Cultural DIARY
Jayasiri Semage discards brush and palette
by Prof. Chandima Wijebandara
(BL/BRS Graduate School, Singapore)
Two-hundred paintings of dancing liyavela lines made without brush or
paints will be on display at his exhibition opened on March 14 at the
Semage Gallery, 3, Lilian Avenue Mount Lavinia. It will continue till
April 10.
Painters all over the world use vivid colours and different media in
expressing their beautiful thoughts. For instance, Leonardo Davinci
painted Mona Lisa on canvas using oil paints while Michael Angelo and
Pablo Picasso adopted the same technique in their time-honoured works.
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Kalasuri Jayasiri
Semage |
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One of the exhibits |
Those who painted the walls of Ajanta, Karle and Ellora have found
walls as their 'canvases' and used colours of their choice to
communicate aesthetically rich imaginations. "While so much emphasis is
made on colours, I wonder why the line was not given that much
prominence?" asks Kalasuri Jayasiri Semage, Sri Lanka's international
art ambassador. "Lines can be equally expressive even standing alone. In
fact, the earliest experiments in drawing-art were made with lines.
Colours, of course, add value to lines yet the use of colour has made
many artists to underestimate the significant eloquence of line which is
the basic tool of art." He adds: "The use of line has been practically
reduced to cartoons and illustrative drawings."
Arguing thus for the powerful aesthetic and communicative value of
line, Kalasuri Jayasiri Semage has made it a practical challenge for
himself. He was, so far, known for his effective mastery of brush with
balanced use of colour. As a matter of fact, the use of appropriate
colour had been his greatest asset. His media had been canvas and other
surfaces including walls. His paintings depicting love, peace,
innocence, lust and religious themes are well-known both in Sri Lanka
and abroad. Now he is preparing to show us how he has revolutionised his
own technique in creating beautiful sentiments in our minds at his next
exhibition. "No brush, no colours, simply lines. As a matter of fact I
have chosen liyavela as my language in this series of paintings," says
Semage. However, his usual themes like love, lust, compassion and joy
have not been forgotten. They have found equal emphasis even in this
simple application of black, yet poetical lines with a bit of added
shades occasionally.
Aesthetic expressions
Nevertheless, one should not misunderstand that Semage is reducing
his paintings to simple line sketches. For instance, a couple embracing
each other and kissing passionately could be drawn as a line sketch.
That is what, in fact, most artists do before they fill their works with
colour. One can detect such outlines in almost every eastern painting.
We can notice even in Semage's paintings very clear and bold line
drawing he has made before adding appropriate colours. Those are just
sketches. What Semage is going to showcase in his next exhibition is not
a collection of such simple line sketches. They are perfectly finished
works of different genre. The pictures he has drawn are effective
aesthetic expressions generated with a high command of lines that almost
always converge into traditional decorative liyavela motifs. The
stylised flowers, leaves, buds, animals and basic motifs like galbindu,
liyapota, arimbu, and palapethi found in traditional liyavelas are
incorporated into beautiful depictions of human and animal life. His
rhythmic ascending lines depicting various life forms culminate
beautifully into such traditional motifs. In this new technique, Semage,
evidently, has had close influence of stylistic liyavela designs found
in paintings of ancient Buddhist temple walls. His intimacy with
traditional Buddhist paintings both in Sri Lanka and India has
definitely enriched his vision to a great extent.
When closely observed almost all line drawings he has made for the
exhibition appears to begin as simple lines but develop into rhythmatic,
creeper-like curves that become beautiful creatures full of life and
ascend to a climax of converging either to a leaf or a flower. Such
visualisation, as a matter of fact, is a rare achievement only possible
to arise in meditatively trained methodical and insightful mind. The
mind must follow the path of developmental line in a continuous,
unbroken and confident way. Driven by concentrated and confluent mind
the lines will form into beautiful curves impregnated with sweet and
romantic feelings. Lines so formed will take shape of love, compassion
and joy.
Difficult motifs
This, of course, is a rediscovery of the rich potential of line.
Traditional art in the East shows that the artists who painted frescoes
and murals had strong faith and trust in mastering lines. Before
venturing into serious commitments of creating expressive, communicative
and aesthetically enjoyable art, the students of art had to obtain
perfect mastery of line. Anyone can notice this in Ajanta and Sigiri
paintings. However, this fact is more or less forgotten or overlooked by
many young artists today.
They do not seem to have sufficient mastery in line, and therefore,
they depend on excessive use of colours and heavy use of brushes.
According to Semage's opinion, any aspiring artist has to begin with
drawing liyavela and liyapota. Then he or she has to continue his
practice drawing increasingly difficult motifs systematically until he
is capable of tiringitalaya. Then he will be comfortable in mastering
and applying any style of painting creatively.
