Sikh Artwork

[Guest Dancing Warrior]

they just reprint from the originals,

There is no questioning the talent of the artist, it's probably the best of modern era in regards to Sikh paintings etc etc. Fantastico :nihungsmile:

[Guest Hardeep_S_Khalsa]

VJKK VJKF

Amazing paintings. But then how do u know if Guru Gobind Singh looked like that, all these photos are just artists expression.

[dalsingh101]

Amazing talent, but the details could be more accurate. I never knew Guru Gobind Singh wore a patiala shahi dastar, nor did Banda Bahadur carry a nishaan sahib like that. I know im being picky but thats me.

Amazing talent tho.

Were you there in the 17th century as a witness, I think not, so you cant comment on the style and the flag. Who knows! but it seems different, but I cant comment because we clearly dont know the style etc.

Historical evidence says that Banda Singh changed the colour of the uniform from blue to red. Also the Khanda symbol is only 70 odd years old. He should have used the original Degh Tegh Fateh one.

Other than that the guy has got serious talent. He needs to do more careful research.

[MiriPiri]

i love these pics... you guys are on about khanda details etc. you gotta remember that this is an artist so they paint what THEY see its not about our own thoughts, we all imagine GUruJi in our own ways...plus he might not know about when the khada came about, let's face it how many people do? It's art so it wont be 100% perfect. Try and remember that.

I disagree. When representing the Guru Jis in their native surroundings doing their actual things with photo-realistic artistic style, then it is incumbent on the artist to carry that theme of realism through to the iconography and historical artefacts depicted therein.

The reason: people see these as 'photographs' is because of their style, i.e. they are realistic. Therefore, they autmoatically think what they are seeing is actually what happened. So therefore the artist has a responsibility.

Artistic license can only be used as an excuse for inaccuracy when, e.g. in films, they say, "it is a dramatisation of actual events". In picture art, the equivalent would be, for example, if they did a cartoon style picture for schools and clearly wanted to show that the Guru Ji's were of Sikh origin. Then they coudl use a khanda justifiably.

Having said all that, I would certainly buy some stuff from here if the historic facts were remedied.

[wjkk wjkf]

i dont believe that paintings HAVE to be like photographs. When I paint, I paint what I feel is best, not what other people might feel is best. Same as when I draw. In painting there is no right and wrong. That's what makes it different from a photograph- the fact that it's the artists impression. When I sit down to paint, I don't necessarily research every artefact, costume or person in the picture. Sometimes it's just best to draw what comes to you.

[dalsingh101]

i dont believe that paintings HAVE to be like photographs. When I paint, I paint what I feel is best, not what other people might feel is best. Same as when I draw. In painting there is no right and wrong. That's what makes it different from a photograph- the fact that it's the artists impression. When I sit down to paint, I don't necessarily research every artefact, costume or person in the picture. Sometimes it's just best to draw what comes to you.

That is fair enough but when creating historical based artwork it is a good idea to research and try and keep some semblance to the past or it goes into the territory of fantasy art (which is cool). Today we have a good idea of what Singhs wore in days of yore through contemporary writings.

We also have images of the old flags.

I sent the artist some images of the old flags incase he is unaware of them. Maybe he will use them in future?

What the guy is really doing is presenting Sikh iconography. This is how we have imagined the past collectively as a community. Some of it may not be based on hard historical research. For example scholars today doubt the existence of Bhai Bala (the companion of Guru Nanak) whilst no one doubts the existence of Mardana. Still we see images that contain both Bhai Bala and Mardana in imagery.

What is really interesting is that such work has the potential to mass effect perceptions in the community. For example most of us of a certain age would have been profoundly effected by the artwork of Sobha Singh and Kirpal Singh with regards to our imaginations regarding our past. This guy has the potential to be this generations Sobha or Kirpal.

[fauji07]

does anyone know where i can find out about the history of the khanda? i always assumed it had been around from the beginning but now i am curious about it

[TuhiNirankar]

very talented artist but the picture of Guru Nanak dev ji reminds me of moses if anyone knows who that is. lol . :wub:

[dalsingh101]

very talented artist but the picture of Guru Nanak dev ji reminds me of moses if anyone knows who that is. lol . :wub:

I like the way it touches on the fact that the journeys must have been lonely and isolated at times, through vast expanses at at times at night or late in the evenings.

[MiriPiri]

i dont believe that paintings HAVE to be like photographs. When I paint, I paint what I feel is best, not what other people might feel is best. Same as when I draw. In painting there is no right and wrong. That's what makes it different from a photograph- the fact that it's the artists impression. When I sit down to paint, I don't necessarily research every artefact, costume or person in the picture. Sometimes it's just best to draw what comes to you.

I agree, paintings can be what they like. Especially if you are painting for yourself. But if you are painting and producing artwork for general release that will be used in people's homes and possibly gurdwaras, and people will look at them and say, "these are how the gurus were", then it is incumbent on the artist to be respectful of the accurate history of the subject material. That's all I am saying.