Sunday, January 01, 2012

Year of the Dragon

Pic source: Getty Images from Daily Mail


The new year has started with an interesting headline in the Western media - "China's New Dragon Stamp Breathes Criticism". What is it about this piece of artwork that inspires such a big fuss? Why This Kolaveri Di? :-)

Designed by Chen Shaohua the postage stamp shows a fiery, beautiful dragon splayed out as if on a dissection board, staring out with its dead black eyes, mouth frozen in a grimmace.

Chinese dragons have always reminded me of the "Yali" motifs that adorn the entrances to ancient temples in Kerala. The first thought that crossed my mind when I saw Shaohua's design was, 'This is how a Yali will look if it got accidentally electrocuted!'


One positive outcome of this - completely overblown- controversy is that that it draws more attention to the wonderful creations of artists like Shaohua.

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LINKS


China's New Dragon Stamp Breathes Criticism, Fear - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/06/chinas-new-dragon-stamp-b_n_1188232.html


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