TAKE on art - January - June 2018

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Civilization and architecture are perhaps synonymous. As much as built architecture is a ubiquitous model to tame and direct space, air, and light in their most utilitarian sense, the lived qualities that it enables, such as the experience of natural phenomena, memory, history and the relationships it nurtures are what distinguish it. Yet, as Walter Benjamin suggests, it may not be possible to ‘get hold’ of a building, at least not in the way that it might be possible to get hold of a painting or a sculpture. But through photography, one might be able to get hold of architecture. While a physical building is owned and used, a photograph of it is able to isolate, define, interpret, exaggerate or even invent a cultural value for it. The cultural value of buildings is what we call ‘architecture’ and that it is inseparable from photography. Often, what we end up equating with the essence of the original structure is merely the quality of the photograph. However, as a publication, we are capable of generating discourse around architecture only through its representation — in words, images and sketches, and our focus on photography have been one way to remain self-aware of this symptom and limitation.
Excerpt from editorial by Bhavna Kakar, contributions from: Adwait Singh || Anushka Rajendran || Ashok Ferrey ||Asim Waqif || Avni Doshi || Bharath Ramamrutham || Bharti Lalwani || Bhavna Kakar ||Dayanita Singh || Devika Singh || Diwan Manna || Dominic Sansoni Fabien Charuau||Gunjan Gupta || Hera Büyüktaşçıyan || JJ Valaya || Madeleine Klett || Manisha Gera Baswani ||Martand Khosla || Mila Samdub || Nityan Unnikrishnan || Peter Nagy Premjish Achari || Radhika Chopra || Rahul Sharma || Rajeev Lochan || Randhir Singh || Rattanmol Singh Johal || Samar Jodha || Saryu Doshi || Shalmali Shetty || Shanay Jhaveri Sharmini Pereira || Shaunak Mahbubani || Shrinjita Biswas || Shrinkhla Sahai Sumesh Sharma || Skye Thomas || The Phantom Lady || Thukral and Tagra || Vir Kotak

TAKE on art Magazine Description:

TAKE on art, the leading art magazine in India published bi-annually from New Delhi since 2009, comprehensively covers, reports and critiques art and cultural events from India and abroad. Led by Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Bhavna Kakar, TAKE follows a critical approach to the larger discourse on art through curated issues with contributions by leading writers and critics from across the globe. The magazine has been invested in sustaining critical writing practices in India not just through its own capacity as a publication but also by organising initiatives that try to generate discourse, and keep conversations alive. In the past, the publication has organised writing workshops under the TAKE on Writing series as well as hosted the TAKE TALK series. Significant projects in this direction include TAKE on Residency, in collaboration with IFA at 1 Shanthi Road, Bangalore in 2013, TAKE on Writing, Critic-Community: Contemporary Art Writing at Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts, Goa in 2014 and more recently, Take on Writing - Critical Writing Ensemble (CWE) Baroda Chapter at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda in December 2015 and the CWE Dhaka Chapter, conceptualised by Katya Garcia Anton, in collaboration with OCA, Norway at the Dhaka Art Summit in 2016 supported by Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council. The most recent TAKE on Writing initiatives included The Book – The New Writing Group, a workshop led by Chus Martínez and Ingo Niermann supported by Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council and The Book – Ensemble, both held in New Delhi in December 2016.

The magazine has travelled internationally to events such as Art Basel, Art Basel HK, Art Basel Miami, Dhaka Art Summit and Asia Triennale Manchester, as well as collaborated with landmark events locally such as Experimenter Curator's Hub (2011 - 2016), Insert 2014, Sarai Reader 09: Episode 1, 2 and 3, Amrita Sher-Gil National Art Week and Delhi Photo Festival.