Category Archives: Visitors

Of The Artist’s Struggle

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Over the past few weeks, having finished “Just Kids” and having Daniel Kelly and Tara Sabharwal, practicing artists, in our classroom, I realized that a common theme to all artist’s lives is that of struggle. Artists, initially at least, struggle to have a solid financial foundation. In their passion to practice their craft, many artists sacrifice security and luxury for a meager existence, all for their art. Of course, I’m exaggerating a bit, as this is clearly not true of all artists. But there is the question of making their craft pay for their living, as being an artist isn’t a stable source of income, especially if you are young and unknown.

At this point, we’re all pretty familiar with Patti and Robert’s struggles as up and coming artists. They had to work a variety of side jobs in order to make the minimum amount of  money they needed to make the rent. Often they ate little and spent money very frugally. Daniel Kelly, when he was speaking to us, made note of the large number of weddings that he had to play at to be financially secure. Tara Sabharwal told us about residencies, which many artists use to have a safe financial backing while they pursue their passion and eventually succeed. There is no denying that an artist’s life is full of struggles, for money and for the freedom to do what they truly want. So why do they pursue it?

Again, drawing from “Just Kids” and our visitors, one can clearly see that, despite their struggles, artists are dedicated and passionate about what they do. Their craft makes them happy. Patti and Robert were dedicated to their art throughout all their struggles and continued to create art during those times. They never gave up on their art to pursue a more stable career. They did what they loved. When Daniel and Tara spoke to us, it was evident that they were truly in love with what they did. It is everyone’s dream to make money doing what they love and artists, I believe, have accomplished this.

Tara Sabharwal & Daniel Kelly Visit

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Delayed thoughts!

I’m really glad we had the opportunity to be able to grab a glimpse behind these two artist’s lives. It was really interesting hearing about their stories and how Ms. Sabharwal came to be the artist she is today, and how Mr. Kelly came to be the musician he is today.

In Mr. Kelly’s visit, I really enjoyed seeing how he got himself involved with a community he’s not necessarily familiar with, and allowed himself to not only learn from all kinds of people from different cultures, but also to create original music with them and incorporate their individual stories. I thought it was interesting and awesome to see how he experimented with incorporating voice recordings into his music as well as playing with musicians who played instruments that are completely different from the piano itself in order to develop this new type of sound and music.

In Ms. Sabharwal’s visit, I really enjoyed being able to see and hear how she had the opportunity to earn residencies within different countries and how even to this day, she is still learning different styles of painting and still incorporating new methods and mastering old ones. Like I said in class, I think the idea of having a residency is absolutely amazing and being able to have the opportunity to do that I think is such a blessing and I can’t even begin to imagine all the things you’d be able to see, experience, and learn. I also thought it was funny how Ms. Sabharwal described her painting process, and how once she decides to use certain colors, she begins to see those colors in everything, wherever she goes.

All in all, it was a pleasure meeting the two of them and hearing their stories and insights. Thanks for taking the time to come out and talk to us, and I wish you two the best as you both continue to pursue your passions!

My Reaction to Tara Subharwal

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I was quite interested by Tara Subharwal’s story of her life. I find it fascinating that she was allowed to have so many opportunities to travel to and fro from one country to another. After hearing of that fact, the first thought that came through my mind was that she is really lucky being able to express her art so freely.

Speaking of her art, I find it amusing that she has a “go with the flow” sort of style while painting. Going to art school in India may have influenced her art style in the sense that I think she had enough of copying art, but instead wanted to just make it. Although her paintings aren’t the type of art I prefer, I found it mind boggling to try to piece it together.

One of the big things I wanted to ask her was how could she even afford everything or where her income was. That type of question did seem too personal so I kept quiet. I really do regret not asking her though as it’s still on my mind.

Tara Sabharwal’s Visit Reaction

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Tara Sabharwal’s visit was contrasting to the previous guest. Instead of videos and music, she talked about painting along with many visuals for support. She passed around the books, and while I was looking through the artwork, I was fascinated. I remember the book in which she drew the same artwork, however with distinctive colors for each drawing. It explicitly showed the effect of color in the painting, and Tara Sabharwal, specially said she spends a great deal of her time trying to make the color that she wants to use to portray her image. In other words, it was a memorable experience to have an actual painter talk about her own paintings and have a live description of what was going through her mind and what her intentions were in drawing such product.

