In The Starlight

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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
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“It is said that no star is a heroine to her makeup artist.”
(Richard Corliss – American journalist)

This is a backstage glimpse from a window into the makeup room before the show of a school in Bhadohi in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at 45 KM from Varanasi (Benaras).
Several kids wearing gorgeous costums were waiting in line in front of the make-up artist who was changing their features in order to make them play specific characters.
This little girl was getting ready to perfom a traditional dance.
The light was provided by a single bulb from the ceiling in the room and allowed to have make a series of pictures with no editing.

By the Light of Love

 

“Both light and shadow are the dance of Love.
Love has no cause, it is the astrolabe of God’s secrets.
Lover and loving are inseparable and timeless.
Although I may try to describe love,
when I experience it, I am speechless.
Although I may try to write about love, I am rendered helpless. 
My pen breaks, and the paper slips away at the ineffable place where lover loving and loved are one.
Every moment is made glorious by the light of Love.”
(Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, known as Jelaluddin Rumi – Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and mystic, 1207–1273)

Once I came to Prayag ghat in Varanasi (Benaras) and I saw this old man painting Hindi words on a wall.
His hand was dancing, the letters were coming one by one.
He smiled at me, he knew the fancy art of caligraphy which had no secret to him, he was conducting an enchanting choregraphy and I thought that all this could only happen by the light of love…

Christophe

 

This is a portrait of Christophe.
Christophe is a French famed singer and talented songwriter.
His first hit was “Aline” in 1965 and he is famous for his eternal songs “Les Paradis perdus” (“Lost Paradises” – 1973) and “Les Mots bleus” (“The Blue Words” – 1975).
Whenever he is performing he is illuminating the stage, gathering any kind of people from all generations.
Christophe is a decadent and flamboyant dandy who is a mysterious loner drifting apart from the showbiz scene.
He is notorious for being an uncontrollable rebel with panache and poetry.

Voici un portait de Christophe.
Christophe est un chanteur français connu et un talentueux parolier.
Son premier succes “Aline” est sorti en 1965, ensuite ses chansons éternelles comme “Les Paradis perdus” (1973) et “Les Mots bleus” (1975) lui ont permis de trouver une grande popularité.
Lorsqu’il se produit il illumine la scène, rassemblant un public de toutes sortes et de toutes générations. 
Christophe est un dandy décadent et flamboyant qui est un solitaire mystérieux en retrait de l’industrie du divertissement.
C’est un rebel incontrolable mais avec panache et poésie.

Chitrakar

 

“The oldest living city in the world”.

This is a portrait of my friend Durga who is one of the most talented artist of his generation.
In his workshop which faces river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras) he is painting amazing bodies making love or sometimes alone but always with sensuality and strength, with something special that reminds me a lot of Eugene Delacroix’s work…

I shot this picture in Delhi while we were visiting Safdarjung’s Tomb.
Durga thinks that this portrait makes him look older.

In Hindi, “Chitrakar” means painter.

Studies Under Way

 

This is another picture shot in the new workshop of my friend Durga in Varanasi (Benaras).

Those studies in progress pinned on a wall are part of a new topic about hijras, those members of “the third gender”, neither man nor woman. 
Durga Charan Das is a young painter living in the “City of Lights”, he is painting amazing bodies making love or sometimes alone but always with sensuality and strength, with something special that reminds a lot of Eugene Delacroix’s work…
Durga has already won several prestigious awards in India and now exhibitions of his work are starting in Europe.

For more explanations concerning hijras you may see those pictures
www.flickr.com/photos/designldg/3086720616/
www.flickr.com/photos/designldg/3085797949/

The Artist at Work

© All rights reserved.

All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

My friend Durga Charan Das in his new workshop in varanasi (Benaras).

When he was a child he became famous after painting the feet of Goddess Durga’s statue in a temple nearby his family house in a village located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
This reputation allowed him to become a successful Art student in the prestigious “Banaras Hindu University” (B.H.U.) of Varanasi.
He is painting amazing bodies making love or sometimes alone but always with sensuality and strength, with something special that reminds a lot of Eugene Delacroix’s work…
Exhibitions with his work are starting in Europe this season.
These are a few of the prestigious awards that Durga won in India:

- 7th North Regional Camlin Art Foundation, New Delhi 2007.
- Annual Art Exhibition (F.O.V.A., B.H.U.) 2005/2006/2007.
- Camelart Foundation’s, Art Tour, 2007.
- Kala Parva, India, 2000.
- Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendra, U.P., 2007.
- 6th North Regional Camlin Art Foundation, New Delhi 2006.
- Youth Festival Spandam, B.H.U., 2004.
- Umminde, Uttar Pradesh, 2004.
- Varuna Mahotsav, organized by the Art & Culture Develpment Society of the state of Uttar Pradesh, 2004.
- Ballia Mahotsav, Uttar Pradesh, 2001.
- Tulika in water colour, IT, B.H.U., 2004.
- Annual Art Exhibition, KUP, Varanasi, 2003.
- Ram Chhatpar Shilpnyas, Uttar Pradesh, 2008.
- Indian Art Gallery, Pune, 2008.
- Young Artist Art Camp, Delhi, 2008.
- Ram Chhatpar Symposium, Varanasi, 2008.
- Smviti, Young Artist of Varanasi, 2007.
- Varuna Mahotsva, organized by the Art & Culture Develpment Society of the state of Uttar Pradesh, 2007.
- Ideal Journalist Association, Uttar Pradseh, 2005.
www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile//105…

