"The most important thing in art is the frame. For paint, literally.
For other arts, figuratively-because, without this humble appliance you cannot know where the art stops and the real world begins."

A carrier spanning over 30 years, Frank Zappa was a prolific writer and an audacious artist, gaining global kudos and criticism. His fame includes writings in rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. In the quote above he is saying that framing, itself is an art. I would agree with him in almost all cases except when it comes to the Pyramids. Pyramids does not want to confined within boundaries, both literally and figuratively. This is specially true when it comes to the Great Pyramid of Giza. Of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the Great Pyramid is the only planetary structure that have mastered the natural planetary forces. Perhaps the secret lies in the meaning of Pyramid. "Pyr" in Greek means fire, which is raw energy. "Amid" means center or nucleus. Hence, "Pyramid, is that part of a life-form, which does not undergo change, but it brings about change in others in its environment, due to interactions."

Positioned in the center of gravity of the continents and in the geographical center of the earths' land mass, The Great Pyramid has always been shrouded in perpetual mystery and colossal controversy. It has inspired mathematicians, architects, statesmen, philosophers since the dawn of time. Some 2400 years ago the Greek philosopher Strabo romanced the Pyramids and said "It seemed like a building let down from heaven, untouched by human hands." A gold medalist of the Royal Institute of British Architects, James Fergusson was struck with astonishment at the austere perfection of The Great Pyramid. "Nothing more perfect, mechanically, has ever been erected since that time; and we ask ourselves in vain, how long it must have been taken before men acquired such experience and such skill, or were so perfectly organized, as to contemplate and complete such undertakings."

However, all the evangelists and skeptics are unified in one verdict: the Great Pyramid of Giza is the Grand Master of Geometry, the oldest mathematical science. With it's base angles at 51 degrees 51 minutes, if you divide the face of this triangle into two triangles, then the ratio of the hypotenuse equals phi (1.618...) and the perpendicular side equals square root of phi. Perhaps, it is this study in perfection that attracts us toward the Pyramid time and time again. It is so deep-rooted in our 3 levels of consciousness that the Skyline exhibit design for the Exhibitor 2011 Show only validates the profound significance of the gift that has been handed down to us since antiquity.

Today, is that day, March 19, 2011. Today you think in colors. You speak in colors. You dance with colors. You breathe colors. You eat colors. You live in colors. You send colors. You celebrate colors.
You celebrate that colorful infinitude that is YOU.

Today is Holi. In India, it is celebrated as the Festival of Colors. It is the carnival of triumph and failure, it is the feast of joy and sorrow. It is a symphony of sensations. And what is a better way to express your-SELF than the brilliance of the rainbow?

Color is synonymous with Indian culture, belief and way of life. Kings and kingdoms, saints and followers, rebels and fighters have traversed the paths of its glorious past and have all played a small but significant role in ascertaining the perception of color today. Color is one encompassing factor that unifies the multicultural diversity. And come Holi, the country is painted in mesmerizing hues of blues, yellows, magentas, greens, violets, and more. Clouds of colors dancing in the wind carry the message of love and happiness across walls, neighbors, and hearts.

Holi is specially dear to me. It has been a defining factor in my passion and profession. My first initiation to color was not color crayons or color bubbles, it was the Color of the Festival called Holi.

Holi has taught me to be defiant in the face of egoism and vanity. It has instilled in me the passion and the prose. It has taught me to leverage the elegance of my heart and to dis-lodge the logic of my brain. It has helped me to transcend limitations, to expand consciousness and to find myself in a new, great, and wonderful world.

Spread the flame of Holi.
Have Holi in your creative explorations. Enjoy the fervor of Holi for the remaining 287 days.

ChocolateBlue is that glorious outcome of such a Union.
And there is no saying goodbye to this color coalition any time soon. Not one of my favorites, but none-the-less a very strong partnership merges when the two come together. Blue in all its magnificence ranges from the mysterious blue-green ocean to the crystal spring water all the way to the deep indigo blue of our third eye. We live on the blue planet with fascinating blue symbolism all around us. Our blue skies are demonstrative of outbound optimism and pure potential. It is no co-incidence that the brands of major corporates range in different tones of blue. Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable, committed and extremely trade show friendly. The giant IBM is so entrenched in blue, that it named its latest computing power Blue Gene. It uses about 131,000 processors to routinely handle 280 trillion operations every second.

However, Blue does come with its own burden. Overuse of this color  is weighed by depression and morose. It is very well documented in the poetic subtlety and personal melancholy of Pablo Picasso's Blue Period stretching from 1901 to 1904. It is at this juncture that chocolate flourishes with blues. Rich, deeply balancing with nourishing Feng shui energy, chocolate brown is the ideal backdrop for soaring blue. Brown is a blend of red, blue and yellow and has many shades and tones - each producing a different effect. Brown is a stabilizing and orderly color. The red in brown gives it practical energy while the yellow and blue add mental focus. Brown gives a feeling of solidity and creates a warm, comfortable feeling of wholesomeness, naturalness and dependability.

“The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color. Our entire being is nourished by it. This mystic quality of color should likewise find expression in a work of art.” Hans Hofmann, German-born American Abstract Expressionist Painter, 1880-1966

Go, Create Your Expression!

The great Italian polymath, Leonardo da Vinci comes to my mind as the master of subtle suggestion. He aggressively exploited the technique of sfumato (the fine shading that produces soft, imperceptible transitions between colors and tones to form a smoky effect) to bring forth this power of subtle seduction. His fabled work, Mona Lisa is a masterful manifestation of this technique. Da Vinci was well versed in the seductive power of limiting knowledge. He recognized that when things are open to interpretation, we are driven by our imaginations and our creative interpolations. The result: the bliss of an eternal enigma; Mona Lisa.

Mathew May, author of Shibumi Strategy says "Leave something to the imagination by limiting information". He says, because human spirit is indefinable the power of suggestion is exalted as the mark of truly authentic creation. Finiteness—dotting every "i" and crossing every "t"— is thought to be at odds with nature, implying stagnation and loss of life. In Zen terms this is the principle of Yugen. As Mathew puts it Leonardo Da Vinci and Steve Jobs both recognized the power of Yugen in art and business. The mysterious smile of Mona Lisa seduces us to arrive at different interpretation every time we look at her because, of the missing definition of her mouth. Leonardo was a master in blending light and shade. He used light to define forms, model them and create the illusion of depth. His softened sfumato contours dissolve into the shadows and into light.

May goes on to mention, when Apple launched iphone, Steve Jobs only demonstrated it once at Macworld 07. It did not go on sale until June. In between there was this long silence.  The bloggers and Apple loyalists took over and interpreted with creative modulations. The iPhone "tipped" over even before it went on sale. Rest is history. 

The seduction of suggestion is very evident in the design of Pivot Point Regatta Pop Up trade show booth. It seduces the viewer into fancy contemplation. It creates a sense of informal restlessness. It entices the viewer and acts as a silent prompt to engage in a conversation with the booth staffer.

The Art of design now becomes the Art of Business!