Tara Sabharwal’s visit and presentation

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I was happy to see another visitor come to our class on Monday. She had a nice presentation for us and she answered our boon of questions. She was really happy that we were hungry for so much knowledge about her and was thankful that she came. I felt that the reason I asked so many questions is because the paintings were the ones making the questions. Rather than stimulating an enjoyment for observing them, they stimulated interest and there were so many things about each painting that needed clarification and to talk to the artist was the best way to find out. Without an easy way to figure out the mysteries of her art, I was compelled to ask questions to understand the paintings. To be candid, several of the paintings looked like they were painted by an elementary schooler, and I had to find out why an adult with so much experience would paint something so ambiguous and unclear. I learned so much from her visit.

Our Guests

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We have finished reading “Just Kids” and we can all definitely agree that being an artist opens so many doors to you.  It was a great experience reading the book and seeing how many people had influenced Patti Smith, but even greater an experience was meeting two real breathing artists.  Daniel Kelly and Tara Sabharwal were artists from very different fields in art, Daniel being a musician and Tara being a painter, however they both shared very active and high energy lifestyles.  The number of experiences both have had being of their passion is innumerable.  It’s one thing to read a book, but another to see and hear firsthand about the true life of an artist in modern day.

Does it make me want to become one? No but that is because I do not have that passion they both had said that you need to really make a living out of art.  I have also found reason more reason to pay more tribute to artists, as Daniel Kelly influences the lives of many of the locals he encounters on his travels.  In fact this class has introduced me to many great modern artists that have made me more appreciative of their work.  Although I did not very much enjoy some of Sabharwal’s actual, it was amazing to hear about all of the different places in the world she travelled to and how each area shaped her use of different supplies in drawing.

Another thing I had drawn from both artists was that once you delve into something, you realize how much more there is to learn.  Although I am going into a profession that is not in any way related to art, I can take this thought and apply it to my own academic and professional life.

 

Tara Sabharwal

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One of the greatest gifts that this class provided us with is Tara Sabharwal’s visit. It was a wonderful experience to meet such a lively, open artist. She was very genuine in her answers to our questions and I felt that she really wanted to express her art in the best way possible for us (and she did!). As Tara mentioned, she never plans out her art (her work is not conditioned), it is candid. It is really rare that an artist can explain his/her work of art in detail as well as Tara did. She gave us an insight on her influences and her thoughts while she makes art, Tara provided us with a personal tour of her work. Her overview of life is very interesting in that she does not plan anything but rather just adjusts to life conditions. Tara traveled to different countries, took different opportunities and this entire life journey is evident in her art.

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This is my favorite of Tara’s work

As to her art itself, it is absolutely great. Tara uses aspects of Indian and international art in her pieces. She expresses who she is intrinsically. She also adds elements from each of her trips into her work to show how she evolves with her art throughout her life travels. Her art is truly something to marvel about.

-Angelika

Daniel Kelly’s visit

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It was great to be able to see what an artist’s life looks like and incredible how much of his work was done in order to bring in the money to support his family and his future ventures.

He also gave great tips on life and improvisation.

It was a lovely visit.

I can’t wait to be #jamminwithDanielKelly.

Tara Sabharwal’s Visit

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Tara was a fascinating visitor to have because she was so willing to explain her process and what she intended behind some of her pieces. Often times when I hear artists talk about their work, they are unwilling to share what they were thinking about as they made their piece of art. While she did say a few times that it is up to the audience to determine what it means to them, she still explained her reasoning behind each object in the paintings. This was much more interesting than just looking at artwork and creating a meaning behind each aspect because in this instance we were able to understand the process and see exactly what goes into each piece.

The thing I found most interesting about her style is that she never plans out her pieces, but instead does whatever comes to her at the moment. I find that very fascinating because you could have the same ideas one day after the next but come up with something entirely different each day. It is almost like improvisation on stage, while the plot will stay the same, the smaller details will be changed, so it is different each time. Overall, I really enjoyed Tara’s visit and the insights into the mind of an artist.

