Arts

“Being always on the move, I am often overwhelmed by the feeling of simply floating in the air, without being able to get a hold of anything,” says Cora de Lang, an Argentinean artist in Sri Lanka for the past two decades.

She imagines herself sitting in a subway, observing the scenes outside the window, actually perceiving nothing but colours, patterns, lines and dots….and then asking herself ‘Where am I?’ She goes on to say how she feels blessed to be able to live so many different lives within one life. “I simply pass through doors from one life into the next, and the next, and again the next. The speed, however, is frightening,” she adds.

From this lifestyle, Cora de Lang has developed a strange habit of collecting all kinds of items, almost hanging on to these places through the tiny and often seemingly meaningless ‘souvenirs’ which she feels she could get hold of despite the whirlwind passing through her life.

For her, art is like keeping a diary of all what she feels, has seen and experienced from her somewhat gypsy- like movements from country to country and region to region. Boarding passes, business cards of people she has met, cashier’s bills, pieces of stone and rock together with paint form the media of her work. Interestingly, one sees the great skill required in mastering the art of incorporating all kinds of media into one piece of work. Unlike visitors to other art exhibitions, another novelty in the case of Cora’s work is that you may have to view her paintings, standing close to them first and then stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Zooming in and then zooming out will definitely help to put the whole painting into perspective.

Cora explains the title of her upcoming exhibition. ‘Blades of Grass’; “In this picture I am flying low over meadows, once in a while gripping some blades of grass, holding them tight in my fist to avoid losing them. An obsession? Perhaps.”

Gradually the artifacts, which she will have on display, gain a life of their own and transform into elements of her creative work. She now realizes, she says, how none of her recent artwork can do without her creative side coming in. “While my creative process emerges from within, my ‘blades of grass’ get entangled with my projection of my ideas for a new artwork. While I toss them around in my mind, the work unfolds in front of my inner eye.”

Cora grew up in Argentina, where she became an acclaimed young painter in the early 70s. Over thirty years ago, she embarked on a journey through continents and cultures, absorbing them wherever she went, integrating their varied different and often similar forms of expression. She lived in Germany where she married, then spent many years in India, in Nigeria and in Mexico. The repeated process of adapting to new climates, environments, people and in particular with her artistic colleagues, has given her invaluable insights into human nature.

Wherever Cora spent a period of her life, she became an active member of the art scene, redefining her work in terms of motives, colours, materials, techniques, and even artistic co-operation. Her innumerable solo and joint exhibitions are proof of this vivid participation.

Her new exhibition will be at the Barefoot Gallery from September 29 to October 15.

The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka will shortly pay further tribute to the astonishing inventiveness and the staggering range and quality of Mozart’s music, as part of his 250th Anniversary celebrations this year - with a performance of probably his best loved and most often performed Symphony, No. 40 in G minor (K.550). This will be on Sunday October 8, at the Ladies College Hall at 7 p.m.

Mozart’s last three and greatest symphonies, Nos. 39-41, were written a year after Don Giovanni in the summer of 1788, in the astonishingly short period of eight weeks. No. 40 in G minor brims with melodic beauty and vitality, and with elegantly shaped phrases.

Yet it is intense and tragic, a work of passion with sharp contrasts of mood, touching profound depths of emotion.

The concert will be conducted by Ananda Dabare, and the other works are Chopin’s brilliant Piano Concerto No. 1 with Anoma Fernando as soloist, and the premiere of ‘Concert Piece for Orchestra’ by Amal Abeysekera.

Chopin wrote his E minor Piano Concerto in 1830 at the age of twenty. He gave the first performance in October at Warsaw, before leaving on tour for Vienna and Paris, never to return to his homeland Poland. It belongs to the tradition of lighter, virtuoso concertos in which the main interests lies in the solo piano part. It provided Chopin with a brilliant platform for displaying his unique gifts of melody, tone colour, and poetry of touch.

