The Art of this week is simple yet thought provoking-by an Anglo Iranian contemporary artist Jason Noushin.
You can hit me a thousand times
Jason Noushin
Calligraphy and Comics on Linen
Author: Inspirere
Inspirere is about art, travel and a creative lifestyle. It is about seeing the world from a different light for different audiences- from toddlers to families to the solo traveler- this blog is inclusive determined to have something fun for everyone.
Access Denied
Its Tuesday, and its time for Art of the Week!
This week’s art is a painting by Nepalese artist called Kurchi Dasgupta called Access Denied.
Access Denied
Kurchi Dasgupta
Oil on Canvas
60″x48″
How many times have we forgotten a password? Or have not had access to something digitally? Or just not been able to enter a website and gone like mffffff*****?
Or…
Perhaps Dasgupta questions exactly how much and what are women allowed to own or possess materially, emotionally, physically? The woman in the painting seems like she has everything at her disposal, but the choices she makes are limited and restricted by societal structures and expectations. She has apparent access to everything, but come to think of it, does she really?
New Year & New Art of the Week
Happy New Year Everyone!
Hope you are all having a wonderful start to 2019!
Our art of the week is going to be a photograph from a very iconic travel National Geographic Photographer, Steve McCurry.
This piece reflects much of the world’s January mood after the holiday season, as it’s time to get back to routine, and work.
However, please brighten up your day (or night) with the Kashmir Flower seller.
Courtesy: http://www.artsy.net
Artist: Steve McCurry
Medium: Photography
Year: 1996
Art of the Week: Popeye By Beatriz Milhazes
Merry Christmas art readers! If you’re feeling festive today, check out Beatriz Milhazes’s Popeye- contemporary yet derived from the classic geometric abstract method of painting to music, like the pioneer of abstraction Wassily Kandinsky. Except this lovely artist isn’t from Russia, but from Rio De Janiero, Brazil- in the heart of South America.
What makes Milhazes work unique is her vibrant combinations geometric forms and bright colors to portray the idea of connecting the past to the present as she tries to make sense of Brazilian culture today.
Mihazes explains that her work is combination of collage and acrylics, layer upon layer, however, if we delve deeper, we understand that her laborious process is a visual commentary on the political changes Brazil has gone through from when Milhazes grew up to now. In the 1960s, Brazil was much like a dictatorship, and today it stands as a democracy.
Last but not least, music is what inspires Milhazes’ work. From Brazilian folk music to classical sonatas, she claims that an artwork is composed by what she listens to!
Art of the Week
Its high time I did this,
Imagine if we could describe what and where our lives were by just placing an artwork to portray it.
Here’s mine this week. Before Christmas, we wish for a stroke of a luck in a year I had trouble making sense of.
Jill Ricci’s Strange Fortunes. Jill Ricci is a contemporary mixed media artist based in Chicago who places memories together through mixed media.
Diary of a Third Culture Kid
“Mummy, eenet eenet!” Referring to the fact that the food is hot in Tagalog. Said Myra, my two year old.
Meet Myra Rhoda Bullard. Our 2 year old daughter. If you ask her full name and where she’s from. She’ll gladly tell you that I’m from Bahamash And Hudaiba, a neighborhood of Dubai.
Myra, a quarter Bahamian-American, quarter Indian and Emirati child- is waiting impatiently for her lunch.
Daal and broccoli with rice. What she doesn’t know is that there’s vegetables in it.
Otherwise, like most 2 year olds, she wouldn’t touch it. Just because Broccoli is “ewww”.
Daal is a lentil soup that originated in India.
In my mother’s home we believe that you have to start them young on different foods, and one example is lentils.
Lentils are a great source of protein and very nutritive. And guess what? They taste good too!
She gobbled down the daal and rice- and said “mummy more!” “It’s khalas..”
Khalas is the arabic word for finish.
This is a baby that eats Indian food with North American vegetables, and speaks in Arabic, English and Tagalog.
Welcome to Dubai folks! And the land of Third culture kids.🤣
Myra Rhoda Bullard is one of many multicultural little people.
They learn English and their mother tongues, and then they learn an additional language, which I like to call “nanny tongue”- which is beautiful and unique.
Children are fast learners, especially before the age of 5.
