Summary: Drug-smuggler Myuran Sukumaran has opened an exhibition of oil portraits from Kerobokan jail in Australia. He began learning how to paint during his time in jail from Archibald Prize-winning artist Ben Quilty, who comments that he was a polite, calm, humble young man when he met him. Each piece in Sukumaran's collection has a price tag of $500, which will be put into buying art materials and creating a prison art gallery. Sukumaran has made it clear, along with his friend Andrew Chan, also on death row, that the goal of his mastering of art is not to be an artist overall, but of rehabilitation.
Analysis: Sukumaran's mentor, Ben Quilty, talks about how he first came to him as an amateur, but gained skill in painting over time. This story just goes to show that no matter what the situation, as long as you practice at your goal, you can achieve it; and anyone can be a visual artist, even if you're not necessarily great at drawing. Sukumaran's paintings are very professional to me, and very interesting. His works are captivating in that they show a lot of variety in color and emotion.
Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/visual-arts/the-art-of-salvation-finds-a-new-disciple-in-bali-nine-drugsmuggler-myuran-sukumaran/story-fn9d3avm-1227049518516
This is truly an inspiring story. Also kind of humorous actually because you think of pretty tough people in jail, not skilled painters. It definitely has a moral in it about expanding your horizons and that to become skilled, it's all about practice. It's really a great knowledge to bring to people.
ReplyDelete