Tickets are available at Titus Stores, Liberty Plaza or can be obtained by calling SOSL on 2682033.
The concert is sponsored by Asian Alliance Insurance.

An evening of theatrical presentations at Bishop’s College earlier this month underscored the futility of war and the collective suffering of Sri Lankans in a performance that was as edifying as it was entertaining.

The multimedia, multicultural presentation featured nationally renowned artists from the Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim communities who came together to jointly express the impact of the culture of violence on all Sri Lankans through their art. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supported the event.

“Dance and drama have long been an effective means to deliver didactic messages,” U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires James R. Moore said in his introductory remarks at the performance. “This coming together of the diverse cultures of Sri Lanka to communicate people’s profound desire for peace is timely, courageous, and appropriate.”

The focal point of the evening was a unique fusion of ballet and video images in the form of a dialogue between stage and screen, reflecting the pain and suffering the Muslim, Sinhalese and Tamil communities face at the hands of violence and war. Other presentations included a dance-drama, titled “A Prayer for Peace,” performed by a group of disabled people, including veterans; and a fusion of Sinhalese and Tamil classical dance reflecting the theme of peaceful coexistence.

Music aficionados certainly can quench their thirst with quality musical theatre this month when The Charity Committee in association with Cinnamon Grand, presents ‘Music of the Night’ on October 4, at the Oak Room, Cinnamon Grand at 7.30 p.m.

This one and-half-hour theatre-concert will feature acclaimed Philippine and West End theatre star Monique Wilson, with a repertoire of songs from famous Broadway, West End shows and films. The event aims at raising funds for Children with Cancer and is part of The Charity Committee’s annual fund raisers.

Monique, one of the Philippines’ and Asia’s foremost theatre, film and television actresses - has a career that spans over 26 years and extensive theatre, film television, recording and concert credits.

Julia Abueva, 10-year old singing sensation, and Rito Asilo -well known Philippine actor/singer, will be Monique’s special guests for the evening, with Michelle Nicolasura accompanying them on a baby grand piano.

Famous songs that will be performed by this talented trio, will include numbers such as “When You Wish Upon A Star/If you Believe" (from the film ‘Pinocchio’ and the musical ‘The Wiz’), 'The Prayer’, originally sung by (Celine Dion and Andrea Boccelli), 'When You Believe’ (from the film ‘Prince of Egypt’), ‘Riverbend’ (from the film ‘Pocahontas’), 'Phantom of the Opera Medley’, 'Think of Me’, 'The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Music of the Night’, ‘All I ask of You’ (from the musical ‘Phantom of the Opera’), ‘Eidelweiss’, (from the musical the 'Sound of Music’), ‘Where is Love’ /’ Tomorrow’ (from the musicals ‘Oliver’ and ‘Annie’), ‘Whistle Down the Wind’ (from the musical ‘Whistle Down the Wind’), ‘ Over the Rainbow’ ‘(from the movie ‘Wizard of Oz’),“Sun and Moon’, (from the musical Miss Saigon’), ‘I Had A Dream/Chiquita’ by Abba. 'I Believe’, ‘Ordinary Miracles,’ 'People’ (sung by Barbara Streisand), 'Make Your Own Kind Of Music’, ... etc.

Tickets are priced at Rs. 6000 and are available at Cinnamon Grand Colombo (Business Centre-24973067). The event is sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airlines and Sri Lanka Insurance.

Renowned Indian film maker Shyam Benegal arrives in Sri Lanka today and will deliver a public lecture on “Secularism in Indian Cinema” at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies tomorrow, Monday, September 25. A special screening of the film The Making of the Mahatma will precede the lecture.

Shyam Benegal announced his arrival on the Indian cinema scene with his film quartet of Ankur (1974) Nishant (1974), Manthan (1975) and Bhumika (1976).

A vibrant and direct language of film making presented itself to the world. All four films were narratives of India’s socio-economic scene with delineations of gender bias, domestic violence, feudal attitudes and social prejudices. His later films like Junoon (1979) and Kalayug (1981) further established his reputation.

