Haiga: A Definition
Traditional Japanese haiga involved brush art work coupled with a haiku poem done in brush calligraphy. Like the haiku poem, the focus of haiga is in simplicity of expression.
Digital art-haiku is one form of modern haiga. Other forms include photo-haiku (haiku attached to a photographic image) and all modern forms of art coupled with haiku. Of course, traditional haiga is still practiced.
Just as the haiku form often contains a juxtaposition between two of its lines and a third line, so does or can modern haiga contain a juxtaposition between the haiku itself and the digital art work. The art work does not necessarily directly represent the images presented in the haiku.
About the exhibition:
Milan Vukelic journalist and poet
The point where the sky over Kotor meets the sky over Portsmouth is the exact spot where the journey of the two main characters of our story begins. Seemingly two different journeys, merge into one, meandering and dangerous but somehow transforming and becoming the right one in Correlations. The Haiku poems by Damir Damir and the photographs taken by Grebo Gray are undeniably contemporary: the demons and beauty of the 20th and 21st century seep from every word, every line, and at the same time they contain universal values.
Poignant and dramatic imagery from the history of humankind, from barb wired gulags to the blood-stained hands of workmen, subtly merge with images of disarming tranquility and introspection. The ship being sailed by Damir and Grebo is continuously struck by fierce storms which threaten to sink it at any moment, yet it stays afloat, smoothly gliding as across a seemingly perfect and calm sea.
The artistic expression is only at first glance simplistic; however, it is in this seeming plainness where all its strength lies. Where Matsuo Bashō meets Townes Van Zandt, Kotor Bay the shores of Portsmouth, tattered shoes worn by refugees the broken heart of an abandoned lover is where the art of Correlations emerges.
The verses and photographs reveal authors whose views of the world are fully compatible, so much so that one gets the impression that they were made by the same individual, as is the case with the original haiga style. However, if one wishes to fully experience the Correlations exhibition, then another participant is required – the observer.
Grebo Gray
“Two wandering souls drawn to Belgrade via different paths, one describing his world in words, the other in pictures. When their paths crossed, it became apparent that there was a correlation between the poetic and visual worlds they had created.”
Where:
Бартcелона
www.bartcelona.net
Belgrade Design District, 1 Sprat, lokal 96
When:
29th December till 6th January
Opening at 29th of December at 19h
Writer. Blogger. Traveler. Researcher. Electronic Music Lover.