It is natural for any artist, who can draw well, to get more
attracted to sentimentally pleasant romantic visualisations. Even the
poets tend to prefer romantic depiction of beauty. A good example is
Selalihini Sandesaya by Ven. Sri Rahula. He has described in beautiful
and even suggestive language the beauty of city girls and village
damsels. Even the author of Guttilaya found occasion to depict physical
beauty in describing the occasion of celestial apsaras descended to
earth to dance to the music of Guttila. An artist who wishes to
translate the imagery of these poets in to paintings of hypnotic
beauties has to visualise angel-like perfect physical images and has to
meet the challenging task of bringing such beauties into 'life', doing
justice to their romantic curves, laughing eyes, dancing lips and all
sweetness. This is exactly what Jayasiri Semage has achieved even after
leaving aside his brush and palette (temporarily, of course!) He not
only depicts physical beauty but also paints their sweet love, affection
and joy as well. As a matter of fact, his revolutionary and restrictive
technique of translating his imaginations to liyavela lines has made the
task complicated and difficult, yet being a maestro of lines he has
reached salutary heights.
Gabbara Minisa comes to Lumbini
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A scene from the play |
The premiere of Sriyantha Mendis' latest stage play Gabbara Minisa
will go on the boards at the Lumbini Theatre, Colombo on March 31 at
6.45 p.m. There will be two repeat shows at the Elphinstone, Maradana on
April 6 at 3.30 p.m. and 6.45 p.m.
The cast include Sriyantha Mendis, Kusum Renu, Sarath Kothalawela,
Wasantha Vittachchi, Malkanthi Jayasinghe, Sujeewa Priyalal and Mihiri
Priyangani.
Aagaya pookkal
The Tamil dubbed version of award wining film “ Akasa Kusum” by
Prasanna Vithanage , Aagaya pookkal will be released on April 1 at
Cinecity Colombo and Raja Jaffna theatres.
A Temple Rebel
A Temple Rebel by Piyasiri Vijayasekera will be launched on April 5th
at 5.30 p.m. at Goethe Institut, 39, Gregory’s Road, Colombo 7.
Dr. Selvy Tiruchandran and Dr. Michael Fernando will speak on some
aspects of the book.
Website for Sri Lankan artists
A website (www.srilankanarts.lk) edited by critic, journalist and
author Gunasiri de Silva will be launched on March 30 at 3.30 p.m. at
the National Library Auditorium in Colombo 07.
Global Art Centre holds exhibition
The students of the Global Art Centre will hold an exhibition of
paintings at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Colombo 7, from April 1-3.
The Global Art centre in Colombo was launched in July 2007.
Shadow puppet show on Fa Hsien
A shadow puppet show on Fa Hsien will be staged at the John de Silva
Memorial Theatre, Colombo 7 on April 1 at 6 p.m. The story of the puppet
show is based on the journey of Fa Hsien who visited Sri Lanka 1,600
years ago.
Colombo bands perform for Cricket for Peace
The best amateur music bands in Colombo presented their compositions
for the ongoing Cricket for Peace programme being conducted in the three
World Cup hosting nations. Overall, more than 100 bands from Sri Lanka,
India and Bangladesh are participating in the multi-country,
multi-language citizen programme organised by MoneyGram International, a
leading global money transfer company.
The MoneyGram Cricket for Peace Music Album will be launched by
eminent personalities from music and cricketing field in a finale event
in Mumbai, India. The highlight of the finale will be the performance of
a Tri-Nation Band constituted by nine lead singers from Sri Lanka, India
and Bangladesh. The singers will come together in Mumbai to create the
Cricket for Peace anthem that will be multi-lingual and multi-ethnic in
nature, and will use Hindi, Bangla, Sinhala, Tamil and English
languages. The finale will be held in Mumbai on April 1.
Sri Lankan Theatre Festival 2011 and workshop on theatre
Sri Lanka Theatre Festival 2011 will be held from April 1 to April 9
at 4.00p.m. and 6.00 p.m. at Inter Act Black Box Theatre in Rajagiriya.
A three-day workshop on modern theatre will be held on April 6, 8 and 9
in parallel to the festival.
The dramas of the festival include Pompinia by Nadeeka Tharangani,
Beany (Tamil) by S.Dayalan, Caged ( Experimental Dance Theatre) , Zippy
The Zebra ( Performance based on South African story about
self-discovery and exploitation), Me Aliyata Geyak One ( Children's
Play) by Arunashantha/ Nadeeka Tharangani and a short film.