He is widely admired for his authentic recreation of period settings, his use of local language and idiom, and his refreshingly different use of music which is always rooted in the cultural context of his films.

The International Film Guide in 1979 ranked him as one of the five best directors of the world.

In 1986, Shyam Benegal made an epochal TV Serial ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’ based on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s memorable work Discovery of India. The serial vividly portrayed 3500 years of existence of Indian civilisation as written in Nehru’s classic work.

Of his recent films, the trilogy of Mammo (1995), Sardari Begum (1996), and Zubeidaa (2000) demonstrate his recognition of the peculiar pressures imposed upon Muslim women in Indian society.

In 1996 Benegal made the film The Making of the Mahatma, the story of Mahatma Gandhi’s 21-year stay in South Africa where he perfected the tools of ahimsa and satyagraha, his main tools of political agitation and nation building.

Shyam Benegal is now a Member of Parliament in India.

His visit has been sponsored by the India-Sri Lanka Foundation (ISLF).

During his visit to Sri Lanka he will also be conducting a workshop for young Sri Lankan film makers at the National Film Corporation, Colombo 7. Further details of the workshop are available at the office of the General Manager, National Film Corporation.

The vibrant paintings express a child’s joy in life. They are no different from a collection of art from children of any ordinary primary class. Yet these little artists have experienced far more pain and hardship than perhaps even many adults. It is not often that they have the opportunity to indulge in the normal activities of childhood, or to explore their creative abilities through art and craft.

The Overseas School of Colombo (OSC), as part of their Community Service Programme, has organised an exhibition of paintings by the child-cancer patients of the children’s section at the National Cancer Institute at Maharagama. It is to be held on October 3 and 4 at the new OPD premises of the hospital.

“These are the ‘forgotten children’,” says Devika Ilayperuma, Primary School Art Teacher at OSC, explaining that these children rarely have the opportunity to write, draw, or take part in such activities that other children take for granted. Their lives are uncertain and people tend to forget that they too are just children with the needs of childhood.

However, ‘The Playhouse’ – an Educational Centre at the National Cancer Institute, which is sponsored by OSC – is a place where these little patients come during their stay in hospital to enjoy these activities. A trained teacher works with the children every day and students from the school visit to help on a regular basis. Art, music, reading and handwork are some of the activities carried out.

“It is therapeutic and rewarding for the children,” says Mrs. Ilayperuma, adding that it gives them a sense of achievement. Some parents use a visit to ‘The Playhouse’ as motivation to get the children to go for their chemotherapy or other treatments without making a fuss, she says. The paintings are to be framed and donated to the parents of the children. Sadly, she says, some of the children who painted the pictures have passed away.

“There is so much talent in these children which needs to be recognised,” says Karu Gamage, Director of the Community Service Programme at OSC. He says they also hope to have a larger exhibition soon in Colombo to create awareness about these children and their needs. The majority of them are the victims of leukaemia, he says and a few require bone marrow transplants which are unavailable in Sri Lanka.

Sometimes it may seem that they have so little to hope for. Medicine, chemotherapy and the routine of hospital-life may dominate their lives. Still, projects such as these can help to bring a semblance of normalcy and smiles to the faces of these little ones.

September 29 is the Festival of St Michael and All Angels and churches all over the world dedicated to St Michael celebrate their patronal festival at this time.

The Church at Polwatte, Colombo 3, dedicated to St Michael and All Angels will mark the 119th anniversary of its dedication and the 84th anniversary of the installation of its pipe organ presented by Sir Thomas Villiers in memory of his son who died in World War I. The Church is having a Choral Festival on the eve of St. Michael’s, on Thursday, Septembre 28, at 6 p.m. Anthems by Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Henry Purcell and others will be sung by a combined Choir interspersed by Readings and Michaelmastide congregational hymns to celebrate the occasion.

Members of choirs from churches around Colombo have been invited to join. All are welcome.