Tara’s Visit

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Tara’s visit was another highlight of this class. I could never wrap my head around abstract painting and the reasoning behind all the little details in paintings. Tara’s paintings had that same style that I would just skip over whenever I visit exhibits at the Met. She was heavily influenced by Indian philosophy and the art of it, so there were many little details, intricate designs that permeated her paintings. There were many hidden people, animals, designs, houses, and nature throughout her works.

We were able to see how her paintings changed as she progressed in life, and the influences in her life. It was more engaging than having a tour around a museum and having the guide explain to you what was going on in the artist’s life at that point in time and what influenced the specific style, color, and technique of a painting. She was able to directly answer our questions and give us insight on what she was feeling and the different themes she was playing with for a sequence of paintings. Tara also explained a lot about the placement of her paintings and her thought process, which was better than just telling us why she placed a painting with more white space between two darker colored ones.

She said one thing that really stuck in my head when she answered Adrian’s question about the tree being on fire and his uncertainty whether that was the correct interpretation. Tara told the class “It is what you make of it”. Having a living artist give viewers agency on her work, allowing them to interpret it however they want even if it wasn’t her true intention gave me a lot of confidence to believe in my own interpretations of paintings, and art in general.

We were also able to ask her questions about pretty much anything; from the style she painted, to the symbols in her paintings, to her thought process. This transparency really helped relieve some of the stress I feel when I can’t understand a painting. She even offered her own uncertainty as a way to tell us that there really was no definite answer to anything.

Daniel Kelly’s Visit

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I truly admire, with a hint of envy, the level Daniel Kelly is pertaining his passion. He is at a point where he has enough mastery of a specific skill (in his case the piano) that he can create unique art. This is seen through the type of music he is creating. He chooses to represent the overall theme of culture and exude specific themes from specific cultures through his music. He speaks very highly of his craft and even to a person with very little understanding of music, I somehow could tell that Daniel Kelly knows what he is talking about. In essence, he knows what he is truly about.

This is a level of passion and skill that I hope to achieve one day, both in my martial arts and in my field of computer engineering. I place Daniel Kelly on level with Munoz. Both are incredibly talented artists. Both have acquired a certain level mastery that each could dive into a unique, artistic passion. Both choose to represent the idea of culture, to represent the unrepresented.

Tara S.

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Tara Sabharwal (pronounced “Sub-bur-wal,” it seems… according to pronouncenames.com) is a working artist from India, who has held many exhibits on her artwork.

I’ll share her website in case anyone would like to feel “prepared” to greet her tomorrow.

 

http://www.tarasabharwal.com

Happy Thanksgiving.

Daniel Kelly’s Visit

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I found Daniel Kelly’s visit to be kind of inspiring. I remember how someone in the class asked him if he knew that he wanted to be a jazz musician since he was young, and yes he did. But it made me think about the idea that someone will always feel compelled from the beginning to do their craft. Sometimes it’s not clear for a lot of artists and that’s okay too. It’s like how Patti Smith knew she wanted to be an artist but not exactly what she would do and how she would do it.

Also, being an artist really is not for the faint of heart. At one point during the visit, I was reminded of the documentary The Americans in which one person had said that it takes a lot of passion and discipline to make it, and that it won’t happen without both. That’s probably what gets someone like Daniel Kelly to make music for the past 20 years. The emphasis on community was really important as well. There will be a lot of people that may discourage artists, like parents, but artists always have the ability to surround ourselves with like-minded people that support their dreams and fill them with positive energy.

I also admire how after a while, in almost every artists career, they’ll stop worrying so much about being the greatest and such, and just focus on making work that’s true to them and makes them satisfied. It’s weird, but I really thought of Beyonce’s recent music when he said something along those lines during the discussion. In comparison to the New York City of the days in Just Kids, the New York City of today seems like a much more competitive, cutthroat place that fills people with much much more hopes of making it one day because of the city’s history as the starting point for many successful artists’ careers. It’s hard to follow in that same path, so I can understand why getting out of NYC to create art might be a little bit more helpful.

And his last piece of advice was honestly really great. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.