Danger Dog Blog

More from Artists in Nepal

Megh Raj Thapa is back in top form with his final portrait of the Black Cat Pachiko.

George the Briard, Abbey the Graceful Newfoundland look up to Pachiko while the cute puppy Scamper - a Norwich Terrier - peeks out from around the corner.  

Megh Raj's studio is just off a busy alleyway.   Note how nicely the ladies dress.   They love color and look good in it!

Sayuja is Sufraj Khadka's darling young daughter.   She is 6 years old and attends the Little Rose School.  

Went to an opening of an exhibit of Krishna Gopal Ranjit's art.   Ranjit is often called the 'Father of Commercial Art' here in Nepal.   Probably not coincidentally, he is also the father of Ashmina Ranjit, a fine artist in all senses of the word.   Held at the Fusion Studio at the Sagarmantha Bazaar on Mandala Street in Kathmandu's Thamel district, it was well attended.   The theme was Nature Rage and dealt with the environmental destruction happening in Nepal. That is the 80-year-old artist in green with his back to you.

Many mountains without their white caps of snow and tsunami images were included in this theme.

Then it was off for more art at the Lotus Gallery in Thamel.   Jim Aplington and his partner Santosh Gupta have walls of contemporary Tibetan Art and always have something interesting to see.   The painting on the stretcher low in the frame is by Tenzing Norbu Lama, a fantastic artist who was featured in the acclaimed film 'Caravan' (aka 'Himalaya') by Eric Valli.   Set in Dolpo, a far off (and far out) disctrict of Nepal, where Tenzing grew up, it should definitely be next on your NetFlix queue.

This painting is a particular favorite of mine as it includes Spider-Man.   That movie trilogy allows me to travel as I do and I truly appreciate Sam Raimi and his crew for letting me work on all 3 films.   If you need information on the art of Lotus Gallery, please go to their website at www.LotusGalleryNepal.com.  

Dan was out walking today and came across this lovely Nepali Rottweiler. 

This dog needs a better sign!   Like this one by Nara.   The Danger Dog portrait is of Moose, a particularly handsome Rotweiller.   It is still available at this time (June, 2011).

As you can see, this pre-printed beware of dog sign does not do that Nepali Rottweiler justice!

Alas, you will have to wait until next trip to order your very own Danger Dog portrait.   I leave in mid-October 2011 and will be back in plenty of time for holiday gifts.

HOW TO ORDER

To order, please send me a photo of your pet.   I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of paintings and three people will get work.   Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint.   These can be hung indoors or out, be framed or unframed.

Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case.   Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!

Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com or find out more at www.NepalDog.com.

Let's keep these artists painting.

ORDERS CLOSED FOR THIS TRIP ON JUNE 3, 2011.

American Dogs = Nepali Jobs.   Micro-finance through art patronage!

 

Hello from Dogmandu!

 

 

Live from Kathmandu: Brick by Brick

Flash Mob:   Apparently there has been a trend in Europe -- the Flash Mob,  which uses social media such as FaceBook and Twitter to notify large groups where and when to meet.   There it has been around so long as to be banned in many places.     That trend has arrived in Kathmandu.   Many of the Nepalis who attended this art installation were notified by Flash Mob and it works!   There was a huge turnout.

We went to see a one-day installation called 'Brick by Brick', chronicling through art, music, theater and performance the environmental degradation and social devastation caused by the brick factories that dot the Kathmandu Valley.

The marvelously and lovingly produced exhibit 'Brick by Brick' dazzled on many levels.   And because of the Flash Mob phenomena Jawalakhel was mobbed with Nepalis enjoying the art, music, snacks, and theatrical performances on a cloudy Saturday afternoon.

Many, many art and music lovers came out to see Achinto's fabulous photography and were stirred by his message.   If you can, expand Achinto's artist statement above to get an idea of the project in his own words.

