Ayoma makes waves in graphic designing
Sri Lanka Telecom's search for a new logo
attracted an unusually large number of entries - 6790 in all. This was
possibly because the prize money was quite attractive. Telecom offered
Rs 500,000 for the winning entry and two consolation prizes of Rs 100,000
and Rs 50,000 for the runners-up.
No sooner the newspaper advertisement appeared, young Ayoma Jayasinghe,
a graphic designer at the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation got cracking
doing a host of designs. He submitted nine for the competition. Two were
selected for the final five. And then he won the coveted prize.
Designing is in Ayoma's blood. His father, Talangama Jayasinghe is a
well known artist himself. He served the Dinamina for many years. Obviously
the son acquired the father's talents. Though he was a science student
at school (St John's Nugegoda), he always had a knack for art. He has won
poster competitions while at school starting with the Family Planning Association's
Youth Committee competition (1976), 50 years of Universal Suffrage (1981),
World Environment Day (1982), Sri Lanka Export Board and Sri Lanka National
Committee on Elders (1983).
In designing the Telecom logo, Ayoma made a few basic decisions. He
chose blue as the dominant colour. "For one thing, blue is pleasing
to the eye. Moreover, the link between radio and telecommunication waves
and the sky made me decide on blue," he says.
Farewell to a friend, critic and academic
News of Professor A J Gunawardena's sud-
den death shocked many. Much has been written about him in the past two
weeks. This short reference is to record our deep appreciation of his commitment
as an art critic and academic in raising the standard of Sinhala film and
theatre.
Our association with A J goes back to college days at Ananda in the
early fifties, followed by Peradeniya campus days and after graduation,
at Lake House. We rarely missed his Rasika column in the Daily News, which
helped to create an interest in the Sinhala arts among the English readers.
To Trillicia and the two children, we offer our deepest sympathies.
Bookshelf
More from the award winner
Rabindranath Tagore, recipient of the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1913 - poet and philosopher, artist and educator
- has been identified as a man whose spiritual personality and unremitting
efforts in the arena of international understanding inspired the entire
world.
Sinhala readers are now able to enjoy Tagore's classic, Gitanjali
translated by Kusum Disanayaka, beautifully illustrated by reputed artist
Upasena Gunawardena with his line drawings. First published in 1992, the
book had been out of print and was only released by Godage Publishers.
A short biographical note on Tagore and an autobiographical sketch titled
"My life", a speech delivered by Tagore in 1924 during
a lecture tour in China, are also included. They make interesting reading.
Just a short quote from "My life": "When I began
my life as a poet, the writers among our educated community took their
inspiration from English literature. I suppose it was fortunate for me
that I never in my life had what is called an education, that is to say,
the kind of school and college training which is considered proper for
a boy from a respectable family."
Kusum Disanayaka has been a translator since 1990 - and a most successful
one at that. Her first, Tanha Ashawo (translation of So Many
Hungers by Indian novelist Bhavani Bhattacha-rya) was acclaimed by
the State Literary Board as an outstanding piece of work. That was in 1990.
Then she translated Gitanjali followed by Therini Gee (1994
translation of Paramaththadipani). Ginnen Upan Daruwo (1995
translation of Azadi by Indian novelist Professor Chaman Nahal),
Goudige Muhuda (1996 - Goudis Ocean by Japanese writer Tajima
Shinji), Hunting Grounds (1997 - Dambane Gunawardena's Dada Bimen
dada Bimata, just acclaimed as the year's best translation), Udarata
Rajadhaniya (1998 - Lorna Devaraja's The Kandyan Kingdom) and
Kande Rajjuruwo (1998 - Boy and the Mountain by Chaman Nahal).
- Ranat
Give us more
"Photography was born black and white. It turned colour only many
years later. However, black and white photography has over the years grown
into a most powerful medium for record and preservation of information
in the form of visual images." This is the view of the 'duo' - seasoned
professional photographers L E Samararatne and L H R Wijetunga - who exhibited
a superb selection of black and white portrait photography last week at
the Lionel Wendt.
Both have decades of experience. Samare (as L.E.S is fondly referred
to by friends), the man with the walking stick ("I always carry it
for my morning walks to keep the dogs away") and Wije, the man always
with a cigar in his mouth - have devoted their entire lifetime to photography.
 During
the heyday of Chitrafoto, the prestigious studio run by Lake House, Samare
was its live-wire (after veteran B P Weerawardene) until he moved over
to the newspapers after Chitrafoto closed. Wije, the electrical engineer,
had a love for photography ever since his undergraduate days and has been
an active member of the Photographic Society of Ceylon for the past nearly
five decades. Their work is ample testimony to their commitment and dedication
to their profession.
The portraits were a good mix of the known and the unknown. There were
a few well-known politicians, big names in the art world, and the totally
unknown - both young and the old.
Starting with the alphabet (a little one writing on the slate) to the
aged, Samare's collection of 55 photographs was a fine blend of moods captured
through the lens of a skilled craftsman. As a press photographer he had
access to the highest in the land.
We all know them - they are public figures. But Samare's ability as
a professional is best seen in the less known and the unknown faces. From
the 'young farmer' in the dry zone and the 'innocent' to the 'twins' and
the "aged," Samare had done justice to the Internet claim that
here is "one of the best professional photographers anyone can find
in the world."
 Wije's
collection (also 55 pictures) too had its share of the well known personalities
- Venerable Nyanaponika, writer Martin Wickremesinghe, artists Manjusri
& Mudaliyar Amarasekera, actors Arthur van Langenberg & Winston
Serasinghe, photographer B P Weerawardena standing out among them. A rare
shot of photographer Pat Deckker in one of his typical poses puffing away
at the pipe, made me go back thirty years to Studio Times (in the Times
building in Fort) when it was a daily routine for a few of us from the
Observer to have breakfast at the YMBA cafetaria, and move across to sit
with Pat and Nihal, often joined by Wije on his way to work (he was then
Director of Telecommunications) for a chit chat.
The duo had included each one's portrait taken by the other. While Wije's
cigar was there, Samare's walking stick was missing. Obviously because
he can be without it unlike Wije's cigar!
The sponsors, Ninehearts assure that this will be an annual event to
promote black and white work of fellow photographers.
They hope thereby that (true) black & white photography will retain
its place as the medium for an artistic and pristine image, as it is recognised
in Europe and other western countries. A laudable thought, indeed.
To Samare and Wije, black and white photography by its very abstract
nature is able to evoke deeper and more enduring emotions in the human
mind than the colourful true to life images that often meet our eye in
everyday life.
Finally, it's all about life they say. "We observe it and record
it as professionals or amateurs bringing to it not only our technical skills
but also our imagination and compassion." To Samare and Wije, we say,
continue the good work. Give un more black and whites !
- D.C. Ranatunga
|
