Marian Bantjes
Monday, October 29, 2007So in the season and spirit that we venerate the strength and power of the 'woman', let me share with you Marian Bantjes's work. Whose work more than anybody elses to me holds and weilds the spiritual and the mystical. Her sweeping swirls and intricate precision instantly take me back to the work of the great Moghul artisans and calligraphers.
So the next time you go to the Taj and look at the walls and regret that no one can produce work of such beauty, think of Marian Bantjes.
"It’s printed in silver and gold (and other colours), and the theme is “The Future,” so of course it has to have space ships! It also has 18 wishes for you for the future. I won’t tell you what they say, as it would spoil the fun of reading them. Perhaps in the future, I will reveal all." -Marian Bantjes
"A single page in the Gilbert Cotton swatchbook, the story of this is somewhat amusing (to me). Gina told me that they wanted to engrave a security border, to allude to the paper’s use on certificates etc. My first sketch turned out looking oddly like a pair of devils, so I thought, “Why not? Devils need security too. And so the Security Devils were born; snuggled up and clinging to each other in deep companionship, as devils are wont to do.” -Marian Bantjes
"For 3 years now I’ve adopted Valentine’s Day as my time to make contact with people. This year I got the crazy idea to draw each one by hand. I liked the idea that each person would get something unique, with their name on it, but that there would be a larger whole that they would also be part of. " -Marian Bantjes
" 'I want it all' ... well, because I do. and because my peonies were wilting and sighing, and I decided to immortalize them, on a whim, one sunny afternoon.
Bonus: the room smelled of peonies all day." -Marian Bantjes
And this is just parts of her phenomenal body of work. You can see the rest here.
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