A handsome, soft-spoken man, Achinto Bhadra (above) has an easy manner that obviously won over his subjects.   At first, every one of the workers at the kiln refused to allow their photos to be taken.    With his huge 8' by 20' gorgeous canvas backdrop that had to be assembled each morning and dismantled each evening, he perservered.   Day after day, the kiln workers refused.

Finally, slowly, one-at-a-time, the kiln laborers agreed.   Putting on their finery, spending precious water to groom their hair, they allowed Acinto to capture their portraits in front of his luminescent scrim.   

That scrim is the perfect backdrop to Achinto's bold compositions.   The affection and trust between subject and artist is evident.  When Achinto showed the digital prints to the kiln workers, there was a universal sigh of "Beautiful".

Achinto also featured a series of black and white photos that accentuate the dreariness of the kilns.  Their dusty bleakness offer a stark counter-point to the vibrant color portraits of the workers themselves.   For a full slideshow of all the portraits featured in 'Brick by Brick' link here:   http://www.brickclean.net/test/gallery/index.html

Acinto's work dealing with the plight of sex workers and modern-day slavery has been shown at Harvard University recently.

You can read a bit about the extent of the problem here.  The official website and information on how to help or contribute are at www.brickclean.net.

Many, many volunteers of all ages helped with the show.   These girls in their green volunteer tees are typical of the wide support that this project has received.   Long live flash mob!

The local Nepali music attracted a crowd. 

Later that evening, Karl Knapp, the French-American artist that has been such a boon to the Kathmandu performance arts, was featured.   Wish I had been able to see it.   Karl never disappoints.   And I wish you had been there too.   Another reason to visit my beloved Nepal:   fine art!

Please think of supporting the signboard artists of Nepal as well.

I am back in Nepal for the 9th Danger Dog trip and am accepting commissions now.   I'll be back to the states in early June, just in time for Father's Day presents.  

HOW TO ORDER

To order, please send me a photo of your pet.   I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of paintings and three people will get work.   Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint.   These can be hung indoors or out, be framed or unframed.

Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case.   Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!

Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com or find out more at www.NepalDog.com.

Let's keep these artists painting.

American Dogs = Nepali Jobs.

 

Hello from Dogmandu!

 

 

Live from Kathmandu: Art and textiles

Last night was the opening of an exhibit featuring the collection of Barbara Adams, a woman who first traveled to Nepal 50 years ago  -- and stayed.

This is a detail of a textile from China.   The man's expressive face is no larger than a quarter(or a 2 Rupee coin), but the degree of emotion that the artist was able to convey with the tightly woven threads is amazing.  

Set on a larger panel, the faces were embroidered separately and added later to the piece.

The faces of the ladies did not fare so well.

Barbara Adams, 80, the striking white-haired lady above in a kelly green dress with a white purse, first came to Nepal in 1961 to report on the visit of Queen Elizabeth II.   She got there late to see the Queen, but met and fell in love with the younger brother of then-king Mahendra, Prince Bhashundara.   She collected textiles from every country she visited in Asia since and a small part of her collection is offered here at the Siddartha Gallery at Babar Mahal Revisted in Kathmandu. 

The exhibit featured hats, as well as other decorative, devotional and practical items.  

The thing that most impressed me was the news that Barbara is starting a program to keep young Nepalis from 'going out' - a euphemism for leaving the country to work and sending home remittance money.   All of the textiles featured are for sale and the proceeds will be donated to her new project that will pay young Nepalis room, board and a small stipend to 'go out' instead into the hills to help their fellow Nepalis.   At the end of the year, a substantial payment of $150,000 NRupees will be given all at once to give the worker a large downpayment to finance their dream.  You can read Barbara's recent editorial in the Kathmandu Post about the project here.  