The painter’s workshop

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All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

This picture was shot one evening at my friend Durga’s workshop which is facing the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

Durga Charan Das is a young painter living in the “City of Lights”.
When he was 4 years old he became famous after painting the feet of Goddess Durga’s statue in a temple nearby his family house in a village located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Ever since he is considered to be the Mozart of Indian contemporary painting.
This reputation allowed him to become a successful Art student in the prestigious “Banaras Hindu University” (B.H.U.) of Varanasi.
The biggest university in Asia has a program led by some of the best Art teachers among modern India.
His training gave him a knowledge of classic Indian and European paintings while allowing him to carry on his own style.
He is painting amazing bodies making love or sometimes alone but always with sensuality and strength, with something special that reminds a lot of Eugene Delacroix’s work…
Durga has already won several prestigious awards in India and now exhibitions of his work are starting in Europe.

This is a link in order to see his portrait:
www.flickr.com/photos/designldg/2190256216/in/set-72157600004147839

In an Inspirational Mood

© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

The creative process takes so many ways.
Sometimes inspiration is simply in front of my eyes, I just need to walk in the city and find an idea or a new concept from a small detail.
I saw this pattern on the door of an old house nearby Aurangzeb’s mosque in Kashi, the oldest part of Varanasi (Benaras).
Photography allows me to learn to look at things, my mind keeps being busy, this detail could become a throw with an embroidery and pipings…
It is this mental and social process which involves the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts that makes the training of the conception of creativness.
It is also an interpretation of the past or of what was done before and it often happens accidentally with serendipity…

Join the photographer at http://www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography

 

Namaste Monsieur Monet…!

© All rights reserved.

All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

This picture was shot in the beautiful and serene Lodhi Garden in Delhi last May before a storm.
The Lodhis were a pashtun Muslim dynasty which ruled much of Northern India during the 16th century.

The lotusses in this pond were reminding me the Water Lilies (or Nympheas) by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926).
This is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings which depict Monet’s flower garden at Giverny and were the main focus of the artist’s artistic production during the last thirty years of his life.
During the last years Monet suffered from cataracts.
In 1923, Monet had a lens removed from his right eye, correcting this but also allowing him to see ultraviolet light (which the lens usually blocks), and he began painting the water lilies in a more blue shade.

I found funny to work on this series of images as a kind of tribute to this artist and it is a new subject for me which allows me to play with colors.
Besides I enjoy making links into that Indo-Western topic that I usualy show in my photostream even if here it’s only coming from my imagination.

Although the title is an allusion to another impressionist painting “Bonjour Monsieur Courbet”.

“There’s a moon in my body”

 

” There’s a moon in my body…
There’s a moon in my body, but I can’t see it!
A moon and a sun.
A drum never touched by hands, beating, and I can’t hear it! “

This is a poem from Kabīr (Hindi: कबीर, Punjabi(Gurmukhi): ਕਬੀਰ, Urdu: /Punjabi (Shahmukhi)کبير‎) (1398—1448) who was a mystic poet from Varanasi (Benaras), the social and practical manifestation of his philosophy represented a synthesis of Hindu, and Muslim concepts. 
According to Kabir, all life is an interplay of two spiritual principles, one is the personal soul (Jivatma) and the other is God (Paramatma) and salvation is the process of bringing into union these two divine principles.

Kabir is a very important figure in Indian history. 
He is unusual in that he is spiritually significant to Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims alike. 
Kabir touches the soul, the conscience, the sense of awareness and the vitality of existence in a manner that is unequalled in both simplicity and style. 
Another beauty of Kabir’s poetry is that he picks up situations that surround our daily lives. 
Thus, even today, Kabir’s poetry is relevant and helpful in both social and spiritual context. 
Following Kabir means understanding one’s inner self, realizing oneself, accepting oneself as is, and becoming harmonious with one’s surroundings.

Kabir has written much poetry and song, all verses are recorded in Hindi. 
His lyrics are characterised by a free use of the vernacular, and is unfettered by the grammatical bonds of his day and it is this quality which has made his philosophy accessible to generations of Indians.

Monsoon season is the lotus season and last June I saw this lotus pond on a road from Khajuraho to the jungle which inspired Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle book” in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Lotus always remind me French Impressionist Claude Monet’s Water Lilies (or Nympheas).