I am now, of-course, the oldest that I have ever been. Yet, I have never before felt so damn naïve! I am now learning the difference between the coffee-table traveller and the actual traveller! No quantity of books or photographs could have prepared me for 'the real world.'
From the second I was out of the airplane and my foot bore residence on Indian sole, I felt like I had entered an entirely new world. I felt a mixture of emotions with self-anger and excitement being the domineering two. I now know how little I really know, and that, in itself, is knowledge — or perhaps socratic knowledge.
Outside the airport, a company-hired driver was waiting for me. My first shock came on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway when a passing mini-van (smaller in size than a UK car) revealed a family living inside the back compartment, opening cupboards and tinkering around with utensils in full plain sight!
Another of the initial shocks was the realisation of how non-literal my spoken English is. So many of the word combinations and phrases that seem to make perfect sense in British English are confusing and contradictory in Indian English. Even saying a phrase as simple as 'no thanks' can be confusing to some Indians as 'thanks' implies that the recipient has done or is about to do something qualifying for an expression of gratitude. In fact, thanking an Indian (in Hindi/Marathi/etc) should only be done during moments in which one really does feel very, very grateful — it can be seen as facetious otherwise!
I have seen so much contrast and variety since in India. Never in Britain would one see a lively carnival booming out music less than two meters away from a busy road, where drivers and pedestrians compete for space on which to travel. Even Indian candyfloss is made in a very Indian way, with a naked flame used to caramelise the sugar and bright-pink pigment sprinkled on-top to capture the eye!
Everything is incredibly colourful — even the rubbish bins! Interestingly, Indian use of colour is disciplined very differently to in the West. My knowledge of colour theory (which mostly comes from James Gurney's books and blog), dictates that vibrancy should be constrained and used sparingly, whereas, so far as I can tell, Indian colour theory seems to employ high chroma colours which are constrained by a limited range of hues (typically two or three colour frequencies). Both colour systems are nice in different ways but my God, I cannot speak for how artistically invigorating it is to witness a whole new world of colour. The women here are beautiful! They understand colour so much better than the average non-artistic Westerner; which is evident in how the vibrancy of their colour-themed attire is greatly complemented against the warm darkness of their skin! Indian skin is the perfect canvas onto which so many forms of colour can be applied.
The time here is 06:30 and I am about to start my first day of work in the studio. I have not slept much in the last few days out of jet-lag mixed with partying and apprehension for today — a peculiar combination to say the least! I am not nervous, but nor am I confident.
I have been studying a lot (in the way of reading material) for the specific area of game art to which I will be contributing. I understand the subject area from a naïve-artist perspective but not from a technical-artist perspective. I am trying to absorb as much objective knowledge as I can such that the subjective artist within will not be constrained by limited technical ability. I am going to spend today familiarising myself with the tool-set and planning how I can enhance the existing aesthetics. That is about all I can say without violating my non-disclosure agreement.
I really want to connect with this culture and I really want to connect with this studio.
Over and out.
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