Sangeeta Thapa, director of the Siddhartha Gallery, opens the exhibit with a short speech explaining the exhibit and introducing us to the artists.   Ilsa Brittain's fine paintings entitled "Female Substantive" dominated the ground floor of the gallery with her figurative/abstract oils.   You will have to forgive me, I was having so much fun at this opening, talking with friends that I forgot to take some photos of her work.   You will have to visit the Siddhartha Gallery website to enjoy samples of her art.

 

Back to the Danger Dogs and their inspiration:  

JK has a nice home and a nice Beware of Dog sign.

This is definitely the 'Dog of the Day'.   they seem to have had a bit of trouble with the lettering.   Beware of Food?   Did they misspell dog as god?  

Here is a more in focus shot of Pumpkin, by Megh Raj. 

Gotta go!  Today is Saturday and I have parties and events to attend.

Stay tuned.   More tomorrow.

I am back in Nepal for the 9th Danger Dog trip and am accepting commissions now.   I'll be back to the states in early June, just in time for Father's Day presents.  

HOW TO ORDER

To order, please send me a photo of your pet.   I will give it to three different artists, giving you a choice of paintings and three people will get work.   Each painting is about one square foot and is on metal with synthetic enamel paint.   These can be hung indoors or out, be framed or unframed.

Satisfaction is guaranteed as I accept no money up front.   If you do not like one of the three, you pay nothing, and the 3 artists are paid in full in any case.   Let me know what you want it to say and that's it!

Send your photo to ampage1@gmail.com or find out more at www.NepalDog.com.

Let's keep these artists painting.

American Dogs = Nepali Jobs.

 

Hello from Dogmandu!

 

Live from Kathmandu! Fabulous Art!

After a 30-hour journey, I arrived in Kathmandu and hit the ground running!

At the new Kathmandu Contemporary Art Center in Jhamsikhel, there was an installation which was the perfect meld of art, eco-science and social conscience.   Featuring the artworks of Nepali and French artists, the piece de resistance was this 5-meter Buddha by Karl Knapp, constructed with chicken wire covered with colorful recycled plactic bags, this exhibit was part of the Planet Nepal Festival of Arts and Environment.    You can find an earlier review of Karl's work in Kathmandu here:

The woven petals in front of 'The Recycled Buddha' are by Ashmina Ranjil, a contemporary artist from Kathmandu.

 

Also included as part of the exhibit was the Rickshaw Project - an artistic take on the most ecologically sound mode of transport.   The rickshaw above is made from recycled bicycle tires by Sanjana Joshi. 

Another of the 3 rickshaws, this one by the artist Om Khatri.   As part of the Festival, the three circulated through the streets of Kathmandu, handing out pamplets explaining how the local people can help sustain the environment on a personal level.  

This multi-media exhibit included these masks. 

A photo exhibition by Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati asks dificult questions and makes one think about the future of the global warming that starts at the top here in Nepal, the Roof of the World.

Apologies for the skew of this photo, but I cannot seem to get the photo orientations to stick on this computer.   However, I can assure that this giant Suhuaro cactus made of recycled soda bottles was a sight to behold.   I also cannot find the name of the artist in the literature provided.  

The evening ended with a documentary film that strikingly showed the pollution that is choking Kathmandu Valley in a dramatic way.   Very well-edited and shot, I recommend trying to see this short film named Pani (Water) by Sushma Joshi.   You will be glad you did.

I can't begin to do justice to this exhibit with my limited time, but please visit the website www.Planetnepal.org to find out more.

While trying to find the gallery, I came across this Nepali Danger Dog zealously guarding his turf.  

Seems I came late to the party, missing a great 3 day show at the Patan Museum and an installation at Patan's Durbar Square, but better late than never!

I even got a chance to talk with France's Ambassador to Nepal!

By the way, this exhibit would not have been possible without the help of Kathmandu's Alliance Francaise.   If you are in Paris on November 20 and 21, 2010, there will be a reprise of this exhibit.   Go to the website to find out those locations.  

Remember tomorrow is the Day of the Dog.   Stay tuned.