Look Here! Soniye

A few days ago, I attended the opening reception for Look Here!, a pilot collaboration with UWM Libraries Digital Humanities Lab and Special Collections culminating in an exhibition currently on view at the the beautiful Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum June 28 - September 16, 2018. 

In an upcoming post, I'll take a look at the reception and some of the work of others artists participating in the exhibition. 

For this group show, artists were asked to submit proposals to create artwork based on research involving library resources. 

Based on my interactions with a portfolio of architectural renderings in the UWM Special Collections, my Rajasthan Reimagined series created for Look Here! consists mostly of large acrylic paintings on Kalamkari fabrics (which were featured in recent posts). Soniye I and II are different from other pieces in this series because they are smaller, hand-watercolored screen prints.

Soniye I, 2018

23” x 20” framed (16” x 11” image size) 

hand-watercolored screen print

Soniye II, 2018

23” x 20” framed (16” x 11” image size) 

hand-watercolored screen print

My research project has focused on repurposing decorative architectural ornamentation designs from India which were recorded in the series of books entitled Jeypore Portfolio of Architectural Details.  

Templates based on the medallions seen above and below were utilized in making my screen prints.

As I imagined how to manipulate these ornate medallions, I remembered the innovative abstraction of Sonia Delaunay. 

Sonia Delaunay seated in her studio with 
two women modeling her fashion designs.

The complexity of these medallions is fascinating and inspiring. I composed this drawing after imagining the medallions overlapping and interlocking. 

The screen for the serigraph print (pictured below) was prepared and then printed in black ink on several different kinds of paper.

Having multiple copies of the image allows me to play and experiment with color. First I tried a monochromatic blue color scheme on a print done on light grey paper. The piece below was named Sonia in acknowledgment of the inspiration I derived from Sonia Delaunay's work. 

Sonia Blue Mandala, 2017
Hand-watercolored original serigraph print on grey rag paper
Outer paper dimensions are 18" x14" ( image size of 15" x 11")

Detail of Sonia Blue Mandala

Another piece with a polychromatic scheme, Sonia Multi Mandala, utilized deep rich colors.

Sonia Multi Mandala, 2017
Hand-watercolored original serigraph print on grey rag paper
Outer paper dimensions are 18" x14" ( image size of 15" x 11")

This detail of Sonia Multi Mandala shows the addition of pointillist dots to add value gradations without muddying the colors.

Soniye I & II was conceived of as a diptych where one print was rotated to create a "Yin and Yang" effect. A triad of primary hues (red, yellow, and blue) were employed as they were painted together: 

'Soniye' is the Punjabi version of the name Sonia. It is often heard in contemporary Bollywood song lyrics. 'Soni' in Hindi literally means beautiful.  Punjabi guys (and non-Punjabi guys who hear a lot of Bollywood songs) call their girlfriends 'the beautiful one' or Soniye, out of love (and out of flattery). I changed the title 'Sonia" to Soniye as the title for the diptych presented in the Look Here! exhibition feeling it was appropriate because the Punjab region is close to  Jaipur (Jeypore) - about 293 miles. 

Here is an interesting article by Vanicka Arora in English and Italian about the Jeypore Portfolio.

My next blog update will feature photos from the opening reception of Look Here! as well as a look at the work of several of the other participating artists.

Don't forget to check out my artwork available at my Etsy store, Facebook page, as well as my Instagram feed.