"Imagination is the
beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine,
and at last, you create what you will." -George Bernard Shaw
These are some of the words I live by. To me,
posters are not just colours on a piece of paper or photographs of people with
no meaning at all. To me, a good poster is like an invention that has meaning,
emotion and essence of the subject, using just the right hues and designs. As
someone very rightly said, "A picture says a thousand words."
Very often people ask me where I get my ideas
from and to be honest, I have no idea when an idea will strike and in what way,
shape or form. The other day I was trying to think of a design for a book on Mr.
Abdul Kalam for Bloomsbury and I just couldn't get anything. Then something
came up and I had to get out of the house. I was in my car, on the road and in
front of me was an auto on which there was a picture of Mr. Kalam and beside
the picture, it was written, "You have to dream before your dreams can come
true." That triggered a million other thoughts and I got my answer. That's
the weirdest thing about being creative, you never know when inspiration is
going to strike you! Sometimes you think you have an idea about what you're
going to do but you just need that link that can get you a clear picture, and in
my case, the auto was the link I needed to de-clutter my thoughts and a get a
clear picture. This reminds me of a Steve Jobs’ quote that goes, "Creativity
is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something,
they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw
something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were
able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things." The truth
in his words is scary. But that's one of the things that gives birth to one of
the most important aspects of design, curiosity.
“That's the weirdest thing
about being creative, you never know when inspiration is going to strike you!”
I've been bringing my designs to life for about
18 years but one thing I've learned is that there's always something out there,
something new, something bigger, something better. And that's something one
shouldn't be furious about, it's something one should be curious about. Newer
the material, the more relatable it is, and the stronger the connection. But
even with all the material, sometimes I lack inspiration and that's when I turn
to music. Music is something that helps me get into the story and gives me the
feel of it. And for me, music has been a very important part of my life from
the beginning, being the son of renowned Carnatic musician Palai C. K.
Ramachandran. But when it comes to my art, I turn to Mr. A. R. Rahman because I
believe that no one can make you feel emotions through a song like him. My
fondness for him started decades ago. As a young man, most of my friends
dreamed to become successful doctors, engineers and businessmen but I made it
my life's purpose to go to Chennai and just get a glance of Rahman sir. When in
Chennai, I used to peek into his house from outside the gate to see him even if
it was only for a second and I always had this photograph of him so that I
could get an autograph if possible. I tried getting into concerts as well and I
tried many other ways to just get a glimpse of this man's face. Decades went by
and it had been a few years since I made my mark in the industry. One day my
friend from the industry called and said that we needed to meet someone but he
wouldn't tell me who. We went in his car and when we were halfway there, I knew
where we were going. I was on my way to fulfilling young Jayaram's dream, only
this time, I didn't need to peek. Turns out "my inspiration" wanted inspiration
to design the logo for his KM College of Music! I finally met my idol, took
pictures as proof that I met him, not to show anybody else, but to prove to
myself that all that wasn't just a dream. At our next meeting, I took the same
photo I used to take to his house when I was a young man peeping from the gate
and got his autograph on it. The old, faded, fragile photo, all of a sudden
became all the more valuable to me. Dreams take time to come true but in the
end, they do come true after all, and that's what is important.
“Dreams
take time to come true but in the end, they do come true after all, and that's
what is important.”
As an artist, I'm hungry for inspiration, and
inspiration exists from the smallest to the biggest of things. You'll never
know when nature will inspire you. You'll never know when your friends and
family or even a stranger for that matter, will inspire you. You'll never know
when you will inspire yourself. If this inspiration adds to your originality,
then you are unstoppable. Creativity neither has a beginning nor an end. My
journey as an artist is a journey without a destination and of the thousands of
images in mind, till now, this journey, with its twists and turns, has made the
most unforgettable design in my mind. To more inspiration, to more surprises
and to more autos giving me great ideas!
“If
this inspiration adds to your originality, then you are unstoppable.”
Here's a video of "Aliveni Enthu Cheyvu" a Mahesh Raghvan musical featuring Meera Sreenarayanan and Sreeram Ramachandran
Directed by Jayaram Ramachandran
Written by Jayaram Ramachandran and Sreeram Ramachandran
This is the second episode of the mini-series "My Creative Day". You can check out the FIRST POST by clicking the link.
Love Jayaram's work! Lovely concept, Deepa!
ReplyDeleteIt is your Muse, Jay. You have to thank your muses for your inspiration, intuitions and your creativity. I have always followed your creative growth and enthralled in it. I am happy for you when your dreams come true and your milestones reached. Cherish that God given gift of yours because, believe me, sometimes it is hard to come by. I once had a Muse too. I used to paint word pictures in a myriad of hues. But now as I let the tides of life carry me along, other hopes, other desires beset me. But now I see that a touch of creativity has also entered your writing. You have penned this well, Boyo!! Keep it up
ReplyDeleteശാന്ത് ജയറാം ശാന്ത് . തകർപ്പ് കാല
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice Blog. Thanks to the author for sharing with us such information about art. Please visit the link to know in detail about Best Painting
ReplyDeleteThis is such a lovely piece that gives a lot of insight into creativity. Thanks a lot for sharing!
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