Myra might just be speaking 3 languages before her third birthday.
Stay tuned for more funny updates.
Eat Your Way through 5 of Dubai’s Art Hotspots
Where Art and culinary adventure come together, be inspired and visit 5 of Dubai’s art hot spots, and enjoy some delicious food while you’re at it!
For those who want to feel the creative pulse of a city that boasts a mix of East and West, an artistic beat has hidden in Dubai for over 70 years. Today, as Dubai rises in prominence as a travel destination, the art scene is growing fast, and it’s not so alternative anymore. With that development has come good eats and exciting activities in the city’s cultural enclaves. Check out the article here.
Published by yours truly.
Highlights of Luxury Dubai: My new favorite Friday Brunch
How do you wow friends and visitors that come to town in Dubai?
See the dancing fountains, check!
See the Burj, the tallest building, check!
Eat some amazing food, with a view of them both; in an uncrowded spot- at the Taste of Thailand brunch.
That was something new worth trying.
Thiptara at the Grand Palace hotel on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard offers a stunning and delicious 5 course brunch.
Eat to your hearts desire.
Seafood salad. Avocado salad. Crab cakes.Spring rolls. Thai satay. Thai curry. Prawn stir fry. Thai ice tea. Beef. Pad thai. More tea. Coconut milk with jelly. I’m stuffed. Happy. Caught up with old friends and loved it so much!
It’s on the Entertainer too, use it up before it’s gone!
Refreshing Thai Iced Tea. Neutralize Foodiness.
My favorite prawn stir fry with fried noodles. Yum!
Thai green curry with fresh sweet basil.
Buddha’s Greet you at the door, the hospitality of the Thai is very different to what we know. Their welcome is grand and they give what they have.
The quirky finds of Sharjah souks
Countless walks along Souk Al Arsa, in the arts area and souk Al Mureijah is a taste of the old Sharjah and old UAE.
Whenever I see these things I can’t help but chuckle. It’s a mix of Iranian, Indian, khaleeji Arab.
Check out the pictures. And write me your thoughts.
At the Reza Herbs shop we found some smoking swans.
And a princess of rice, called Nasrin who came all the way from India.
Tea or Cha?
With just some small variations, the world really only has two ways to say tea.
Think about it the next time you have a steaming hot cup.
One is derived from the English “tea” or the Latin “te”, and the other is some version of “cha”, like “chay” in Persian, Urdu or Hindi.
But, did you know that both words came from China?
How they spread around the world is an example of globalization…
“Cha” spread across land routes such as the Silk Road, where the Persians until today have Zafrani Chay. A Steaming treat made from tea leaves, infused saffron and sugar.
Karak Chai is another delight- which is a boiled milky drink made from steamed tea leaves, cardamom, sugar and condensed milk. A favorite of India, Pakistan, and the Middle East; and translated as “Hard Tea.”
“Cha” even made its way to Tanzania and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa.
I was pleasantly surprised to have spicy masala tea at a spice farm while reuniting with my college friend in Tanzania.
The spice tea of Tanzania.
Waiting for a cup of Chai with Ruth (July 2015)
And the “Tea” leaves spread across the naval trade routes of the Dutch and the Portuguese in the 1700s-bringing the leaves to Europe to be celebrated.
A few cultures have also celebrated the novel leaves through ceremonies, such as the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
Other cultures also have meals around the drink- such as the Spanish Merianda, the Moroccan Gouter, and the English High Tea,
Last, but not least, you just learnt a new word in a few different languages.
Credits:
Alya. “Chai Karak: The Popular Drink That’s Rapidly Spreading in the Gulf.” Khaleejesque, 28 Aug. 2014, khaleejesque.com/2011/09/lifestyle/chai-karak-the-popular-drink-thats-rapidly-spreading-in-the-gulf/.
Sonnad, Nikhil. “Tea If by Sea, Cha If by Land: Why the World Only Has Two Words for Tea.” Quartz, Quartz, 11 Jan. 2018, qz.com/1176962/map-how-the-word-tea-spread-over-land-and-sea-to-conquer-the-world/.
Special Thanks to Chen-Yong Cher for the amazing topic, and Ruth Sabai for taking me on a spice tour in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
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