and embroidery. Interestingly, when we think of art in our part of the world, it's all about self-expression and experimentation. In the art school in Bhutan, it's sort of about reproduction. Everything was religion-based, and students were learning how to reproduce the image of a diety, based on previous sculptures or paintings. Individuality (at least at this stage) is not wanted, the focus being solely on technique.
Another thing which I found fascinating was that they dont fire their clay sculptures. So after spending days putting all that detail into statues, someone could easily bump into them, and that's it, they'd be gone. Back to clay. But those are the transient ways of Bhuddism, I guess. Dont get attached to earthly things.

Oh, and the other 3 photos are from a traditional paper-making factory. They feel a bit out of place now.
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Sandra Berghianu studied BA Graphic Design in Camberwell College of Art and is currently on the MA Art & Science course in CSM, London. Fascinated by organic structures and the natural world, Sandra Berghianu’s work often explores scientific subjects, such as biology and chemistry. She is interested in conveying the complex information offered by these subjects in a visually appealing way, remedying the dryness of scientific visuals and information. Sandra has a natural preference for the handmade, and she often chooses this over a sleek designed look. Sandra also has a love for the physical, thus preferring to produce print or 3D work as opposed to purely digital work. Sandra’s ultimate goal is to recreate her passion and understanding for science in other people, using non-traditional and handmade techniques to convey the information.