Flexing Muscles

Description

在班加羅爾街頭競相爭奪人們注意力的眾多物體中，最近新增了一種海報條幅。這類條幅像是數量巨大的sene（軍隊），橫掃了卡納塔克邦境內。這支sene化身為語言、種姓/社區、甚至電影明星，在數碼製作的海報條幅上發聲、供再想象。

《條肌》（Flexing Muscles） 收錄了由拉維庫馬尓·卡西（Ravikumar KASHI）用卡納達語和英語寫的一篇文章，反映了他對於這些條幅的媒介、形式、以及內容的觀察思考。插圖則配有藝術家這六年來收集到的照片，文章通過這些條幅繪制了班加羅爾的肖像——這座變化中的城市愈加趨於好鬥也愈加脆弱了。

Amidst the various objects that compete for attention on the streets of Bangalore, there have been in recent times a new addition in the form of flex banners. These banners represent the vast number of sene (armies) that have been surfacing in the state of Karnataka. Founded in the name of language, caste/community, and even film stars, these sene are announced and re-imagined through the digitally produced banners.

Flexing Muscles brings together an essay in Kannada and English by Ravikumar KASHI, reflecting on his observations of the medium, format, and content of these banners. Illustrated with photographs collected by the artist over six years, the essay locates in these banners a portrait of the changing city of Bangalore–one increasingly attuned to aggression and vulnerability.

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拉維庫馬尓·卡西（Ravikumar KASHI）是一位藝術家，創作領域跨越繪畫、雕塑、攝影以及裝置藝術。他的實踐核心主要感興趣於對意義生成機制的探索。卡西曾於班加羅爾美術學院取得其藝術學士學位，又於巴羅達美術學院取得了藝術碩士學位，還在邁索爾大學取得了其英語碩士學位。除了藝術實踐，他還就視覺文化進行教書、講學以及寫作。他用卡納達語創作的《Kannele》（Akshara Prakashana出版，2012年）一書曾獲卡納塔克邦文學學院獎。

Ravikumar KASHI is an artist who works across painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. At the core of his practice is an interest in exploring the mechanics of meaning making. Kashi completed his B.F.A. from College of Fine Arts, Bangalore; his M.F.A. from Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda; and also holds an M.A. in English from Mysore University. In addition to his practice, he teaches, lectures, and writes on visual culture. His book in Kannada titled Kannele (Akshara Prakashana, 2012) has received the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award.