Swarna Samadhi
A musical evening featuring Victor Ratnayake, Sunil Edirisinghe and
Deepika Priyadharshini will be staged at the Gampaha Bandaranayake
College, Main Hall on April 3. There will be two shows, one at 3.30 p.m.
and the other at 6.30 p.m.
The music is by Nalaka Anjana Kumara and his orchestra. The Swarna
Samadhi will be compered by Lasantha Rohana and organised by the '94
Group of the Gampaha Bandaranayake College. All proceeds will go towards
the funding of the computer lab of the school.
Bernadage Sipirigeya
Bernadage Sipirigeya ( The House of Bernarda Alba) goes on the boards
on today at 7.00 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt theatre. The drama is directed
by Priyantha Sirikumara.
The play is woven around a family of five daughters and a mother
struggling through the conflicts of the day-to-day life.
The play
questions the influence of class and religion on its characters where
fanatic attempts to maintain honour through oppression ultimately
results in death
Kuweni the Queen of Lanka
Kuweni an exhibition by Anoli Perera will be held on March 30 at
Hempel Galleries, 30/3 Barnes Place, Colombo 7.
Tribute to Gunadasa Kapuge and Vijayakumaratunga
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Mithra Kapuge |
Lalinda Bandara |
A concert to pay tribute to Gunadasa Kapuge and Vijayakumarantunga by
Mithra Kapuge and Lalinda Bandara will be held on March 31 at 7.00 p.m.
at Yovun Nikehtanaya ,Anuradhapura.
The Incarnations of Wilson Guneratne on "Celeb Chat"
Popular stage, TV and screen actor Wilson Guneratne gets into
'Charitha Hathak' mode and takes centre stage on CSN / Prime TV's "Celeb
Chat" at 9.30 pm on March 28 . Guneratne who enjoys popularity not only
in Sri Lanka but also among overseas audiences, will talk about the
creation of his popular play and why he later added on an eighth
character making it 'Charith Atak'. Listen to him, share unforgettable
moments and hilarious incidents in a Iong and colourful acting career.
This will be a repeat telecast on March 29 at 8.00 AM
Non-Aligned
An exhibition of recent paintings titled 'Non - Aligned' will be held
at the Barefoot Gallery, Colombo from March 27 to April 17. Works of
Mariah Lookman, Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan, Lala Rukh, Muhanned
Cader, Ieuan Weinman will feature in the exhibition.
Bonjour cinema! 2011:
The Francophone Film Festival in Colombo
Bonjour cinema 2011 will be held from March 30 to April 3 at the
Punchi Theatre with daily screenings at 2.30 pm for children, 4.30pm
(except on March 30) and 7pm for adults.
All the films are subtitled in English and the entrance is free.
These films are also scheduled to be screened at Alliance françaises
in Kandy, Matara and Jaffna (dates will be informed later ).
The Alliance Française de Kotte, with the support of the Consulate of
Belgium, Embassy of France and Switzerland in Colombo, will present the
6th edition of "Bonjour Cinema!", the annual Francophone film festival
in Colombo. A selection of nine films will be offered by these three
countries that use French as a common language. All the films represent
the social and moral concerns of contemporary directors as well as the
diversity and the creativity of the French speaking countries in the
field of movie-making.
In addition to the film festival, the celebration of "Francophonie"
includes a French Language contest - for students and French teachers -
which offered the prize of 2 stays in Paris all expenses included, and
will present on April 4 two live shows from the French singer Céline
Caussimon: at 3pm for children only and at 6.30 pm for a concert of live
French songs, open to all.
These cultural events will allow the Sri Lankan public to understand
the Francophone culture that draws its richness from its diversity, the
French language being spoken and shared by more than 200 million people
around the world!
This is an event not to be missed!
7 films for adults (at 4.30 p.m except on March 30 at 7 p.m)
Joueuse/Queen to play - Caroline Bottaro - 2009 (FRANCE)
L'heure zéro/ Towards Zero - Pascal Thomas - 2007 (FRANCE)
Déchainées - Raymond Vouillamoz- 2009 (SWITZERLAND)
Les Petites Couleurs/ A Little Colour - Patricia Plattner - 2002
(SWITZERLAND)
Opération Casablanca/ Operation Casablanca - Laurent Nègre- 2010
(SWITZERLAND)
La promesse / The promise - Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne - 1996
(BELGIUM)
L'enfant / The child - Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne - 2005 -
(BELGIUM)
2 children films (at 2.30 p.m.)
Les enfants de Timpelbach/ The Children of Timpelbach Nicolas Bary
- 2008 (FRANCE)
Microcosmos - Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou- 1996 (SWITZERLAND)
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