Marko 93 was in Calcutta for a monulighting, light painting and graffiti art project. The objective of the tour was to introduce to monulighting – which is a significant contemporary visual art form to art lovers in Calcutta, by conducting a workshop & then to jointly execute a monulighting project, with the participants of the workshop. Similarly, we wanted to introduce a collaborative attempt, between Marko 93 and local artists for a graffiti art project. The project was held in the period from Oct 31 – Nov 2, 2015.
About Marko 93
Marko is his name, 93 the district where he grew up, in case you wonder why Marko 93. He is an indomitable soul, committing his life to street art, a fantastic human being, filled with unending energy, enthusiasm & love for his art. A fan of Beethoven, whose music inspires him & in fact forms the accompaniment for much of his work.
Marko93 grew up in Saint-Denis, a historical, working class suburb Strongly North of Paris. It was here Where he laid down His First strokes. In the late 1980s, the Hip Hop movement Emerged onto the scene and Rapidly ugly roots in big cities and suburbs. Marko Embraced graffiti as His means clustering of expression. It was the time of city walls, wastelands and railways tracks. Marko93 painted revealing slices of the suburban life where he Lived. Big letters entangled, realistic scenes, caricatures freestyle gold coins, He was learning to master all the technologies of the urban art form.
Originally Influenced by the American style, he soon Formed His Own identity with the discovery of Arabic calligraphy qui He Took over and reinvented in the early 1990s. With “calligraphism”, the “reed” (an Arabic word referring to the reed cut out to write) the signing bomb qui est devenu Marko93 adapté. His gesture, always broader and more vigorous est devenu accurate. This abstract style blending calligraphy and year urbanesque flavor with his spontaneity elevated him as a key player on the graffiti stage.
As street art entered into art galleries in the late 1990s, Marko Was traveling the world. He Was discovering new pictorial and human horizons. He Began to paint human bodies. His complex and ethereal calligraphy covered the dancers’ bodies in night-clubs from Rio to Hong Kong.
The early 2000s Were A turning point. He Was becoming as assertive as his art. Marko started experimenting with state of the art technologies, making the effects of his retinal persistence. He reinvented, enhanced and popularized the light-painting process touched upon by Man Ray and Picasso. He built his first light paintings with gestures, colors and light.
He also developed the first “instant live” real time video, a unique technique to paint the live space. This allowed him to perform in places as eclectic as the palace of the princess Arab Emirates, a live show in Bombay and the famous World Auto show.
Today, Marko93 performs all over the world. He spreads his single aesthetics and his enlightening sensitivity all over, from in situ performances to collaborations, wall paintings, light-painting workshops and videos – through institutional or private orders.
In 2011, he created a group performance: the “Monulight” a monumental light-painting. He performed on the forecourt of the Saint-Denis basilica. About 150 people holding lamps made up a 450 square meter crown on the ground: all the kings of France are buried there – we aim That Day Were the kings on the streets!
We were and still are on the streets!
Monulighting
About Monulighting
Monulighting is light painting, or light drawing, is a photographic technique in which exposures are made by moving a hand-held light source while taking a long exposure photograph, either to illuminate a subject or to shine a point of light directly at the camera. MonuLighting (Monumental Light Painting), loosely, is light painting projected on monumental structures or live spaces.
Monulighting workshop
A monulighting workshop was organized at the Satyajit Ray Film & Televsion Institute campus. It was attended by the students of the institute. Marko 93 initiated the students into the history, technique of light painting along with a hands on experience creating light portraits. The participants showed keen interest & interacted freely with Marko 93
.Image Courtesy : Sudipta Dawn
Monulighing at Princep Ghat
” For me the river is like the music and the light the rhythm” – Marko93
Marko 93 along with students of the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, used the Princep Ghat memorial, with the second Hoogly Bridge as the backdrop, for his monulighting project.
Image Courtesy : Marko93
Light Portrait – A collaboration with Silvia Vona
Marko93 collaborated with Silvia Vona – an Italian artist, currently residing in Calcutta engaged with Odissi dance, to create some stunning light portraits on the banks of the Hoogly river. The idea was to bring about a confluence of Indian performing art form and light painting, with the river as the backdrop.
Image Courtesy : Marko93
Graffiti Art
We were able to complete two graffiti’s in Calcutta.
The first one was on the walls on Alliance Francaise du Bengale’s, A J C Bose Road building. While on our way to the site, Marko came across a cow, by the roadside, chewing newspapers. This became the theme for the graffiti, which took about 10 hours to complete.
Image Courtesy : Mark093 & Sudipta Dawn
The second piece was on the walls on the main auditorium at The Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute. It was an abstract piece of grafitti and Marko93 collaborated with a local artist – Shrek.
Image Courtesy : Saikat Ray
Credits
This project was possible though a collaboration between the following institutions & people.
The Alliance Francaise du Bengale | INTACH | Kolkata Municipal Corporation| The Indian Army | Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute | Silvia Vona & her friends | Vijay Malhotra | Culture Monks | Supriyo Nandy
Media Coverage
Culture Monks 